PHOTO COURTESY OF BAND

38 SPECIAL BRINGS THEIR SOUTHERN ROCK SOUND TO EMERALD QUEEN CASINO FOR A NEW YEAR’S EVE CONCERT.

Wild-eyed Southern boys coming to Tacoma

By Tribal News Writers

After more than three decades together, 38 Special is still playing more than 100 shows per year. And at every one of them, thousands of audience members are completely blindsided by the power and muscle of the band’s performance. “When we come out, people are like, ‘Whoa! It’s like a freight train rolling over them,’” said vocalist/guitarist Don Barnes. While most associate the group with its arena-rock ‘80s pop smashes, these days the band’s harder edge is what is immediately noticeable. Don Barnes said it is all about maintaining the intensity that they deliver in their live shows.

So in 2004 when they recorded “Drivetrain,” it sought to capture that live energy on disc. And as a result, 38 Special, more than 30 years later, has never sounded so powerful. Having had its share of success in the pop realm – selling some 15 million albums – the group sought to make this album all about attitude. “It sounds rude,” Don Barnes said, “and it was meant to.”

“It really personifies what rock and roll is all about,” said frontman Donnie Van Zant. “It is greasy, loud and proud. We have always been a band that strives to stay honest with what has driven us over the years. And it is the greatest validation for us to reach that kind of longevity. The drive train on any motorized machine, from giant earth-movers to Indy cars, is what keeps the wheels on the road and in the game,” Donnie Van Zant stated. “This music keeps our wheels on the road.”

The bombastic blues/rock tracks on “Drivetrain” owe their rawness to a more natural production approach favored by Don Barnes and fellow guitarist/vocalist Danny Chauncey, who produced the disc together. Barnes said that over the years they had grown weary of the safe, slick approach employed by some of the band’s previous producers. “They always felt that they needed to clean everything up, put everything in its place and make sure that it’s all nice,” Don Barnes said. “Our goal was to make this not real nice.”

“There always seemed to be that intangible thing missing from past recording sessions,” Danny Chauncey observed. “Sometimes controlled chaos can be a good thing, so we cranked up the amps and turned the room mics up to get the ambient noise from the bashing drums and bass. We wanted to capture that explosive attitude, capture what we sound like live with a 50-foot-tall P.A. system.”

After touring since 1975, the magic is still there, according to Donnie Van Zant. “It is a high I can’t describe to you,” he said. “It is almost like flying. When I walk up those steps to that stage and hear that audience roar, sometimes I feel like Don and I don’t even have to sing, because the crowds are so vocal.”

“We have always carried an attitude that we are going out there to win and God help whoever has to follow us, you know?” Don Barnes said. “We have never taken a backseat to anyone. We take the crowd for a ride and try to end up triumphant every night. And since we have had the good fortune to have a lot of hit songs over the years, we just line ‘em up and shoot ‘em down. By the end of the show, they are completely exhausted along with us.”

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