Ragweed Adds Flavor to Spring Barbecue
Posted on: Friday, 9 May 2008, 18:00 CDT
By Ron Gonzales For the Journal
For its second annual spring kickoff barbecue, the folks at the Santa Fe Brewing Company have invited Oklahoma's Cross Canadian Ragweed to help the party along. But who forgot to tell show promoter Jeff Williams that not only has spring already sprung, but that plenty of live acts have graced the Pub and Grill stage as of recent?
"The take on that is that it's the first big outdoor show here," Williams told the Journal. "This is the first big one, and since we're working in conjunction with (Radio Free Santa Fe, 98.1 FM) KBAC and Outlaw Country (107.5 FM), we're really into it because we host a lot of alt-country bands and it's an audience we can reach."
In that case, Cross Canadian Ragweed would be a perfect fit to entertain at the barbecue, not only because it has carried the alt- country banner first lofted by bands like Son Volt, but also because its music seems to appeal to die-hard country fans, and even fans of Southern rock. Oh, and lead vocalist/guitarist Cody Canada just loves playing to the backyard sort of crowd.
"Wherever we play, we bring the good time with us," Canada said recently. "We would rather play smaller venues. In Texas, we've played to a lot of larger crowds -- like 20,000 people. Don't get me wrong, that's cool, but we can't connect with all of the people."
The band may have just spent a day not connecting with the typically large crowd at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, Calif., this year headlined by the Eagles, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts.
Cross Canadian Ragweed was afforded a 50-minute set at the festival, which should have been enough time for attendees to find out that the band does stretch its genre tag a bit, keeping in line with artists its members consider influences -- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Merle Haggard and Iron Maiden.
"Sometimes the crowd out there, some of them scratch their heads," guitarist Grady Cross said. "We just try to keep them involved and keep it fun."
The band needed only a month to record its latest album, "Mission: California," its sixth release. Cross said since the band is devoted to touring, it often makes it hard to set aside studio time.
"That's the way we have to do it (since) we don't get a lot of radio play," he said.
Cross Canadian Ragweed
WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday, May 11. Doors open at 3 p.m.
WHERE: Santa Fe Brewing Company, 35 Fire Place in Santa Fe
HOW MUCH: Advance tickets are $17 and are available at the Lensic box office, (505) 988-1234, online at www. ticketssantafe.org or at the door. $22 at the door. Over 21 only.
(c) 2008 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Albuquerque Journal
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds