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Red Dirt Thread of Dominance


Fondren & Main

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1 hour ago, Kennythetiger said:

I thought this is what the Jason Isbell and Sturgill thread was for...  

They don't live in mobile homes any more. Mike Ryan does. Might be a good thread for "up and comers" who have never made it yet. They still play local bars, live in their cars, or with their parents, always trying to catch a break. They have regular 8-5 jobs. Like good ol' Erick Willis:

CHIEF

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Yeah, when you're playing The Iron Horse Pub in Wichita Falls on Christmas night, you haven't made it. There is a treasure trove of good musicians and songwriters that have struggled for years, they can get lost in the Isabell/Sturgill thread, or you have to scroll through a lot to find them. 

CHIEF

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8 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

Yeah, when you're playing The Iron Horse Pub in Wichita Falls on Christmas night, you haven't made it. There is a treasure trove of good musicians and songwriters that have struggled for years, they can get lost in the Isabell/Sturgill thread, or you have to scroll through a lot to find them. 

CHIEF

Ha.  Even when someone in that town talks a great act into coming...no one shows up.   What a musical shithole.  

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25 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

They don't live in mobile homes any more. Mike Ryan does. Might be a good thread for "up and comers" who have never made it yet. They still play local bars, live in their cars, or with their parents, always trying to catch a break. They have regular 8-5 jobs. Like good ol' Erick Willis:

CHIEF

I'm guessing Koe Wetzel doesn't live in a trailer.  And if he does, it's just to play up the image.


That said, I dig the spirt of the thread and hope to find some new shit in here.

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There is room for this thread as Chief explains.

Check these guys out:

Charley Crockett
Tyler Childers (maybe he’s made it out of the hood now but I’m not sure)
Kody West
Sam Riggs
Randall King (sounds more like traditional 90s country but still good)
Mike and the Moonpies
Nikki Lane (similar to Margo Price but she hasn’t made it yet)
The Damn Quails (been around a long time)

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4 minutes ago, Whatever said:

There is room for this thread as Chief explains.

Check these guys out:

Charley Crockett
Tyler Childers (maybe he’s made it out of the hood now but I’m not sure)
Kody West
Sam Riggs
Randall King (sounds more like traditional 90s country but still good)
Mike and the Moonpies
Nikki Lane (similar to Margo Price but she hasn’t made it yet)
The Damn Quails (been around a long time)

Childers has made it for sure.

Mike and The Moonpies have become a favorite of mine the past couple of years.  I like pretty much everything they've done.  Nikki Lane is a bad ass.  Charley Crockett is an incredible live musician who's become a damn fine songwriter as well.

I don't know that I like the Red Dirt label a ton.  It implies that Casey Donahew or Koe Wetzel are the same as Turnpike Troubadours and John Fullbright.

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10 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I'm guessing Koe Wetzel doesn't live in a trailer.  And if he does, it's just to play up the image.


That said, I dig the spirt of the thread and hope to find some new shit in here.

That would be correct. He is living in a $750k ranch house on about 100 acres. The owners are going through a divorce, I know the husband, he doesn't give two fucks if they tear it to pieces. Just less for the wife to get/keep.

CHIEF

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22 minutes ago, Whatever said:

There is room for this thread as Chief explains.

Check these guys out:

Charley Crockett
Tyler Childers (maybe he’s made it out of the hood now but I’m not sure)
Kody West
Sam Riggs
Randall King (sounds more like traditional 90s country but still good)
Mike and the Moonpies
Nikki Lane (similar to Margo Price but she hasn’t made it yet)
The Damn Quails (been around a long time)

Great song, they haven't had any hits since:

CHIEF

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Childers has made it for sure.
Mike and The Moonpies have become a favorite of mine the past couple of years.  I like pretty much everything they've done.  Nikki Lane is a bad ass.  Charley Crockett is an incredible live musician who's become a damn fine songwriter as well.
I don't know that I like the Red Dirt label a ton.  It implies that Casey Donahew or Koe Wetzel are the same as Turnpike Troubadours and John Fullbright.

Agree on Mike and the Moonpies. “Steak Night at the Prairie Rose” is a great song and album.

Also agree on the Red Dirt label. I feel these days it encompasses many other genres including whatever you want to classify Isbell and Sturgill in. My theory is that all of these fantastic acts don’t have a radio platform and Red Dirt Radio plays them so that’s their only exposure. Therefore the RD label.

Casey Donahew sings bro country but isn’t good enough to play in Nashville so RDR plays him because he’s from Ft Worth, which happens in o be where one of the most influential RD radio stations is based (95.9 The Ranch). He’s not my cup of tea but I don’t blame him for trying to make money.

Koe is one of my favorites despite the assholeness he exudes.

John Fullbright is great and his line about Northern Oklahoma might as well be Kansas makes me laugh.

You and I have discussed TPT on here and I think we know where we stand on them.
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Dalton Domino, great songwriter, writes from his emotional scars. He drove an old Suburban I had to AA meetings in Lipan, Texas for a couple of months. He cleaned himself up and wrote a couple of great albums.

He doesn't even have a live version of one of his best songs on YouTube:

CHIEF

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9 hours ago, CHIEF said:

Dalton Domino, great songwriter, writes from his emotional scars. He drove an old Suburban I had to AA meetings in Lipan, Texas for a couple of months. He cleaned himself up and wrote a couple of great albums.

He doesn't even have a live version of one of his best songs on YouTube:

CHIEF

Saw him open for Turnpike Troubadours.  Liked his stuff that night. 

 

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10 hours ago, Whatever said:


Agree on Mike and the Moonpies. “Steak Night at the Prairie Rose” is a great song and album.

Also agree on the Red Dirt label. I feel these days it encompasses many other genres including whatever you want to classify Isbell and Sturgill in. My theory is that all of these fantastic acts don’t have a radio platform and Red Dirt Radio plays them so that’s their only exposure. Therefore the RD label.

Casey Donahew sings bro country but isn’t good enough to play in Nashville so RDR plays him because he’s from Ft Worth, which happens in o be where one of the most influential RD radio stations is based (95.9 The Ranch). He’s not my cup of tea but I don’t blame him for trying to make money.

Koe is one of my favorites despite the assholeness he exudes.

John Fullbright is great and his line about Northern Oklahoma might as well be Kansas makes me laugh.

You and I have discussed TPT on here and I think we know where we stand on them.

I like a few Koe Wetzel songs, but he strikes as more of a douche bag than an asshole.  The thing I can't figure out with Koe Wetzel is whether or not it's a self aware parody, and therefore hilarious, or if he's sincere, and it's therefore unintentionally hilarious.  The songs where it sounds like Van Halen meets country I dig.  The ones that sound like Nickleback meets country - nah.

Spot on analysis RE Casey Donahew.  There are a few other of the Red Dirt crowd that always struck me as similar.  Playing music that's good enough background at a bar, but doesn't really hold up.

I love that line from Fullbright as well - it's dead on.  I'm not sure why I need to avoid Southern Oklahoma at night, but Durant seems like a dump.

And yeah, I've been pretty unequivocal that I think Turnpike (and especially Felker as a songwriter) are the best musicians born in the 80's, regardless of genre.

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On 11/24/2020 at 2:05 PM, CHIEF said:

Yeah, when you're playing The Iron Horse Pub in Wichita Falls on Christmas night, you haven't made it. There is a treasure trove of good musicians and songwriters that have struggled for years, they can get lost in the Isabell/Sturgill thread, or you have to scroll through a lot to find them. 

CHIEF

 

On 11/24/2020 at 2:19 PM, hullabelew said:

Ha.  Even when someone in that town talks a great act into coming...no one shows up.   What a musical shithole.  

Sigh. It’s true. 

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Agree on Mike and the Moonpies. “Steak Night at the Prairie Rose” is a great song and album.

Also agree on the Red Dirt label. I feel these days it encompasses many other genres including whatever you want to classify Isbell and Sturgill in. My theory is that all of these fantastic acts don’t have a radio platform and Red Dirt Radio plays them so that’s their only exposure. Therefore the RD label.

Casey Donahew sings bro country but isn’t good enough to play in Nashville so RDR plays him because he’s from Ft Worth, which happens in o be where one of the most influential RD radio stations is based (95.9 The Ranch). He’s not my cup of tea but I don’t blame him for trying to make money.

Koe is one of my favorites despite the assholeness he exudes.

John Fullbright is great and his line about Northern Oklahoma might as well be Kansas makes me laugh.

You and I have discussed TPT on here and I think we know where we stand on them.

At the risk of proving everyones suspicions of my dumbassery, what is Red Dirt Radio?
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At the risk of proving everyones suspicions of my dumbassery, what is Red Dirt Radio?

95.9 The Ranch from Ft. Worth pretty much sums it up. You won’t hear Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean or 99% of what most people think of as “country” artists.

It’s acts like Turnpike Troubadours, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers, Jason Boland, Stoney Larue, etc with some 70s, 80s and 90s local acts sprinkled in. You’ll hear Jerry Jeff Walker, but no Garth Brooks.
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4 hours ago, Whatever said:


95.9 The Ranch from Ft. Worth pretty much sums it up. You won’t hear Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean or 99% of what most people think of as “country” artists.

It’s acts like Turnpike Troubadours, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers, Jason Boland, Stoney Larue, etc with some 70s, 80s and 90s local acts sprinkled in. You’ll hear Jerry Jeff Walker, but no Garth Brooks.

Essentially what started as Texas Country in the 80s/90s. 

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95.9 The Ranch from Ft. Worth pretty much sums it up. You won’t hear Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean or 99% of what most people think of as “country” artists.

It’s acts like Turnpike Troubadours, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers, Jason Boland, Stoney Larue, etc with some 70s, 80s and 90s local acts sprinkled in. You’ll hear Jerry Jeff Walker, but no Garth Brooks.

Cool. I’ll look that up on tunein.
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On 1/20/2021 at 5:57 PM, Teddyballgame said:

I am not sure how well known Zach Bryan is but I think he following the lead of Childers

 

I thought the first things he put out were really "sameish" and one-note.  Kinda ripping off Isbell and Childers a bit.  Then he put out this god-awful tribute to Evan Felker.  It's really bad.

His last EP though?  Fuckin' love it.  "Let You Down" is pretty well seared into my brain.  Kid's onto something.  I'll be paying attention.

 

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On 12/12/2020 at 9:30 AM, Fondren & Main said:

 

This hits so close to home for me.  Back in the 90's I saw Chris one Sunday afternoon at Saengerhalle.  We had about 8 people there.   It was hard to compete with Gruene Hall.  About a month later we had Hayes Carll make his first gig in NB at the same place.   About the same 8 ppl there for that too.    Hayes used to open for the Morales Sisters.  

Some good music back then with Adam Carroll, Jeff Plankenhorn, Cary Swinney, Groobees, Slaid Cleaves, Nathan Hamilton and lots more.  That was back when Cross Canadian, Great Divide and other red dirts weren't playing Gruene yet.   Good music, good times.  

I miss that music.  Glad to find this thread to keep up with the new talents on the scene.

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Looking back on this thread, it looks like Tyler has hit it big along with Charlie Crockett, or at least big enough to play festivals and reunions, Red Rocks and others where the crowd is probably 10k plus. That's about what Pat Green plays now. They are pretty much on easy street now.

I had kind of forgotten this thread until I saw Koe Wetzel with a couple of bandmates and his fiancé/girlfriend at the Racetrac in Granbury about an hour ago. They were icing down a case of Ziegenbock at 2:30, headed to the lake.

CHIEF

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