About Me
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For the last twenty years the Red Dirt Rangers have criss-crossed America (and been overseas) to spread the gospel of the close to the ground, honest sound of the thing called the Red Dirt music scene. Starting from the musical hotbed of Stillwater Oklahoma , these guys have never compromised their music . They have, along with their many friends in the scene, helped create a thing that is as unique and beautiful as an Oklahoma sunset. While no band in Red Dirt is the same, they all come from a common background. Their musical forefathers , Woody Guthrie , Bob Wills, and the Texas Outlaw movement, offer a huge palette on which to draw from. It's a sound that's like no other. Bluegrass, hard-core rock n roll, cajun, gospel, swing , tex-mex, blues, country, folk, all have a home within Red Dirt. And no band typifies that scene quite like the Red Dirt Rangers. They're in a position of being friends and collaboraters with those musicians that came before and after them through Stillwater, and blessed to have picked something up from all of them. They continue to spread the music and sound that defines them to audiences around the state , the region, the country , and the world. Viva la Red Dirt Rangers!!!!!!!!!!Bradley PiccoloOklahoma City, OKRhythm guitar, vocals.Influences: Woody Guthrie, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Bob Wills, The Beatles, Bob Childers, Jimmy LaFave, Tom Skinner, Greg Jacobs, Chuck Dunlap, Dub Cross, etc.Having received a guitar at the age of 15, Brad was destined for a career in music. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but couldn't give up the life of a musician. He played with various college bands before moving to Austin, TX from 1989 to 1992. He then returned to Oklahoma City to play full time for the Rangers. Brad can now be found living out on the "Picarosa", a 40 acre piece of ground near Stillwater.John Cooper. Payne County, Oklahoma.
Mandolin, percussion, vocals.Influences: Doug Sahm, The Skinner Brothers, Lightnin' Hopkins, Woody Guthrie, Bob Wills, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Merle Haggard, Bob Childers, The Band, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones.Starting with singing in church as a kid, Cooper has always had a great love of music. From the days of AM pop radio in the 60's to the underground red dirt/ texas sound of today, he's kept his ears open for music that moves him. After leaving OKC and heading to Stillwater (Okla St Univ) to get an education, he happened on a place where he would truley get one--The Farm. The Farm was a place where open mindedness was encouraged; being yourself was encouraged; and music and good times were always encouraged. After the local clubs would close in town , everyone knew there would always be a party at the Farm afterwords. This is where he first learned to play music and write songs. He says the classes at the Farm were better than most everything offered at OSU , and although he did attain a degree in education and taught high school biology and coached baseball for 6 yrs, he never strayed too far from his first love: music. Having been with the band from its beginings in the late '80s , he considers himself blessed to be in the Rangers all this time and loves the friends and aquaintances he's made through the music.
Ben HanLabuan, MalaysiaLead guitar, vocals.Influences: Marty Robbins, The Everly Brothers, Slade, Badfinger, Credence Clearwater Revival, The Ventures, Dick DaleBen started playing a Congress guitar at the age of 13 and went on to play cabaret, disco, and punk rock in his first band at the age of 17. After being arrested for long hair, Ben endured 2 days in jail and a bad haircut from the conservative authorities of Malaysia, he came to the United States in 1982 and moved to Oklahoma in 1983.
