Music Scene: Patterson Hood, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Foxy Shazam

Patterson Hood

Patterson Hood has long been hailed as a fearless songwriter, one not afraid of or deterred by the idea of writing songs about life uncensored.

There is no hesitation, no cowering, no dancing for the critics in Hood’s songwriting approach.

He simply writes about what he feels most intensely as truthfully as anyone can hope for.

Hood first emerged on the scene as chief singer and songwriter for the gritty, country-swayed rock band Drive-By Truckers.

His gruff voice and rustic songwriting style made him a critic’s golden boy and a savior in the eyes of many blue-collar music lovers throughout the country.

What many didn’t know about, however, was Hood’s quiet solo projects over the past several years.

His first solo album, 2004’s “Killers and Stars,” was recorded by Hood in his kitchen following his divorce. It’s an album so emotionally torn that Hood considered destroying it.

“If I had let myself, I could have easily talked myself into burning that one before anyone ever heard it. It was truly an exorcism and was not meant for anyone to ever hear. It just kind of took on a life of its own. I’m pretty proud of it, although I probably never want to hear it again,” Hood said when we talked in 2009.

A limited number of discs were copied and sold exclusively at shows, making the album a top collector’s item among fans.

Hood later released his follow-up, “Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs),” in 2009.

Hood’s solo style is similar to DBT, although a bit darker and a bit lonelier in a sense, and bares a brave honesty that extends itself much deeper than Hood’s work with the band.

Hood will perform Friday at The Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway.

Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or online at etix.com. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m.

Stereo Reform, Old You and The Dead 27’s will perform a special late show following Hood’s set.

Doors for that show will open at 10 p.m., with a start time set for 10:45 p.m.

Tickets for the late show are $8, or $3 with early show entry.

Go to charlestonpourhouse.com or call 571-4343

Ray Wylie Hubbard

At 65, Ray Wylie Hubbard is one of the few ambassadors of the outlaw country movement still touring.

With a career spanning four decades, Hubbard has been an influential figure in the Texas country music underground to generations of musicians and songwriters.

His weathered vocals weave rugged tales from honky-tonks to Jesus and the triumphs and tragedies found along the way.

Hubbard’s latest album, “The Grifter’s Hymnal,” is a man’s unwavering reflection on a life hard lived and the things he discovered through it all.

Hubbard will perform Wednesday at The Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or online at etix.com. Doors open at 9 p.m.

The Hungry Monks will play on the deck for free, with doors opening at 5 p.m.

Go to charlestonpourhouse.com or call 571-4343.

Foxy Shazam

Foxy Shazam is teetering on a tightrope.

On one side, the Cincinnati-based quartet may be one of the most jarring bands to hit the airwaves and revive the good parts of ’70s- and ’80s-era rock in the past decade.

On the other, Foxy Shazam is an experimental mistake hopped up on unfiltered energy.

The balance is key to the young alt-rock band’s survival.

Genius or ridiculous, it’s a fickle distinction that Foxy Shazam has handled perfectly so far.

The band mixes soul, jazz, pop punk and deranged rock ’n’ roll into one of the most electric musical cocktails you’re likely to taste for quite some time.

The band formed in 2004 but received little attention until its 2008 album, “Introducing Foxy Shazam,” landed the group on several critics’ lists of bands “you need to know.”

The group was compared to the Stooges and Queen, with notable lines being drawn to fellow glam rock revivalist The Darkness.

Foxy Shazam is touring in support of its new album, “The Church of Rock and Roll,” and will perform Sunday at The Music Farm, 32 Ann St., with Longreef and Bully Pulpit.

Tickets are $9.80 in advance, $13 the day of the show, and are available at the door or the Music Farm box office.

Doors open at 7 p.m.

Go to musicfarm.com or call 577-6989.