Ever heard “Gunpowder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert? That’s a nice country-rock song… one I discovered through Rock Band 2.

Like you, I don’t enjoy much country but I like the stuff that’s influenced by rock. A lot of rock traces back to Southern sounds, so there’s actually a good bit of crossover between rock and country. Check out Pride & Glory (Zakk Wylde — Ozzy’s guitarist). Badlands and The Scream are a couple other good Southern rock bands. Down mixes Southern rock with metal (a match made in Heaven).

My sister’s a big fan of a local guy named Randy Rogers (one of my friends roomed with him in college, so I know he plays and listens to rock). She tells me there’s a big difference between Texas country, like Randy’s, and Nashville country. Nashville managers and execs are apparently responsible for choking all the life out of country and making it into that terrible stuff you hear on the radio. Garth Brooks, David Allan Coe, and Randy Rogers are some of the better country artists because they say to hell with Nashville’s formulas.

In fact, I once heard Rogers, Cody Canada (from Cross Canadian Ragweed), and Wade Bowen sing a song called “F#@$ Nashville”. :)