‘THC’ talks following Juggernaut Music show
The band “Texas Hippie Coalition,” also known as “THC,” brought their unique southern rock sound to Gallup with their performance at Juggernaut Music March 31.
The band was formed in the small town of Denison, Texas, in 2010. The band is getting ready to drop their seventh album titled The Name Lives On this month.
The Sun had the privilege to speak with “THC’s” frontman Big Dad Ritch, whose name definitely fits his stature. He spoke about the longevity of the band, and how it has progressed and has begun headlining with major hitters.
“We’ve matured in the right direction,” Ritch said, “In the beginning it felt like we were just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what would stick. We had managers whom we cared about telling us to make changes we didn’t understand.”
Ritch said the suggestions made him mad and he tried to see the overall big picture on those changes.
Fast forward to the present, “THC” has played alongside the likes of “Lynyrd Skynyrd,” “Danzig,” “Judas Priest,” “Black Label Society,” and many more.
“Rob Halford of ‘Judas Priest’ gave us great kudos on how great our band was,” Ritch said. “That certainly was a feather in our cap.”
The band made strides before the pandemic and after with their southern sound that has been described as “a a sound so devilishly electrifying that they had to come up with a new genre to describe it,” according to the band’s website.
Ritch said they’re just a band that simply loves to play.
“We love what we do and it puts food on the table,” he said.
The love definitely shows, as the band often invites the crowd to join in with them as they huddle for prayer at their shows.
Ritch said if they are playing for just 200 or 2,000 people, each show is different and they want to always leave the audience feeling that they got their money’s worth.
The band has been successful with hits such as Turn It Up, Moonshine, Pissed Off and Mad About It, and their latest song, Hell Hounds from their upcoming album.
Ritch shared his excitement for the new album.
“The new album is getting great response, we’ve got a great video as well,” he said. “It’s one of our best albums besides our first album.”
When the band started out and played at Sky City Casino in Acoma Pueblo, N.M., in the 2000’s era, they got to meet some of their favorite 80’s hair metal bands such as “Ratt,” “Slaughter,” “Warrant,” and others.
“It was a strange time to get the band off, and here we were performing with these great bands,” Ritch said.
He shared one story from the early days in which the band ended up in “Warrant’s” tent. “THC” ate all the food in the tent before they realized they were in the wrong one. When they went to their tent, they found a bunch of beer and whiskey in it, which they shared with the other bands.
When asked how the tour life is now, Ritch said being on the road for two weeks is okay but when it hits three, things change.
“It’s a rolling house, six men sharing a bedroom, every two weeks, things get a little crazy,” he said.
Texas Hippie Coalition is one band to keep an eye on - as well as both ears - for their raw southern distinct fist pumping music.
To learn more about Texas Hippie Coalition and their new album, which comes out April 21, visit their website at thcofficial.com or their Facebook page @ Texas Hippie Coalition.
By Dee Velasco
