When the Drive-By Truckers get on a roll, the Georgia-based band steps on the gas and flies down the highway without many pit stops. In fact, besides the alternative country-rock group's latest album, "The Big To-Do," released earlier this year, they recorded enough for a second album, titled "Go Go Boots," due out in February.

This Friday at the Pabst Theater, the band, with opener Henry Clay People, promises to showcase their wealth of material as part of a pre-Farm Aid show.

Starting out in the late '90s, the band has made a habit of recording in big chunks of songs with nine to ten studio albums (four to five in last four years alone). They also were the backing band for Bettye LaVette on her comeback album "Scene of the Crime" in 2007 and last year for Booker T. Jones on his instrumental album "Potato Hole."

While many of the band's recordings are concept albums, many of which deal with the band's southern roots, "The Big To-Do" is more a straight-shooting rock album.

"It's more direct, for lack of a better word," says Patterson Hood. "It's pretty straightforward in its approach musically and lyrically."

Hood finds itironic that the band's next record is the complete opposite. While "The Big To-Do" is a rock affair, their next one offers what he calls "country-soul murder ballads."

Until that album is released, the band plans to enjoy the success of its current venture, as "The Big To-Do" has opened the Drive-By Truckers to an even larger audience. The album became the band's highest chart success as well as catapulting them into television appearances on David Letterman's and Jimmy Fallon's late night shows. This summer they also opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

For Hood, "The Big To-Do" and its follow-up present a good indication of the sonic territory his band's traveled to get there.

"We try to balance out the more direct, the more straight rock kind of stuff like "The Big To-Do" does and with the more country soul and storytelling elements," says Hood.

While "The Big To-Do" might lead someone to call the band a southern rock group, Hood mentions that there are many other influences in play through the band's history. He rambled off a number of bands and musicians like The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, Tom T. Hall, Loretta Lynn and Eddie Hinton (two of Hinton's songs will be featured on "Go Go Boots").

Drawing on such influences and getting much inspiration, band members enjoyed themselves immensely as their creative outlets overflowed.

The band made a frequent routine of spending a week or two of writing and recording, a couple months touring and another week or so writing some more. The group came up with close to 40 songs in that time, averaging nearly a song a day. They found that to work, especially with several writers in the band, and once "The Big To-Do" was roughly finished they preceded working on the other group of songs for the follow-up.

This explosion of songs, Hood notes, happened twice before with "Decoration Day"(2003) and "The Dirty South"(2004), and the band's first two records, "Gangstabilly" (1998) and "Pizza Deliverance" (1999).

"Sometimes I can be prolific and have a lot of songs to work from as was the case this time," says Hood. "We basically try to do what's right at the time."

Even as the album was just about ready to send out, band co-founder Mike Cooley brought in the song "Birthday Boy," one which turned out to be the missing piece.

"We had finished the record and mastered it and everything and he came in with the song and basically thinking we'd put in on the other record," says Hood. "But it fit this record, so it needed to be on 'The Big To Do.' We all heard it and went 'Let's record it and add it.' It's kind of the missing piece of the puzzle."

Hood notes that this while this is the first time this has happened, it's important to seize opportunities when good songs arise.

"I'm willing to do anything if it makes it a better record," says Hood. "That's the goal at the end of the day, to make the best possible record we can make and play epic rock shows night after night."

The band's line-up has fluctuated over the years with members leaving and joining. Besides Hood and Cooley, the current lineup includes John Neff, Brad Morgan, Shonna Tucker, and Jay Gonzalez.

These shifts, Hood says, ultimate makes the band stronger. While he's proud of all the different lineups and notes each was good for different reasons, he says that the most recent version of the band is the most prolific and overall creative in the band's history, especially in the past four years. He says that the original plan for the band was to be a "loose-knit rotating thing" of musicians around Cooley and himself.

"We're sitting at little over 1,500 shows now since '97 now," says Hood. "We've been on the road 14 years more or less and been on the road constantly. People get burned out and tired and sometimes you don't want it anymore. Or you want to do something different with it. I respect that.

"They've each contributed a lot while they were here but at the same time I also think we've been able to move ahead and move forward. Our current lineup particularly is a good time for our band...We've turned out an enormous amount of material in the last four years."

Hood mentions that they might take a break in the future but currently the plan is to keep churning out great music and concerts.

Drive-By Truckers performed in the 1992 Farm Aid event. The cause is near and dear to Hood.

"I grew up on my uncle's farm a whole lot when I was a child so that's definitely part of my background and heritage," says Hood. "I'm eager to do anything to help cause."

That and continue to enjoy the company of being surrounded by great musicians.

"There's no other people on earth I'd rather play the songs outright then the people in this lineup in this band," says Hood.