Saturday, February 4, 2012

Texas Country Girl

Hey there readers! I have spent the last couple of months driving all over this great state I am lucky to live in and I have realized two very important things:

1.   Texas is HUGE! You are probably thinking "DUH"! Everyone with a map or brain knows how big Texas is but until you drive across it (or anywhere in it, for that matter) it is very hard to fathom the true distance of this state. If you are not from Texas you may not know that opening a state map (a paper one, you know those things we used before Google and GPS?) is a task unto itself and refolding that map is pretty much impossible. And there are about a million roads on the map so it is not fun to try to read either.
       I remember going to New Hampshire with my dad a few years back and at the car rental place at the airport, they gave us a map of New Hampshire since we were out-of-towners OBVIOUSLY and it was literally the size of a sheet of notebook paper. 11x8.5. Un-freaking-believable. I spent 30 minutes flabbergasted at the minimalness (that's not a word, is it?) of that map. There were about 13 roads in the whole state and it was like an hour to everywhere! Simplicity is wonderful!

2.    The second thing I realized while driving for 945875844958 hours and miles is that there is some FANTASTIC music that comes out of this state. Specifically I am referring to the Texas Country Music scene also known as Red Dirt Country. This music is written for us, by us and about us and it makes me proud to be a Texan! I have been a Texas Country music fan for years but when you are driving endlessly, the mind begins to wander and there are certain revelations. One such revelation is that I have not heard of any other state having their own niche of music. Idaho Country? I think not.
      Below are a few of my current faves as well as some others you should check out. You will thank me later!

      My current favorite Texas Country artist is Johnny Cooper. He is a 23 year old from Wichita Falls. His music is country with a healthy splash of rock and definitely has an edge that makes me want to turn the radio up and sing as loud as I can! Check out Hot Mess, Crazy and Leave as well as every other freakin song you can get your hands on by this kid! I LOVE him!

johnnycooper.com
Twitter @johnnyrcooper

Johnny Cooper
    
     My next current favorite is Texas Renegade (they travel and perform as The Black Matches which confuses me a little...). Texas Renegade is country, country with a great guitar sound (I am no music expert, in case you haven't realized) and an excellent lead vocalist--deep and kind of gruff, which fits perfect with the style of music. Check out More Than I deserve (my FAVORITEEE!!!), Angel of the Moonlight and their entire newest album. :)

txrenegade.com
Twitter  @txr  and  @theblackmatches

Texas Renegade (Eli Carver, yummm!!!)

If you are interested in more Texas Country artists, here are a few:

1. Casey Donahew Band (caseydonahewband.com)
2. Josh Abbott Band (joshabbottband.com)
3. Wade Bowen (wadebowen.com)
4. Roger Creager (rogercreager.com)
5. Stoney Larue (stoneylarue.com)
6. Brandon Rhyder (brandonrhyder.com)
7. Brandon Jenkins (brandonjenkins.com)

These are not listed in any particular order and there are many, many more Texas Country artists that I have not mentioned. Please take the time to get to know this great genre of music. You will thank me later.

Until next time....