Cross Canadian Ragweed wants you to know that they are an American band.

Although the name often evokes images of hockey, maple leaves and universal health care, the group actually originates from Oklahoma, and the foursome now calls Texas home. The band's name is actually a combination of the members' own names: Grady Cross (guitar), Cody Canada (vocals, guitar), Randy Ragsdale (drums). Jeremy Plato (bass) also is in the band, but his name isn't part of the CCR.

Of course, this explanation is lost on many.

"We played the National Anthem at a Texas Ranger's game once," explains Canada, age 29, via cell phone while on tour in Texas. "Somebody came up to our manager and said it was bullshit that these damn Canucks were singing our national anthem at a baseball game."

He continues, "The further north we get, the more we're asked what part of Canada we're from, and we then have to explain the whole thing all over again."

The band had been pleasing audiences with its unique brand of country and southern rock for over a decade, so the opportunity for a name change has long since past. For his part, Canada is absolutely uninterested in any sort of extreme makeover. "The name is us. It's our last names, so we're proud of it," he says.

On Oct. 4, the childhood friends who comprise Cross Canadian Ragweed release "Garage" on the Universal South label, the band's seventh album in a decade. The disc showcases the county rock sound that Canada says hearkens back to his childhood tastes.

"I grew up with my sister who is 12 years older than me, so we always had really good rock and roll music - classic rock like Lynyrd Skynyrd," he says. "We lived in a little town without much to do, so I learned how to play guitar from her Skynyrd records. When I turned 28, she gave me her record collection in a box with like 300 albums. It was one of the greatest presents I ever received."

Another revelation occurred as a teenager riding in a friend's car. "In the early '90s, I was real deep into Top 40 country music like Garth Brooks," Canada recalls. "I was hanging out with my best friend in his El Camino, and he was playing Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots. It completely changed my outlook on music."

Cross Canadian Ragweed's previous release, "Soul Gravy" debuted at number five on the country charts. Are the guys feeling any pressure on the cusp of the follow-up's release? "No, we never feel any pressure," Canada says. "We have a really strong fan base, so it's not about making it on the charts or hitting number one on the radio." After a string of independent releases and a fan base carefully cultivated by non-stop touring, Cross Canadian Ragweed signed to the Universal South label in 2002. The decision to go with a major label happened after being personally approached by the label's honchos, Tim DuBois and Tony Brown.

"They came to a show in South Carolina, and there were only about 30 people there," Canada remembers. "After they watched 30 minutes of the show, we were offered a record deal. We weren't ever really going for a deal, so we sat and talked about it for a day. They had signed a lot of artists that people look up to including George Strait, Jimmy Buffett and Steve Earle. We decided to sign on because they had luck with all these other guys."

It turned out to be a good investment for DuBois and Brown. Universal South released the band's already-completed self-titled CD (nicknamed "The Purple Album"), and Cross Canadian Ragweed had its first honest-to-goodness Top 40 hit with the track "17."

"It was really cool since we'd never had a song on the radio other than some local stations in Texas," Canada says. "I still remember walking through a mall and seeing CMT playing the video on a television. It was pretty flabbergasting."

Because Cross Canadian Ragweed has always had one foot firmly planted in the country world and another in the world of southern rock, radio airplay has been pretty elusive. "We complain about not getting enough airplay on country radio," Canada admits. "There are a lot of towns who won't play our music on the radio because it's a little bit more rock and roll than they had planned on, so sometimes it's a liability."

Nevertheless, Canada explains that this desire for commercial success doesn't impact his approach to songwriting. "I never let any of that stuff bother me because the minute it does, you start writing songs that are different from what you've been doing," he says. Canada's "quality first" approach to songwriting is on full display throughout the new album. The first single is "Fighting For," a track that will be sure to please long time fans and convert those who like their country with a healthy dose of rock and roll. "It was the last song we recorded for the record," Canada says. "It relates to everybody's relationship with their significant others."

As the band's primary songwriter, Canada is not afraid to mine the events of his own life for material. "Breakdown," for example, draws upon the pressures Canada felt during the recording of "Garage."

"We were one month into the recording of the album, and I was trying to juggle having a pregnant wife at home and making the record," Canada says. "We walked into the studio with only four songs, so we had to write more material. I've never been so stressed out in my life, and it got to me one day. I broke down and started crying. I talked to God and wondered what I was doing wrong that would make me come to this point."

He adds, "My therapy was writing that tune."

On "After All," Canada draws upon the experience of a close friend's battle with alcoholism. "One of my best friends in the world has a real bad alcohol problem. I've tried to help him countless times. So, the song is about his struggles, his problems, his lies and everything that goes along with an addiction."

Among Cross Canadian Ragweed's influences cited by Canada include an unlikely one: the Texas-based heavy metal band, Pantera. On Dec. 9, 2004, the entire music world was shocked when Pantera's guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (son of country songwriter Jerry Abbott) was murdered on stage in Ohio while performing with his new band Damageplan. Canada penned the tribute "Dimebag" as a means to help him process this tragedy.

"It's a murder song," Canada explains. "We heard about the death of Dimebag when we were in Las Vegas having a helluva time playing blackjack and partying after a gig. Somebody walked up to the table and told us that Dimebag got killed, and it just ended our night. There's definitely an influence with Pantera, and to know that somebody would walk on stage and kill you for playing music just astounded us. It didn't have to happen, but it needed to be written about."

Canada's devotion to his wife serves as the inspiration for a handful of songs from the new record, including "Final Curtain" and "Bad Habit." When speaking of his bride of six years, Canada sheds all pretension. "I'm a sap for that woman," he admits. "I have a thousand love songs I haven't written yet for my wife."

In addition to covers of songs by Todd Snider ("Late Last Night"), Scott Copeland ("Lighthouse Keeper") and Bo Diddley ("Who Do You Love?") on "Garage," Canada explores his own spiritual journey on the track, "When It All Goes Down."

"There always has to be a religious song on every record as far as I'm concerned," he says. "There has to be an ode to The Man." Although Cross Canadian Ragweed is on a Nashville label, Canada pulls no punches in his criticism of Music City's output. "I have a pretty bitter taste in my mouth over the whole country music scene," he says.

"Country music has turned to pop crap. I don't think that there's one damn thing that's country about Shania Twain. It's irritating to me that they market her as country because they just threw a fiddle and a steel guitar on her records."

So, is there anyone left in the genre that Canada respects?

"There are four people that are playing real country music today: Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, Dierks Bentley, and Gary Allan," he says. "Every song that they release is better than the next."

Canada also tips his hat to the troubadours populating the alternative country/Americana scene.

"The Americana guys are the real country musicians out there," he says. "They're not just guys in hats who won karaoke contests. They actually get up, write songs and be country, you know?"

As Cross Canadian Ragweed's music percolates into the mainstream, the foursome finds themselves often sharing the stage with some high profile friends, including the aforementioned Dierks Bentley.

"I think people that are cut from the same cloth will cross paths eventually," Canada says. "It's weird to me to actually see Dierks on TV. When we play shows with that guy, the women go crazy, and the dudes want to be him. But that's just Dierks. He's just a dude."

Cross Canadian Ragweed is a band of old school road warriors whose rabid following has grown exponentially via the group's relentless touring. It's not unusual for the boys to exceed 250 show dates in a single year. And with a new album to promote, the tour seems to stretch into the unremitting horizon without an end in sight.

Complicating matters this time is the fact that three of the band's four members recently became fathers.

"I was the last one to have a kid," Canada proudly reports. "I had a boy two weeks ago."

The extensive "Garage" tour is currently underway. The schedule is heavily weighted toward the band's home turf in Texas and Oklahoma before extending to all four corners of the United States.

But there are no Canadian stops planned just yet.

Will the band be able to maintain its aggressive touring schedule given the drastic change in the members' family dynamics?

"We've got to be more aggressive since we all have one more person to take care of at home. It's going to suck being away from them, but this is what we do for a living."