Music is a part of all of our lives. It has always been a big part of my life having played
drums for 25 years. In my time, there have only been a few artists that have really moved and influenced me with their music;
The Beatles, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Cross Canadian Ragweed. For me, personally, Ragweed is at the top of my list because it has been so much more than the great music. I just hope
I can find the words to accurately describe it here on this page.
My On A Cloud experience was just the start. In my travels, I have been able
to see them in Tulsa, OK., Little Rock, AR., Fayetteville, AR., Jackson, MS., Mobile, AL., along with several venues here
in Texas. During this time, I have had the fortune of meeting or visiting with Cody, Randy, Jeremy, Grady, Brian, Joel,
Nathan, McCoy, Willard, Shannon, Robin, Laura, Betsy, and Ruth to name a few. You will never find a more friendly, polite,
respectful, and dedicated group of people. It is no wonder they are such a successful venue. Thank you all for making
me feel welcome.
Somehow, I have always felt a strong connection, parallel, or correlation with
them and their music. I will try my best to explain this. I will start with the music.
First I would like to say that if you will listen to their music, I mean REALLY
LISTEN, you will find that some phrase, or some verse, or some song WILL strike a chord with you. It may happen the 1st time,
or the 10th, or the 100th, but I guarantee you it will happen!
Breakdown
This song is on their "Garage" album and it has one of the best lines I have
ever heard. I think it sums up what I was talking about in the previous paragraph and could serve as the best advice for us
all:
"Sometimes I slow it down
To hear what I haven't heard"
In Mobile, AL., I had the wonderful opportunity to visit with Cody for about a
half hour and talk about his music and what it has meant for me. He shared some things with me that will stay with me forever.
On the subject of Breakdown, he told me about a picture of Bob Dylan that he has on his office wall at home. When watching
the video below, if you "really listen", you will hear where it is mentioned.
This was really a memorable night for me, Cody performing this song and On A Cloud
for me and getting to video it all!
This song is not on any of their albums. Cody wrote this for his son. As with
much of his songwriting, he could have written it for our family as well.
As you know by now, Mom loved bluebonnets. One of the lines in his song, Cody
sings, "When the bluebonnets bloom, I think of you."
When he told me he did not know when it would be recorded on an album, I asked
for a huge favor. "Is there any way you could do the song sometime and let me video it so I can share it with my family?"
He graciously said he would be glad to!
**UPDATE**On 08/31/09, their new CD, "Happiness and All The Other Things"
was released (quite the masterpiece). Bluebonnets is the 2nd song with a wonderful introduction from Cody's son, Little D.
Hear it below.
The video you will see was taken in College Station before they went on stage.
Some of the audio is distorted because they were adjusting the sound system at the time. It is still beautiful to me. At the
end he even said, "Will that work for you, Mr. Miller?" That really made it special.
Click the play button to hear the CD version of "Bluebonnets"
When It All Goes Down
Growing up, sometimes we belonged to a church, sometimes we didn't. Mom never
forced us. I will always remember her telling us many times, "The real church is in your heart." When I hear these lines in
this song, it always brings back those memories. It is the only other time I can remember anyone saying this:
"My father said, 'Church, it's in your heart son.'
You don't always need a steeple"
It is the 3rd and 4th line in "When It All Goes Down", Garage album.
Highway 377:A picture
says a thousand words.
There are 2 photos inside this CD that reminded me of both my mom and my dads'
passing. Take a look and see why.
First Photo
Left: CD cover with a "negative" of the center photo.
Center: When you open the CD, this photo is on the left, the CD is on the right.
Right: Daddy's car. August 22, 1967, Shreveport, Louisiana.
Click on photo to enlarge
Second Photo
Left: my photo from Mom's funeral.
Right: from the inside of the CD, Highway 377. When you remove the CD, you see
this picture..........
Click on it for a larger view.
My Photo...............................Their Photo
"...He picks me up and holds me where I stand..."
Cody's Signature
When Cody signs his name, he uses a peace symbol, a heart, and a cross. This is
to mean Peace, Love, and Faith. In 2008, I found a young man that hand made crosses so I had one made to resemble his signature.
I wanted to give it to Cody as a sincere appreciation of his music. I did not know it at the time, but the day I gave it to
him............. happened to be his birthday.
River Road Ice House
May 24, 2008
Randy Ragsdale Correlation
For some reason, I feel there is a correlation between Randy's life and mine.
I have no idea what it means, I just know it is what it is. Here's why:
Randy is a drummer.
So am I.
Randy was a teenager when he lost his dad, he was 19.
I was 13 when I lost mine.
Randy's dad was 45.
My dad was 45.
Randy's mom is named Ruth.
So was mine.
Mandi, Randy's sister, passed in the middle of September, 2001.
This was about the time Mom started getting real sick.
Mom passed on February 28 and was buried on March 4, 2002.
One of the functions of Mandi's Ministries is to promote seat belt safety for children. Mandi was 9.
Daddy died because there were no shoulder straps on seat belts in 1967.
He actually broke the steering wheel with his chest.......
2 More Songs
There are 2 more songs I would like to share with you on this page. The first
one is called "Johnny's Song" from the Live at Billy Bob's CD. The second one was written and is sung by Randy and it is called
"Daddy's At Home". Both of these songs are the "hidden" tracks on their Highway 377 CD.
Click the play button to hear "Johnny's Song"
Click the play button to hear "Daddy's At Home"
As I said at the top of this page, it is so much more than the great music. I
feel that it is a connection that was meant to be, or I would not have added this page. Thanks to my nephew, Shawn, I
have been introduced to something that has affected my life for the better at a time that I really needed it. The music, the
friendship, everything has been a blessing.
Below you will see the photo that I have used as the background for this page
and below it you will find links to their websites.
