Whenever Cross Canadian Ragweed gets asked if theyre a country band or a rock band, they just laugh and offer up a resounding Yes! Lead singer Cody Canada, rhythm guitarist Grady Cross, drummer Randy Ragsdale and bassist Jeremy Plato figured out a long time ago that their job was to make great music and let everybody else figure out what to call it.

These lifelong friends spent years developing their sound in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and then with a relentless tour schedule they became kings of the Red Dirt and Texas music scenes. They grew their audience the old fashioned wayone fan at a time.

Like many of their fans, the guys in CCR grew up listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC and Merle Haggard. Thats how they seamlessly blend the energy, sex appeal and theater of rock n roll with the emotionally direct honesty and working class themes of country music.

And more than anything its the bands commitment to honesty thats helped CCR grow to the point they sell CDs by the hundreds of thousands (2004s Soul Gravy which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard country album chart) and do more than $2.5 million in hard ticket sales in a single year.

After years of building momentum, Cross Canadian Ragweed shifts into overdrive with the release of Garage on Universal South in late 2005. From the opening Fighting For, an instant heartland rock classic to the closing acoustic ballad Bad Habit, CCR delivers an album full of great songs delivered in the bands signature rock n country style.

Other tracks include an ode to a fallen rock hero (Dimebag) and the contemplative, quietly hopeful Breakdown. Mix in the roadhouse swaggering twang of Late Last Night and the soulful, Texas-blues rock of Blues For You and its easy to hear why CCR are on their way to becoming the hottest band in country music.