Cody Canada on Cross Canadian Ragweed’s Legacy, Pantera + More

Ahead of their massive, sold-out, back-to-back-to-back-to-back stadium shows in Stillwater, Okla., Cross Canadian Ragweed‘s Cody Canada joined Loudwire Nights (March 4) to reflect on his band’s legacy — and much more.

Listen to the full conversation with Chuck Armstrong in the player near the end of this article.

One thing that listeners might have been surprised to hear Canada discuss about Cross Canadian Ragweed’s legacy was their deep friendship with the guys in Pantera.

“Every time we were in Dallas…by the end of the night we would get a call from Dime or Vinnie saying, ‘Come over to the club,'” Canada recalled.

“God rest both of their souls, they’re such sweet humans. Vinnie was just such a soldier for us, just telling everybody about us.”

Canada remembered the night he heard about the murder of Dimebag Darrell. Though he happened to be in Las Vegas — a town he was used to raising some hell in — his night was over as soon as he found out.

“That was it, that was the end of the night,” he said, though he admitted that was the beginning of what would become Cross Canadian Ragweed’s incredible tribute song to Dime, “Dimebag.”

“It was sad inspiration,” Canada told Chuck.

“Man, it haunted me for months. That could have been anybody in our circle. That could have been me, that could have been you.”

When it came time to write Cross Canadian Ragweed’s third album, Garage, Canada said the opening line to “Dimebag” was resonating through his brain: “Dimebag Darrell, God bless that man / Ripped from us by the devil’s hand.”

When Vinnie Paul Joined Cross Canadian Ragweed Onstage

As he got into the studio to work on Garage, Canada said he didn’t have any other words for “Dimebag” other than that opening line, but his producer, the great Mike McClure, came up with what would eventually be the foundation of the chorus: “Bad news travels faster than any good news that you hear.”

From there, Canada decided to include a verse honoring the life of Kurt Cobain — and subtly calling out Courtney Love — and “Dimebag” was finished.

When Chuck asked him if Vinnie Paul ever had the chance to talk to him about the song before he died, Canada got excited to tell a story that he hadn’t shared much.

“We played at American Airlines Center in Dallas and it was with Dierks Bentley, and when we played with Dierks back in the day, he would not close the show, he had Ragweed close,” Canada shared.

“We played American Airlines and Vinnie called me and said, ‘Hey, I want to play that song with you guys.’ It was like, if you’re asking me, you don’t have to ask me. It’s done.”

Canada said he had his Dean Dime-O-Flage guitar and he remembered seeing Vinnie on the side of the stage, nervous.

READ MORE: Stephen Wilson Jr. Praises Seattle’s Influence on Songwriting

“Man, why the fuck should you be nervous,” Canada recalled asking him. “You’re Vinnie Paul! He was like, ‘Man, you wrote this song for my bro.'”

As soon as they were done playing “Dimebag,” Canada said he leaned over the drum kit and asked Vinnie to sign his Dimebag guitar.

“This thing is never going to get played onstage again … He was a sweet guy to us.”

What Else Did Cross Canadian Ragweed’s Cody Canada Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• How a Motionless in White and Ice Nine Kills concert led to the idea of Cross Canadian Ragweed reuniting in 2025: “We were underneath Madison Square Garden where Billy Joel as playing, we were [at the theater], and I thought, ‘What if we did one destination show?’ I googled how many people Madison Square Garden would hold.”
• What his expectations were for the initial stadium show for Ragweed’s reunion: “It’s 48,000 people. I honestly thought we would sell 20,000 tickets. We’d have one night and it would be awesome.”
• Why he’s happier than he’s been in a long time: thanks to his bandmates: “We’re just in love. We’re in love with each other again and love feels good, you know? I Leo seeing everybody smile.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Cody Canada joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, March 4; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.