That name has always said it all …

These three words - Drivin' n' Cryin' - tell the story of some people's lives: the freedom, the heartbreak, the ride toward dreams of better things.

Countless followers have rallied to the call of d'n'c' ever since the group exploded out of Atlanta and began their epic as one of the great live bands of all time.

Their hits - "Fly Me Courageous," "Scarred but Smarter," "Build a Fire," "Honeysuckle Blue," & "Straight to Hell" - brought Southern rock to its peak of concise, passionate eloquence. Driven by a lethal rhythm combination, with Tim Nielsen on bass and Jeff Sullivan on drums, the unmistakable voice and lyrics of Kevn Kinney burned like a brand into the hearts of fans - not just bedrock believers from Dixie but Americans in every corner of the country.

Beyond these tracks, their albums teemed with vivid narratives and hard-hitting performances that expanded through time in half a dozen directions, from the punk and country foundations of Scarred but Smarter through the hard-rock and metal sheens that toughen Whisper Tames the Lion, Mystery Road, Fly Me Courageous, and Smoke, and on to the acoustic and keyboard textures that spin webs of intimacy through Wrapped in Sky.

But the true D & C experience transpired then, as it does now, onstage. It's there that the band redefines itself, playing always with the polish its members picked up on the road and the energy of a neighborhood garage band stretching its creative wings.

"A Drivin' n' Cryin' show in Atlanta had to be seen to be believed," marvels Denise Sullivan at allmusic.com. "The sound of the crowd singing along would actually drown out Kinney's own unusually strong voice."

That's how it was when the band was being hailed by critics as the culmination of all that had come before in Southern rock: the conceptual adventurism of R.E.M., the musical sophistication of the Allman Brothers Band, the sheer guts of Skynyrd, and the working-man ethos of Hank Williams.

And that's how it remains, as the Drivin' n' Cryin' saga rolls on. The only difference is that more than one generation answers its call when the band comes to town. "We hear from people who think of Drivin' n' Cryin' as part of their lives when they were growing up in the eighties," says drummer Jeff Sullivan. "But just the other day I got a letter from someone who said she saw us for the first time five years ago and asked us to please come back and play at her town in Florida - and she was just 15 years old. And at our shows I see everyone from a 38-year-old housewife in Oregon to young metal guys with Drivin' n' Cryin' tattoos on their arms."

For some, then, Drivin' n' Cryin' is like a souvenir saved from their glory days. Others see the band as a new treasure, if not the best kick-ass act they've ever seen. But when the group came together 20 years ago, Kevn Kinney had a specific picture of what he hoped it would be: "I wanted it to be a psychedelic garage band bordering on English blues. I wanted us to sound like a mix tape you might make, with Nick Lowe, Hank Williams, Ted Nugent - all these weird guys, like college radio used to be."

Kinney was new to Atlanta back then, having nurtured the seeds of his style in the blue-collar punk scene and folk clubs of Milwaukee. Shortly after arriving, he met Tim Nielsen at a local club. As bass player with the Night Porters, Nielsen was steeped as well in punk culture, so their rapport was quick and strong. Not long after that night, they decided to start their own band. The original D & C lineup cut Scarred but Smarter in '86, after which Sullivan took over the drum chair and the long ride began.

It's been a while since the last d'n'c' studio album, but as Kinney explains, their growth and momentum has build without interruption from the beginning: "What's unique about Drivin' n' Cryin' is that we never, ever do the same show twice. There's never a set list. Everything is in the now. Every show we've ever done has reflected what we went through that day: what city we're in, what's in the news, the vibe at the venue, whether it's outdoors or in a club. You might get weird or totally eclectic arrangements of anything in our catalog, because Tim and Jeff can play every song from every record we've ever done. It changes every night."

"And we change our material constantly," adds Nielsen. "For example, the other day we played 'Melina,' a song I'd written that we hadn't done in a long time. Then we did one of our guitar player Mac Carter's new songs. Then we broke into a cover song in the middle of one of our songs, just for fun. We always play the songs that people have paid money to hear, but beyond that we mix it up."

"The other night in Asheville," Sullivan remembers, with a laugh, "somebody asked us to play a song we hadn't done together in ten years. So I told Kevn, 'Give the audience a disclaimer on this one' - but we nailed it, note for note. That excitement, right there, is where Drivin' n' Cryin' is right now."

As with all things related to d'n'c', this situation could change at any moment. In fact, the band has recently been revisiting tracks that they cut during sessions that began on September 12, 2001, which for reasons that may be obvious they've never released. Perhaps a "new" CD, then, is in the works - or, taking note of the nuance in punctuation, an actual new CD. Frankly, anything is possible.

And, of course, the guys have been pursuing their own goals too: Kinney has cut a string of releases under his own name, going back to his haunting acoustic debut MacDougal Blues in 1990 and up to his current European release, Comin' Round Again. Nielsen has played some reunion gigs with Kathleen Turner Overdrive and is mapping out projects with Matt Carter. And Sullivan has spent much of the past year doing computer animation for the upcoming feature Delgo, starring the voices of Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Eric Idle, Michael McDowell, and, in her final role, the late Anne Bancroft.

Always, though, the call of D & C brings them back together, just as it does those who have loved this band, whether for days or decades.

"Playing with these guys is like going to a high school reunion," Nielsen says, smiling. "We can talk about anything. We play what we want. I wouldn't want that to stop at all."

Roll on, d'n'c'. This trip is still just beginning.