Bringing together The Great Divide
Red dirt band makes appearance in Wichita Falls Friday
What: The Great Divide
Where: The High Dive on 82, 7503 Seymour Hwy
When Gates open at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov 11
Info: (940) 532-1000, or on Facebook under The High Dive Wichita Falls
Often referred to as the Godfathers of the Red Dirt music scene, The Great Divide released five albums after forming in Sweetwater in 1992 to 2003 when lead singer and guitarist Mike McClure left them to form his own band and to produce.
The legendary Great Divide is back released its first album in nearly twenty years on October 28. The 10 song “Providence” features all four members of the original group along with recently added keyboardist Bryce Conway.
The group is currently touring and will perform Friday, Nov. 11 at The High Dive on 7503 Seymour Hwy. Please contact the venue at (940) 532-1000 for additional information. Gates open at 6 p.m. and there will be two bands (including the James Cook Band) before The Great Divide takes the stage at 9:15 p.m.
` I spoke with McClure, who I had followed for years doing his solo shows and five records under the Mike McClure Band. The Great Divide, he explained, had been split up for over 10 years when they were asked to do some reunion dates in 2011.
“At the time, I thought, ‘Wow, that would be really bizarre to do,’” he said. “I called the guys, and we hadn’t spoken. When we broke up, it wasn’t necessarily positive. They agreed to do it. Over the past several years, the group has been playing random shows.
The band includes McClure, Scott Lester on rhythm guitar, Kelley Green on bass and JJ Lester on drums and the recently added keyboardist Conway.
Conway was a DJ in Weatherford, OK back when The Great Divide first started. “He just loved the band and played in No Justice. One day he came out to play a gig with us and blew us all away. A lot of our older records had a B3 and organ on them, and we never had that live. It really added another dimension to the band live serving as a glue underneath us.”
It was Conway who suggested the group make a new record, telling them, ‘You need to be relevant again,” McClure said with a laugh. “And I said, ‘Yeah, I guess so.” They rented studio space in Denton. “It’s the first time in 20 years we got together in the same room and hashed out songs and then recorded them.”
McClure was very happy that Lloyd Maines, who produced the Great Divide’s first three albums, was able to overdub pedal steel and dobro on “Providence.”
It was at the same Denton studio where McClure produced the first Cross Canadian Ragweed studio album. McClure also developed quite a reputation producing records for other key bands such as “Diamonds & Gasoline” for the Turnpike Troubadours. Many others were recorded in a basement in his former home studio in Ada OK.
About a year ago, McClure married Chrislin Lawrence, a photographer, singer and songwriter who spent a considerable length of time in the Wichita Falls music scene. They moved to Seymour TX where they found an old house and settled down.
“She and I started writing together, and it was natural,” he said, and they perform in a duo called Crow and Gazelle. “She’s a very well-rounded spiritual person and got me to rise up. I was the opposite when I met her. She healed me, and we have a collection of songs that we’ll record in February for an album.”
McClure is excited about the new Great Divide album and playing live shows again. “We play about 4 songs from the new record and will lean heavy on the classics,” he said with a laugh. “The old vintage Red Dirt. We will play everything people want to hear.”
That includes “College Days,” “Break in the Storm,” and “Yesterday Road” as well as songs from the new album, where the song “Slipping Away” is getting a very good response.
“Providence” is definitely more mature, he said. “I have been sober for 4 years and that was life changing. It was causing problems and preventing me from growing as a person. A lot of time in this business, you get handed alcohol (on stage) and it’s expected and approved. It’s easy to fall into that. My life is much more peaceful now and steady. I have fun in different ways. I’ve gained so much.”
McClure said the deadline for getting “Providence” put together and recorded was good for him. “I was able to hyperfocus. I picked 10 songs I had that would fit and find some good, some peace, some positive. Over the past several years, I feel like it’s getting better and that’s through putting out songs that are positive and hopefully lifting the vibration a little bit.”
The physical production of the “Providence” LP’s and CD’s is behind schedule, but people can download the record on iTunes and Apple. They can also hear snippets of the album on the band’s website, www.tgdmusic.com.
In February, McClure was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. “That was a real honor,” he said. “My family and friends and a lot of love along with Cody Canada and Johnny Cooper saying kind things about me. It was my first trophy since being awarded employee of the month at the grocery store in 1988. There was quite a gap between the accolades,” he said with a laugh.
McClure is very happy to be able to make amends with old friends, old bands and to be able to go out and just enjoy music and life.
“It’s an honor to be able to do this for a living.”
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Bringing together The Great Divide
