Brandon Jenkins talks new album, Cross Canadian Ragweed Family Jam
From Wednesday Life section of The Oklahoman.
Brandon Jenkins rarely passes up a chance to make music with his fellows in the red dirt fraternity.
The singer/songwriter/guitarist will join Cross Canadian Ragweed, Stoney LaRue and Mike McClure on the bill of Saturday’s Sixth Annual Cross Canadian Ragweed Family Jam at the Zoo Amphitheatre.
On Oct. 13, he will release his new album, “Brothers of the Dirt,” featuring collaborations with Ragweed frontman Cody Canada, LaRue, McClure, Randy Rogers and Jason Boland.
“What we set out to do on this record was just try to include a lot of the red dirt guys, and not only the guys that I guess people know, like Randy and Stoney and Boland and all those guys, but we also tried to incorporate … a lot of the older guard Tulsa guys that really influenced me a lot, like Steve Pryor and Brad Absher and Ron Morgan,” Jenkins said over the phone while driving to a show in Manhattan, Kan.
Born and raised in Tulsa, Jenkins got involved in the red dirt scene when he moved to Stillwater to attend Oklahoma State University in the late ‘80s. He moved to Austin, Texas, in 2002 but remains part of the red dirt brotherhood.
“I’m always asked over the years what red dirt meant, and to me, that’s what red dirt was — probably more the social aspect than the actual music. Because there’s so many different styles of music from mine to Bob Childers to Red Dirt Rangers and Jimmy LaFave,” he said. “The music’s not really the bond; it’s the brotherhood of us all working for a common goal, which I always thought of as the red dirt scene.”
For “Brothers of the Dirt,” Jenkins brought his buddies to Yellow Dog Studios in Austin. Along with writing or co-writing all 12 tracks, Jenkins also produced the album, so he was able to pick songs that best fit his pals’ skills and styles. The album ranges from the politically charged opener “Blood for Oil” to the 9/11 tribute “Out of Babylon” to the worldly ballad “We Could Go to Paris.”
“(I wanted) to give us a reason to get together. You know, we’re all seeing each other, passing, doing these shows. We don’t get to hang out a lot, we always say, well, we need to do a project. So, I say, hell, I’m just gonna do it,” he said.
“It was just a real cool experience, and shoot, I’m almost thinking I might have to do another one of these days, maybe ‘Brothers of the Dirt, Vol. 2.’”
“Brothers of the Dirt” is his first record on E1 Entertainment/Red Dirt Music Co. He said the label was supportive and didn’t put any stressful time limits or expectations on him, though his request to add “Blood for Oil” was initially rejected.
“The record was pretty much done before I even recorded that song. I had written it and had called the label, and was like ‘Man, I just wrote this song, I really think it needs to be on the record.’ And they were like, ‘No, it’s done, it’s finished.’ So I went into the studio and paid for myself to record that song. And then once they heard it, they decided they wanted to put it on there.”
The song became the album’s first single, a scathing critique not only of George W. Bush and the Iraq War but also of the partisan politics that continue to benefit powerful corporations instead of common people.
“I’ve always kind of leaned toward the Democrat side, and I guess just recently I’ve had just more of the awakening that the whole left-right paradigm is just kind of gonna be the destruction of us all. Really, we’ve got to figure out that it isn’t left or right or blue or red or whatever, they’re trying to make money off both sides … they’re all working for the green.”
When it comes to Saturday’s Family Jam, Jenkins said his three-piece red dirt power trio will put on a show reminiscent of “ZZ Top meets a Gov’t Mule.”
“We’re gonna rock their faces off,” he said. “That’s what cool about that show: There is it’s not only the red dirt stuff … then you got Tesla and the Toadies. So it’s going to be an interesting mix.”
In concert
Sixth Annual Cross Canadian Ragweed Family Jam
Who: Cross Canadian Ragweed, Tesla, Toadies, Brandon Jenkins, Mike McClure, Stoney LaRue, Randy Rogers Band, Seth James, Stephanie Briggs.
When: 3 p.m. Saturday. Gates open at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Zoo Amphitheatre, 2101 NE 50.
Information: 364-3700 or www.zooamp.com.
-BAM
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