'Red dirt metal' band Texas Hippie Coalition ready to rock Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. — James Richard Earl Anderson needed four names. A two-legged snarling Mack truck, he looks like an 18-wheeler who rode in from the wild, wild west.A broadsided barn from the wooly part of town, Anderson leads Texas Hippie Coalition. They are a band who bring new meaning to the term outlaw in music.Texas tornados indeed, Texas Hippie Coalition bombard Bristol Friday, May 17. Hang on at The Mountain at Thunder Valley just off Volunteer Parkway in Bristol, Tennessee. Bristol's Citizen Kane opens the show."Just imagine Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson as Motley Crue and they were playing Pantera music," said James Richard Earl Anderson — who goes by Big Dad Ritch as lead singer and founder of Texas Hippie Coalition. "Well, I love Motley Crue and then I got into Pantera."They're from Denison, Texas. Clad in Johnny Cash black and wild west bravado, they sound as if heavy metal flirted with a country gal. Out rocked Big Dad Ritch and Texas Hippie Coalition."I was conceived in the back seat of a '57 Chevy," Anderson said by phone from a roadside near Shreveport, Louisiana. "We've been called red dirt metal."Texas Hippie Coalition's barked to life in 2001. Their first full album, "Pride of Texas," went national in 2008. Through last year's LP, "The Name Lives On," the band's well-established style permeates each of their seven albums.It's full bore, blast out the windows rock 'n' roll."We're like Southern fried rock 'n' roll," Anderson said. "I was raised on Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, Molly Hatchet. I didn't sit down to write metal songs. I didn't sit down to write rock songs or country songs. I just write songs."Unbridled attitude saddled in a style that's loud and ornery transported Texas Hippie Coalition to stages minute to marvelous. They've played backyard barbecues. They've provided the ear-bursting soundtrack for many a beer joint brawl. And they have seen their name among such names as heavy metal icons Judas Priest and Slayer in enormous heavy metal rock festivals."When we play music festival people are like, 'What the hell?'" Anderson said. "One of the most common things we hear is 'Why haven't we heard y'all yet?'" People aren't just hungry for this music; they're starving for it."Like Ridgewood-made barbecue, there's plenty more music on the way to satisfy ravenous cravings of Texas Hippie Coalition's devout fans. Just when you think the plate's empty, another one's on the way.So it tracks that a new album from Texas Hippie Coalition will hit the market in the fall."It's called 'Gunsmoke,'" Anderson said. "We've wrapped the album. The tracking is done and we're now working on the album artwork."Heavy metal jibes with Southern rock vibes for a band who look like Waylon Jennings' kinfolk. See them. Hear them. Those things are abundantly obvious.But one thing is not readily apparent. For evidence, check the motto of Texas Hippie Coalition. It's right there on their website: "Faith Family Freedom.""I'm trying to be a soldier for the Lord," Anderson said. "We're supposed to go out and introduce people to God."Texas Hippie Coalition do not classify as Christian rock. But Anderson wears his faith for all to see."Back in 2014, God said to me to pray with everybody before my shows, and we do," Anderson said. "We give away bibles during the meet and greets."As for family, Anderson leans much on what he's learned from his grandmother. During our hour-long interview, he referenced her nearly 10 times. For one thing, there's his size. The coined phrase about everything being bigger in Texas certainly applies."My grandma said I was born with a biscuit in my mouth and gravy in my hand," Anderson said.For another, his grandmother believed in him. Fraught with pitfalls beyond the imaginations of the uninitiated, to lead a band equates to betting your life on winning a large lottery. Good luck. Most do not make it.But like the Texas state flag, Texas Hippie Coalition flies high and mighty enroute to rock 'n' roll freedom."My grandma always said you're gonna be something," Anderson said. "I guess I'm something."Who: Texas Hippie Coalition and Citizen KaneWhen: 7 p.m., Friday, May 17Where: The Mountain at Thunder Valley, 250 N. Raceway Villa Drive, Bristol, TNInfo: (423) 712-1160Web, audio and video: www.thcofficial.com