was right for a deep dive into the stories and history that made it such a rich scene . For those who only know it as a catchphrase , the time was right to let them know where that phrase came from . John Cooper of the Red Dirt Rangers told me , at Eskimo Joe ’ s in April 2018 , “ If you don ’ t tell this story , it ’ s going to get lost to history ,” and that sealed it for me .
Stw : You asked a lot of people how they describe Red Dirt music to others . What was your favorite answer to that question , and how close is it to how you describe it ?
JC : There ’ s a chapter in Red Dirt where we did an artist round table . I got Canada , Boland and Mike McClure on a bus one day , asked a bunch of questions and just let them riff . At one point , McClure tells the story of an artist losing a Hammond organ out of the back of a truck on the highway leaving a gig , and Boland chimes in , “ THAT ’ S YOUR RED DIRT-IN-A-NUTSHELL STORY !” Of course that is going to be my all-time favorite answer . That anecdote captures a wide swath of Red Dirt , for sure .
But the best answer to the question is : “ It ’ s original music , tied to Payne County , and it moves you spiritually .” That ’ s the answer that led me to the tagline of “ Roots Music , Born in Oklahoma , Raised in Texas , at Home Anywhere .”
Stw : Another thing that came up , was a Mt . Rushmore of Red Dirt musicians . If we allow for entire bands , not just individuals , who is on your Mt . Rushmore of Red Dirt music ?
JC : I can ’ t believe I have made it this far and never fielded that question before .
Full stop , it ’ s Bob Childers , Tom Skinner , Mike McClure and Cody Canada . Those four tie everything in Red Dirt together , from Woody Guthrie to Garth Brooks to the Turnpike Troubadours . You can connect every dot if you draw the lines through one of those artists .
Stw : Having spent a lot of time talking to various band members about break-ups and reconciliations , did you dig out a lesson that might work for aspiring bands ?
JC : You have to trust each other . You don ’ t have to get along , like each other , dig the same music or like the same venues , but you have to trust everybody in the band and in the crew . Every breakup of any significance is rooted in trust first and foremost .
Stw : I once asked Jim Halsey about who does and doesn ’ t make it in Nashville , or who becomes a nationwide draw . He said it ’ s all about “ the song .” Meaning some things just have mass appeal . What are some Red Dirt songs that it ’ s hard to believe aren ’ t more popular ?
JC : For a long time , my answer to this was “ Oklahoma Breakdown ,” the Mike Hosty song that
Cody Canada and The Departed at Medicine Stone in Tahlequah , Oklahoma , 2019 .
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STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE