REDFORD, Mich. — Western Star Trucks today announced it is
co-sponsoring Canadian country music’s group of the year.

The truckmaker is sponsoring a 30-city Canadian tour this fall by the Road Hammers, who rode the success of their self-titled debut album (described by the band as “the definitive and ultimate driving album”) to the top of the music charts en route to being named the 2005 Canadian Country Music Awards’ Band of the Year.

Road Hammers: A little bit country;
a little bit Rock ‘n Roll

The band will also make special stops in tour cities to meet and sign autographs for select Western Star dealers and their invited guests.

“The Western Star brand is close to the hearts of many truckers in North America,” said Ann Demitruk, director of marketing for Western Star Trucks. “The Road Hammers are a talented group that pays a great tribute to today’s truckers and we are very excited to welcome them to our dealerships and co-sponsor their tour.”

The band, which is quickly becoming one of Canada’s hottest bands, are a five-piece mix of country, southern rock and blues, with songs of “maverick culture and the open road.” Created by Minesing, Ont. native Jason McCoy, the CCMA’s 2004 Male Vocalist of The Year.

In an exclusive interview with Today’s Trucking sister publication highwaySTAR this summer, McCoy recalled how the Road Hammers project started after he’d written a couple of trucking songs in the same vein as Red Sovine’s Teddy Bear, “and all sorts of other classic, campy recitation songs, which I really liked growing up.” That, coupled with the urging of his friends and relatives in the trucking business — as well as a week-long stint in a truck last year during a tour for a children’s charity — gave birth to the idea behind the Road Hammers.

“Truckers are traditionally country fans,” says McCoy, “but you’re also seeing them listening to classic rock. In my own backyard research, I notice a lot of truckers like AC/DC and Skynyrd, but then you’ve got your George Jones and Johnny Cash fans — not so much the new country. The Road Hammers fulfils a lot of the orders that they’re requesting from the trucking world.”

Western Star Trucks, which formerly built trucks in British Columbia, is now headquartered in Redford, Mich., and produces heavy-duty custom trucks for long haul and vocational applications under the Freightliner LLC umbrella.