After Oklahoma based southern rock band Cross Canadian Ragweed broke up in 2010, Cody Canada decided to start the Departed that was billed by Texas and Oklahoma music scene observers as a "Super Group." Canada remained on lead vocals and lead guitar and former Ragweed bass guitar player Jeremy Plato joined Canada. Canada recruited friend and Texas based blues rocksinger and songwriter Seth James to be co-lead on guitar and vocals, well known red dirt keyboardist Steve Littleton, and fellow Yukon, Oklahoma native Dave Bowen on drums. Naming themselves "The Departed" as all had left previous bands to join together, the group at first billed themselves as "Cody Canada and The Departed" namely for fan recognition according to the band members in a 2011 interview.
''This Is Indian Land''
The band released its first album in June 2011 titled This Is Indian Land through its own record label, Underground Sound. The record was a tribute album to Oklahoma Red Dirt music and songwriters. The band's cover version of the Red Dirt Rangers song "Staring Down the Sun" was the only released single from the album. Two other songs, "The Ballad of Rosalie" and "Skyline Radio" both charted on the Texas and Oklahoma music charts.
''Adventūs''
On August 24, 2012, now billed as simply The Departed, the band announced on its website and in social media that it would release its first original album, Adventūs on November 13, 2012, on Underground Sound. Bowen had left the group and was replaced by Chris Doege on the drums. The band moved to an alternative rock and grunge sound with driving electric guitars and the power vocals of James and Canada. Three singles were released: "Worth The Fight", "Prayer For the Lonely" and "Flagpole".
''HippieLovePunk'' & Line-Up Changes
In September 2013, Seth James announced that he intended to leave the band. The parting was amicable; as James said. "After three years of great times and great music, I have decided to take a step down as a band member of the Departed. It has been an unbelievable ride and I am so grateful for the support and love along the way. My last show will be November 23 at Gruene Hall. I look forward to supporting these guys alongside you as they continue down the road." The band continued performing as a four-piece group. In 2014, the band finished a new album, HippieLovePunk. It was released on January 13, 2015, and debuted at No. 9 on the Top Alternative CountryAlbums chart, with 4,700 copies sold in the US in its first week. The sound was, for the most part, still like the alt-rock sound of Advnetus. Cody Canada and The Departed, as the band was once again known, debuted a new line-up at The MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on January 8, 2015. East Texas native Ross Smith replaced Littleton on keyboards and took up rhythm guitars, while Eric Hansen became the drummer in place of Doege. In late November 2015, the band produced a music video for the song "All Nighter" on HippieLovePunk at John T. Floore's Country Store in Helotes, Texas. The song and the video were dedicated to the former bass guitar player for Mickey and the Motorcars Mark McCoy, who had died in Idaho in 2012 while on vacation. The songs "Inbetweener" and "Easy" were released as singles.
''Jeremy Plato And The Departed: In Retrospect''
In early 2016, the band announced on social media that it would be releasing an album consisting of cover versions of classic country songs. This project was named Jeremy Plato And The Departed: In Retrospect, honoring 1960s era country music with songs by Johnny Paycheck, Stonewall Jackson and Charlie Walker, among others. The bass guitarist, Plato, took the lead vocals and had Canada, Smith and Hansen as his backing on the project. Reckless Kelly's Cody Braun and Cody Angel of Jason Boland and the Stragglers contributed their instrumentation to the project, as well as the folk singer Jamie Lin Wilson, who sang backing vocals and also appeared on a popular duet with Plato.
''3''
In early 2017, Ross Smith left the band and The Departed became a 3 piece set with Canada, Plato, and Hansen. On April 20, 2018 the band released the single "Lipstick" from their new album 3, that was released on June 29, 2018, by the Underground Sound Label. Mike McClure, who had produced several of Cross Canadian Ragweed's albums, came back to produce the album. The name of the album comes from the number of those who were left in the band. It was also their 3rd album of original content as In Retrospect, and Indian Land had both been cover albums.
Current
Due to the band's current lineup, several popular Cross Canadian Ragweed songs have made their way back into the Departed's nightly set list in addition to the new material the band has written. Canada said in a 2018 Rolling Stone interview that he was "truly happy with the way the band is now and I feel this is the band I have always wanted, and really deserved."
