Texas Hippie Coalition - Texas Pride from Texas Finest

Texas Hippie Coalition

"Formed in 2004, the Texas Hippie Coalition is a 5 piece Southern hard rock band from Denison, Texas led by lead singer Big Dad Ritch and produced by multi-platinum record producer David Prater.

Although highly regarded for the intensity of their live shows, what truly distinguishes the band from the morass of their contemporaries is the high quality production value Prater lends to their debut CD, "Pride of Texas".

Fans of Pantera, ZZ Top, The Black Label Society and Corrosion of Conformity will no doubt find the music of the Texas Hippie Coalition every bit their equal and more. From the ferocity of the CD's twin guitar assault to its pulsating rhythm section, every detail of the CD's sonic presentation is scrutinized down to the smallest detail. By the time Big Dad Ritch's snarling vocal is placed into the final mix, all that's left for the listener to do is wonder why there aren't more CDs this good.

With the combination of it's sound quality, songwriting and passionate performances, the Texas Hippie Coalition's 1st offering will most certainly be an interesting one to follow throughout the course of 2008 and beyond.

Randy Cooper Bio

Hometown: Denison, TX

Favorite all time discs: Ozzy!, Diary of a Madman Judas Preist, Screaming for Vengeance

Influences: KISS (first concert, 3rd grade in Amarillo, TX), then I discovered Judas Preist, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Ted Nugent, Van Halen, and Pantera.

My favorite stuff is still the old school metal. I'm a huge fan of going to concerts, trying to get front row, fist clenched and head banging to the very end. As for newer stuff, any Black Label Society, Shadows Fall, and Children of Bodom. Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Zakk and Dimebag are the main influences. Luckily, I saw Rhoads in the Diary of a Madman tour.

I moved to Denison at age 16 and met Pantera (if you never got to see Pantera in their club days, you missed it!) I had the privilege of opening many shows for Pantera in the North Texas area. That's how I got turned on to Dean Guitars. I got my first one in 1989 and I've been playing them ever since. I always resort to the 1st four Van Halen discs, Diary or Blizzard and still get a lick no matter how many times I've been over them. I always keep some BLS or Pantera/Damage Plan nearby too.