Jason Isbell No Longer a Drive-By Trucker

Jason Isbell, one-third of the songwriting/guitar onslaught leading the Rock known as the Drive-By Truckers, is no longer with the band, according to a posting on DriveByTruckers.com.

The announcement, by co-frontman Patterson Hood on April 6, says the “amicable” split “is the result of a period of personal and artistic growth from all sides which has left us with differing dreams and goals.”

In a posting on his MySpace page, Isbell said, to the point, “I am not in the Drive-By Truckers anymore. Go figure. I wish them luck. I will not answer questions about it.” In a more elaborate post the next day, he said he was “excited about the new opportunities I’ve been given” and asked fans to continue to support the Truckers.

Isbell is in the midst of a solo tour and will release his first solo album, Sirens of the Ditch, on June 10 on New West Records, also record label to the Truckers. Hood says the Truckers will continue in present form—minus Isbell, of course—but adding constant collaborator John Neff full-time on pedal steel and guitar and will enter the studio to record their eighth album on the “very day” of the band’s 12th anniversary.

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