9348 - CODY CANADA & THE DEPARTED - THIS IS INDIAN LAND (2011)

CODY CANADA & THE DEPARTED
''THIS IS INDIAN LAND''
JUNE 21 2011
68:22

1 Call From Crouch 00:17
2 Face On Mars (Randy Crouch) 03:22
3 Ballad Of Rosalie (Randy Pease) 05:17
4 True Love Never Dies (Gary Scruggs, Kevin Welch) 04:24
5 Home Sweet Oklahoma (Leon Russell) 04:23
6 Make Yourself Home (Bob Childers, Brad James) 04:26
7 Long Way To Nowhere (Mike Shannon) 03:23
8 Call From Coop 00:13
9 Starin' Down The Sun (Bob Childers, John Cooper, Brad Piccolo)04:35
10 Any Other Way (Brad James, Steve Littleton) 04:14
11 Kickin' Back In Amsterdam (Kevin Welch) 04:40
12 Water Your Own Yard (Charlie Christian, Greg Jacobs, Tom Skinner) 04:10
13 Years In The Making (Mark Ambler, Bob Childers, Benny Craig, Scott Evans, Tom Skinner) 04:17
14 If You're Ever In Oklahoma (J. J. Cale) 03:01
15 A Little Rain Will Do (Gregory Jacobs) 03:21
16 Call From Skinner 00:44
17 Skyline Radio (Tom Skinner) 04:59
18 Hold On Christian (Scott Evans) 08:26

David Abeyta/Guitar
Dave Bowen/Drums, Percussion
Cody Canada/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals
Kim Deschamps/Guitar (Steel)
Geoff Queen/Dobro
Seth James/Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Baritone), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals
Stoney LaRue/Vocal Harmony
Steve Littleton/Clavinet, Hammond B3, Piano, Synthesizer, Wurlitzer
Jessica Murray/Vocal Harmony
Dave Percefull/Guitar (Acoustic)
Jeremy Plato/Bass (Upright), Guitar (Bass), Guitar (Rhythm), Vocal Harmony, Vocals
Kevin Welch/Vocals

REVIEW/AMG
By Thom Jurek
For those who mourned the breakup of Cross Canadian Ragweed, it seems the story has somewhat of a silver lining. Songwriter, guitarist, and frontman Cody Canada and Ragweed bassist and singer Jeremy Plato continue in Cody Canada & the Departed, with Texas guitarist Seth James, Tulsa keyboardist/organist Steve Littleton, and drummer David Bowen, who hails from Yukon, Oklahoma. This Is Indian Land, the group's debut album is, ironically, a sort of tribute recording. Rather than feature a brand new selection of Canada songs, it is instead an homage to a couple of previous generations of Oklahoma-born songwriters: Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, Randy Pease, Bob Childers, Tom Skinner, Kevin Welch, Brad James, and others. While the new band is rooted in the same red-dirt sound as Cross Canadian Ragweed, they stretch that form to the breaking point. Standout tracks on this set include the gospelized, harder rocking take on Russell's "Sweet Home Oklahoma," the funky Welch and Gary Scruggs' number "True Love Never Dies," the spacy psychedelic country-rock of "Face on Mars," by Randy Crouch, the ragged bluegrass-rock stomp of "Ballad of Rosalie" by contemporary Randy Pease, the reverent reading of Cale's "If You're Ever in Oklahoma," Childers' rootsy "Years in the Making" and the album closer, and "Hold On Christian," written by Scott Evans, which marries contemporary country, Waylon Jennings strut, and and guitar-blazing psych. This Is Indian Land is an auspicious debut, and indeed, Cody Canada & the Departed could make a career of simply covering the voluminous work by Oklahoma songwriters. Perhaps next time out they could include Jimmy Webb, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Woody Guthrie. That said, Canada is simply too fine a composer not to get his own work into the mix at some point.

BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
The Departed (also known as Cody Canada and the Departed) is an American Red Dirt/Southern Rock band. The band was formed by Cross Canadian Ragweed frontman Cody Canada after Ragweed broke up in 2010. Canada’s longtime bassist Jeremy Plato followed and joined guitarist/vocalist Seth James, keyboard player Steve Littleton, and Drummer Dave Bowen. Chris Doege would eventually replace Bowen on drums. In December of 2014, Littleton and Doege left the band. Drummer Eric Hansen and keyboardist / rhythm guitarist Ross Smith played their first show with Cody Canada and The Departed on January 8, 2015 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado at The 2015 MusicFest.

In 2011, Canada and fellow Ragweed musician Jeremy Plato formed a new band billed as Cody Canada & the Departed. The band consists of Canada (guitar/vocals), Plato (bass guitar/vocals), Seth James (guitar/vocals), Steve Littleton (keyboards) and Chris Doege (drums) who replaced original drummer, Dave Bowen. They released their first album in June 2011 titled This Is Indian Land through the band's own record label Underground Sound, consisting of covers written by Oklahoma songwriters.
Adventus

On August 24, 2012, the band, now billing themselves as The Departed, announced through their website and social media that they would release their first original album titled Adventus (Latin for Arrival). The album was released on November 13, 2012 through Underground Sound.

Leading up to the album's release, the band released the first single from Adventus, titled "Worth the Fight." In February of 2013, the album's second single "Prayer For the Lonely" was announced, shooting for the music video also began.
Seth James Leaving and HippieLovePunk

In September 2013, Seth James announced that he intended to leave the band. James said in a statement: “After three years of great times and great music, I have decided to take a step down as a band member of the Departed. It has been an unbelievable ride and I am so grateful for the support and love along the way. My last show will be November 23 at Gruene Hall. I look forward to supporting these guys alongside you as they continue down the road.” The band continued performing as a four-piece group.

In 2014, the band finished a new album, titled HippieLovePunk. The album was released on January 13, 2015, and it debuted at No. 9 on the Top Country Albums chart, with 4,700 copies sold in the US in its debut week.
2015 Lineup

Cody Canada and The Departed debuted a revamped band lineup at The MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on January 8, 2015. Ross Smith, formerly of Wade Bowen's band, is on keyboards and rhythm guitars, while Eric Hansen is now on drums.

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8979 - CODY CANADA AND THE DEPARTED - HIPPIELOVEPUNK (2015)

CODY CANADA AND THE DEPARTED
''HIPPIELOVEPUNK''
JANUARY 13 2015
50:06

1 Comin to Me 03:48
2 Inbetweener 03:53
3 Easy 04:05
4 Revolution 03:12
5 Back Closer 04:19
6 Got It 05:15
7 Great Big Nothin 03:57
8 Maker 04:38
9 Stay 03:55
10 Boss of Me 04:19
11 All Nighter 08:40

REVIEW
By Andrew Leahey, www.rollingstone.com
As the frontman of Cross Canadian Ragweed, Cody Canada spent years swirling Southern rock, Dustbowl country and roadhouse roots music into songs that celebrated the ups and downs of life in middle America. He was the poster boy for the Red Dirt movement, a proud outsider who could camp out in the upper reaches of the country charts — and sell more than a million copies of the band's albums, to boot — without playing by the rules of the Nashville machine. Even the band's own breakup bucked convention, with the guys deciding to throw in the towel after releasing four Top 10 records in a row.

Now, four years after Cross Canadian Ragweed's final gig, Canada is back with a particularly Ragweed-ish album from his new band, the Departed. Former solo artist Seth James, who shared the band's vocal and guitar duties with Canada during the Departed's first two albums, is out of the lineup, leaving Canada in full control once again. The result is HippieLovePunk, an album whose title reflects the three basic ingredients of Canada's songwriting catalog these days: tunes about getting along, getting it on and getting mad at whoever's trying to back you into a corner. Shot through with organ, harmonies and plenty of guitar muscle, it's a bigger, bolder, boomier version of the sound Canada's been creating for roughly two decades. [Listen to the Southern stomp 'n' strut of the album's lead single, "Inbetweener," below.]

"I think some of the things we did on the last record were a little out of my element," he told Rolling Stone Country during a recent tour stop in Fayetteville, Arkansas. "I wasn't leading. I know that sounds cocky, but I've been the leader for so long. When the Departed started, it was me and Seth sharing that role. We both got tired of that situation, and I think we were both ready to lead again. This record is back to a comfort zone for me. It's me writing the songs. It's me sharing my opinion. We've hit a few bumps in the road with this band because people have been wanting the Ragweed sound, and I think we're kind of getting back to that."

Many of the harder-hitting songs on HippieLovePunk were inspired by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings that rocked America in late 2012. Canada, a father of two boys, was terrified by the event.

"Most musicians live in a bubble," he explained. "You play a show, have a few cocktails, smoke some weed, wake up, repeat. You feel so protected and so safe until you turn on the news, and then you're scared. I've always been a literal writer, and I think having kids made me pay attention to what's happening in the world."

HippieLovePunk hits stores in January 2015.

WEBSITE

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