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The 30th Anniversary of the British Columbia Country Music Awards was kicked off by the Cruzeros on October 15th, 2005 at the Bell Center in Surrey, BC. The band walked away with "Group of the Year" for the second year in a row as well as the prestigious Gaylord Wood Memorial Award for traditional/roots country music.
The band was also nominated at the Western Canadian Music Awards held in Winnipeg on Oct. 21st for Producer of the Year and Outstanding Country Album and recently won Album of the Year, (Scandalosa), Producer of the Year (Barry Mathers) and Songwriter of the Year (Barry Mathers) at the Okanagan Music Awards which were held in Vernon, BC on Sept 26th.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, Jonathan Torrens (J-Roc from Trailer Park Boys) was co-host on CBC Radio's Definitely Not The Opera with Sook-Yin Lee. He closed his segment of the show by presenting what he called "musical comfort food", and one of his favorite songs, "This Lucky" by the Cruzeros.
The Cruzeros did a great tour with legendary Canadian band Prairie Oyster, visiting the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Wonderful shows and the nicest (and most fun) bunch of people you'll ever meet. They topped it all off with a visit to their local watering hole, the Corner Pin Inn in Kelowna for 2 nights on their own for the local fans and friends.
The Cruzeros had an awesome trip to Saint John, NB where they attended and played at the Canadian Country Music Association Week. The band was up for a total of seven awards and although they didn't win any this year, they were very happy to have had so many nominations. They also booked the first date of a European tour , playing at the International Country Music Festival in Zurich, Switzerland. Please visit the message board for more details.
In April, The Cruzeros re worked their next single "Cowboy Boots" at the Warehouse Studio in Vancouver with world-renowned engineer Mike Fraser. Mike has worked on many of the biggest albums ever recorded by AC/DC, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Bryan Adams, Metallica and many more.
2006 kicked off with the Cruzeros playing the "Paws for a Cause" canine cancer research benefit in Hamilton, Ontario. The sold out show at Hamilton Place, hosted by Sam Cook also featured Julian Austin, Gil Grand, Brad Johner and the Bareback Riders.One of the perks of helping out was being chauffeured in a limo to Toronto to see the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Montreal Canadiens in the Air Canada Center. Unfortunately for Cruzeros' guitarist and long time Leafs fan Gary Smyth, his team lost in overtime and he now owes Barry 10 bucks. Thanks to drummer Kirk Bewer who donated his time and talents to the cause, organizers Michelle and Ken Belliveau and all the volunteers who made it such an enjoyable and successful weekend.
The band's latest cd, Scandalosa made the Top 12 album list by Country Music News as well as the Trax Report while the video for "Load Me Up" was included in the Top 50 videos of the year by CMT for 2005.
The Cruzeros won Group of the Year and Album of the Year at the BC Country Music Awards show Sunday Oct. 16th. They are very pleased to end a successful six week tour of Canada with these accolades. Thanks to all the fans who voted for the band!
The band left a lasting impression at the 2005 CCMA Awards Show from the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary on September 12. They had plenty to celebrate, as harmonica player Curtis Tulman was awarded the Special Instrumentalist of the Year award the previous evening. Curtis gave a touching and emotional speech before joining the All-Star band for some inspired jamming at the Marriott Hotel with the other winners.
The CCMA asked them to create and perform a medley of the 5 songs nominated for the SOCAN Song of the Year. This was a new and innovative project for the show. The performance was totally live and judging by the compliments received personally from Lisa Brokop,Terri Clark, Paul Brandt and countless others, the music was great. George Canyon, whom the Cruzeros presented the award to was moved when he heard their version of his song, "My Name" and thanked them in his acceptance speech.
At the gala reception following the show, the guys ran into hockey legend Lanny McDonald. Before they had a chance to introduce themselves, Lanny grabbed guitarist Gary Smyth's hand and bellowed "You guys are awesome!". Vocalist Barry Mathers took the opportunity for a one-on-one chat with one of his heroes.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band invited them up on stage to sing Will the Circle be Unbroken. "We have all been big fans of the Dirt band for many years and it was a real treat to sing with them, especially that song" says new band member Gary Smyth who has just moved to Kelowna from Windsor, Ontario.
The Cruzeros officially released their new cd Scandalosa, May 28th in Kelowna, BC. and signed a deal with MapleNation/Universal which released the album nationally on July 19th. The first single from the cd, "Load Me Up" is a truck driver's lament that Barry wrote. The video reached #3 on CMT's Big 12 and stayed in the Chevy Top 20 for months. It also hit the #1 spot on some country radio stations across Canada.
Country Music News featured The Cruzeros on the cover of their May issue, you can view it here.
The new album was completed with producer/engineer Joe Hardy (ZZ Top, Steve Earle, The Georgia Satellites). It was recorded at the Hum Depot, Nashville, TN and Rutland House Studio, Kelowna, BC. The disc includes 10 new original songs by the Cruzeros as well as covers of Donny Ray Ford's "Cowboy Boots" (also recorded by The Backsliders) and the classic 60's hit "Wooly Bully" by Samudio Domingo, otherwise known as Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Joe brought in some of his buddies to help out on the project...session legends Greg Morrow, drums, Richard Bennett, guitar, Dan Dugmore, pedal steel and a special guest appearance by Dan Baird of the Georgia Satellites. The song November 11th was pre released in Canada in time for Rememberance day, 2004. Please click on the jukebox for song samples and lyrics.
Barry had a surprise visit at his home in Kelowna from ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Joe Hardy who has worked on many of ZZ's biggest hits helped arrange the meeting. (Barry) "It was a real honour to have him come by the house, he's an antique car fanatic like me. We talked about my 1940 Chev which has 70,000 miles on it and is still in it's original condition. Billy advised me to drop the front end and get drivin' it!"
"The Barber", starring Malcolm McDowell released on video featuring three songs by The Cruzeros... Dig Myself Out of This Hole, Tangled Up In You and Believe Me I Know
Barry received the first Western Canadian Washburn endorsement deal. He is now the proud owner of a Jethro Burns mandolin and an Augusta acoustic guitar thanks to Erikson Music Canada and Washburn kindly replaced Curtis' guitar which was stolen in Calgary during the CCMA week.