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One of the bands that had a major influence
on the Old 97's was The Cartwrights. They were one of the first
alternative country bands that played mostly true honky tonk music.
The band was formed in 1993 by Alan Wooley, fresh from his stint with
Killbilly, a band that combined bluegrass and thrashmetal. They are
another article by themselves (maybe someday). Alan wanted to
progress to more of a honky tonk style, so he enlisted his buddies, Donny
Ray Ford, Barry Kooda, Kim Herriage and Richie Vasquez. The band
played the few clubs around Dallas and Texas that were booking alt country
acts then and were very popular. However, they disbanded in early
1995, just before the current outburst in the popularity of "our
kind of music" we're seeing today. Before they broke up, they
recorded one CD, "Ponderosa
Fabuloso", which has been out of
print for several years. But if you see it in the used bins
somewhere, you should pick it up.
The highlights include Ford's great honky
tonk songs, "Crazy Broken Heart", "One Sunrise", "Torn and Shattered" and
"What's His Name". Wooly's sense of humor mixes well with steel
guitar and fiddles on "Not Enough Whiskey in this World", the road rage
song, "I Own the Road" and the crowd favorite, "Take Me Drunk I'm
Home". Kooda added edgier tunes such as "Sorry I Killed You" which
makes "Goodbye Earl" sounds like a children's
tune.
The CD is full of good, real hard country
music mixed with humor and a few bursts of rock and rockabilly and
whatever else the band felt like playing. The main reason to try to
find this CD is because it's the only recorded work of Donny Ray
Ford. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Ford and hearing him
perform at a house party recently, and it was a night to remember.
He plays a great acoustic guitar (he played bass for The Cartwrights),
still has that great George Jones like voice and still writes great
music. He is currently without a band or a label, but he's working
on both. I'm sure once he is up and running, he will be signed by a
label because I heard enough great tunes that night to fill two
CD's.
The Cartwrights regrouped last year for one reunion show at Gypsy Tea Room and wowed the large crowd, including me. Donny Ray told me they had fun doing it and that they might do it again sometime. Maybe someday when (not if) Mr. Ford becomes
a major player in the Texas country music scene with several successful
CD's behind him, some label will re-release this little gem of a CD,
"Ponderosa
Fabuloso". Until then, if you
find it, grab it. You won't regret it.
Written by Jim Hughes, Sept.
2000
E-mail me about this review
Editors
Update 10/27/01 Donny Ray Ford is back! He is currently
recording a new album with a new record label, Millennium, and he is
very excited about it. He has been playing an early songwriter's
night with Lou Vargo and others at The Sons of Hermann Hall. I'd
like to catch one of those! Good luck, Donny Ray, we're pulling
for you. You have a lot of talent to share! ML
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