The Drawl That Leaves Our Mouth
Reflecting on HeAthens Homecoming and being from the South.
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As Patterson Hood says on Southern Rock Opera, I grew up rebelling against the music of my high school parking lot — in my case, mostly mainstream country. The radio dial in my hometown of Pensacola offered country, classic rock, Jesus stuff, and not much else. Like many teenagers before and since, I chose classic rock.
The city of Athens, Georgia — where last week I spent five nights for the annual HeAthens Homecoming celebration — played a significant role in shaping my taste and my coolness. As a young teen, I attended an all-girls summer camp in nearby Clarkesville, called Athens YWCO Camp, which was somehow affiliated with the Young Women's Christian Organization in Athens.
While nominally a Christian institution, our camp was led by a Jewish lesbian, and the only church-y thing I remember doing is saying grace before meals. Very Athens. Rather than turn us into trad wives, the camp empowered us to be ourselves. I had a counselor who taught me about Doc Martens and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and I had Athens friends whose youth soccer team was sponsored by R.E.M.
It’s no mystery why Drive-By Truckers return to Athens every year as a “homecoming."
Once I became a camp counselor, I spent my nights off in Athens, trying to pretend I belonged while drinking coffee at Jittery Joe’s. Athens was the first place I felt like a grownup. I expanded my horizons to include Georgia music like Indigo Girls, R.E.M, The B-52s, and — much later — Elephant 6 bands like The Apples in Stereo and The Olivia Tremor Control.
Returning to Athens 30 years later felt warm and comfortable, and not just because I was surrounded by other Drive-By Truckers fans — though the community provided a deep sense of belonging. My mom and I were struck by how everyone we met in Athens was genuinely nice (not fake Southern nice) and authentically kind. Even the bartenders at 40 Watt Club were patient and kind. I suspect that a special alchemy occurs when Southern politeness intersects with liberal politics in a legendary music town.
