UNLIKE many of the international artists at CMC Rocks Queensland this weekend, Jason McCoy of The Road Hammers is no stranger to Australia.
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Having performed here as a solo artist, he’s excited to show the band what fans are like Down Under.
“This is my fourth trip, although it’s been quite a while,” McCoy said.
“I’m very excited to get back, and it’s great seeing the guys experience Australia for the first time and seeing how many great artists there are there.”
McCoy said it was humbling to be part of this trip.
“You have so many great artists, so to invite us down here is very humbling,” he said.
“I’ve always been a big fan of lot of Australian music, like Tommy Emmanuel.”
The band have just released their version of I’ve Been Everywhere – having done the western version, they’ve now released the original, Australian version written by Geoff Mack.
“Everyone talks about the Johnny Cash; I knew the Hank Snow version of it and, because I’m Canadian, that version was drilled into my head,” McCoy said.
“It’s like the first country rap song ever. We were trying to find different versions and we wanted to get the pronunciation right. I like to walk around and just say ‘Mooloolaba’.”
McCoy said there were many similarities between Canadians and Australians, with British roots.
He said both countries had lived in the shadow of Nashville, but social media had opened up the country audience more.
“Country fans don’t care where you’re from – if they like it, they like it.
“We’re excited about showing people what really makes us tick.
“We hope our recordings show people how much fun we have live ... we are really excited to unleash the loud crazy of what we are on stage.”