Sometimes when an old punk picks up his guitar a country song falls out, or so it seems for Chad Price and John Snodgrass. The two musicians are veterans to the skate and pop punk scenes, fronting the bands ALL and Armchair Martian respectively, but for the past 10 or so years they have been writing & recording country songs under the name Drag the River. For those who have never heard the band, Drag the River is the kind of dirty rock that sounds best played through the speakers of a rusty old truck doing 90 on the highway. It’s fun, energetic road music.

Drag the River first crossed my consciousness after Santa Barbara punk band Lagwagon covered a song of theirs (‘I’m Losing Everyone’) for their Let’s Talk About Leftovers album. I was in my mid-teens then so naturally that song and album still hold a special place in my invisible heart.   Anyway, it wouldn’t be until recently when I was surfing Suburban Home Record’s website that I would hear the name Drag the River again. It appears the band signed with SH earlier in the year and quickly released their latest album, It’s Crazy, in June. Here are two prime selections from the new album: ‘Leavin’ in the Morning’ and ‘Me and Joe Drove Out to California’. I’ve also added the Lagwagon cover for my own nostalgic purposes.  Get down with your country selves.

Drag The River – Leavin’ in the Morning
Drag The River – Me and Joe Drove Out to California

Lagwagon – I’m Losing Everyone (Drag the River cover)