What to do in Oklahoma on March 23, 2012: Hear Cody Canada & The Departed, Shooter Jennings and Uncle Lucius at Cain’s Ballroom
Cody Canada & The Departed
Today’s featured event:
TULSA – Hear Oklahoma/Texas county-rockers Cody Canada & The Departed with Shooter Jennings and Uncle Lucius at 8 tonight at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main.
Doors open at 7 p.m. For more information, go to www.cainsballroom.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
BAM’s all-Oklahoma top 10 albums of 2011
A version of this column appears in Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
BAM’s top 10 albums of 2011
Column: Oklahoma recording artists from across the musical spectrum made beautiful music and reached impressive milestones in the year just past.
For fans of Oklahoma music, it’s hard to imagine a more exciting year than 2011.
Tulsa Sound pioneer Leon Russell finally made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then the Songwriters Hall of Fame for good measure, Owasso-based country star Garth Brooks joined Uncle Leon in the songwriters’ club, and Chockie ranch girl Reba McEntire and Pauls Valley native Jean Shepard were ushered into country’s hallowed hall.
Tishomingo denizens Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert squeezed in their wedding between his reality TV breakout on NBC’s “The Voice” and the release of his latest LP and her launch of side project Pistol Annies and work on not one but two albums. On the red dirt scene, Cody Canada & The Departed arrived to soothe those saddened by the breakup of Cross Canadian Ragweed, while The Great Divide reunited after more than eight years after the original lineup split.
Maud native and rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson teamed with White Stripe Jack White to make a barn burner of a comeback record, former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn made his solo debut after two decades with country duo Brooks & Dunn, and teenage Internet sensation Greyson Chance of Edmond and country duo Thompson Square, featuring Miami, OK, native Keifer Thompson, released splashy debut albums.
Oklahoma City-based rock ’n’ roll mad scientists the Flaming Lips experimented the year away, recording six- and 24-hour-long songs; releasing music on USB drives encased in gummy fetuses, $5,000 real human skulls and strobe-light gizmos; and finally inviting Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon to ring in 2012 at their fifth annual New Year’s Eve Freakout.
With all those milestones, the decision to make my top 10 albums list of 2011 an all-Okie affair was easy. Figuring out who would make the final cut, now that was hard.
1. Miranda Lambert “Four the Record” (RCA Nashville) and Pistol Annies “Hell on Heels” (Columbia Nashville)
The Texas native not only fired off a fourth solo album even better than its Grammy-winning, game-changing predecessor (2009’s “Revolution”) but also lit the fuse on a doozy of a side project with her all-girl trio Pistol Annies. Between the two albums, she wrote or co-wrote 14 songs and cut a total of two-dozen, matching her impressive output with prodigious quality.
On “Four the Record,” she confidently covers a wide range of topics, emotions and musical styles, from the blazing bad-girl anthem “Fastest Girl in Town” and the galloping breakup freakout “Mama’s Broken Heart” to the affectionate celebration of diversity “All Kinds of Kinds” to the gorgeous ode to her adopted home state “Oklahoma Sky.”
With their first effort as the Pistol Annies, Lambert and fellow singer-songwriters Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley ignited the country charts with their old-school sound, sharp songsmithing and take-no-prisoners attitude. They’re pretty, they’re smart, and they’re going to say and do whatever they want. And they’re coming for you.
2. Cody Canada & The Departed “This Is Indian Land” (Underground Sound/Apex Nashville)
I can’t think of a better entrance for a new band so rooted in Oklahoma’s red dirt scene than this homage to the state’s songwriting greats. The Departed — former Cross Canadian Ragweed singer/songwriter/guitarist Canada, ex-Ragweed bassist/singer Jeremy Plato, Texas guitarist Seth James, Tulsa keyboardist/organist Steve Littleton and Yukon drummer David Bowen — tunefully pay tribute to the finely crafted story-songs of Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, Greg Jacobs and more with a debut that leaves you eager for more.
3. Wanda Jackson “The Party Ain’t Over (Nonesuch/ Third Man Records)
As he did with Loretta Lynn on her 2004 album, “Van Lear Rose,” producer/guitarist Jack White — the rocker best known for fronting The White Stripes — again demonstrates his masterful knack for celebrating a veteran performer’s storied past while still pushing her out of her comfort zone. This “Party” celebrates Jackson’s rock ’n’ roll trailblazing with smoking covers of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ “Shakin’ All Over” and Bob Dylan’s “Thunder on the Mountain” and recalls her country and gospel days with a funked-up version of “Dust on the Bible” and a stripped-down rendition of Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #6.” At 74, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is still “the sweet lady with the nasty voice.”
4. The Damn Quails “Down the Hatch” (598 Recordings)
After just two years of making music as a duo, Norman-based singer-songwriters Bryon White and Gabriel Marshall earned national and international acclaim with their debut album, which features a rootsy sound both distinctly Oklahoman and uniquely their own. As each of the 14 earthy tracks comes “Down the Hatch,” it becomes increasingly clear the fertile Oklahoma music scene has nurtured a pair of exceptionally talented country-folk performers. Get the binoculars; you’re going to want to watch these birds.
5. Broncho “Can’t Get Past the Lips” (self released)
Here’s what I love about Oklahoma music: It turns out The Damn Quails weren’t the only Norman-based upstarts who released a standout debut record in the year just past. Broncho, the side project for Starlight Mints keyboardist Ryan Lindsey, forcefully declared that punk was not dead with its brawny, frenetic “Can’t Get Past the Lips.” As a bonus, the manic standout track “Try Me Out Sometime” deservedly made NPR’s list of five garage rock favorites from 2011.
6. Stoney LaRue “Velvet” (B Side Music Group)
Warm, smooth and surprisingly mellow, the red dirt star’s long-awaited second studio album fulfilled the promise of its luxurious title. The follow-up to “The Red Dirt Album,” the Edmond resident’s 2005 debut studio effort, “Velvet” was more than worth the wait, showcasing a more mature, finely crafted sound that maintains its rootsy authenticity.
7. Other Lives “Tamer Animals” (TBD Records)
After 14 months of painstakingly sculpting their sophomore album in their Stillwater studio space, the orchestral pop-rockers were richly rewarded for the elegantly lovely fruits of their labor: The band toured with Bon Iver in 2011, and they are joining none other than Radiohead on the road in February. Catch them in concert Jan. 26 at Tulsa’s Fassler Hall or Jan. 27 at Oklahoma City’s Blue Note Lounge because we will soon be forced to love Other Lives and their evocative music from afar.
8. Colourmusic “My __ is Pink” (Memphis Industries)
Like Other Lives, experimental rock quartet Colourmusic spent months in its Stillwater recording lab conjuring up its second album. With “Pink,” the neo-psychedelic wizards tried out a distinctively different sonic formula from their fantastic 2008 debut “F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13.” Although their sophomore effort featured a much tougher and more aggressive sound, it maintained those beautifully mesmerizing melodies. I still get goose bumps on my goose bumps hearing their 10-minute epic “The Little Death (In Five Parts).”
9. Vince Gill “Guitar Slinger” (MCA Nashville)
The Country Music Hall of Famer was never going to match the scope and audacity of his four-disc, 43-track box set “These Days,” which won the 2006 Grammy for best country album and earned an overall album of the year nomination. But the Norman-born, Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/guitarist didn’t disappoint with his 12-track follow-up, which channeled Motown with “Tell Me Fool,” memorialized Billie Holiday on “When the Lady Sings the Blues” and passionately pondered life and mortality on the Grammy-nominated first single “Threaten Me With Heaven.”
10. St. Vincent “Strange Mercy” (4AD)
The Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/guitarist also known as Annie Clark continues to make music reminiscent of a diamond-bladed scalpel: The otherworldly vocals and lush melodies possess a delicate beauty, but St. Vincent’s pointed lyrics and finely honed guitar hooks will cut you open as ruthlessly as the “Surgeon” she pleads with on her third album.
-BAM
OklahomaRock.com continues top 100 Oklahoma country songs countdown; BAM’s Blog reveals its top 10
Stoney LaRue
A version of this column appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. To see Nos. 21-11 on my list of top 21 Oklahoma country songs, click here.
OklahomaRock.com counts down the top 100 country songs with state ties
BAM column: Website is revealing the list throughout the month of August.
From mainstream mega-stars and red dirt rebels to singing cowboys and sharp-penned songwriters, Oklahoma has birthed, bred or nurtured numerous influential country music makers.
Throughout August, OklahomaRock.com is counting down the top 100 songs from our fair state’s many and varied country artists.
“Hopefully, it’ll open up some people’s eyes to how rich our musical history is. People know about Reba and Vince and Garth, but they don’t necessarily know about some of the ‘smaller’ artists or ones that have been forgotten about,” said Ryan LaCroix, intrepid founder/owner/editor of OklahomaRock.com, who is releasing the top 100 countdown in conjunction with state magazine Oklahoma Today’s September/October issue, which will focus on country music.
“It’s more or less a showcase, and that’s kind of what OklahomaRock does. We try to showcase more of the up-and-coming artists, but we try to just keep a pulse of what’s going on in Oklahoma and with Oklahoma artists. And this will be a little bit of what’s going on now and a lot of what has gone on in the past that people might not know about,”
To compile the list, LaCroix consulted with state experts such as disc jockeys, musicians and journalists, including yours truly; polled the public on Twitter and Facebook; and consulted chart rankings and non-Oklahoma-specific greatest country songs lists.
At LaCroix’s request, I developed a list of my 21 favorite Oklahoma country songs. Last week, I unveiled Nos. 11 to 21, and here is my top 10:
Toby Keith (AP file)
10. “How Do You Like Me Now?!” recorded by Toby Keith, written by Keith and Chuck Cannon.
Be honest, we’ve all wanted to smugly crow this question to at least one person who gave us short shrift, and Keith’s bravado and brashness are perfectly suited for such vicarious vengeance.
9. “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On,” recorded by Mel McDaniel, written by Bob McDill.
Heaven help us, but this catchy number gets stuck between your ears tighter than those blue jeans. Nah, it can’t help it.
8. “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” written and recorded by Vince Gill (with Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless).
It’s hard to overstate Gill’s talents as a songwriter, singer and musician, and he’s certainly crafted a bumper crop of great songs. But this majestic ode to a lost loved one soars high above the rest.
7. “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma,” written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard; recorded by David Frizzell and Shelly West; covered by Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.
This ballad from the 1981 movie “Any Which Way You Can” is quite possibly the best country song with an Oklahoma reference in the title. which is saying something if you really think about it. When the future Mr. and Mrs. Shelton performed it on a TV special, their chemistry was apparent, and they gave the original version a run for its money.
6. “Skyline Radio,” recorded Cody Canada & The Departed, written by Tom Skinner.
Since I so dig the red dirt, I couldn’t imagine this list without a contribution from Cross Canadian Ragweed or new iteration The Departed, and I considered Ragweed favorites like “Alabama” and “Sick and Tired.” But This track from The Departed’s Oklahoma songwriters tribute “This Is Indian Land” gives you the fine songwriting of Skinner with the appealing vocals of Canada. Just try not to smile when you hear it.
5. “Kerosene,” recorded by Miranda Lambert, written by Lambert and Steve Earle.
Miranda Lambert (AP file)
We learned later on that she was made of “Gunpowder & Lead” and got to hear her softer side while touring “The House That Built Me,” but this scorching revenge yarn established the future Tishomingo resident as country music hottest firebrand.
4. “If You See Me Getting Smaller,” written by Jimmy Webb, recorded by Waylon Jennings, also recorded by Webb with Willie Nelson.
Elk City native Webb wrote a slew of great country hits in the 1960s and ’70s, but “If You See Me Getting Smaller” remains my favorite. I used to think it was because I prefer the vocal stylings of Jennings to those of Glen Campbell, who cut Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston.” But when I heard Webb’s 2010 retrospective album “Just Across the River,” I still preferred “If You See Me Getting Smaller.” to the others. The wistful song just speaks to me.
3. “Fancy,” recorded by Reba McEntire, written and originally recorded by Bobbie Gentry.
There’s a reason that Reba has used this song as the encore for her shows for years. This Southern gothic tale of a white-trash girl determined to become a lady by any means necessary crackles with power, especially with the Chockie-bred belter’s mighty drawl behind it. Dress Reba in a floor-length spangled red gown and play the memorable video, and it’s an epic encore.
2. “Friends in Low Places,” recorded by Garth Brooks, written by DeWayne Blackwell and Earl Bud Lee. (with a third verse penned by Brooks).
Not only is “Friends in Low Places” one of the biggest country songs ever by THE biggest country artist ever, it’s one of the songs that brought me back to country music in the 1990s
1. “Oklahoma Breakdown,” recorded by Stoney LaRue, written by Mike Hosty.
I’m a red dirt girl at heart, and this foot-stomping tribute to making romance country-style never fails to make me smile. I could listen to it all day; truth be told, I probably have put it on a daylong loop at least once or twice.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Cody Canada & The Departed’s “Ballad of Rosalie” tops Texas Music Chart
Red dirt rockers Cody Canada & The Departed have topped the Texas Music Charts with “The Ballad of Rosalie,” the lead-off single from the their debut album, “This Is Indian Land.”
After Oklahoma-rooted red dirt band Cross Canadian Ragweed announced last year an indefinite hiatus, singer/songwriter/guitarist Canada and singer/bassist Jeremy Plato formed The Departed with Texas guitarist Seth James, Tulsa keyboardist Steve Littleton and Yukon drummer David Bowen. For their first project, their frontman proposed they showcase their Oklahoma music heroes.
“This Is Indian Land” is an 18-track salute to top Sooner State songwriters, from Leon Russell and J.J. Cale to the Red Dirt Rangers and Tom Skinner. “The Ballad of Rosalie” was written by Randy Pease.
Click here to read my recent interview with Canada.
In addition, my fine colleague Jennifer Palmer recently interviewed guitarist Grady Cross about his post-Ragweed venture, Grady’s 66 Pub in Yukon. Cross bought and opened the pub in the former 50 Yard Line Club downtown on Route 66, the bar that was the very first venue Cross Canadian Ragweed performed in 1991.
Click here to read Jennifer’s interview with Grady.
-BAM
CD review: Cody Canada & The Departed “This Is Indian Land”
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. To read my recent interview with Cody Canada, click here.
Country
Cody Canada & The Departed “This Is Indian Land” (Underground Sound/Apex Nashville)
Cody Canada & The Departed dig deep into Oklahoma’s fertile musical soil and unearth an diverse collection of gems on their debut album “This Is Indian Land,” due out Tuesday.
The newly formed red dirt quintet — former Cross Canadian Ragweed singer/songwriter/guitarist Canada, ex-Ragweed bassist/singer Jeremy Plato, Texas guitarist Seth James, Tulsa keyboardist/organist Steve Littleton and Yukon drummer David Bowen — shines a bright spotlight on the Oklahoma songwriters who influenced them with the 15-song collection.
For Ragweed fans, “This Is Indian Land” sonically represents both a familiar homecoming and a visit to a strange but appealing alien planet. While Canada’s distinctive drawl is still the voice of the band, Littleton’s skillful mastery of the keys and James’ smooth but aggressive guitar work quickly emerge as driving forces.
Like Ragweed, The Departed is clearly rooted in the red dirt sound, but the new band is far more willing and able to stretch the boundaries of the eclectic sub-genre. The album opens with an enigmatic sing-songy voicemail from songsmith Randy Crouch, an appropriately trippy preface to his otherworldy rocker “Face on Mars.” It closes with Medicine Show’s sprawling psychedelic rock anthem “Hold on Christian.”
In between, Canada and Co. delve into the folksy side of red dirt with Bob Childers and Brad James’ “Make Yourself Home” and Greg Jacobs’ “A Little Rain Will Do,” get funky with Kevin Welch and Gary Scruggs’ “True Love Never Dies,” and tell a country-rock tale of lost love on Randy Pease’s “Ballad of Rosalie.” The band respectfully and firmly puts its own stamp on the fabled Tulsa Sound with its covers of J.J. Cale’s “If You’re Ever in Oklahoma” and Leon Russell’s “Home Sweet Oklahoma.”
Well-crafted story songs like Tom Skinner’s “Skyline Radio,” the Red Dirt Rangers’ “Starin’ Down the Sun” and joint effort “Years in the Making” showcase not only the skill of their Sooner State writers but also of Cody Canada & The Departed, who hopefully won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
— BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Behind the scenes of Cody Canada & The Departed’s “This Is Indian Land”
Red dirt rockers Cody Canada & The Departed take fans behind the scenes of the making of their debut album, “This Is Indian Land,” in this mini-documentary.
Released Tuesday, the pays tribute to some of Oklahoma’s great songwriters. The video includes snippets of the band performing Leon Russell’s “Home Sweet Oklahoma,” the Red Dirt Rangers “Starin’ Down the Sun,” Tom Skinner’s “Water Your Own Yard” and Randy Pease’s “Ballad of Rosalie.”
As listed in today’s “What to do in Oklahoma” here on BAM’s Blog, The Departed are celebrating the release of the new album tonight with a concert at historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa.
They will play another CD release show Thursday night at Oklahoma City’s Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan. Doors open at 6 p.m. Information: 601-6276 or www.wormydog.com.
To read my recent interview with frontman Cody Canada, click here. And look for my review of “This Is Indian Land” in the coming days.
-BAM
New releases for June 21, 2011: Cody Canada & The Departed pay tribute to Oklahoma songwriters with “This Is Indian Land”
Red dirt rockers Cody Canada & The Departed released their debut album “This Is Indian Land,” today on Apex Music/Underground Sound.
The band, which features former Cross Canadian Ragweed frontman Cody Canada and bassist Jeremy Plato, pays tribute to great Oklahoma songwriters like the Red Dirt Rangers, Bob Childers, Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, Kevin Welch, Tom Skinner and more on the album.
The Departed will celebrate and perform with many of the songwriters featured on the album at a semi-private show Tuesday night at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. The Departed then will play public CD release concerts Wednesday at Cain’s and Thursday at Oklahoma City’s Wormy Dog Saloon.
To read my recent interview with Canada, click here. And look for my review of “This Is Indian Land” in the coming days.
Also in music, country band Rascal Flatts, which features Picher-bred guitarist Joe Don Rooney, is featured on “Love Is Everything,” one of the tracks on Michael Bolton’s “Gems: The Duets Collection.”
CDs
Cody Canada & The Departed, “This Is Indian Land.”
Bon Iver, “Bon Iver.”
Jill Scott, “The Light Of The Sun.”
Weird Al Yankovic, “Alpocalypse.”
Justin Moore, “Outlaws Like Me.”
Symphony X, “Iconoclast.”
Michael Bolton, “Gems: The Duets Collection.”
Matt Nathanson, “Modern Love.”
DVDs
The Adjustment Bureau
Bending all the Rules
Big Time Rush: Season One, Volume Two
Cedar Rapids
The Closer: The Complete Sixth Season
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
The Eagle
Elektra Luxx
HappyThankYouMorePlease
Harvest
Medium: The Final Season
Unknown
Books
Smokin’ Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich
Warren Buffett Invests Like a Girl: And Why You Should, Too (Motley Fool)
Learning (Bailey Flanigan Series) by Karen Kingsbury
The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out TP by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard
The Devil Colony: A Sigma Force Novel by James Rollins
-BAM
Video: Cody Canada & The Departed’s “Staring Down the Sun”
Red dirt rockers Cody Canada & The Departed premiered the music video for “Staring Down the Sun” today on CMT.com.
The song is featured on the band’s debut album “This Is Indian Land,” coming out Tuesday on Apex Music/Underground Sound.
The band, which features former Cross Canadian Ragweed frontman Cody Canada and bassist Jeremy Plato, pays tribute to great Oklahoma songwriters like the Red Dirt Rangers, Bob Childers, Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, Kevin Welch, Tom Skinner and more on the album.
The Departed will celebrate and perform with many of the songwriters featured on the album at a semi-private show Tuesday night at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. The Departed then will play public CD release concerts Wednesday at Cain’s and Thursday at Oklahoma City’s Wormy Dog Saloon.
To read my recent interview with Canada, click here.
Look for my review of “This Is Indian Land” in the coming days.
-BAM
Cody Canada & The Departed digging into red dirt roots with debut album, “This Is Indian Land”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. See the full list of Oklahoma songwriters featured on “This Is Indian Land” after the break.
Cody Canada & The Departed dig into musical roots with debut album
The red dirt band, which formed last year after the dissolution of Cross Canadian Ragweed, releases “This Is Indian Land” Tuesday.
Cody Canada & The Departed are digging into their Oklahoma music roots with their debut album.
Formed last year after the disbanding of red dirt stars Cross Canadian Ragweed, the Oklahoma-Texas quintet is releasing Tuesday “This Is Indian Land,” an 18-track salute to the Sooner State songwriters, from Leon Russell and J.J. Cale to the Red Dirt Rangers and Tom Skinner.
“About eight years, Jeremy (Plato) and I have been talking about it. Finally made it happen.” said Canada, who grew up in Yukon and Stillwater and now makes his home in New Braunfels, Texas.
“These are the tunes that we wanted people to hear since the get-go. These are the songs that taught us how to do it, and we finally got ‘em nailed down. Jeremy’s singing and I’m singing and we’re sharing the dirt with people.”
After Ragweed announced last year an indefinite hiatus, singer/songwriter/guitarist Canada and singer/bassist Jeremy Plato formed The Departed with Texas guitarist Seth James, Tulsa keyboardist Steve Littleton and Yukon drummer David Bowen. For their first project, their frontman proposed they showcase their Oklahoma music heroes.
In particular, Canada wanted to pay homage to the musical community that gathered at The Farm, a rural homestead outside Stillwater that is recognized as the birthplace of red dirt music. When he moved to Stillwater at age 16, the songwriters he met there nurtured his musical aspirations.
“I met all these people and it really gave me direction. And it really made me figure out who I was and what I wanted to do with my life and music,” he said.
The Departed will celebrate and perform with many of the songwriters featured on the album at a semi-private show Tuesday night at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. The Departed then will play public CD release concerts Wednesday at Cain’s and Thursday at Oklahoma City’s Wormy Dog Saloon.
Canada and his bandmates knew they were tilling fertile musical soil with the concept, but even he seemed surprised at how quickly they gathered too many ideas.
“There was about five of ‘em that we’d been thinking about for a long time. But once we got started, man, we had to just shut it down. I mean, we had about 20 songs picked, so we had to shave it off, man, because we didn’t have that much time for the studio,” he said in a phone interview last week from the road in Abilene, Texas.
Rather than choosing one of Cale’s well-known hits like “After Midnight” or “Cocaine,” the band picked “If You’re Ever in Oklahoma.” It seemed a perfect complement“Home Sweet Oklahoma” by Russell, a newly inducted member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“We listen to that song every night, Jeremy and I — not our version, but his (Russell’s) version, or Skinner’s version, he had one a few years back — and You can’t really do a tribute record to Oklahoma songwriters without including those two guys,” Canada said.
The album’s lead single, “The Ballad of Rosalie,” is the first song Canada can recall hearing out at The Farm. He vividly remembers Skinner playing Randy Pease’s yarn about love, lust and touring in the Gypsy Cafe, the shack where much of the jamming took place.
“I just fell in love with it,” he said. “When we went in to practice for the first time, that was the first tune we fired up, the first song The Departed ever played.”
“Twenty years from now when we’re still rocking on the road, we’ll still be playing that song. Songs come and go in set lists, I learned that with Ragweed,” he added, “but I think ‘Rosalie’s’ gonna be one of those ones that are always there.”
Along with Skinner’s “Water Your Own Yard” and “Skyline Radio,” Canada and his cohorts picked several songs from red dirt mainstays, including the late Bob Childers’ “Make Yourself Home,” Red Dirt Rangers’ “Starin’ Down the Sun” and Greg Jacobs’ “A Little Rain Will Do.” Kevin Welch sings along on his “Kickin’ Back in Amsterdam, and the album includes phone calls from Skinner, Ranger John Cooper and Randy Crouch, an idea that developed as the band struggled to adapt Crouch’s “Face on Mars.”
Entering another orbit to translate Crouch’s spacey rocker from an old acoustic recording was the most challenging task on the project, Canada said.
“We couldn’t figure out what key it was in, and it was driving us crazy. We’d sit on the back of the bus and try to figure it out. We took it into the studio and turned it up on loud speakers. We put it in front of a tuner,” Canada said. “Then we realized that Randy had tuned his guitar to his fiddle and then he sped up the tape to make the song a little faster. So the key didn’t even exist. We messed with it and messed with it.”
When the frontman struggled to decipher one line of the song, he tried desperately for two or three months to contact the songsmith. One day while the band was in the studio with their cell phones off, Crouch left an enigmatic voicemail singing the baffling line. When he heard it, Canada knew the message had to be shared with their fans.
After all, sharing the band’s love for Oklahoma music is really the goal.
“That’s what I’ve always wanted to do with this project, “From the time I thought about doing it years ago, almost 10 years ago, I just wanted people to know where we come from,” Canada said.
“It was like a real selfless thing. From California to Florida, all the places that we’ve played, I’ve sat around talking to people about ‘Oh, you gotta hear this guy Tom Skinner or if you like this tune or you like this band, you’ll love Bob Childers’ … and now it feels like we finally get a chance to let people know who these people are.
“And hopefully they’ll get this record and they’ll dig into a Tom Skinner song and then they’ll search the Internet and try to find a Tom Skinner record. That’s the whole point of it.”
In concert
Cody Canada & The Departed album release shows
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Where: Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main, Tulsa.
Information: (918) 584-2306 or www.cainsballroom.com.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Where: Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan.
Information: 601-6276 or www.wormydog.com.
Video: Red Bull Roots mini-documentary captures spirit of the red dirt music scene in Stillwater
Last month, a few dozen red dirt songwriter/performers converged in Stillwater for the filming of a mini-documentary about red dirt music, the uniquely Oklahoma genre that mixes rock, country, folk and more. The reunion, dubbed the Red Bull Gypsy Cafe, started out one evening at The Farm, the old homestead on the outskirts of town that is recognized as the birthplace of red dirt.
The day after the private story-swapping and jam session, the musicians played as duos at a public music festival at four Stillwater venues, where more filming took place.
Featuring founders, mainstays and newcomers to the red dirt scene, the nearly 4-minute final video recently was posted online at www.redbullusa.com.
Red dirt is the first genre chronicled for a new online docu-series called Red Bull Roots. The series will travel to various parts of the country exploring the origins of different genres of regional music, with mini-documentaries for each one eventually being collected on a dedicated website.
I was privileged to be invited to attend the reunion down on The Farm and watch the filming; to read my story, click here.
-BAM
