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Springfield Missouri's own Ha Ha Tonka has been on the road opening a few shows for Cross Canadian Ragweed and The Intersection in Grand Rapids Michigan was one of the stops. November 29Th the band played about a forty minute set. Formerly called Amsterband they changed their name to Ha Ha Tonka which is a state park near the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. They are signed to Bloodshot records and have a sound that has influences of Indie rock with a percentage of Americana thrown in and their album "Buckle in the Bible Belt" gained them notice from a few prominent media outlets such as Paste and Spin magazines and it was named as one of the best albums of 2007 by Pop Matters magazine.Having toured in the past with bands like the old 97's and the Meat Puppets, they were also part of the 2008 Lollapalooza line up. Ha Ha Tonka is on the road with Ragweed through December 11Th. This year saw the release of their second album "Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South" which has garnered them further acclaim citing them as a potent mix of Country and Indie rock with comparisons to the Kings of Leon. Check out Ha Ha Tonka's You Tube channel.
Great write-ups on Ha Ha Tonka and Cross Canadian Ragweed. I am embarrassed to admit that I have never seriously listened to CCR. Where should I start? Also, check out my blog post on Ha Ha Tonka from back in June. http://myaimzistrue.blogspot.com/2009/06/only-living-ha-ha-tonka-fan-in-toronto.html
ReplyDeletePersonally i would start with their self titled album known as the "Purple" CD. Its that color for drummer Randy Ragsdale's nine year old sister who was killed in a car accident after one of their shows in 2001. Go from there to "Soul Gravy", "Garage" and "Mission California" and then you will see how different and incredible the latest release "Happiness and all the Other Things" really is. The older stuff is cool too, then you get a sense of what they were like in the beginning as a Oklahoma bar band.
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