Red Dirt (music)

Infobox Music genre
name=Red Dirt music
color=white
bgcolor=brown
stylistic_origins=Folk
Country
Western swing
Country rock
Nashville sound

cultural_origins=late 20th century
Oklahoma
North Texas
instruments=Guitar - Violin - Steel Guitar - Dobro - Harmonica - Bass - Fiddle - drums - Mandolin - Banjo
popularity= 1980s–present
other_topics=List of Red Dirt bands

Red Dirt Music gets its name from the color of soil found in Oklahoma. Although Stillwater, Oklahoma is considered to be the epicenter of Red Dirt music, some say there's a Texas Red Dirt sound as well. Old school Texans and Okies alike will swear that the two were distinctly different. The Outlaws, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, are associated with that distinctive Texas sound while Bob Childers is the true definition of Red Dirt music. The "Dylan of the dust" jammed to a slightly different country chord — Red Dirt style. These days, the gap separating the two genres has thinned. [Elswick, Mark. [http://www.texasmusictimes.com/articles/0705/spur-503.php Texas Red Dirt with Spur 503.] "Texas Music Times". Retrieved Aug. 6, 2008.]

History

Oklahoma has been the source of several pop music movements that can be traced not only to a specific city, but a specific location within the city. Those music scenes include Kansas City jazz (attributed to an area of Oklahoma City called Deep Deuce), Western swing (attributed to Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa), and Leon Russell's Tulsa Sound from his Tulsa church-turned-into-studio. Like those three, Red Dirt music grew from a specific place in Stillwater. The place was an old two-story, five-bedroom house called "The Farm" - for two decades the center of what evolved into the Red Dirt scene.Wooley, John. [http://www.reddirtrangers.com/band.htm The Red Dirt Rangers: The Band] . Red Dirt Rangers website. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2008.] The house, located on the outskirts of Stillwater, was the country home of Bob Childers. Eventually Childers left The Farm, but the Red Dirt scene continued to grow and thrive. News 9 website. [http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=8336493 Red Dirt breeds music.] May 16, 2008. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2008.] Childers said, "I found something in Stillwater that I just didn't find anywhere else. And I looked everywhere from Nashville to Austin. I always came back to Stillwater - it's like a fountainhead for folks trying to get their vision." [Mack, Joe. [http://www.currentland.com/Portals/0/archives/The%20Current%20-%20May%202008.pdf A final farewell to the rainbow rocker.] "The Current", May 2008, p. 24.]

One of many bands representing Red Dirt music - as their name signifies - is the Red Dirt Rangers. The Rangers - John Cooper, Brad Piccolo and Ben Han - have been making music since the late-1980s and, along with Childers, were part of The Farm's earliest musical brotherhood which also included Jimmy LaFave, Tom Skinner, Jason Boland and Stoney LaRue. These musicians and others jammed in the living room, on the front porch, in the garage (known as the Gypsy Cafe), and around campfires in the yard where "the sheer joy of creating music with friends transcended everything else." Cooper said, "The Farm was as much an attitude as a physical structure. It allowed a setting where freedom rang and all things were possible. Out of this setting came the music." The physical structure burned down in 2003.

Definition

Critics say that Red Dirt can best be likened to the indie genre of rock 'n' roll as there is no definitive sound that can be attributed to all the bands in the movement.Most Red Dirt artists would be classified by the music industry as Americana, folk, or alt-country, though the range of sounds in the Red Dirt spectrum goes beyond these genres. It has been described as a mix of folk, rock, country, bluegrass, blues, Western swing, and honky tonk, with even a few Mexican influences. Singer-songwriter and former Stillwater resident Jimmy LaFave said,

"It's kind of hard to put into words, but if you ever drive down on the (Mississippi) Delta, you can almost hear that blues sound," he explains. "Go to New Orleans, and you can lmost hear the Dixieland jazz. Go to San Francisco, and you get that psychedelic-music vibe. You hear the Red Dirt sound when you go through Stillwater. It has to do with the spirit of the people. There's something different about them. They're not Texans, they're Okies, and I think the whole Red Dirt sound is just as important to American musicology as the San Francisco sound or any of the rest. It's distinctly its own thing." [Wooley, John. [http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/spot/article.aspx?articleID=020103_En_sp16jimm Jimmy LaFave, Red Dirt's Austin Ambassador.] "Tulsa World", Jan. 4, 2002. Retrieved Aug. 5, 2008.]

Some define Red Dirt music as "country music with an attitude".Kennedy, Wally. [http://www.joplinglobe.com/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_146014526 Dig that 'Red Dirt' sound.] "Joplin Globe", May 26, 2006. Retrieved Aug. 7, 2008.] Others say it's a state of mind as much as it is a sound - a sound that successfully closes the gap between rock and country.

Although many bands got their start in Stillwater, each band has a distinctive sound said Brandon Jackson, guitar for the band No Justice. "The sound is different from each band to band to band. Some guys are more rock, some guys are more country, and there's everything in between," Jackson said. Cody Canada, front-man for the band Cross Canadian Ragweed said, ""It's country, folksy, it's bluesy, it's rock, and it's just blue collar music. It's a lot about the lyrics. It's a lot about the feeling of it. It doesn't have a label, I guess. It's everything from Merle Haggard influence to full blown Rolling Stones."

Marc Ringwood, founder of Texas Troubadours - a website dedicated to the sounds of Oklahoma and Texas - says, "I don’t think there is a true way to define it. Trying to analyze it, yousee that a lot of artists carry the same influences going back to the days of Bob Wills and Woody Guthrie (for the older artists and bands), and then you have new guys who have followed in stride with their peers by feeding off their influences. Red Dirt also has more of aspiritual quality within the music. It’s more honest, and true and noncliched, like a lot of other music we’re exposed to in major markets."Cranke, Jared F. [http://www.stillwaterscene.com/issues/pdfs/nov03.pdf A True Celebration of Stillwater Music.] "Stillwater Scene", Vol. 3, #6, November 2003. Retrieved Aug. 4, 2008.]

When asked to define Red Dirt music in an interview with Texas Troubadours, Red Dirt musician and Tahlequah resident Randy Crouch said, "Well, I don't think I'd be the one who's able to define it, but it seems to have Oklahoma values, you know how Okies are real good at doing everything themselves, maybe a sense of independence about it. It's natural, and honest, and about real life. You know, it's almost like the way Woody approached music." [Randy Crouch Music. [http://randycrouch.blogspot.com/2007/09/texas-troubadors-interview-with-randy.html Texas Troubadour Interview with Randy Crouch.] December, 2007. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2008.]

Ben Cisneros, a writer for The 9513 - a country music blog website - says Red Dirt is a "movement" that has managed to create an infrastructure enabling regional success. He states that "program directors and DJs all over Texas and Oklahoma have set up shows that feature Red Dirt music. Not only that, but many stations in major markets are including Red Dirt music in their regular rotation right alongside mainstream modern country."Cisneros, Ben. [http://www.the9513.com/red-dirt-the-power-of-infrastructure Red Dirt: The Power of Infrastructure.] The 9513, April 10, 2008. Retrieved Aug. 7, 2008]

Musicians and festivals

Stillwater resident Bob Childers, who died in April 2008, was known as the Godfather of Red Dirt Music. [Wooley, John. [http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/spot/article.aspx?articleID=021231_En_D4_Omnip Godfather of Red Dirt music returns with disc, a Tulsa show.] "Tulsa World", Dec. 31, 2002. Retrieved Aug. 4, 2008.] Five years prior to his death, Childers was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Awards Red Dirt Hall of Fame along with Steve Ripley and Tom Skinner. The three awardees performed at the ceremony for the First Annual Red Dirt Music Awards held on Sunday, November 9, 2003 at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa. Other performers at the awards ceremony included The Red Dirt Rangers, Amanda Cunningham, the Great Divide, Susan Gibson, Wade Bowen, T.J. McFarland and the Revolvers, Brandon Jenkins, Gus Michaels, the South 40 Band, Stoney LaRue, the Mike McClure Band, Jason Boland, Cody Canada, and others.

Many music festivals include representatives of the Red Dirt sound. These include FarmFest, WoodyFest, Calffry, Shrinefest, and others. In 2007, Cross Canadian Ragweed's Red Dirt Round Up in Fort Worth, Texas had 15,000 in attendance. [Beaujon, Andrew. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/arts/music/18beau.html Alt-Country Finds Red Dirt Under Its Nails.] "New York Times", Nov. 18, 2007. Retrieved Aug. 6, 2008.] In August 2008, the 4th annual Red Dirt Festival was held at the Grape Ranch Winery in Okemah, Oklahoma. The festival brings together wine tasting, camping and Red Dirt music. [Price, Christian for News9.com. [http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=8769921 Red Dirt Festival set for this weekend.] July 31, 2008. Retrieved Aug. 6, 2008.] The winery teamed up with the Red Dirt Rangers to present the festival. [Red Dirt Festival website. [http://www.reddirtfestival.com/generalinfo.asp Red Dirt Festival General Information.] Retrieved Aug. 6, 2008.]

In addition to Cain's Ballroom, Red Dirt musicians can be heard at other venues in Oklahoma including the Blue Door (Oklahoma City), Copper Penny (Stillwater), the Tumbleweed (Stillwater), Wormy Dog (Oklahoma City), and Wallstreet (Duncan).

Media

The Red Dirt Radio Hour debuted on Tulsa radio KVOO - the "Voice of Oklahoma" - on January 26, 2003. The show was hosted by Red Dirt Rangers John Cooper and Brad Piccolo, joined by station DJ Eric Wayne. Wayne was voted Oklahoma Red Dirt DJ of the Year in 2004.KFOR website. [http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=1870116 Red Dirt Radio Hour.] Retrieved Aug. 8, 2008.] Although the Sunday evening show enjoyed success for five years, KVOO cancelled the broadcast abruptly in November 2007. Various factors seemed to influence the decision made by station owners. [Chancellor, Jennifer. [http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/spot/article.aspx?articleID=071110_8_H6_spanc46062 Losing the signal: KVOO pulls the plug on all locally produced programming.] "Tulsa World", Nov. 11, 2007. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2008.]

In 2007, students at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma produced a documentary called "North of Austin/West of Nashville: Red Dirt Music" which was premiered at the University on July 24. The title of the film refers to names often given to the region around Stillwater, Oklahoma. The students traveled more than 4700 miles, interviewing and recording musicians such as the Red Dirt Rangers, Bob Childers, No Justice, Johnny Cooper, Brandon Jenkins, Stoney LaRue, Cross Canadian Ragweed and others. "In this film, the musicians speak openly, honestly and passionately about this unique musical form born in the heartland of the southern plains. Void of the over-polished and superficial influences of today’s music marketers, these musicians live the stories that they sing about while remaining true to themselves." [Red Dirt Music website. [http://reddirtmusic.wetpaint.com North of Austin/West of Nashville: Red Dirt Music.] Retrieved Aug. 6, 2008.] A screening of the film also took place at the Crystal Theater in Okemah, Oklahoma on July 12, 2008 during the 11th Annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.11th Annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. July 9-13, 2008. (Program booklet.)]

"See also: List of Red Dirt bands."

References

External links

* [http://reddirtmusic.wetpaint.com North of Austin/West of Nashville: Red Dirt Music, 2007] (Documentary)
* [http://www.949theoutlaw.com/index.shtml 94.9 The Outlaw] (Wichita Falls, TX radio)
* [http://www.reddirtmusic.org/ Skydog's Red Dirt Music] (Internet radio)
* [http://www.reddirtfestival.com Red Dirt Festival] (Okemah, OK music festival)
* [http://reddirtradio.com Red Dirt Radio] (Internet radio)
* [http://www.texasmusicworld.com Texas Music World] (Internet radio)