'Smells Like Country....Tastes Like Rock'n'Roll'

Shea Chancey, staff writer

The 30^th Annual Chili Cook-off started early for some and later for those who wanted to remember the day of Texas country concerts.

The cook-off was held at Buffalo Springs Lake, with the gates opening at 4 a.m. for those who were awake and ready to party. 

The first concert started at 8 a.m., with Micky and the Motorcars taking the stage. There were people near the back fence, people in lawn chairs near the stage, people standing at the stage, just people everywhere in the fenced area and outside. Many brought coolers, though the place was on high security by the Lubbock Police Department for those who might be under age and drinking or in case any accident might happen.

The second band to perform at 9:30 a.m. was Honeybrowne, who put on a great show. They sang many songs, but the one song that the crowd gathered around for was “ Texas Angel.” Honeybrowne features smooth vocals by guitarist Fred Andrews, with Cody Banks keeping a great beat on drums was Cody Banks. Banks is a former South Plains College student and the song of Cary Banks, chairman of the Creative Arts Department. Jake Bass Blackwell plays the bass guitar, and on the cool lead guitar was Alex Weeden.

Between each band there was at least 30 minutes intermission or longer for the next band to set up.

The third band to perform was Luke Olson. He is from San Antonio and graduated from Texas Tech. Olson put on a good show, but was nothing compared to what the crowd of intoxicated students had to look forward to at 12:30 p.m.

Well known, Kevin Fowler did the best job of all the bands that performed. He brought the crowd to him, wild, alive, and crazy, like he likes it. His energy on the stage stimulated the crowd into singing along and dancing to the great Texas country music. One of the crowd’s favorites was, “Don’t Touch My Willie,” a song Fowler has become known for. Surrounded by stumbling students and those who were not didn’t stop Fowler from making everyone seem like they were part of his show.

His music was awesome and sounded great. He never had a dull moment on stage, and he didn’t make the crowd wait on his next move. Everything was fast and furious. He also played another great hit on the radio, “ Aint Drinking no More,” and a new song on the radio, “Hard Man to Love” from his newly-released “Loose, Loud and Crazy” CD.

Throughout Fowler’s performance, new people by the hundreds began to emerge from outside the gates, coming to see the headliner Cross Canadian Ragweed.

CCR formed in 1994 in Stillwater, Okla. and got its name from the members: singer and guitarist Cody Canada, drummer Randy Ragsdale, rhythm guitarist Grady Cross, and bass guitarist Jeremy Plato. Their hometown is in Yukon, Okla.

CCR doesn’t claim to be fully country, but Texas country with rock’n’roll. Mottos on their shirts and stickers read, “ Smells like country…. Tastes like rock’n’roll.”

On Oct. 4, CCR released a new album called, “Garage,” which features a limited-edition bonus DVD containing all of Ragweed’s music videos and a 10^th anniversary slide show of backstage and personal photos from the band. Cody Canada wrote or co-wrote all of their original songs on “Garage.”

Before they performed on stage at the chili Cook-off, CCR signed autographs at Wal-Mart, where a giant crowd gathered for signatures.

People stood on coolers to get see the show, while others climbed on shoulders to enjoy the performance. Some stayed in their lawn chairs and just chilled to the music. Some sat in lawn chairs, and in the back were more people standing, dancing, drinking, and sitting on their tailgates. No matter where they were, everyone was about to enjoy the show their own way.

CCR played for about 30 minutes and then took a short intermission, leaving at least five minutes of down time, which caused the show to slow down. When they came back on for their encore, they played longer than they had the set before. Some of the best songs were “Alabama,” “Carney Man,” which will cause anyone to smile if they are down, “17,” and one of the new song off  “Garage,” “Late Last Night,” which they ended their show with around 5 p.m.  Before CCR finished their set, people began to leave early, but the faithful fans remained.

CCR did a great job of performing for their fans that have more than likely seen them many times before in Lubbock. But for those who were seeing them for the first time, CCR didn’t really perform to what the expectations of the newcomers might have been.