I’m Tony, and these are my December picks….

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Cross Canadian Ragweed – Boys from Oklahoma (Buy, Dang It)

• Cross Canadian Ragweed is originally from Yukon & Stillwater, Oklahoma, playing Southern Rock & Texas Country. The 4 man group, led by Cody Canada, has been playing together for over 13 years, and have been best friends since the age of ten, when they knew “they just had to play music together”. They have 8 CDs, and one DVD, available through their link in Hoss’s Store, including their latest “Mission California”.  I’ve chosen my favorite song of theirs “The Boys From Oklahoma”,  from their “Live at Billy Bob’s” CD, as their entry. (Their manager, Cody’s wife Shannon, gave me permission to play their music, along with that of The Randy Rogers Band and Micky & The Motorcars!) If you’d like to see the video of”The Boys From Oklahoma”, it’s posted on my MySpace blog, dated 10-14-08, and a video of CCR doing a song called “Leavin’ Tennesse, Fuck Nashville” is posted there also, dated 11-19-08.

Fingerpistol – Still in Texas (Buy, Dang It)

• Fingerpistol is a relatively new group from Austin, Texas, whose current concerts are called the “Family Values Tour”, featuring a poster of a pregnant woman, smoking a cigarette and drinking a glass of whiskey, standing in front of her mobile home with her belly sticking out from under her shirt. They’re a 3 man, 2 woman group, (who describe Fingerpistol as “a Love Gun”), playing Texas Country, Southern Rock and Folk Music. They have 2 CDs available through Hoss’s link to CDBaby, their debut, entitled “Big, Wet Sloppy World”, and their latest release “Young and Beautiful”, which was recorded at Bruce Robison’s Premium Studios in Austin. I’ve chosen the song “Still In Texas” off that CD for their entry.

Kentucky Headhunters – Dumas Walker (Buy, Dang It)

• The Kentucky HeadHunters, (Yes, Those Kentucky HeadHunters!), formerly of Nashville music fame, now leaning more to the Indie music ways, play Southern Rock & Alternative Country music. They have a large number of cds available everywhere, even Wal-Mart. When I contacted them about getting permission to play their music, they were all for it. Their leader, Doug Phelps, personally sent me two of their cds to add to the hosstheboss.com computer. I’ve chosen their song “Dumas Walker” off one of those cds, “Best of The Kentucky HeadHunters–Still Pickin’”,  for their entry in the contest. Their video of “Dumas Walker” is posted on my MySpace blog, dated 8-16-08…

Red Dirt Rangers  – Psychedelic Cowboy (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped from the Contest after Week 1

• The Red Dirt Rangers come from “Everywhere”, Oklahoma, playing what they describe as a mix of Tropical, Soul and Zouk(?)  music. They’re a 6 man band, featuring fiddle player Randy Crouch, (who I also got permission to play).  For the past 20 years, they’ve been touring the U.S., Canada & Europe, “spreading the gospel of the Red Dirt music scene”. They’ve recently been appearing in concert with members of Jason Boland’s band The Stragglers, (while he recovers from throat surgery), calling themsleves “Crouching Rangers, Hidden Stragglers”. I’ve chosen their song “Psychedelic Cowboy (a song for Sir Doug)” off their “Ranger Motel” cd for the contest. It’s a tribute to the late Doug Sahm, of the Sir Douglas Quintet. Famed Texas musician Augie Meyers plays keyboards on this song, just as he did with Sir Doug. The Rangers have 6 cds available through Hoss’s link to LoneStarMusic, or Amazon. I’ve posted a video of them performing a song called “The Idabel Blues” on my MySpace page, dated 11-19-08.

Riche O’Toole – Marijuana and Jalepenos (Buy, Dang It)

• Rich O’Toole is from College Station, Texas, playing Texas Country, Americana & Folk Rock music, along with a little comedy. He has 2 CDs available through LSM, his debut CD “Seventeen”, which had 4 songs reach the top ten on the Texas Music Chart, and his current CD “In A Minute Or Two”,  from which I’ve chosen his song “Marijuana & Jalapenos” as his entry. By the way, Rich will be coming to Corpus Christi in December, and we’re working on getting him to do a live, acoustic set in Hoss’s studio. You can also check out his video “Summertime” on my MySpace blog, dated 10-23-08.

Robert Earl Keen – Merry Christmas from the Family (Buy, Dang It)

• Robert Earl Keen! What can I say about Robert Earl Keen?  He has been my favorite Texas & Alternative Country singer for years, (I own all 15 of his cds, which have now been entered into the computerized rotation on HossTheBoss.com). In fact, I guess you could say he’s the one who first got me interested in Texas Music, and, subsequently, I was fired from KFTX radio in Corpus Christi for playing a Christmastime phone request for his “Merry Christmas From The Family”!  So, of course, I had to choose that song for his contest entry, since I can now play it legally, without having to worry about some narrow-minded top-ten Nashville music playlist! When I told his personal manger, Melissa Haycraft, that story, she told me how sad it was that some people cannot laugh, even during Christmas. If you visit his website, RobertEarlKeen.com, you can download his latest concert, in Marfa, Texas, for free. He’ll also be appearing in Corpus Christi, December 27th at the Brewster St. Icehouse. You can see REK’s video of “Merry Christmas From The Family” on my MySpace blog, dated 10-22-08.

Rockridge Brothers – Cripple Creek (Buy, Dang It)

• The Rockridge Brothers are not from around Texas, or even the USA. They come from Stockholm, Sweden, playing Bluegrass, Country & Americana music, (or should I say Swedecana?). They were formed  as a studio group by a Swedish  producer, who wanted a bluegrass soundtrack for an animated Swedish movie. They liked what they were doing so much, they kept on doing it, and have now produced their second CD “Rockridge Hollerin”, available through Hoss’s link to CDBaby. I’ve chosen their version of the classic bluegrass song “Cripple Creek” for their entry. They actually first contacted me through MySpace, asking if we’d be interested in playing their music, and, after I’d heard the cd they sent me, I said “Hell, Yeah!” Their first cd  “Straight out Of Rockridge” is no longer available, but you can download 7 tracks of it from their MySpace page.

Texas Renegade Band – Angel of the Moonlight (Buy, Dang It)

• The Texas Renegade Band is from San Marcos, & Austin, Texas, playing Texas Country & Folk Rock music. They’ve won the best live band of the year award for 2006 & 2008 from the Texas Music Awards. The 5 man group, who  formed to play at high school parties in Wimberley, Texas,  produced their first cd “Sam” in 2004, which is unavailable now. They have 2 other cds available through Hoss’s link to LSM, “3 am”, and their latest, “After Everything”,  from which I’ve chosen the song “Angel Of The Moonlight” for their entry.

The Bois D’Arcs – Wasted  (Buy, Dang It)

• The Bois D’arcs hail from Muenster, Texas, playing Texas Country, Southern Rock & Americana music. Their name is pronounced like the line in James McMurtry’s “Choctaw Bingo” where the guy is in a hot tub with two of his female cousins and is “hard as a bois d’arc fencepost!”.  They’re a 4 man group whose debut, self-titled CD is available through their MySpace page, LoneStarMusic.com, or their link in Hoss’s music store. Their contest entry song is off that cd and is called “Wasted”. If you’d like to see their video of “Wasted”, it’s posted on my MySpace blog, dated 11-20-08…

William Clark Band – Cumberland Road (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped from the Contest after Week 1

• The William Clark Green Band is a relatively new (to me) 4 man group from Lubbock, College Station & Tyler, Texas, playing Texas Country & Southern Rock music, which critics describe as “a compilation of Texas Country, Folk, Rock & Americana, using a smorgasbord of Texas styles & instruments”. Their debut CD ” Dangerous Man” is available through Hoss’s links to CDBaby & Itunes, and contains their contest entry song “Cumberland Road.”

About Me:

I got started in broadcasting during my stint as a Signalman in the U.S. Navy during the Viet Nam era, working part-time as a DJ and newsman for a ship-board Armed Forces Radio & TV station on the USS Truckee out of Norfolk, Virginia.  After being honorably discharged in 1979, I became a mainstream radio DJ and News Director in the Corpus Christi area for over 25 years on 9 different stations, including all 3 of the country-western ones. During that time I received 4 news broadcasting awards, 1 from the Associated Press & 3 from United Press International. I spent the last 5 years of my “career” on KFTX in Corpus Christi, constantly fighting with the program director over having to play their narrow top-ten Nashville music playlist of songs, when I really wanted to play Texas Music. I was finally shown the door after I played a Christmas-time phone request for Robert Earl Keen’s “Merry Christmas From The Family”, which was definitely not on the station’s playlist, (I really hate that word!). Now that I’m on HossTheBoss I can play what I want. I’m working on getting my own show started on the station by early 2009,  so I hope you’re listening….

Check me out on MySpace

My previous Hossey Music Award Picks
November 2008