Cody Canada
The four men who make up Cross Canadian Ragweed have been playing their music together for nearly a decade and a half, roaring out of Stillwater, Oklahoma, in the mid-‘90s on their relentless ride to Red Dirt superstardom.
It takes plenty of talent for an act to get that far, But anyone who’s experienced CCR’s live shows or heard one of the group’s best-selling discs can sense that there’s something else going on here – something beyond the powerful, near-magic collision of rock and country music, coupled with deep and emotionally honest lyrics, that have become the hallmark of the band and the gritty Red Dirt ethos it represents. Cross Canadian Ragweed is, ultimately, nothing less than a brotherhood, one whose sum exceeds its parts.
Which leads to a question: Why, then, would Cody Canada want to go out and do solo acoustic shows, usually in the company of longtime musical friends like Stoney LaRue and Wade Bowen? “It goes clear back to Stillwater, before the band got popular,” explains Canada, CCR’s lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter. “Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, I’d go out and play acoustic sets with those guys, and then we’d come back and write all night.”
Soon, however, Ragweed’s gigs started coming faster and more furious, and about five years in, Canada realized he was missing those laid-back acoustic evenings with his songwriting pals. That’s when he decided a few solo jobs might be a good thing.
“It was just to get back to writing,” says Canada. “Going on an acoustic run, it’s usually just me and Stoney or Wade, and one crew guy, so we can do a week of gigs and write as much as we want to. When you’re on the road with a band, you can’t do that. As soon as you pick up a guitar, the door opens and eight people come in.”
Plus, with the lyrics out front, audiences have a chance to experience Canada’s compositions in a whole new way. “It’s just a lot more laid back,” Canada notes. “You can do whatever you want to do. You can tell stories. You can really give the crowd details about a song.”
Canada, in fact, has a term for these shows: “acoustic healing.” “About three years ago, the record label was really on my back about getting a new record out, and I asked them not to pressure me, because it would really screw my mind up,” Canada recalls. “But they did, and I told [wife and manager] Shannon, `Man, I need some acoustic healing. I need a night with my friends.’ Next thing I knew, somebody called me from New Braunfels and said, `Hey, I saw your Acoustic Healing poster.”
Shannon, as it turned out, had used her husband’s line to promote his solo gig. “She said, `Well, I knew you meant it. You were about to go out of your mind, and we needed to go back to the beginning.’ ” So, when you see Cody Canada sitting in front of a microphone, strumming a hollow-body guitar, with friends like Bowen, LaRue, Randy Rogers or Lee Ann Womack sharing the stage, know that you’re not only experiencing an intimate and satisfying performance from a unique singer-songwriter, but also witnessing some musical and spiritual healing. It’s a recharging of the creative batteries that ultimately benefits not just Canada himself, but also the hundreds of thousands of Cross Canadian Ragweed fans all across the globe, waiting eagerly to hear the next new song.
