Casey Donahew Band

Casey Donahew was born in Burleson, Texas in 1977. He grew up being very active in the Texas rodeo scene, especially around Fort Worth. Even today he still loves riding and team roping. When it comes to music, if you have ever heard Casey perform then you might think it all comes naturally for him, but in fact it came to him very gradually.

Casey had his first guitar given to him by his grandpa at a fairly young age, but it wasn't until he went off to college that he really even focused on learning to play and songwriting. He was a big fan of 80's and 90's country music because of its storytelling and when a guy from Oklahoma by the name of Garth Brooks came onto the scene, Casey was enamored.

Transferring from Texas A&M to Arlington, Casey started to hit a lot of shows with his future wife Melinda. They would go see Randy Rogers Band, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and other up and coming acts along with another person who had a huge influence on Casey, which was Pat Green.

Getting the itch to play some of his own stuff, Casey started playing local bars like the Thirsty Armadillo in Ft. Worth, and then eventually he was selling out the bigger venues. Since then, the band has had four major albums with the latest one Double-Wide Dream going to #10 on US Country.

Now that I've given a little background on the band, I can proceed onto the reasons why I love them so much. I have only gotten the chance to see them play one time in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but that was enough. Hearing them on the radio or on a CD does them no justice until you have experienced one of their shows. Yes, the crowd was ridiculously rowdy and out of hand, but in spite of all the drunkenness around me, the amazing thing was that practically every single person there knew every song, word for word, line by line. They're just that good.

This band is crazy fun and every song is memorable in one way or another. Casey, like most songwriters, gets all of his lyrics from real life experience, the good bad and ugly, which is what makes it so relatable. One of my favorite quotes from Casey is: "Once you get your heart broken for the first time, you've got a lot to say, I guess."

I highly recommend anyone go see Casey Donahew Band perform somewhere, or if you've never heard of them to just check out some of their stuff. They're a lot of fun and I know you won't regret it. Even if it's not quite your style of music, you may just get a laugh or two out of some of their more comical songs.

For upcoming tour dates visit http://www.caseydonahewband.com/index.php?pg=calendar.

Randy Rogers Band

I am so excited to write this blog on one of my favorite bands, the Randy Rogers Band! I just hope I can do them justice because they are simply amazing.

First of all, Randy Rogers was raised in Cleburne, Texas. Music always being a big part of his life, his great grandma taught him how to play piano by the age of six and by eleven he was already writing his own songs and learning guitar.

After he was in a backing band for a while, Randy decided he would rather front his own group and so he formed a band with some of his friends from college. These really good friends would include Geoffrey Hill on guitar, Jon Richardson on bass, Brady Black on the fiddle, and Les Lawless playing the drums.


The band works hard touring and it definitely shows. They put on excellent shows night after night, building up their fan base everytime they perform. In 2007 alone, they grossed $2.5 million touring for the year even though they were still just becoming established. They were also ranked one of the Top Ten Must See Artists in the summer of that year by Rolling Stone magazine...oh yeah did I mention U2 and the Stones were on that list as well? If that doesn't explain how awesome these guys are, then just listen to any one of their songs. I dare you.


They, like most artists, take their real life experiences of heartache, pain, good times, or bad and turn them into an art. They are so authentic, talented, and fun I am positve that no one can recreate their sound. For example, in one of their latest songs, "Fuzzy," the band uses cooking utensils and wrenches to add a different texture to the sound.

Their creativity and original sound is what makes them great along with how they excel on stage. I got the chance to see them play at the Missouri State Fair this August and had the time of my life. I even ran into some of the guys from the band on the Midway afterwards which obviously made my night, and they were extremely friendly and down to earth guys who didn't mind talking to me at all. And while they are all very skilled I have to admit I am fascinated by Brady Black's talent on the fiddle. He is electric on stage and he definitely knows his stuff, I think he is seriously one to watch.

I highly recommend anyone go see them at least once, even if you aren't a fan of country music I think you would still enjoy listening to them and at least could appreciate their talent. For a complete list of tour dates you can visit http://www.randyrogersband.com/tour/.

Stoney LaRue

Stoney LaRue Phillips was born in Taft, Texas in 1979. He grew up in Oklahoma and I think it is safe to say he was probably always surrounded by music considering his dad played bass guitar. Mostly listening to country and southern rock all his life is what, in my opinion, shaped his unique style and sound.

As red dirt country started to gain popularity, mostly in Oklahoma and Texas, Stoney had moved to the college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma and began playing in honky-tonks and bars. Something most people don't know is that he became friends and roommates with other red dirt stars, Cody Canada of Cross Canadian Ragweed and Jason Boland of Jason Boland and the Stragglers. They lived in the infamous "Yellow House," where the three would play for various musicians from around town and have late night jam sessions.

In 2002, Stoney decided to form a band which was called Stoney LaRue and the Organic Boogie Band. They released the album Downtown, which became popular enough for him to live on the road playing hundreds of shows a year. After releasing his second album, The Red Dirt Album, his career really took off and people started to notice him for his songwriting talents as well.


Since then, Stoney has released four albums, but has spent most of his time on tour. His newest album, Velvet, seems to be a pretty big hit and even landed on the Billboard Country Albums Chart Top 20. Many of his fans see him as the guy who will be able to keep the tradition of red dirt bands alive, and he shows no sign of slowing down yet.

Stoney isn't the only talented one in his family, his brother, Bo Phillips, just released his own album Fishin' With Grandpa which includes the hit new single "Red Dirt Girl," that is definitely worth a listen.

For information on upcoming tour dates for Stoney LaRue, you can visit http://stoneylaruecom.dot5hosting.com/?page_id=5. Be sure and check him out when he comes to a town near you, I know I'll be there!

Blame it on Waylon

Waylon Albright “Shooter” Jennings was born on May 19, 1979, the only child of country music icons Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. Shooter spent his first few years of life in a crib on his parents’ tour bus always surrounded by the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson.

Growing up around so much talent and music must have left a big impression on Shooter because by the time he was 5 he could play drums, and by age 8 he was learning how to play piano. Around the age of 14 he sometimes even played percussion in his dad’s band. By high school, Shooter was performing in a band put together for a talent show, and in 1996 Waylon and Shooter created an album together though it was never released. Since then, Shooter has been associated with a punk rock band called Stargunn though he eventually left that group to figure out where he really wanted to be. He now works mainly on country, or alternative country, if you will. Some people might recognize him for playing the role of his father in the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.

So why am I giving you the rundown on Shooter Jennings you might ask? Well besides the fact that I love his style of music and basically everything he stands for, he is a very big name in outlaw country which is what this blog is about, after all. Shooter can be associated with red dirt country as well as southern, country, hard, and psychedelic rock. In my opinion, he pretty much does whatever he wants all the while remaining true to himself which I fully respect.  

Shooter has a unique style and sound that like most outlaw or red dirt country is highly underrated. What I admire so much about him though is that he refuses to go with the grain and do what is popular. He is more concerned about taking a stance and advancing his music rather than just going with the mainstream flow of things looking for fame and stardom.

                        

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on March 23, 2009 Shooter said, “I consider myself as much a rock ‘n roll artist as I do a country artist, in the sense that all that music is really not that different.” In that interview he goes on to talk about what a shame it is that that type of music is so often overlooked.

I myself got the chance to attend his concert two weeks ago where he played before Jamey Johnson http://www.jameyjohnson.com/. Those two are, in my eyes, two of the best songwriters of this generation. Not only are their voices and instrumentals great, but I found myself getting lost in their lyrics as they performed. After the show, I stuck around and had the opportunity to meet Shooter and ask him what he’s been up to lately in the red dirt scene. He told me that he’s actually been down in Austin, TX writing and spending a lot of time in the studio helping Jason Boland out as he works on a new album. Shooter seemed pretty excited about it and mentioned that a lot of it was kind of controversial, but still had a good classic country sound.


As for upcoming tour dates and new releases, “The Other Life” will be released January 29, 2013 on Black Country Rock/Entertainment One Records. His next big concert is this weekend where he will be playing in Reno, NV with Lynyrd Skynyrd on September 29, 2012. For a full list of upcoming tour dates you can visit http://www.blackcountryrock.org/shooterjennings/.

I really hope to see Shooter again soon and can’t wait to see what he has come up with on his new album. Meeting Shooter was so exciting for me because he seemed like such a laid back guy that could have shot the breeze with me all night long. I don’t know about you but I love meeting people like that; do any of you have memorable concert moments that you’d like to share?

References:

Bierly, M. (2009, March 23). PopWatch. Retrieved September 2012, 2012, from entertainmentweekly.com: http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/03/23/shooter-jenning/

CMT. (2009, October 18). Retrieved September 26, 2012, from http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/jennings__shooter/bio.jhtml

Shooter Jennings. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2012, from Black Country Rock: http://www.blackcountryrock.org/shooterjennings/

Red Dirt Background

The purpose of this blog is to give a little insight on a lesser known side of the music world known as Red Dirt country. Other closely related styles are Texas and Outlaw country, however, Red Dirt is a style of country all it's own. It is very different from the mainstream music coming out of Nashville that gets played on the radio fifteen times a day. Some say it's country with an attitude, others say it's a sound that closes the gap between rock and country. Outlaw country artists Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings are associated with this genre along with many other influential people.

Now that you know a little about the background I can tell you that in my future blogs I plan to talk about today's red dirt bands that keep this folk style alive. I will be featuring a different group in each post, whether they're brand new, up and comers, or pretty well known. Some of these artists will include The Turnpike Troubadours http://youtu.be/Fs-hY6PFJYo, Reckless Kelly http://youtu.be/R49zEpTtjAo, Cross Canadian Ragweed http://youtu.be/tgN1pwmuRyU, and Waylon's son, Shooter Jennings http://youtu.be/CJwCwGDqiWg. I'll keep you informed of upcoming concerts, how the tours are going, and even a little background on the bands each week.

Even if you aren't a huge fan of country music, hopefully I can open your eyes to a different style of music that plays by its own rules. Thanks so much for following my blog and be sure to keep up with me on twitter at @adnewlee. You can also feel free to join me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/449683798409271/