The Stockyard Playboys

It isn’t quite a lost art, but there’s a notable dearth of dance hall bands livening up Oklahoma City’s bar scene. Western swing, along with its brother classic country, are hitting the town, thanks to the The Stockyard Playboys, who have made it their mission to get back to the basics.

The Oklahoma City-based band, comprised of three former East Dallas Shufflers — vocalist/steel guitarist Adrian Adkisson, vocalist/lead guitarist Morgan Ramsey and guitarist Jerrod Hardegree — as well as bassist Mack McKinney and drummer Dustin Reynolds, has shared the stage with Chuck Mead, Whitey Morgan and Wayne Hancock, as well as Oklahoma roots music fixtures TJ Mayes and Jimmy Dale and the Beltline.

Q: How did this type of music become part of your life?

Morgan Ramsey: My grandparents and parents have always been into country and Western music, so I’ve been exposed to it ever since I can remember. My dad was a big two-stepper back in the day, so I always remember hearing a lot of 4/4 shuffles when I was a kid, and it seems to be mostly all we play now.

Adrian Adkisson: I grew up around country and gospel music as a kid but didn’t start playing it until I was 30. As far as Western swing goes, Morgan really introduced me to that style. I had heard George Strait doing some old tunes on the radio but didn’t really start to appreciate what it’s all about until he exposed me to Asleep at the Wheel and Bob Wills’ music.

Q: This is a genre that, live, is really rooted in performing cover songs. How much of your material is original?

Ramsey: If we are playing a longer show, like two hours, it’s about 50/50, but if it’s just a 45-minute or hour set, we usually do all originals with a few covers thrown in. In this town, though, most of our shows are about two hours, so you’ll definitely get to hear some older country and Western tunes in most of our shows.

Q: Did you already play your instrument and have to learn this style afterward, or was Western swing part of your learning process? I’m told it’s extremely difficult for people who don’t grow up in that school to pick it up seamlessly later, particularly with an instrument like pedal steel.

Ramsey: I already knew how to play a little bit but never took it seriously. Once I started actually practicing at about 23 years old, I started practicing on modern-day roots music — like Dale Watson, Wayne Hancock, BR549 — and worked my way back from there.

Adkisson: I got my first steel guitar in 2007. I had been playing six-string guitar since I was 12, and that was always rock music. So moving to an instrument like pedal steel and music that was also fairly new to me hasn’t been real effortless, although it may look that way up on the big stage.

Q: There aren’t a ton of bands around here doing what you do with any regularity, and certainly not in bars. Is the response ever unexpected in a place like the Blue Note, for instance, that’s generally associated with other types of music? Is the crowd different at Grandad’s, a self-proclaimed honky-tonk?

Ramsey: The crowds at most of the local venues take a little bit to warm up, but once they do, most of the audience will dance or two-step because that’s really the type of music we play — and a few drinks always helps get that going. Grandad’s is always a fun experience for us because most people do go there to hear country and Western, and they get into it there when we play.

Q: Are you a meticulous band about rehearsals, or are you more playing off of each other live?

Ramsey: We aren’t over-the-top about it, but we try to rehearse often just to learn new material and to tighten up anything that we may have noticed at a recent show. The structures are rehearsed for the most part, but our lead instrument work is usually on-the-fly.

Q: What’s the takeaway for your crowds? If someone’s at a venue to see, for instance, Warren Hood, and they have no idea what to expect from you all, what’s one thing you definitely want them to say as they’re walking out the door?

Ramsey: I hope when they are leaving they are turned on to a different kind of music that isn’t usually heard around the city, but usually in small-town dance halls, and they leave wanting to find out more.

Adkisson: “When/where is your next show?” or “Can I buy y’all’s tape?” - The Oklahoman