Country Mike Blog

Hitchhikin' Honky-Tonker

Mike Sudhalter  |  December 26, 2007

I don't condone or advise hitchhiking, and personally, I'd probably be too chicken to try it.

But there's a Texan making his way from show to show by hitchhiking and he goes by the name of Dean Strickland. Strickland told me he's taken 850 rides and had just two incidents.

Strickland said he's mostly met nice people along the way. One thing the road has given Strickland is an inspiration for some good country songs. He's a traditionalist, and among his influences are Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, George Strait, Alan Jackson and Randy Travis.

Sounds like some good influences to me. Looking forward to hearing the album on Jan. 1.

I look forward to seeing Strickland's show live someday.

Last Saturday, I watched the new movie, "Walk Hard," a spoof on many of the musical biopics. It particularly spoofed "Walk The Line," the biography of Johnny Cash.

I actually enjoyed "Walk Hard" and some of the songs performed by actor John C. Reilly weren't that bad. The title track is kind of catchy.

And then there's a country version of "That's Amore." Reilly isn't new to singing in movies. He performed as one half of a country duet alongside Woody Harrelson in the movie "Prairie Home Companion."

As the movie progressed, Reilly's character, Dewey Cox, moved away from his "country roots" into other genres.

Recently, I asked y'all for some Red Dirt suggestions. I love Red Dirt music and as much as I'd like to see it go national, I think it would compromise the genre's grit and integrity.

Here were some of your suggestions:

Artists' whose album I've got Reckless Kelly Stoney Larue Django Walker Miranda Lambert Eli Young Band Jason Boland & The Stragglers Aaron Watson Guy Clark

Artists' whose album I don't have Bleu Edmondson Mo Robson Band Ryan Bingham Walt Wilkins Mickey and the Motorcars Drew Kennedy The Bois D'Arcs Rodney Hayden Adam Hood