By Dru Willis
Special to the Reporter-News
''Made up my mind to make a new start. Going to California with an
aching in my heart.''
- ''Going to California,'
Country-rock group Cross Canadian Ragweed went to California not in
search of a woman, but for some focus and direction for its next album.
''We wanted to get away from everything to where we were there for one
reason,'' drummer Randy Ragsdale said in a recent telephone interview.
''Kind of just far enough away where we couldn't be distracted.'
One of the stars of the Texas music scene, Cross Canadian Ragweed
(''Lonely Girl,'' ''Late Last Night'') performs in Abilene on Saturday
with Reckless Kelly (''Nobody's Girl'') and Ryan James (''Home to
Texas'') at the second annual Big Country Jam.
Ragweed hasn't had a major radio hit like Texas music artists such as
Jack Ingram or Pat Green. But its albums ''Soul Gravy'' and ''Garage''
have cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard magazine country music charts.
Each of Ragweed's five studio albums and three live albums have been
recorded in Oklahoma or Texas - relatively speaking, not far from
Stillwater, Okla., where the band formed, or Texas where several
members live.
But for the new album, tentatively titled ''Mission California,'
Ragweed spent 25 days in Mission Beach, Calilf.
It was a purely random choice, Ragsdale said.
''When you are only an hour away from home and you are trying to make
a record ... there is so much you could be missing out on. But if you
are a day full of plane flights away from home, you probably aren't
going to think about it so much,'' he said.
Fans do not need to fear that the sound of Ragweed will change,
although it will have a rock feel.
''Maybe a (Tom) Petty vibe or something like that,'' Ragsdale said.
The man who helps Ragweed find its signature musical tone is longtime
mentor/friend/
McClure, who plays in Abilene on April 27, seems to understand how
Ragweed works, Ragsdale said.
''If he is hearing something, he knows how to get it out of us. He is
really kind of coming into his own in the whole producing thing,'' he
said.
Most of the new album will be Ragweed originals - but it will lack a
love song for the first time in the band's recording career. Instead,
the songs will deal with subjects the band members have dealt with
since releasing ''Garage'' in 2006.
''It is a variety for sure. There are a lot of different types of
songs on there,'' Ragsdale said. ''It's almost like having two
separate records in one because the way we have the songs lined up
right now is that in the middle, it switches gears. You are just going
to have to hear it.''
No comments:
Post a Comment