Western Music and Cowboy Poetry

I'm weird but comfortable with it

2011-12-21T00:41:00.000-07:00

As I’ve whined about on here before, I am primarily nocturnal. Most people are not. The “normal” person is a diurnal (Daytime) creature. I don’t feel well if I have to get out of bed before the crack of noon. It’s not that it hurts me, but I just don’t feel well in the early morning. And, by early, I mean anything before 10AM! Everyone (except others like me) laughs at me when I gripe about getting up “early” at 7 or 8 in the morning. Most of you just don’t understand.

Also, I watch all those with “good jobs”, heading in to work at 8, herding themselves home at 5, working in the same cubicle day after day, doing the same things in the same way with only eventual retirement as an incentive. They feel so lucky because they have good, steady jobs.

The regular life model just doesn’t appeal to me. I’m glad that I have reduced my commitments to the point where I can live on very little so I can try to make it with music, fix a few computers, play some pool and just be semi-retired while I can still enjoy it. If I were doing the day-to-day cubicle thing I’d wind up running screaming down the street. As I look at how others live, I begin to understand alcoholism and other drug addictions!

Winter is here

2011-11-06T10:18:00.002-07:00

Last summer (can it only be a couple of months ago?!) I overheard a lady in West Yellowstone say: I hope it doesn't snow until December this year. I really didn't like last winter." I was astonished. I couldn't help but interject: "Are you kidding?" She looked at me and replied: "No. It was really cold and snowy last winter." I said: "You do know that this is West Yellowstone, Montana, right? You'll have snow on the ground here from Halloween until Fathers Day." She said: "Oh no, no one wants that." I just shook my head and said: "Sorry ma'am but you moved to the wrong place. You should consider Tombstone or Yuma."

What do these people think? That the West Yellowstone they see in the summer is what it's like here year around?

Anyway, the snow didn't stay on the ground here in Townsend yet but it looks like West has it's foundation already. Wish I was there instead of here even with the cold and snow.

Criminals at Black Sands Spring!

2011-08-11T10:27:00.003-06:00

I am a third generation West Yellowstone resident. My Grandfather worked on the railroad into West and my Grandmother worked in the dining hall. My Grandfather and his brothers logged in this area for many years and my family worked at the sawmill. I grew up here and was raised with a reverence for this area in particular and our surroundings and environment in general.
I don’t get to live here year around anymore but I have been blessed with the opportunity to live and work in West Yellowstone during the summertime so that I can still enjoy my real home as much as possible. When I am here I spend as much time as I can in the outdoors, fishing, hiking and just enjoying our “Yellowstoneland”, soaking it in so that I can carry some of it back north during the winter.
As I have driven, hiked and biked around this summer, I have been disgusted by the number of beer cans, candy wrappers, cigarette butts and general trash I have seen along our back roads and trails. I have taken to carrying a sack just for such things wherever I go but the contempt people seem to have for our area has saddened me. Then, on the morning of Sunday, Aug 7th, 2011, I encountered a scene that was utterly ridiculous.
As I drove into the Black Sand Spring parking area, I noticed smoke rising from the firepit and I saw beer cans, beer bottles, vodka bottles, cigarettes…the whole parking area strewn with trash and litter! Obviously, a big party had been held there on Saturday night and everyone just walked away, leaving the mess for the rest of us to enjoy. I cleaned up as much as I could and I put the smoldering fire out but the whole thing sickened me. I can’t express the disgust and loathing I feel for all of you who were at that party and left that mess behind.
What’s really bad is that, on reflection, I realize that it was most likely West Yellowstone residents who did it. I seriously doubt that our tourists know enough about the area to hold their party at Black Sands so these were probably at least summer residents. I certainly hope that none of our few permanent residents would leave such a disaster behind but; well, who knows anymore.
The complete contempt, disrespect and carelessness shown by this group is hard for me to even imagine. Leaving a fire burning in the forrest? Scattering your garbage and leaving it behind? Come on!! I don’t have to explain the concept of “pack it in, pack it out” any more than I have to explain why litter is a bad thing. Ask any little tourist kid about it if you don’t understand and they can help you.
Presumably, you moved here because this is such a beautiful area and such a nice place to live and then you treat it like this? I can’t speak for everyone but in my opinion, if you have no reverence or respect for our land, such utter disregard for other people, creatures and our environment…go back to where you came from! Scatter your beer cans in your own living room or on the streets of your home town. Leave your fires in your city parks.
I’ll bet many of you were sitting around, cursing Montana for their handling of the Buffalo situation while you decried Man-made Global warming and other environmental issues.
I am happily cooperating with Law Enforcement to try and identify those involved. The trouble is that if they are found and cited, they will only be fined or do some little jail time. I only wish banishment were still an option!

On summer hours

2011-08-11T10:23:00.002-06:00

I haven't been posting this summer because I'm living in my camper in the West Yellowstone area and it's not easy to get internet access very often for very long.

I've been playing daily at the City Creamery on Canyon Street in West. It's a sattelite shop of the Virginia City Creamery. I've basically done as well here in tips and CD sales as I would have at the Virginia City Cafe and I'm not using nearly the gas! In my pickup/camper at 8MPG, this makes a big difference.

Still doing Parade Rest Ranch on Mondays and Fridays as I have for several years. So far, it's been a pretty decent summer.

Our Medical Attitudes

2011-06-16T10:42:00.002-06:00

I had the "opportunity" yesterday to deal with some Doctors and some of the attitudes and problems in our Medical system became very clear.

First, Doctors continually advocate our constant contact with medical professionals. Regular checkups, respond to Medical facilities when there is ANY possible sign of problems. You should have a regular provider who has seen you enough to know you. Whether or not you are sick, you should be constantly seeking medical advice. No wonder everyone "needs" health insurance or coverage of some kind and also no wonder the prices are so ridiculously high.

I had chest pains yesterday afternoon and, since I was in Helena and at the ER for another matter anyway, I checked in to the ER. I will first have to be very positive about the conduct of hospital personnel. The didn't ask about insurance (don't have any) or ability to pay. They took me into an ER room and got me ready for whatever might happen. Within ten minutes, I was IV'd and hooked up to all the machines with my blood work being done and my ECG completed and printed. Very quick and efficient.

Later, however, in comes a nurse with some medications for me. She told me that they hadn't found anything wrong yet but they wanted to give me some meds to rule out other problems. What I heard from this was: "We don't know that there is anything wrong with you but here are some drugs anyway." I wouldn't take the meds.

Eventually they admitted that they couldn't find a problem. and they sent me home. I still had the tightness in my chest but it apparently wasn't dangerous. I can accept that. Could be muscle tension or many other things. They had shown that the heart was fine and not in danger.

Then, my friend had some necessary prescriptions to fill but she doesn't have insurance either. So, the pharmacy discounted 20% of the prescription price. Any idiot can see that, if they can discount 20% for the uninsured then the sticker price MUST be over 20% higher than necessary, just to get more out of insurance companies.

So, here are the current conclusions. First, medical care is available to everyone without regard to insurance or ability to pay. So much for the need for Obamacare. But, on the negative side, we Americans are far too dependent on out "medical professionals". Why do we need to be going to Dr.s when we are not sick? Why this constant care situation? And, the Doctors are prescribing medications when they are not really needed just to make us believe we are in need of constant services. A vicious circle.

If we were going to Doctors only when needed then insurance would be more affordable, thus more of us would have it and Doctors would not be worrying as much about non-payment. If drug prices were not so overinflated then, again, insurance prices would be less and it would be more affordable to the "working class" people.

Beartooth NBC TV spot for the Townsend Gathering

2011-06-01T15:28:00.001-06:00

2011-05-31T13:45:00.003-06:00

For the 10th annual Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering we will be doing things a little differently this year. We will not be doing the three day, Day-Show/Night-Show format. Instead, we will be having the Pit Roasted Pig dinner, followed by a Night Show which features the performers we've had the most requests for over the last ten years. Remember, proceeds from all the Gathering activities go to the Broadwater Rural Fire District!

Saturday, June 11th, there will be a Pit Roast Pig dinner held in the School Cafeteria beginning at 5PM. This will be hosted by the Rural Fire personnel and we are asking everyone to pre-purchase tickets to the dinner/show so we know how many we will be feeding.

A local artist, Mariah Saltzman, will open our show at 6:30PM. The main opening ceremonies will be at 7:00PM with the posting of the colors and an opening prayer. Then John Westbrook and Larry Gibson will get together again for the first time this year. John will be coming all the way from Virginia!

Wayne Nelson will be here from American Falls Idaho.

Our final act will be the High Strung Band from Cove, Oregon. Of all the performers we've had here in the past ten years, this family has gotten the most response and we are happy to see them back in Townsend again.

Dinner/show tickets are pre-sale @ $18 per person. If you want to come to just the show; show tickets are $8 for 13YOA and older. Please call either Larry Gibson @ 406-266-3946 or Joann Shindoll @ 406-266-5771

Follow up to Charlie Ray Music

2011-05-18T08:38:00.002-06:00

Although I have talked with numerous other performers and promoters, i have found no one who has had any dealings with Charlie Ray. My personal decision has been to not sign with him for anything. If anyone has had positive dealings with him or has a different take on this whole thing there are lots of us out here who would like to hear from you.

New Reliv Comment

2011-05-18T08:06:00.004-06:00

Ok. I've been semi-interested in these Reliv Products for quite some time and have posted info about them before. I've finally come completely around to being a "missionary" about them.

I'm a diabetic. Not seriously so but I have pretty high blood sugars which the Doctors want to control with drugs. For quite some time I hadn't been going to the VA Doctors for personal reasons. But I started back again about two months ago and went back on the Metformin drug which is supposed to lower my blood sugar.

When I first started taking the Metformin, I felt terrible. My head felt huge and heavy and all I wanted to do was lie in bed. It took two or three days of regular drug use for these feelings to subside but I never really felt all that great. also, my blood sugar really wasn't going down much.

I got a little more serious about Reliv's product for diabetics; "Glucaffect" which I had been taking a little of for a long time. I read more about it and found that Reliv reccomends three to four scoops of Glucaffect per day for someone trying to get their sugars under control. I had only been taking one a day. So, I started doing what they said and watching my blood sugars carefully. I found that my blood sugars normally went down noticeably after I drank a Glucaffect shake. during this time, the Doctor had prescribed doubling my Metformin dose to try and get my sugars down. I went through two more days of reaction to that and kind of decided that my body didn't like Metformin. As a personal experiment, I went off the Metformin entirely, going through two days of withdrawl as a result.

For a week, I did nothing but take three to four Glucaffect/Now shakes a day but no drugs. When I checked my blood sugar after that week, it was the same as when I was taking the drugs, but without the drug reactions. I felt very well.

I've now been off the Metformin for over two weeks, using just the Reliv products. My blood sugar levels are lower. When my sugars are at their highest, the are lower than the highest while on drugs and the lower readings are lower than when I used the drugs.

Bottom line? The drugs weren't working and the Reliv products seem to be.

So, I have been doing some research. My conclusions? The current medical community efforts are to drug away the symptoms of most diseases. Drugs to lower the blood sugars, to relieve (mask or hide) pain, lower cholestorol and lower bblood pressure. Drugs...and more drugs into our bodies.

Our bodies are capable or fixing themselves with the right nutrition. If we give our bodies what they need, our bodies will often heal themselves. Instead of hiding the symptoms, the body can often naturally fix the underlying problem. My blood sugars are going down, not because Glucaffect makes them do so but because my body is beginning to function more correctly. This process takes time. It isn't an instant fix but a long road. It has taken me over 50 years to get to the condition I'm in now. It will take a while for me to get back.

Drugs appear to be an instant fix because they force our bodies to respond unnaturally but they often are only hiding the true issues.

Reliv products are not medicine. they are not drugs nor does the FDA agree that they help us in any way. Reliv products are simply food . Check it out. www.relivingpartners.com or www.reliv.com . Read and learn as have I.

Back Again

2011-04-24T15:29:00.000-06:00

I like to stay up late at night (way into the early morning hours) and sleep late in the daytime. I don’t like to deal with morning. This is very anti-establishment! Remember the movie “True Grit”? Matty finds Rooster still in bed and says; “I’ve never seen anyone in bed at 10:00 who wasn’t sick.”? Well, that’s the prevalent attitude of society.

I remember how disgusted my Grandfather was with my father’s sleep habits as they were much like mine. Granddad was pretty disdainful of anyone who slept ‘til noon.

Joann doesn’t understand. She often is sarcastic about my sleeping habits. She doesn’t like my staying out in the bars until closing time and sleeping until noon or even later. To her, these are signs of poor character or even downright disreputableness

Well, I just happen to run on a different schedule than the rest of you. I not only like the pool-playing life of late nights in the bars but I just like being out at night. I love the smell of a cool late night. The stars and the moon are my favorite lighting. It’s not uncommon for me to sit out in my yard at 3AM, just enjoying the night.

But, getting up in the morning is almost painful, even if I go to bed early for a change. My eyes hurt and my mind is as sluggish as my body until I’ve been up for a while. Even while running my computer repair business, I like to get started late in the morning. Often, computers that I bring in to the shop don’t see me until after midnight.

Also, just recently, Joann was disdainful of my lifestyle, saying: “Other people have lives. They don’t sit around playing on the computer or watching movies all the time.” I have an answer for this.

Other people don’t have “lives”. They have jobs. Think about it. Most of us are tied to our possessions; indentured to some employer for most of our waking hours (usually daytime again) with no freedom in sight. Working to try and pay off all the “things” we have and hoping that we can save enough to retire one day when we are too old to really enjoy it.

I’ve decided not to do that. Look at my present situation. I am sitting quietly in my house (mine, by the way!), watching a video while I write down my thoughts. Later, I will take a nice long walk down by the lake and then go play some pool for a while. It’s my choice, not the choice of some employer. The only real problem I have right now is that I have wasted so much money gambling that I may have to take a regular job for a while to replenish it.

Another Montana day

2011-01-11T15:37:00.003-07:00

Not much for me in the music world this time of year. I was hoping to get a gig in Elko during the Big Gathering but that doesn't look like it will fly. Oh well. There are a couple of local pool tournaments I'll play in to make a few bucks and I'm back to fixing computers once in a while.

I'm using the time to learn some "new" songs to put in my list. There are several that I have been meaning to get together for years but I never just sat down and worked on them.

That brings up another of my profound insights. I have often wondered why it bothered me to see "performers" doing a karoke kind of show. I know of one locally who not only has the music playing in the background but he has a screen with the lyrics scrolling by! It offends me because of how hard I have to work to get a good rendition of a song arranged. I spend hours learning the lyrics and chords, getting a good strumming pattern going, even a little bit of lead, now that Westbrook has abandoned me.

All the Karoke guy has to do is learn to read!

Anyway, here's a couple that I'm working on:

Dirty Old Man by George Hamilton IV
Lucky One by: Alisson Krause

What I really need to do is get some writing done. A couple of new originals wouldn't hurt anything.

It's good to be home but it sure is cold. We haven't gotten into the really terrible cold temps this winter but we are staying around zero a lot. I've never minded Montana winters and this one is ok. It just seems that my furnace runs a lot and that will mean a pretty interesting power bill later this month! We Montana folks would really like to be included in this Global Warming thing!

Population growth

2010-12-19T12:43:00.002-07:00

I had some deep thoughts as I was driving for many hours. Partly about the differences between Arizona and Montana. Both were settled initially because of mining and then cattle/agriculture. Both have lots of wide open space, a history that is similar and so on.

I think that Montana has more natural resource to offer, with actual rivers with flowing water, more grass and fewer thorny plants and our most unpleasant insect is the Mosquito. But Arizonas population has boomed, with two very large cities (Phoenix and Tucson) and several which rival our "big towns" of Great Falls and Billings.

Why all the industry and growth in Arizona compared to Montana? The most obvious answer is weather. People seem to be more comfortable in the extreme heat of Arizonas summer as opposed to the extreme cold of a Montana winter. Actually, the southern Arizona winter weather is pretty much what I expect during a Montana summer which brings up the old joke: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in Montana."

Since I am not what you'd call a big fan of cities, I'm all for some more cold and snowy Montana winters. Yay for sub-zero temperatures!!

Home from Arizona

2010-12-15T14:37:00.005-07:00

Well, I finally made it home from my journey around Arizona. It was a good trip. I had a great time, learned a lot and maybe even lined up more for next year which was the whole idea in the first place.

I left Townsend on the 3rd of December, right after getting back from the hunting camp and I headed to Wayne Nelson's house for the night. As usual, Wayne and I talked until way late before we finally gave it up and went to sleep for a while.

The next evening, I played at the Cowboy Corral in Elsinore, Utah, along with several other great poets and pickers, including Sam DeLeeuw, C.R Wood and David Anderson. I didn't make anything there but we had a great time together. I played pool for a while at the Detour bar in Richfield, Utah but couldn't get any cash games going so I gave up and went to my room.

The Days Inn Motel in Richfield was the most expensive room I payed for on the whole trip at $49.60. I managed to stay under $40 everywhere else. In figuring my total costs for the trip, if I had used my pickup camper, thus not staying in motels or eating out, the added gasoline costs would have doubled my total trip cost. If I were staying down there longer or going farther, maybe it would be worth it but the better gas mileage from taking the camper off made it actually cheaper to stay in motels and eat in cafes.

Anyway, I had moved on from Richfield on sunday morning and went to Flagstaff, Arizona. On the way, south of Page, AZ, there is a senic lokout where some Navajos have a jewelry and crafts stand. They were all huddled in a shelter made of umbrellas, wearing coats with hoods, wearing their gloves...all of that kind of thing. I was in jeans and a T-shirt. I teased them a lot about being cold at somthing like 60 degrees.

I like Northern Arizona a lot. It's empty, pretty and wild. Lots of open empty dessert populated by primarily low income people. I fit right in.

In Flagstaff, I went to Uptown Billiards and rented a table. I was just practicing by myself and noticed another guy doing the same. I asked him if he wanted to play some for a little bit of cash. He asked me how much and I said: "Cheap. I don't have a lot. How about a race to 5 for $20?" He kind of laughed at me and said: "I might for $200 or $100 but not that cheap." I told him I'd play a race to 5 for $100 but he just kind of waved me away so I went back to practicing alone. About 20 minutes later, after watching me practice, he came around and said that he'd play for some if I wanted. That kind of scared me a little. He's obviously wathced me practice and then offered to play so I only played a race for $50. The guy was terrible. After the first two games, I started laying back, giving him some room to play cause I wanted to keep hiim at the table. It didn't work. I won 5-3 and he quit and left.

I made it to Mesa the next day and settled in at Bev Hunsakers. She was nice enough to offer me the use of her trailer, parked in the back yard so I could afford to hang out for a while.

I won 3rd in a 9ball tournament at Main Street Billiards in Mesa collecting a few bucks and meeting some of the local players. I like Main Street Billiards. It's a nice, open, clean, upscale pool room with (I think) 42 tables. Mostly 8' or 9' rentals and a row of bar boxes. The tables are all well maintained and the whole facility is clean and pleasant. There are a few people who play for cash but I didn't see any big games and never managed to get any cash games there but it sure is a nice place for practice. Check their website for tournaments and specials.

A guy I met there recommended Kolby's Corner Pocket on University Ave in Tempe. I checked it out and it is a really good room also but for different reasons. The tables aren't as nicely maintained and the room isn't as clean but the prices are good for both table time and food and there are a lot of cash games there. I was watching some guys playing One Pocket for $200 a game and I got a few low dollar games there. Won sopme, lost some, came out even at the end of the stay. Nothing memorable.

Wednesday, I played my gig at the Palmas Del Sol East in Apache Junction. The activities director is new and was not the one who had heard and hired me so I could tell she was a little apprehensive about what my show might be like. Everyone had a great time, though. I sold some CDs and she invited me back next year so I must have done something right.

I went out to the Queen Valley area and got some pictures of the dessert and the Superstition Mountains. It would be nicer country if it weren't so close to the Phoenix area. Big cities do not endear me to an area.

Thursday, I played at ElDorado of Sun City in Sun City, AZ. It was another great gig and everyone was happy. I met a couple of ladies there who are from here in Townsend! What a small world! I know their family well.

I headed south Friday, down from US 60 to Florence and then to Tucson. It was a great drive with lots of dessert vistas to enjoy until I got into Tucson. Some of the worst traffic I dealt with on the whole trip was in the Tucson area and I was really glad to get to I10 and head East on the freeway. I went to Sierra Vista and stayed the night then went to Tombstone for the day. Tombstone is like a SW Virginia City except that it's a little more commercial. I talked with the managers of a couple of bars/restaurants there and might be setting up next winters gigs.

I went straight from Tombstone to Flagstaff and stayed there for Saturday night. I couldn't get any cash games so I just gave up and went to bed.

Sunday, I headed north again. Just south of Page, I took 89A to Kanab instead of staying on 89 to Page and Kanab. What a great side trip! Vermillion cliffs, Glen Canyon, the Kaibab plateau! It was really pretty and well worth the little bit of extra time. If you're going that way anyway, take that cutoff and bring your camera.

I checked into the Days Inn in Richfield, Utah again. I told the lady there that even if she did have the lowest rates in Richfield, they were still more than I had paid anywhere else. I was thinking about going out and shopping around a little more but it was too much trouble so I accepted the rates and went to the room. It hadn't been cleaned! I went to the top of the stairs and asked the lady if I was the only one staying in that room. She said: "Yes, Why?" and I said: "Because somebody's been sleeping in MY bed." This was at 6:00PM. Anyway, they put me into another room so they could clean the first one.

Monday was a 12 hour run from Richfield to Helena and then home, getting home about 10:30PM and thus winding up my journey.

I posted pictures on my facebook page but some of them are here also.

Home again for a day

2010-11-05T13:18:00.004-06:00

It's been a fun week in Hunting Camp. I was only cooking for four this week so it was a lot easier than the first week. Also, shooting time is later so I get to sleep in until 0500hrs each day now! Of course, Daylight saving time will screw that up this weekend.

Tuesday morning, I had gotten everyone fed and out of my tent and had gone back to sleep for a while. They had all left. I awoke to grunts, squeels, thumps and clatters outside my tent. When I went outside, I found that a small herd of elk had come within 20' of my tent before they realized their mistake, then with a hearty "Oh Shit!!" (in elk, of course, but I understood the sentiment) they took off for the timber. In this picture, the elk tracks are circled and you can see my tent in the background.

I'm home for a day. Getting laundry done and cleaning up a little before I head back into the mountains. I'll probably be gone two weeks this time unless this new batch of hunters fills out their tags quickly.

First week in Hunting Camp

2010-10-29T11:22:00.002-06:00

I posted some pics of this last weeks hunting camp on my facebook account: www.facebook.com/easygibson. It was a lot of fun and I learned a bunch of stuff. All of you who know me and my habits would have been astounded at my delight in being able to change my routine a little and sleep in until 4:30AM!

I get up at 4:30 and start the coffee brewing. NOT in a drip coffee maker, you modern types, but by starting the burners under the coffee pots! Then, I go out and fire up the generator so I have a little better light to work by.

Breakfast has to be on the table at 5:30 and even the big group I had last week would be done eating within 15 minutes or so. Then they'd all load up and head out to go hunting while I got the breakfast dishes and mess cleaned up. I'd try to get a couple hours nap before I had to prepare lunch which had to be ready at Noon. Then, after cleaning up the lunch mess, I could really relax for a while ( as long as I had planned and prepared well for dinner) because dinner didn't have to be on the table until 8:30PM. I'd get all the final cleanup and preparations for the next days breakfast done and be in bed by about 11PM, ready to start all over again the next morning.

This first week, I was cooking for 12 people...13 counting myself, although I really didn't eat much. Too busy fixing it to eat it. So, planning was everything. We have a freezer in camp and several coolers. Each morning I would get the next days meals out of the freezer and thawing. I would prepare as much as I could at least several hours if not a day ahead. Things like boiling and slicing potatos, making salad, pre-cooking bacon; that sort of thing.

We also have fresh baked bread instead of store bought but I cheat a little by using the frozen bread dough. I kept fresh baked cookies handy all the time, keep the coffee pots full and so on.

Most of the clients were guys from Pennsylania. I had a lot of fun with them and we had some great conversations. I played a little music in the evenings and even sold a few CDs.

It's 10 miles of tough road to a cell phone signal and 35 miles to White Sulphur Springs, MT. No running water or bathroom facilities, no TV, no internet. Many of you are not any more shocked at these deficiencies than I but there are also lots of my firends list who will have a hard time grasping these concepts.

2010 current summer report

2010-07-25T09:08:00.002-06:00

Well, things have been going fairly well this summer. I've kept the road warm between Parade Rest Ranch and Virginia City so far, playing Mondays and Fridays at the Parade Rest cookouts and every other possible day at the Virginia City Cafe. I've had lots of fun and met some great people.

I had a special treat this last Saturday (the 24th) as John Westbrook flew out from Virginia to join me at the West Yellowstone Historical Center annual dinner. We had a good crowd early on and then a small group stayed as long as we wanted to play. The event people finally had to throw us all out!!

The first hour we played was during the coctail hour and we did this accoustically in the Firehole Room at the Old UP Dining Hall. There were so many people, all talking and visiting, that after a few minutes Westbrook and I had a hard time even hearing each other, let alone much of the audience being able to hear us. Anyway, John started playing "The Wonderfull Wizard of Oz" and I was the only one who noticed!

After dinner, we plugged into our sound system and stared doing the real show and it was a blast. This is always a good show for me as I get to visit with so many of my ole friends who I rarely see any other time. Speaking of "old", I mentioned to one of my HS classmates that everybody I know in West Yellowstone any more is...old. Doug looked at me and said: "Check your birthdate lately?" Good point.

Westbrook caught a 5AM flight back to Virginia this morning and I headed on home for some catch-up and resupply before I head back to Parade Rest tomorrow.

2010-07-12T14:02:00.000-06:00

4th Annual Historic Ritzville Days Western Art Show

By Smoke Wade

Ritzville, WA: Sadly, the train doesn’t stop in Ritzville these days. It has been a number of years since the passenger trains gave up on Ritzville. Established in the 1880’s, Ritzville, Washington was once the largest wheat shipping point in the world. While the wheat industry is still booming, much of the grain is transported by trucks these days. Then the Interstate by-passed the quaint farming town of gracious homes and graceful brick buildings that bear silent witness to the prosperity of times gone by. Slowly, the historic downtown, rich in pioneer heritage, slipped into a slumber brought about by a lack of business and tourism.

But, even though the trains no longer stop in Ritzville, that doesn’t mean She’s not a train town. Over sixty trains a day blow through the heart of town with whistles blowing, and the ground shaking, as long freight trains hurry past to unknown destinations. And it is these very trains and their endless clickety-clack that connects the soul of Ritzville to it’s prosperous past.

It was just a scant one hundred feet from the historic Ritzville train depot that the outdoor main stage was set for the 4th Annual Historic Ritzville Days Western Art Show held May 28 – 30, 2010. As the trains rumbled by, the talented cast of western entertainers that performed over the weekend quickly learned to adapt to the deafening noise. The 2010 Historic Ritzville Days Western Art Show was sponsored by the Ritzville Downtown Development Association as a means to help revitalize the historic downtown business district. The three-day event encompassed downtown Ritzville as it featured inside and outside venues including a street fair of over 60 renown artisans - western artists, sculptors and, authors, along with food booths, youth activities and live entertainment.

The performing artists for the 2010 Art show included Cowboy Celtic, Alberta, Canada; Dave Stamey and Sourdough Slim, California; The Rockin HW and Nevada Slim & Cimarron Sue, Washington; Barbara Nelson, Oregon; and The Copper Mountain Band, Montana. The performing cowboy poets included Jessica Hedges, Del Gustafson, Orvil Sears, Robin Dale and Dick Warwick, all from Washington; Van & Kathy Criddle and Duane Nelson of Oregon; and JB Barber, Idaho. Smoke Wade, Nevada, emceed the street festival event.

The festivities got under way on Friday night with an Artists’ Reception at the C. J. Newland American Legion Memorial Hall with musical entertainment provided by Barbara Nelson. Street fair art exhibits, art auctions and cowboy entertainment ran throughout the day and evening on Saturday and Sunday. Up on Main Street, one could here the occasional sounds of gunfire as members of the Ritzville Community Theater troupe staged old west gun battles on a regular schedule. The out-of-town visitors wandered through the art booths sipping from a cold bottle of Sarsaparilla or blowing the steam from a cup of cowboy coffee that was offered for sale from an authentic chuck wagon.

And the music and poetry seemed to waft through the streets in a non-stop fashion. Sourdough Slim was at his best delighting audiences throughout the weekend. Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue wandered the streets on occasions as western singing minstrels. Cowboy Celtic brought their own unique music to the festival – reminding us about the roots of cowboy music. Cowboy poet, Mike Whitaker and musician, Alan Halvorson of the Rockin HW pulled double duty as sound crew and performers. The Copper Mountain Band played country music for a wonderful street dance, and Dave Stamey lived up to his Western Music Association 2009 Entertainer of the Year Award by dazzling the audiences with his music, singing and naturally engaging personality.

Somewhere in the midst of it all some folks spent time at the classic car show up in the park, dining at the local restaurants or attending a special Memorial Day service at the Ritzville Memorial Cemetery. Others scooped up collectable art from the many artists, or toured the museum at the historic Ritzville train depot.

It was perhaps ironic that even though the entire festival was free of admission, the chilly and windy weather kept crowds lighter than the organizers and entertainers would have expected. Still, the event coordinators headed up by the energetic group of Stephen McFadden, Jim Lisk, Lavonne Saunders, Jennifer Larsen and many others, stormed through their duties in a tireless fashion. And the entertainers entertained – and the trains rolled by.

When western art and music festivals come to an end, the organizers, audience and entertainers alike all experience a deal of bittersweet remorse. They are often relieved the event is over and know they can soon journey home, yet they are saddened to part company with new and old friends alike. In Ritzville, they left reluctantly. They left wanting more – more of Dave Stamey’s ballads, more of Van Criddle’s poetry and more of the quick draw artist competitions. They left with memories of a wonderful weekend, of cold sarsaparilla and cowboy coffee – memories of the 4th annual Historic Ritzville Days Western Art Show and Music Festival. But mostly, they will remember the trains – those wonderful trains that no longer stop in Ritzville.

Smoke Wade

Spring is finally here!!

2010-06-21T13:14:00.002-06:00

Officially, today is the first day of summer. For those of us in Montana it's finally springtime. Temps into the 60s, only a few clouds and a very nice day.

I'm at Parade Rest Ranch, near West Yellowstone, Montana for only the second cookout we've had this year. The weather just hasn't been condusive to cookouts. I've been in Virginia City a few times this last couple of weeks and only had semi-good luck there as it has been cool and wet. My show in VC is also outside so weather makes or breaks me there, too.

When I came over here from Virginia City yesterday, I stopped in Ennis and made a few bucks playing pool there. Why is it that the only place in Montana where I can get even very low money games is in Ennis?

I'm also doing some updates to my pages at www.cowboyentertainer.com/larry.html , putting a couple of demo songs up so maybe I can get a few more gigs through the website. I hate having to "snail-mail" promo packs to places when they can just go on the internet and get all the info that's in the mail packs.

Anyway, let's hear from some of you other summer travelers about your gigs and experiences.

Townsend Gathering 2010

2010-06-11T09:18:00.004-06:00

Well, we had a great time here again this year. Not lots of performers or audience but lots of enthusiasm!

Fridays Day-shows were practically empty. Basically, we played for each other during the day on Friday. The good news is that the Day-show performances give us a chance to work the bugs out of the system and get things working right.

The Friday Night-show audience was one of the smallest we've had since we started this, nine years ago. About 50-75 people in the audience. But they all seemed to have a great time and we still saw about 20% CD sales. Since the audience was small, that translates into not very many CDs sold but it still is a good ratio.

Saturday, everything went much better. We had audience in the Day-show all day and about 100 more in the Night show audience. Again, decent CD sales from them and the other things, like the dinner and the silent auction went well.

I wish to thank all the performers who showed up. The talent that we see at these little local shows is incredible. I'm not going to try and name everyone as I'd wind up forgetting somebody but you can't go to Elko, Santa Clarita or anywhere else and see better shows than were presented here in little Townsend, Montana last weekend.

The jam sessions were a blast! We got together and shared music and stories into the late hours and when everything was over and we all said our goodbys I knew that we had at least had a lot of fun. Having fun with our friends is why we all do this. It sure isn't for the money!

I had set up a video camera attached to a DVD recorder. I even had the sound being recorded directly from the sound board so the recordings seem to be pretty good. Now, I need to get the time to set down and edit things a little and I'll have DVDs for the performers.

One lesson learned (very forcefully) is that I can't be an organizer of the show and the sound guy at the same time! The equipment seemed to work well but I was often not manning it properly. IF (note the "if") we do this again, I'll either have to run sound or handle the show details. Not both.

2010-06-11T09:18:00.001-06:00

Memorial Day weekend

2010-05-31T01:16:00.002-06:00

Wanye Nelson, his son Erik and I played at the Bale of Hay Saloon in Virginia City Saturday.

We had a great crowd right from the start and held most of them there for the night. Erik's rocker style lead guitar playing, my standard "cover tunes" and Wayne's folk style all kind of blended together and it was a lot of fun.

Wayne and Erik had composed an instrumental where Wayne played a rythm pattern on the keyboard and Eril "rocked it up" with lead guitar. It was really good and some of the audience came around the corner to watch them. I have to say that I will always treasure the memory of Wayne Nelson dancing while he played the keyboard!

One big disappointment in Virginia City this year, though. Cell phones work there now! How depressing to see people texting and hear the jangle of cell phones, the raised voices of the users, all in the one place we were free of that in the past. Progress?

When I got to VC Saturday afternoon, there was still some wet snow here and there from the two or three inches they had gotten Friday night. The skies were mostly clear by the time we were done for the night but it was still kind of cold. Cold enought that, as I was laying in my bed in my camper, I thought about getting up and firing up the furnace. But, it was warm in my sleeping bag and cold everywhere else so I just stayed where I was.

I went home through Sheridan, Twin Bridges and Whitehall so that I could scatter a few more posters about our Cowboy Entertainer Gathering. It was a very pretty trip. Sheridan, however. was closed! I found a grocery store open and left a poster there but everything else seemed to be on Holiday.

I stopped at the Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks where they were having a local musicians "jam session". It was nice that a stage and sound system had been set up and they were running it very well, getting different performers and groups on and off but giving decent time to each. I knew most of the performers there and made it a point to meet those I did not.

I did a few songs and had a good time with everyone, plugging Our Show, of course.

For me, the highlight was that Claudia Williams (Montana Rose) was there and did a few songs.

Then on to home...finally.

Now, we spend the rest of the week getting ready for the Townsend Gathering. Next week is Primary Election; don't forget! Afterwards, I believe I will start my summer with a trip back to Virginia City.

Charlie Ray Music

2010-05-23T12:47:00.004-06:00

Does anyone know this man?

Quite a while ago, I remember sending a CD to Graceland Entertainment in Nashville. Last January, I got a postcard from Graceland Entertainment with the story that they had been playing my CD in their office when Charlie Ray (pictured) came by, heard one of my songs and made favorable comments.

The postcard went on to say that he is a very succesfull "song plugger" and that I should contact him, giving his phone number and website: http://www.charlieraymusic.com/.

I have spoken with him and he seems reasonable. He claims to have placed several songs with major artists over the last few years. He provides a pretty decent resume as being able to find the right doors to knock on and knowing who to talk to behind those doors.

Charley wants to plug several of my songs this summer for a fee.

I've spoken with a few people with good connections in the music world and no one seems to know this guy. On one hand, there is no real info about him while on the other hand; that also means there is no BAD info about him. I would think that if he was scamming people, there'd be a lot of info about that.

I also know of at least two other Western Music people who have gotten similar postcards but have not followed up on them.

Anyway, if he's known, good or bad, to anyone, please let me know. If he's for real, he might be in a position to help us all. If he's not for real, or has caused problems or scammed money from people I need to know it.

Thanks.

White Sulphur Springs "Motherin' Up Gathering", 2010

2010-05-11T21:31:00.002-06:00

We had a great time in WSS last weekend. Lots of great performers showed up and we played all day, jammed part of the night and just enjoyed each others company. There were good crowds even for the Day-Show sessions.

I have two videos here. The first one is Landen Reddington, backed up by his family, the High Strung Band, doing El Cumbanchero. I recorded it in Elko, Nevada in January, 2007.

Here is Landen and his family with his 2010 version of that song.

Nutrition? Not in our food!

2010-05-10T22:53:00.002-06:00

Ok, I'm going way off the Western Entertainment reservation tonight as I have another personal "rant" to get off my chest.

For some reason, today, while I was shopping for groceries, I actually took the time to look at the labels of the food I was buying. Have you ever actually done that? I've been watching the sugar and sodium content the last couple of years but I still had never really looked at the whole label. There's nothing in there! Only calories, fat, sugar and sodium. I mean in almost every package! Once in a while you find small percentages of some basic vitamins but those percentages are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you ate enough packaged food (Canned, frozen, dried, pre-cooked, not cooked; it really doesn't seem to matter) to get the vitamins, minerals...basic nutrition that you need in order to be healthy, you'd have to eat far more than 2000 calories.

No wonder we are all getting so fat! No wonder we are hungry all the time and eating too much...too many empty calories as we search the nutrients our bodies are craving.

After today, I realize how seriously important it is to use some kind of nutritional supplement. Ok. I use and sell Reliv products and have a huge "testimony" of how effective they are. But there are many nutritional supplements out there which help. Use SOMEthing to supplement the tiny amounts of nutrients that you are getting in your food.

I know. If we try to stick to fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned and cook our own meals instead of buying precooked, microwaveable stuff we will be doing better but I'm beginning to understand now what some of my friends have been telling me for a long time. Even doing the fresh/organic thing doesn't get the whole job done. Find a supplement that works for you; gives you the nutrition you need and so on and stick with it.

I don't mean to get so far afield but I was really shocked to realize that most of what we eat is useless and grows nothing but fat and developes nothing but heart attacks, strokes and diabetes!

Another Rant about todays "Country Music"

2010-05-04T12:04:00.002-06:00

I spent a few hours in a car yesterday, with a local Top 40 Country station playing on the radio. I've been looking for a word to express my feelings for this "music". I've struggled for over 24 hours now and the best I can come up with is...Yechh!

I can't tell the difference between any of the singers by voice. I wish the radio announcers would at least take the time to break in and tell me that it is now a new song with a different singer because, otherwise, I can't tell where one stops and another starts. If they didn't throw a few female vocalists in there once in a while you'd NEVER be able to tell one song from another.

I realize that there is likely a certain amount of jealousy (sour grapes?) involved in my opinion here, since I'm a songwriter with no hits. If one of the songs being played on the Top 40 was one of mine, recorded by one of these "new artists", I guess I'd be a big fan. But none of the songs I heard yesterday seemed to have any substance to them. The melodies weren't memorable nor were the lyrics. What song from todays Top 40 would you think will be a "classic" 10 years from now? Which one of these drab puff pieces will be requested in bars in the year 2020?

Let me give you a hint. I'll bet we're still getting requests for "Mama Tried", "Good Hearted Woman" and "Folsom Prison Blues" in ten years!

I and several of my friends are writing songs today with catchy melodies and meaningful lyrics. Any Wayne Nelson song is more enjoyable than anything I heard yesterday.

I'm not saying it has to be "Western" to be good. And if they want to sing in a more "soft rock" style (The Eagles, Allman Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Molly Hatchett...would all be "Country" bands today by the sound of things) they should at least make it something worthwhile. How about a little meaning in the music? I guess, in my old age, I'm thinking more of a Folk Music style where a message comes out.

The thing is, there are some great musicians in todays "popular" Country Music world. In my opinion, the absolutely best voice in any style of music is Alison Krauss and she is backed up by some of the best musicians in the world; Union Station. Why don't I hear them on the Top 40 stations? Why do they only play the "Top 40"? What group of (insulting lable deleted) chooses what IS Top 40?

In all my travels the past few months I have rarely come across an either AM or FM station which plays a little of everything. If I programmed a radio station, you'd hear a huge musical mix. Waylon Jennings followed by Fleetwood Mac followed by George Strait...and so on. I like to hear the songs my friends are doing, old country songs, old rock songs and even a little Tchaikovsky when the mood hits me.

I guess that's why XM and Sirius have taken a bunch of the radio market away from our local stations. Maybe some of the local programmers should think about that.

More tree activity

2010-04-23T09:17:00.003-06:00

Sorry. Time for me to rant a little. I'm up earlier than usual this morning as I'm waiting for the City's insurance adjustor to come talk about my claim for the trees they cut down. Gotta love blood pressure!

The City people, of course, all think it's terrible of me to come after them for this. I'm the bad guy.

All this stress and trouble is actually because the Tree Board chairman has such arrogance and conceit along with utter contempt for other people and their property.

He still doesn't understand why I'm not eternally gratefull for his efforts in my behalf; cutting down and removing those terrible Elm trees and offering to replace them with some new, better trees. Of course, the fact that my trees were adult, large and great shade providers and more importantly...were MINE, is just nit-picking on my part.

Everything about this has been, at best, an irritant. On the worst days, I'd have sold out this property for a tank of gas. Oh well. Summer's coming and I can get out of here and back to West Yellowstone where I belong.

Made it home

2010-04-21T10:21:00.002-06:00

I finally made it home again Sunday afternoon. No new adventures in the 190 miles between Colt Angell's house and mine. I even made the trip from Wells, NV to here without a spare tire!

Now, Joann and I have to really get it in gear, selling ads and getting things together for our Gathering on June 4th and 5th. I'll be doing sound at the Gathering in White Sulphur Springs, MT the first weekend in May.

After our Gathering is done I'll start the trips back and forth from West Yellowstone (Parade Rest Ranch) and Virginia City (Virginia City Cafe) while I still try to keep some of my computer repair customers happy.

Hangin' at Wayne's

2010-04-13T13:47:00.003-06:00

Well, I made it here ok. Got the camper parked in Wayne Nelson's yard and I'm "ridin' the grubline" in American Falls for a day or two. Atually, we're working on our setlist for the show we will be doing in Virginia City, MT on Memorial Day at the Bale of Hay Saloon.

The wind is still howling ouside and I really don't want to drive in it anyway so working on a bunch of songs is much better.

I'll be on the Friday night Show in St. Anthony, ID this weekend and then I guess I'll be headed home for a while. Got to get going on the Townsend Gathering.

The Adventure Continues

2010-04-09T20:56:00.002-06:00

Where do I start? The showcase in Mesa, AZ was a great success, I think. I got a couple of definite bookings, several probables and a bunch of likelies...all starting Dec '10 so they don't do me lots of good right now.

I went to Main Street Billiards after the showcase and tried a tournament. I did my usual 9ball routine. Run 5 or six; basically, do all the work, then leave the last couple of balls for my opponent. No joy in the tournament for me. I left Mesa Wednesday night and headed NW. I stopped at a wide spot between Wickenburg and Kingman for the night then kept on peddling Thursday. A pretty easy trip there except for Hoover Dam where the traffic was being stopped at both ends for security checks. When I got to the top, I stopped at the lookout and waited until the traffic mellowed a little before I kept going. I hit Vegas at about 8PM and just peddled right on through and then took 93 N. This morning was pretty easy and I just kept on moving north. At Panaca, when I fueled, I noticed that the sidewall of one of my back tires was cracked and didn't look good at all. It failed me about 15 miles south of Wells so I had to find a good place to change a tire.

This is the first time I've had to change a tire on this pickup and I was enchanted to find that I don't have all the tools! I had to jerry rig getting the tire out from under the truck, getting it jacked up and all that. Changing a tire (usually a 15 minute job) took me about an hour and a half. I'm in Wells tonight and will head for Wayne's tomorrow. I'm probably going to wing it without a spare until I can get to Wayne's and maybe I can get a used tire someplace. The "spare" I put on looks like one of the original tires for this pickup. It's a great looking Cooper and I wish I had three more of them!

I need a nap!

Winter Driving as bad as I've seen

2010-04-06T08:34:00.002-06:00

I left Cedar City, UT yesterday at about 4:30PM. The wind had died down a little and I decided to chance it at least as far as Kanab so I headed east on SR14. I saw the flashing sign that said the road would be impassable to trucks several miles ahead. So what? I'm not a "truck".

About 8 miles from Cedar City I encountered a pretty good snowfall but nothing spectacular. I kept going. A couple of miles later, the snow was coming harder and the wind was blowing it around pretty good. Also, the road was climbing pretty steeply. I kept going. At about 12 miles out, I put my rig in 4WD...and kept going. Not long after that, it was snowing and blowing so hard that I was having a hard time seeing the road in front of me but there was no place to turn my big camper rig around so...I kept going.

The visibility was almost zero, the snow and wind hammering me and still no place to turn around. Things seemed to be leveling off a little as i came around a turn and found a Coke truck parked in a "wide spot" on the westbound side. I stopped and made sure he was ok and asked about what was ahead. He told mt it was worse but
I might be able to turn around a couple of miles ahead. I kept going.

At the top of the grade there were several cars stopped, including a Utah Highway Patrol car. the Patrolman told me that there really wasn't much room to turn around anywhere within about 5 miles ahead but that I had already covered some of the worst of it, other than visibility. I kept going.

Soon, I was at about 5MPH, low gear, 4WD and peering through the windshield, trying to see the tracks of the last idiot who had gone this way. My lane was blown full and when I met other cars I had to bust through drifts to give them room. The windshield wipers where clogging up and I had to keep reaching out and banging the wet snow off of the drivers side wiper. Definitely no place to turn around so...I kept going.

Finally, I came down in elevation enough to be able to get almost to 25MPH and even shifted into 2nd gear. The drivers side wiper shredded so I had about a two inch strip to see through; still following the last guys tracks. I just hoped he knew where he was going!

I was thrilled to see the junction with US89 and an open Conoco station. When I told the guy there that I had just come over from Cedar City he kind of stopped what he was doing and looked at me incredulously. "You came over 14?" he said. I said: "Yeah and not only did I come over 14 just now but I was driving that", pointing to my pickup/camper outside. I asked him how things were from there to Kanab and he just laughed. "If you could drive over 14 in that today, you can definitely make Kanab". They didn't have any windshield wipers so I switched the passengerside/drivers side wipers and headed south. That part of the adventure over.

I'm still wondering if SOMEbody doesn't want me to get to Mesa for some reason. I'm in Tuba City, AZ right now, getting ready to keep on heading south. Who knows what will be next?

In Elko Again

2010-03-31T15:57:00.002-06:00

Well, I left Hagerman Sunday morning and fought the wind all the way to Twin Falls. It wasn't a headwind this time. No, it came from the side so I felt like I was driving on two wheels! I stopped at a pool hall in Twin and played for a couple of hours while I waited for a call from a booking agent in Elko.

She finally got back to me and has set up a gig at Muley's near Elko for Saturday night. Maybe something Friday but definitely this one for Saturday.

So, I'm hangin' out with Billy Rose, getting some website work done, got my taxes done, lots of guitar practice...pretty bored, actually. But a few more $ in my pocket will get me a few more miles down the road. This is a good thing.

As to my "tree" situation...I had put in a claim against the City of Townsend for the trees that they cut down in January. We are waiting to see what their claims adjuster has to say about it. This time, while I am on the road again, the city had some guy come grind out the stumps they had left behind. In the process, he destroyed the rest of my hedge. Now, don't get me wrong. I was planning to have the stumps removed but, again, they didn't ask. they just came on my property and did it! I called the Mayor and asked her if she could grasp the concept of private property and trespass. Once again, their only excuse is..."whoops". I wonder if the city crew hangs out in my living room, watching my movies and eating my food while I'm gone.

Headed South Again

2010-03-28T03:41:00.003-06:00

Well, I had some great plans. I'd make the Hagerman Gathering where brisk CD sales would help me get to Elsinore, Utah and the Cowboy Corral on the 3rd which would help me get to the Activities Directors showcase in Mesa, Arizona on the 7th.

The headwinds were horrible from Ennis onward. It took me a tank of gas to get to St. Anthony...220 miles!. I managed to get to Wayne Nelson's on the second tank but the winds between American Falls and Hagerman were even worse and I had to fuel up on the way!

I had an absolutely wonderfull time in Hagerman and I strongly recommend that you attend next year if at all possible. I plan to. But CD sales were pretty much...not.

Then, since next weekend is Easter, the Cowboy Corral thought it would be better to schedule me on the 10th instead. They are right and I look forward to doing that show but it will now be on the return trip from Arizona. So, you could make a case that I am seriously overbudget already! Oh well, the nature of this business.

The Hagerman Gathering was a lot of fun. I met some new people, made new friends and we all got to do a lot of music and poetry together for each other and very good audiences. I'd estimate 200+ people each night with pretty decent day-show audiences. Lots of great performers showed up and we all had a good time. The Gathering is extremely well organized by Ken and Emm Wellard with help from people in the community. This was a very positive experience and I was reminded of why I so enjoy the Cowboy Gatherings.

Tomorrow, I guess I'll head east and go back to Wayne and Becky Nelson's to just hang out for a week or so since I don't have anything else lined up. I'll play his computer games for a few days.

Arizona RV Activities Director Showcase

2010-03-17T16:31:00.002-06:00

I've been invited to the VALSD (Valley Association of Leisure Service Directors) Showcase in Mesa Arizona,to be held at the Mesa Regal RV Resort, located at 4700 E. Main St., Mesa, AZ on April 7th, 2010.

To try and make the trip slightly less financially painfull I will be going to the Hagerman Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Hagerman, Idaho on March 26 and 27th and then will appear at the Cowboy Cafe in Elsinore, Utah on April 3rd. I'm still working on getting some more stuff set up and if you have any ideas, please let me know!

I've been working on getting my camper together for another long trip. I'm especially thrilled to see the gas prices going up just when I need to burn up a bunch of it.

Getting my summer set up

2010-02-28T00:11:00.002-07:00

I had a good day today, getting several shows set up for this summer. I'm really looking forward to it as my winter income is slim and I'm a little tired of being on the ragged edge of financial disaster all the time!

I've been learning some new songs for my set lists lately too. New for me, anyway. I finally found one that I've been looking for for years. I used to hear this on the radio in West Yellowstone all the time and for some reason it has stuck in my head. Now I'm able to learn it. "Dirty Old Man" by George Hamilton IV.

I use youtube a lot for finding and learning songs. It's really good when there is a good video of the rythm guitar player and I can actually watch what I have to do for my part.

Another one I'm working on is "Rack 'em Up" by: Johnny Lang. It's a blues style song and I'm kind of struggling to get it right.

Anyway, y'all have a good time out there and I hope to be back out on the trail soon.

Reliv Products again

2010-02-06T14:04:00.001-07:00

I made a page on my website with info about the Reliv products that I'm so worked up about.

www.cowboyentertainer.com/reliv.html

Back home again

2010-02-06T13:54:00.002-07:00

Well, Colt and I had a great time in Elko this year. Colt had a GREAT time in Elko! He'll be a couple of weeks catching up with himself.

I played at the Nevada Dinner House Wed-Saturday from 5-9 and then over to the Duncan Little Creek Gallery where Billy Rose had his open mic setup.

There was a lot of meeting, greeting, partying and pool playing over the weekend. I could quickly get used to Nevadas all-night bars because the pool games just go on and on and on...

While I was gone, the main Townsend Tree Board member asked Joann if she thought I might want my tree cut down at the corner of my driveway. She told him; "probably not" and also explained that I was in Elko so he couldn't even ask me about it 'til I got back. That was on Tuesday the 26th of Jan.

On Friday, the 29th, when Joann got off work, she found that my trees were gone! They just walked onto my property and cut down my trees without permission; then took the tree carcasses away.

I've made a criminal complaint with the Sheriff's Office (which looks like it is going to be ignored) and will be talking with an attorney. Gotta love Government at work.

Anyway, I'm home and hiding in my little "cave". Hope they let me keep the lawn.

In Elko again

2010-01-28T13:12:00.003-07:00

On my way down to Elko on Tuesday, I stopped in St. Anthony and picked up Colt Angell and he rode down here with me. We got to Elko about 2:30PM local time yesterday.

I went to the Nevada Dinner House and met with Heather, set up my sound stuff and then went wandering around the downtown a little. Colt and I ran into Toni McGuire and Sam Mattise at the Western Folklife Center and Colt hung out with them while I got myself together and started playingat the Nevada House at about 6PM.

Had a good time there and that should be a really good gig for this weekend.

Couldn't find a pool game anywhere so I finally just gave up on that idea for the night.

Headed for Elko again

2010-01-24T04:01:00.002-07:00

Howdy all:

As usual, I've fallen behind in keeping up the blog. But...Iiiiii'm Baack!

Cute, huh?

Anyway, my very good friend, Billy Rose, will again be running an open mic stage at the Duncan Little Creek Galleries in Elko, Nevada during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering: a venue I like to call the "Elko Rejects Gathering". I hadn't planned to do the Elko trip this year but Billy changed my mind for me by setting me up with a good gig at the Nevada Dinner House.

I'll be playing there Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the 28,29 and 30 of January, about 5PM to 9PM. If you are going to be in Elko then, please stop in and say howdy while you have a nice dinner. From what I understand this is one of the better eateries in Elko so come on by. It's at 351 Silver Street and the phone number is: 775-738-8485.

I was planning to leave here a day or two early and visit with Wayne Nelson on my way but I'm waiting for a part for a computer (still have to fix computers once in a while. Wish the Music would take over!!) and I'll probably do my usual; leave at the last minute.

Hope to see some of you in Elko this year.

Merry Christmas to all

2009-12-24T10:23:00.004-07:00

Howdy everyone. I hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year.

It is a typical Montana Christmas Eve today. It's 2 below zero with a little snow on the ground. It's interesting how the sky is clear and blue, the sun shining brightly and not accomplishing a thing! Pretty though.

I'm doing the regular Mint Bar Happy Hour thing on Fridays again this year. Without John, of course, who abandoned us all and moved away.

Actually, he'll be flying back to do a New Years gig with Country Traditions at the American Legion in Manhattan.

I'm doing my usual Christmas activities...staying in my house, staying warm and hiding from the whole thing until it's all over. Sorry, not much Christmas Spirit here the last few years. In fact, a few years ago a couple of my friends were giving me a hard time about my Xmas attitude. They said I just needed to quit being an old Scrooge and relax...enjoy the season. Their words did have an effect. They made me mad. I sat down and wrote a song that I get a pretty good response to, especially from other old divorced/separated/lone guys who aren't all that enchanted by the Holiday Season. http://www.cowboyentertainer.com/realfiles/gibson/xmasblues.mp3

There's another Christmas song that I always liked. I first heard this Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song years ago and have always liked it. I've been singing it myself for years but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Youtube has it, of course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=452uszvh9XA .

Anyway, Merry Christmas to you all and I'll be back in the world again after New Years.

New (to me) internet radio link

2009-12-13T13:33:00.002-07:00

I ran into a really good western/country internet radio yesterday and I've been enjoying it. It's Rang Radio and the main website is http://www.rangeradionetwork.com/ . I found it at http://www.radiotime.com/ which has all kinds of online stations listed.

It's Montana out there still. Hovering around zero, sometimes 1 or 2 above and sometimes 1 or two below. A little bit of snow but mostly just cold.

I'm headed into E. Helena today to sit in with Hillbilly Mafia for a little while.

Just an update

2009-12-09T12:06:00.003-07:00

Not a lot going on in my world. I'm watching the thermometer get all the way up to 6 above zero today while the snow drifts and banks in places like Iowa are so high that the plows can't get through. Sure hope those folks in Copenhagen can get this Global Warming thing dealt with pretty quick! They should be holding their "summit" in West Yellowstone.

Friday was fun as Penny had me playing music at the Mint for happy hour. I had several people who were listening and stayed the whole three hours I played. Very enjoyable, good practice and a few bucks in my pocket.

I had a booth at the Townsend Christmas Stroll last Saturday. I had pool cues (http://www.nickvarner.com/), Music CDs and Reliv products (http://www.relivingpartners.com/) for sale. It was a lot of fun but no one was picking up larger ticket items that night. The people selling cookies did well and anyone selling hot drinks (it was sub-zero again) did very well.

I've had lots of fun with computer service stuff lately. I had one client who wanted data saved from a Windows Vista machine to a Windows 7 machine. He used Windows Mail on the Vista and the Vista Contacts list. He had his documents to save and Favorites.

The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard didn't transfer much of anything for us and the "old way" of saving the files and copying them to the new computer only kind of worked. Since 7 doesn't have an E-mail program (Big Bill wants us to use Windows Live Mail online) and the client wanted to use his Office 2003 suite and not put out a couple of hundred bucks for a new Office, the old e-mail messages wouldn't transfer over and neither would the contacts. I showed them how to make V-cards of the contacts (one at a time!) and I forwarded his old messages by e-mail. What a disaster.

In my opinion, there was no need to "upgrade" from Windows XP. XP did everything that needed to be done, easily and simply. These new Windows OS's are a mess and it's too bad that we are stuck with the whims of Redmond's Super Nerds.

Have fun out there y'all and keep in touch.

Reliv International Products...I guess I'm hooked

2009-12-03T03:53:00.004-07:00

I've mentioned the Reliv products a couple of times here lately. Tonight (this morning) I am very concious of the products and their effectiveness. At least, the ones I am using.

Since I sell this stuff, this will sound like a sales pitch but I just want to get the info out there for everyone. I've become kind of a missionary about these products as I see how much they have helped me and I want to get the word out to EVERYone so please bear with me.

Joann Shindoll got me to start with the Reliv "Now" product back in June. My only real health issue is that I am a diabetic but it hasn't been ( I didn't think) a big issue and I have even stopped keeping track of my blood sugar. I was just watching my diet and exercising a little more. Anyway, I didn't see where a nutritional supplement was going to do me much good.

The first thing I noticed was that I not only slept better but felt better when I got up each day. I quit starting the day with aspirin to fight my morning headaches. Then I realized that I didn't need my antacids any more. That was a big issue as I never went ANYwhere without antacids! I even have some in my guitar case and in the side pockets of the CD case where I carry my CDs for sale.

As I got more interested in the Reliv products and began doing some research, I found that their "Glucafect" has had clinical studies showing it to effectively reduce blood sugar levels so I figured I'd try it out. Since I don't keep track of my actual blood sugar levels, all I can testify to is how I feel. My diabetic symptoms have been reduced or have gone away in the two months that I have used this product.

In fact, the reason that I am up at 4 in the morning and typing this long missive is that I ran out of Glucafect about three days ago and figured I'd just continue with my "Now" product and not replenish my "Glucaffect". My symptoms are back already. I haven't felt great all day and here I am, unable to sleep and not feeling well.

I guess, if you look at the negative side, I'm in withdrawl mode and maybe this is an addiction? I'm more inclined to say that the product has done what the Reliv company says it will do. It has given my body the nourishment to take care of itself and without that nourishment, I have returned to the more unhealthy state I was in.

You can safely bet that I will be using these products for the forseeable future. I like feeling better and healthier.

Lots of fun with Craigslist

2009-11-23T12:51:00.002-07:00

When I bought my camper, it was on a 1986 Ford F250 pickup. I bought the whole package with the idea of keeping the camper and selling the pickup.

I put the pickup on Craigslist (http://montana.craigslist.org/cto/1476652361.html ) per the advice of several who have purchased from the Craigslist page. I've gotten one real phone call from some folks in Joliet, MT and several scam e-mails. I've so far not gotten a real e-mail about it.

Of course, Craigslist is free and I'm getting everything I paid for!

Colt Angell wandered through this weekend. He's played a couple of small shows down near Ennis and done fairly well. Typical Colt. He showed up here at 3:30AM, just the way I'd have done it!

Joann and I are doing more and more with the Reliv products. I'm literally thrilled with the health results I have gotten from using Reliv and so I've turned into a missionary of sorts. www.relivingpartners.com has info about the products, including lable info and clinical studies of some of them.

Anyway, off to Helena for the day.

Headed home

2009-11-06T15:37:00.002-07:00

Ok. This has been a great trip and I've learned a lot about many things, as well as getting my foot in the door for doing music in The Phoenix area. I found that most of the RV parks which actually hire entertainers have pretty much set up their activities schedule for the winter by now. However, the good news is that they often select their entertainers from an April showcase which Sally, from the Queen Valley Rv Resort says she will help me become involved with.

Also, there is a lot of music opportunity in that area in the bars and restaraunts. They don't seem to pay much but they have frequent shows and I talked with some performers who have been playing the same weekly gig for years now. If I can go down there with more time to just bum around, I can probably find several small gigs.

Now, to my personal observations. This trip has been fairly expensive as, although I made some travelling cash with gigs (and a couple of good pool games, although those are kind of cancelled out by the BAD pool losses!) I've put out a bunch of gas money; not counting the dead transmission. But, I have a renewed appreciation and love for all my friends out there.

When I was getting ready for this trip, I e-mailed Terri Taylor and she helped me find people who would hire me for gigs. I visited with my friends Charlie and Kathy Camden and there is no way to express how much help they always are. Kathy for one will feed me until I can't be fed any more!! Sam Mattise helped me find a good reputable Transmission Repair place when I was in trouble in Boise. Bobby Hunter and Alan and Corean Romreill at the Fruitland Gathering were very nice and helpful and also fed me very well.

As to my transmission dying in Boise, I'd have had to cancel everything and limp home in 2nd gear if not for my best friend, Joann Shindoll. What is a Musician without a girlfriend? Homeless. She rescued me big-time!

After that, I stayed with Wayne and Becky Nelson for a few days. Wayne has become one of my closest friends and I wish I could have remained parked in their yard for much longer. I always look forward to time spent with those two.

Once I got down to the Phoenix area, I found that Bev Hunsaker (Crozier) who used to live in the Lewiston, ID area, now lives in Mesa, AZ. Bev was extremely nice to me, letting me park in front of her house for a week while I checked into work opportunities, feeding me very well, giving me free run of her home, chauffering me around town while I hunted pool halls...I can't thank her and her family enough for the help and hospitality. Her friend Mike put a new alternator into my pickup (love those mechanical probs!) to help me get on my way.

Colt Angell has a gig in the St. Anthony, ID area this weekend which he would normally do quite well on his own but he's inviting me to join him and make a little cash. I'm taking the Charity!

Anyway, all of this and a general thanks to all my friends out there who have supported me in this an other endeavors are to restate something that I've learned the hard way before but needs to be reinforced once in a while.

There can be no value placed on friends. Those of you who support me, help me and I know are just out there, watching and cheering (or saying..."Aaahhh sh%^" with me once in a while) are what keeps me going day by day. I don't have much (any?) money or fancy possessions but I feel so blessed and humbled by my many friends. Without friends, nothing much in this life matters. Thank you and I hope to see all of you soon.

In Phoenix

2009-10-29T12:05:00.002-06:00

Well, I got to Phoenix yesterday afternoon. Happily, Bev Crozier (Hunsaker) lives in Mesa so I have a friend I can sponge off of for a few days if necessary.

I went out to Main Street Billiards in Mesa last night and lost a few bucks. Oh well. The life of a ramblin' gamblin' man, I guess. I'm getting a little tired of playing in tournaments and finishing 4th when they pay the first three. I do it all the time!

I'm just hangin' out at Bev's for today and probably will go back to the pool hall and try another tournament tonight...maybe.

Who knows what I'll be doing after the show at the Queen Valley RV Resort Saturday? Maybe head home, maybe try to get something else going here. At least I don't have to run my furnace!

Driftin' south

2009-10-26T13:09:00.003-06:00

Well, i spent the night in Page last night. I checked out all the bars pretty quickly as they were all within walking distance of the mall where I parked the house. I found one place where I could get a few pool games and no place to play music. I made a few bucks on the pool table and then went to bed.

This morning, I left Page and headed south on 89. You go over a pretty steep pass and through a cut that is more like a tunnel. On the south side, there is a scenic viewpoint. At 9:00 in the morning there were several Navajo ladies setting up vendor tables with jewelry and pottery. I'd say this is the best location for that in the area as all the buses stop at the scenic view and many of the passing cars do also. I was about ready to ask it they would like music!

The views here are fantastic. Miles and miles of red sandstone, canyons, sagebrush and sand. The only camera I have with me is a disposable film type so until I get stuff developed and scanned, I won't be able to share it all with you here. I will when I can.

I'm in Tuba City looking around for a while and then on to the Grand Canyon. So far I haven't really spent much more on this trip than I have made (other than the transmission, but I'm repressing that thought) so it has been a fairly inexpensive vacation to this point.

In Elsinore, UT

2009-10-24T15:17:00.003-06:00

The Fruitland Gathering was a lot of fun but I definitely didn't sell $2400 worth of CDs! Actually I only sold five CDs there. I had done better at the bar in Nez Perce, ID.

I went to Pocatello Sunday to try and get in a pool tournament but they didn't have enough entrants to do their weekly tourney so we just played a few games. Here these guys were to enter a tournament anyway but they wouldn't play games for cash. I found one guy who was willing to play for.....$1.....a game but didn't get too excited about that.

I guess it's better than losing big like I did in Boise.

I stayed with Wayne Nelson for a few days. While I was there, we went out to visit an old friend of my Dad's. We had quite a good get-together that evening and it was nice to hear stories about Dad and the things he did.

Last night, I headed south. The traffic in SLC was as bad as any I've put up with and I was glad to get south of there and out into the open a little.

I stopped in Nephi, UT last night. There is one bar in town with one pool table therein. They wanted a $3 cover charge because they had Karaoke going on. There were very few people in the bar at all and no one playing pool so I told the lady they would have to pay ME to stay and listen to Karaoke and I wound up going to bed early. Oh well, nothing wrong with a little sleep.

Richfield and Elsinore both look about the same. Maybe no pool 'til I get out of Utah and into the real world.

Off to a Great Start!!

2009-10-16T12:12:00.002-06:00

Ok, I left Camdens Tuesday morning (late morning) and headed to Boise. Just south of McCall, ID my pickup quit shifting gears correectly. I wound up driving most of the way to Boise in 2nd gear, watching my RPMs to try and not destroy my engine.

Wednesday, I took it to Bobby's Transmission in Meridian, ID (a suburb of Boise). They found that I had burned out my 3rd gear and we had to replace my transmission. So now, instead of being a few dollars ahead on expenses I'm in the red...$2400.00!

I wonder if I can sell that many CDs in Fruitland?

Still in Nez Perce

2009-10-12T14:24:00.002-06:00

Other than the record cold temperatures (can you say: "Global Warming"?) I've had a great time this weekend.

I got to Nez Perce about 6PM Friday and got my camper set up in Charlie Camden's yard. I visited with Charlie and Kathy for a while and then Jeff Camden and I went to O'Brien's bar and played a couple of games of pool. A couple of the locals tried me for $5 a game so I made a little gas money and then even sold a CD so that helped even more.

There were at least 50 people here Saturday at the get-together for Charlie Camden. even though it was kind of chilly for these "southern folks" we still set up an outdoor stage and took turns with music and poetry. Charlie even got up and sang "Diana" while Bill Chiles, Bodie Dominguez, Jim Aasen and I accompanied him on guitars.

Once everyone got frozen out and most left, Bill Chiles and I went down to the bar and jammed for a while. Ok tips and I sold a bunch more CDs so it made for a very good weekend so far.

I went hunting with Jeff and Connie Camden Sunday morning and we saw a bunch of deer. Jeff was never in the right place at the right time so all the deer we saw are still out there! It was 0 degrees Sunday morning here! I'm using all my propane keeping the furnace running so much but at least the camper is nice and warm and my water hasn't frozen.

I think I'll stay here tonight and head for Boise tomorrow. The forcast is for a little bit warmer weather and I can sure use it. Already will have to fill at least one propane tank. Expenses, expenses.

Tell me more about Global Warming!

2009-10-09T08:56:00.002-06:00

What a perfect day for me to begin a journey with it's ultimate(?) goal as the deserts of Arizona. It's 16 degrees here this morning with a dusting of snow. I am OOH...Out Of Here!

Headed South

2009-10-08T18:58:00.002-06:00

I'll be out of here in the morning, headed to Nez Perce, ID to visit with my friends Charlie and Kathy Camden. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

From there, I'll head down to Boise and see a cousing whom I haven't seen in 30+ years and on the 16th and 17th I'll be at the Six Rivers Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Fruitland, Idaho.

Anyway, the camper's loaded; food in the pantry and the fridge, clothes in the closet, CDs, guitars and pool cues ready to try and make me some gas money. What else could I need?

Maybe I'll see ya out there somewhere.

On my way south

2009-10-02T02:12:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted here in a long time so here I am, trying to get back on track. There actually is a lot to tell everyone for a change.

Montana's summer seems to be over. Snow in the mountains, rain here in town and a little chilly. The cookouts are over at Parade Rest Ranch for the season and Virginia City is back to being a Ghost Town.

I bought a really nice camper last month and finally got everything wired up and working right. It's such a great step up from the old bed/closet kind of camper I've been living in for so long that it's almost like a real house! Even the furnace works. And I'm sure everyone around me will be glad to hear that it has a shower.

Ok. My itinerary for the next couple of weeks is as follows: Townsend Fall Fest this weekend. Then, next week, I will be heading over to Nez Perce, Idaho for a couple of days as I have been promising Kathy and Charlie Camden that I would stop in and visit. Then on to Fruitland, Idaho for the Cowboy Gathering there on the 16th and 17th of October. After that, I will be stopping in American Falls,Idaho to visit with Wayne Nelson for a day or two.

Sometime around the 20th, I will point my nose south and go through Utah to Arizona. My ultimate goal is an RV park just east of Phoenix where I'm scheduled to play on the 31st. Note to all...I REALLY would like to get some gigs between the 20th and the 31st! Anything to help with the gas tank would be very good!

Also, most of you know that I not only play pool but I also sell Nick Varner pool cues and other billiard supplies. If your computer is sick I can fix that. Now, I have a new product that I'm carrying with me (Mike Burns says that I sound like a mini-Walmart). I have been taking a nutritional supplement produced by the Reliv company for a couple of months now. Weight is down, blood sugar is down, headaches are gone...I'm thrilled and then some! So, I got involved as an independant distributor and I've got some of this stuff with me. Check out the info at www.relivingpartners.com . Just click on the Reliv Products button and check it out. Great Stuff!

I guess that's about it for now. Let me think...Talked about my trip plans, mentioned the camper, brought up the Reliv info; BEGGED FOR WORK! It looks like I've covered everything for now. See ya all out there somewhere.

The summer keeps on for a while

2009-08-28T13:03:00.003-06:00

Virginia City has been pretty slow the last couple of times I've been there. The cafe is closing earlier and there are fewer customers to hear me sing. I'm thinking it's time to "bag" VC for the year and just do the Parade Rest Cookouts.

The good news is that I am back at Parade Rest today for the cookout. I'll probably just hang out in West Yellowstone for the next couple of days, do the Monday cookout and then head home for the week.

I may have found a newer camper to live in. A refrigerator...toilet and shower! Wow! I'm hoping to pick that up this coming week.

I had a good night in Ennis last night. I even made a few (very few) $ playing pool. That always helps with the expenses.

Montana August

2009-08-18T12:47:00.002-06:00

What a boring weekend!! I had a good time playing at Parade Rest Ranch friday but then Montana's August temperatures brought me to a screeching halt. It was so cold and wet in Virginia City that none of the customers wanted to seit out on the patio so I didn't even waste the gas to go there from West Yellowstone. I just stayed at Parade Rest, shot some pool at eino's tavern and the Wild West Saloon, read some books and hung out. It was relaxing except that part of me was adding up all the money NOT being made because of the weather.

I played last night at the Parade Rest cookout and then came home to handle a couple of computer calls and I'll play at the Flynn Ranch cattle drive tonight. Hopefully, the weather will be better the next couple of days and I can get back to VC and play.

I told the guests last night that we really did have summer this year. It even fell on a cookout day...last month sometime. I think it was a Friday.

I was kind of hoping that the frost would have killed off a few mosquitos but i forgot that Montana mosquitos don't mind frost. It livens them up and gives them more energy!

Oh well, hopefully I'll be on my way back to Virginia City tomorrow.

At least I've gotten a few computer calls too so the cash still looks good for this week.

Will this be a wasted weekend?

2009-08-14T10:56:00.002-06:00

I had to come back to Townsend to get a couple of computers fixed. I have to keep my winter income alive to a certain extent! Now, it's cool outside and wet and rainy. I talked to the folks at the Virginia City Cafe and gbot the same weather report there.

I haven't checked with Parade Rest Ranch yet. I sure hope the weather doesn't stall the cookout today. That's one of my most fun jobs.

I've really enjoyed the Parade Rest Ranch cookouts the last few years. I have fun and the audience seems to also. They get a lot of people back each year and I've made some really good friends from both staff and audience.

Anyway, I guess if everything is cancelled, I'll go to Helena and see if I can get a pool game.

Another wet day in Paradise

2009-07-29T11:33:00.002-06:00

Wel, it's been a while since I updated here.

Last week I met Terri James from Sunrise Entertainment in Belgrade. A very nice lady, even if she is running a Karaoke business. She even talked me into singing a couple of Karaoke songs. I did amarillo By Mornin' so I could push my CD!

Anyway, she does a nice job with the Karaoke and even though she is "the enemy", I'd recommend her if you absolutely MUST do Karaoke instead of live entertainment.

We've been having pretty good daytime weather but in the afternoons we have thunderstorms almost every day. Last Friday, Westbrook was in Virginia City and I stayed in West Yellowstone. Anyway, it rained really hard in VC and rained him out, poor guy!

Some drunk ran over the propane line at the VC Cafe last night so they aren't open yet. I'm killing time on the internet while I wait.

I've been doing this back and forth from West to VC all summer. It's been a lot of fun and I've made good money but I'm to the point of losing days and even weeks right now. I'm not real sure what day it is or how long ago something happened at either place. It's a GOOD feeling. I'm slowly pulling away from the world end beginning to live in my own. I like that idea!

Joann has me trying a nutritional supplement called ReLiv. We know several people who have had eally good luck with it, giving them new energy, kind of fixing health problems and that sort of thing. I've only been using it for a few days so I don't have an opinion yet.

The Virginia City Cowboy Gathering is this coming weekend, August 1st. There should be several really good performers here and we will have a lot of fun. John and I will be playing at the VC Cafe during the day and he has a gig in the Gallatin area Saturday night but I will stay here. Colt Angel will be at the Bale of Hay Saloon Saturday night. You shouldn't miss his show if you can actually get here.

Weekend of July 17-20

2009-07-21T19:58:00.007-06:00

Friday was a really fun show at Parade Rest Ranch. We had a bunch of people and they all seemed to get into what I was doing.

After the cookout I was sitting alone at one of the tables, finishing my meal and getting ready to tear down my sound system. Anyway, I heard a grouse trying to talk some grouse-woman into "it". She, of course, was playing hard to get. They were in sight and I watched him with his tail feathers all fluffed out, his chest puffed up and strutting around her. Reminded me of older guys on the beach! She ignored him...just like the young girls on the beach!

Saturday, I went to the Madison River to splash around a bit and cool off. I was standing up to my waist in the river when I remembered that my cell phone was in my shorts pocket...under water. Oops. I was waiting for Westbrook to get there with some extra speakers we were going to use at our show for the Yellowstone Historic District. I thought: "Well, I'll borrow someones phone and tell him what happened and where to find me. Oh. Maybe not, since I don't know his phone number. It's programmed into my phone!"

I took my phone apart as much as I could and left it on the dashboard of the pickup, in the sunshine. When I tried it after the show, it seemed to work. "Whew".

The show for the Historic District was a lot of fun. We started out accoustically in the Firehole Room at the UP Dining Hall, playing for their no-host cocktail hour. There were about 100+ people moving through and there were times when John and I couldn't hear each other playing! I said: "Well, look on the birght side. If we were using a sound system, they'd just talk louder".

We actually had a great time and there were several people who sat near us as they wanted to hear what we were doing. Also, many of the people attending are old-time residents of West Yellowstone and so are people I wanted to talk with. A bunch of old friends. Many I had gone to school with. Most notably, to me, was my chance to talk with Jan Dunbar. She was the English teacher in West for a long, long time and one of my favorite people.

Sunday I actually took off. I went up onto the Madison Plateau to a place where I can lean back against a rock and look off across the whole valley. It is actually only about two miles from West Yellowstone and about 500+ feet higher so it's a great view.

Monday at Parade Rest again and then back here to Virginia City.

Had a great day here and it should turn out to be another great week. I love Montana summer, whatever day it falls on!

Parade Rest Ranch cookout

2009-07-14T21:21:00.002-06:00

We had fun at a special cookout tonight. I wasn't sure how things would go as I saw a bunch of (looked to me like) Highschool aged kids coming down the hill with a couple of counselors. I figured my cowboy/western (we do BOTH kinds of music) would not go over well with this bunch. Then, I learned it was a group from Wales...very different culture.

But, I learned long ago not to stereotype my audience. I did my regular thing like always and they seemed to enjoy it; all the way to dancing and trying to sing along. We had a great time.

One song that they could sing along to; that EVERYone knows..."Country Roads". They also liked "I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore" and "Wildwood Weed". I don't know where it came from (she probably doesn't either) but one girl asked for something about Bonnie and Clyde. I looked at her in astonishment and said: "You know 'Bonnie and Clyde'? I don't run into many Americans who do!"

She looked kind of startled and I started to sing "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" (Merle Haggard). About halfway through the first verse, I said: "You were just making this up weren't you? You didn't know there was a song like this." She laughed and shook her head. Near the middle of the second verse, I said: "You requested it and now you're stuck with it. Sit back and enjoy." They all laughed at that.

Anyway, we had a great time, as always, and I'm looking forward to Friday's cookout. If you are around West Yellowstone this summer, come to Parade Rest Ranch for a horseback ride to a cookout and say "howdy" to me when you get here!

Montana Wind

2009-07-13T20:23:00.002-06:00

Ok, last Friday I told the guests at Parade Rest Ranch to enjoy the day as much as possible because last Friday was "Summer" It's over now.

Yesterday, the thunderstorms in the northern Madison County area rated an alert beep on the radio. Quarter sized hail and 60 MPH winds. A couple of the clouds in the Helena area started to develop tails and then mellowed out.

Today, I headed to Parade Rest and from Ennis to Quake Lake I was going upwind in one of the worst wind storms I've ever driven in. I wondered several times if the camper was going to stay on the pickup!

In the Hebgen Lake area the winds were not quite so strong but they were still noteworthy. We did the cookout at Parade Rest but I used my bigger more powerful sound system as I knew their's would not be able to puch through that wind as well. It never really mellowed out and it started to get cold so the cookout kind of broke up early. I ate dinner in my camper.

Another show here at Parade Rest tomorrow then back to Virginia City for a couple of days and then back here. John Westbrook and I are playing at the UP Dining Hall for the Yellowstone Historic Center dinner the 18th. That should be a fun one.

Ready for Independance Day in Virginia City

2009-07-04T11:04:00.002-06:00

The cookout at Parade Rest Ranch went very well last night. I had set up the amp with a big garbage bag around it as well as one covering my microphone because it was almost certainly going to rain at least a little. It did.

As I got started with "Big Iron", the rain started in earnest. I finished the song and then, since I had a small crowd this time, I just went under the awning with everyone else and did an accoustic show. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I even sold a couple of CDs.

I stayed over at Parade Rest last night and then headed for Virginia City this morning, forgetting that the Ennis Independence Day Parade started at 10AM and I could see that I was not going to get to Ennis before then. I took the Fish Hatchery road across Varney Bridge and went around Ennis. It didn't cost me any time at all and I got around all the parade festivities.

So, here I am in VC, ready to start the day. Westbrook is here and we should have a great time!

"Thunder Road"

2009-07-01T18:29:00.002-06:00

I stopped at the Longbranch Saloon in Ennis the other day and found "Thunder Road" on the jukebox. The first time I've ever seen in out like that. I had a hard time, a few years ago, trying to find it so I could learn it. a great song.

I had to go back to Townsend Monday night and do some computer networking work Tuesday but I'm back in Virginia City now. This should be a GREAT Fourth this year as I don't have anything else scheduled and can just stay right here the whole weekend.

A great Virginia City Weekend

2009-06-28T16:53:00.002-06:00

John Westbrook and I got to work together at the Virginia City Cafe Friday and Saturday. It's always fun to have John to work with as his input and lead guitar really enhance any show. We've been working together for several years now and we often know what song the other is going to do without talking about it.

I left early Friday to go to West Yellowstone but I was back Friday night. We played all day at the VC cafe; had a lot of fun and made good money.

Today, I played at the VC Cafe on my own and did very well. I'm trying to decide if I am going over to Ennis tonight, preparatory to going to West Yellowstone tomorrow afternoon or if I'll stay here and play at the Cafe again tomorrow for a couple of hours. decisions, decisions. My life is just sooooo complicated!

Test your sense of Fair Play

2009-06-27T20:36:00.001-06:00

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had a Republican Congress allocate 5.6 Billion dollars for a civilian volunteer security force, as strong and well equipped as the regular Army and under his personal authority, would you have been concerned?

If George W. Bush had proposed doubling the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed doubling the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had promised detailed tracking of the spending from a $785 Billion Stimulus Bill and then postponed that oversight until 2010, would you approve or would you think something "smelled fishy"? If Bush had promised 48 hour advance posting of the same bill on the internet and only released it two hours before congressional approval, would you wonder what was being hidden from the public?

If Bush's White House Staff had spent over $300,000 flying Airforce One low over New York (for a publicity photo flyby with the Statue of Liberty) frightening the city, wouldn't you have expected Bush to make the pictures public? Would you have approved? Obama won't give them up, but he will release the secret "torture memos".

If George W. Bush had been "addicted" to using a TelePrompTer, and was afraid to give a speech without having one, would you have approved ? Would you think he was intellegent?

If George W. Bush had pre-approved/pre-picked the list of reporters allowed to ask questions at his press conferences and refused to call on the correspondent from MSNBC (FOX with Obama), would you have approved? Is that a Fair and Balanced news conference?

If George W. Bush and a Republican Congress had given hundreds of millions of dollars to a group (the right-wing equivalent of ACORN) after its members had been convicted of voter registration fraud, would you approve of them to doing the 2010 Census, which will determine congressional districts for 10 years? Will you trust ACORN in 2010?

Would you have approved of George W. Bush moving the Census from the Dept. of Commerce into the White House and putting his Chief of Staff in control of the counting?

He's done all this in 14 weeks -- so we still have three years and eight-and-a-half months full of surprises.

Weather got me again

2009-06-27T20:31:00.002-06:00

Westbrook and I were playing at the Virginia City Cafe yesterday and doing quite well. At 2PM, I packed up and drove out of town to where the phone would work (no cell coverage in VC) and called Parade Rest. Everything was a go for the cookout! Hurray!!

About an hour later, they called me and told me that a really bad storm had moved in and they had to cancel. I was only about 8 miles away by then so I went on in and had dinner before I turned around and went back to VC.

Incidentally, I had an unexpected companion on my trip to West Yellowstone yesterday. There is (was, I hope) a mouse in the cab of my pickup. I left the doors open for an hour or so while I got a few things done and hope he found his way out.

Today was a good day at the VC Cafe. Westbrook and I played all day long and did well. Lots of fun but I'm tired, almost as if I had worked for a living today. Think I'll skip the pool games and go to bed early tonight.

On the road update

2009-06-25T17:53:00.002-06:00

Ok, Sunday it was raining constantly and cold so I tried playing at the Bale of Hay Saloon for a while then gave up and went over the hill to Ennis. Ennis is the same distance from Townsend as from West Yellowstone so I figured I'd hole up there until I got the word on whether or not the Cookout would be held a Parade Rest.

Sunday night I played pool in the Longbranch Saloon in Ennis. I made a few little dollars as no one would play for more than $2 a game and one guy was very good so I had to get out my best game to stay with him. That showed everyone else my best game! Oh well.

It was 40degrees in West the next day so the cookout was cancelled and I went home to Townsend, got the yards mowed, laundry done and resupplied the grub box. Tuesday was gorgeous without a cloud in the sky but I had a bunch of stuff left to do so I stayed in Townsend.

Wednesday I was here in Virginia City by 12:30 and played until about 6, doing very well in tips but very few CD sales. Today was the opposite. I had good crowds all day but not much for tips. I sold a bunch of CDs though and so had a very good day. I even treated myself to a Margarita at the Bale of Hay.

Hopefully, John Westbrook will join me tomorrow and Saturday and we'll put on a great show for the Virginia City Cafe.

Patch of blue sky

2009-06-21T11:27:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture I took this morning from the Alder Gulch area near Virginia City, Montana. This is evidence that; somewhere above us, there is still blue sky and sunshine. This serves to reinforce my forlorn hope that someday we will again be blessed with a ray of sunshine instead of steady rain.

Incidentally; a word of warning. Anyone trying to sell me on "Global Warming" is in danger of a black eye!! Especially after a night of listening to the leaks in my camper growing larger with each passing gallon.

African Banjoist

2009-06-21T11:20:00.002-06:00

On Thursday, June 18, 2009, I was in the Stagecoach Inn in West Yellowstone. A young man from Africa was setting up to play his banjos that evening. His name is Essau Pwelle.
He is from Africa and plays a mean African style banjo!

I had a great time talking with him and we wound up trading microphone time all night as I played my regular stuff and then he'd get up and play and sing the African style. All together, a very fun evening.

He has a banjo that he made from a kerosene can that actually sounds as good as his "normal" banjo. The kerosene "canjo" even has an electric pickup so he can run it through his sound system. Very cool.

Essau Pwelle
Box 757 Bozeman, MT 59711-0757
406-581-6259
essau@africanbanjo.com

Press Release from Smoke Wade

2009-06-20T13:42:00.002-06:00

San Juan Western Heritage Festival &
National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo.

Montrose, CO: The San Juan Western Heritage Festival will be held September 11 and 12 at the Montrose Pavilion , 1800 Pavilion Drive in Montrose, Colorado. The Festival will feature the 12th Annual National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo, live entertainment and western Colorado arts and specialty products.

Friday, September 11, highlights the world's only Cowboy Poetry Rodeo from 8:00 am to 5:00 p.m. Thirty Cowboy poets from 13 western states and Canada will compete for $6000.00 in prize money, silver buckles, trophies and a year's worth of bragging rights. Poets compete, on stage, in a stock rodeo format. With numbers on their back, judges and a rodeo announcer, the poets spur their "rides," (their poems), as they compete in 9 different events. There will be a Friday night show featuring cowboy poets and musical acts, many from western Colorado.

Saturday, September 12, the top 50 percent of the competing cowboy poets advance to the final round starting at 8:00 a.m. at the event center. Following the finals, a Cowboy Poetry Shoot-out will be held, as top ranked cowboy poets compete for the title, "Best in the West." Poets interested in registering for the NCPR may contact Sam Jackson, last2camp@kanab.net (435) 644-5459 or (435) 899-1100
A headliner and awards show will take place on Saturday evening featuring the winners of the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo along with country singer, Gary Lear and his Nashville Band. www.garylearmusic.com

While in Montrose, participants will enjoy the Western Colorado Experience ( Black Canyon, Ute Indian Museum, Ouray - Switzerland of America. Many will take home memories and local hand made products. There will be a raffle on a Western Quilt. And no rodeo or western festival would be complete without taking home a hand made stick horse made and painted by a local artist.

The San Juan Healthcare Foundation is the major sponsor and the fund-raiser proceeds will go to Caring Friends Fund for patients at the San Juan Cancer Center.

For more information go to www.sjwesternfestival.com, fsmiles@bresnan.net , or call Francie Smiles, (970)-252-2814.

Still in Virginia City

2009-06-17T17:53:00.004-06:00

I'll be staying here until Friday afternoon, probably and then over to West Yellowstone to do my Parade Rest Ranch cookout.

Play music all day, hang out at the Bale of Hay Saloon all night and do it all again tomorrow.

It's tough, but I'll hang on!

Finally back on the road

2009-06-16T10:21:00.002-06:00

The weather has been pretty Montana typical. Lots of rain, some snow and pretty cold for all the southern type tourists. So, Parade Rest hasn't been able to run the cookouts, meaning I'm out of work for a week so far.

Instead, I've been in Virginia City, playing at the VC Cafe. That only works when the weather is decent, too as it's an outdoor gig. The rain doesn't cause as much concern in our tourists as the cold. When it gets to 50 degrees and lower, they tend to stay inside and shiver!

What a gorgeous morning today, though. Cloudy and cool but not cold. A slight breeze that smells of mountains and pines. I camped on Alder creek last night and awakened to this wonderful Montana morning. After breakfast, I took a short walk and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells. What a great way to make a living.

The Vc Cafe expects a large group this morning and, hopefully, they will be outside where I can sing to them and sell them numerous CDs!

The stagecoach is coming by me as I type this. I'm sitting on the boardwalk in front of Bandido's cafe in VC. Tourists are starting to move around and it looks like things will go well today.

Saturday, I got into a pool match with a former Montana 8 Ball champion. We traded games back and forth for a final of four games to four. But, since we played the last one for $10 instead of $5, I actually came out $5 ahead on the night. Considering the quality of my competition, I am seriously proud of myself!

Anyway, time to get to work. Get out the guitar and CDs and get some playing time in. Hope all you conformist types with real jobs enjoy your day. I know I will.

2009-06-11T13:50:00.002-06:00

Montana-based singer-songwriter Myra Pearce will begin hosting an hour long weekly radio show on KGHL 790 in July.

The show, "I've Got Montana," offers a range of Americana Music: traditional country, cowboy western, honky tonk, native, bluegrass and gospel. Candid interviews with special guests featuring Montana songwriters, musicians, rodeo stars, cowboy poets, celebrity recording artists and entertainers. Adventure into the heart and soul of the high country with unique glimpses into the stories behind the songs, the tales from the trail.

I've performed with Myra before and I think she's a wonderful talent. I'm looking forward to hearing her show as I'm sure the energy she brings to the stage will be reflected on this radio show!

Smart move, KGHL!

Balmy Montana weekend

2009-06-06T15:02:00.003-06:00

We haven't had any snow here in Townsend today...yet. Helena had snow and sleet and we are all watching the trees bending in the wind. I figure that if it keeps up like this my trailer house will wind up in Kansas with Toto!

It's a good thing we are all here at the school, entertaining each other with music, poetry and stories. The dayshows are going very well. Smooth, organized and effective. Basically, the opposite of yesterday!

Patty Clayton, from Colorado, has been wonderful for us. Lots of Day-show appearances and she took Wayne Nelson's place last night.

The High Strung Band, from Oregon, is over at the local rest home now, entertaining the residents there. Things are looking up.

2009-06-06T09:02:00.002-06:00

All things considered, even with all the little glitches (!!!) we had a great time. Here's Billy Rose doing his thing.

Townsend's Friday Night Show

2009-06-05T20:42:00.002-06:00

I swear, you'd think we've never run one of these before!! It's been a very interesting Friday. First, when we tried to turn down the house lights, swe found that, since last years show, the school has installed motion sensors in the gym! So, when we turned the lights off, they came right back on again. Short of shooting out all the lights, I was thinking of telling everyone to just sit really still...

We finally got ahold of one of the custodians who told us how to override the sensors.

Then...remember, our show is a fundraiser for the local fire department. As a consequence, most of our helpers are volunteer firemen. Abouot 3PM today, they all got paged to a house fire so all our helpers ran out the door! We'd have been ok but we use the basketball timer to time the performers sessions and the guy who usually runs that for us is on the fire. None of us could figure out how to make the buzzer NOT work when the time ran out. We're still playing with that.

As usual, though, having excellent performers makes for a good show, even with these kind of problems. Since Wayne Nelson couldn't make it, Patty Clayton filled his slot for us. We're making her work twice this weekend.

Anyway, back to work. Things have got to smooth out eventually!

Silent Auction and raffle at the Gathering

2009-06-05T09:49:00.003-06:00

We have several items on our silent auction again this year. One is a set of Crescent tools, donated by Rock Hand Hardware in Helena and the other is this Resin cast Moose, donated by Dan Norvell of Townsend, MT.

We also have a raffle this year with a Maple top, handmade coffee table from Ron Cheevers of Townsend; a feather painting from Laura Obert, of Townsend and a hand done picture from Joy O'Hern.

I'll post more pictures of auction and raffle items when I get them.

If you'd like to buy raffle tickets, they are $1 each or 6 for $5. the drawing will be held during the intermission Saturday June 6th and you need not be present to win.

I can take bids by e-mail or phone. larry@cowboyentertainer.com or 406-266-3946.

Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering begins

2009-06-05T08:46:00.003-06:00

Well, we set up the stage, bleachers and chairs last night. John Westbrook and I are finishing up the sound setup this morning while I check in the Art/Craft vendors and get the other little periferrals together.

Billy Rose drove all night to get here. He's asleep in his van while a friend of his is snoring on my living room floor.

Wayne Nelson hurt his back really bad a couple of days ago so he won't make it this year. This will be ther first year that Wayne doesn't perform for us and we will all miss him.

I will try to keep a running account of who is here and what is going on as the event progresses. Keep tuned in!

The Townsend Gathering is coming together...slowly

2009-05-22T12:48:00.002-06:00

It's actually felt a little like spring for the last couple of days...finally. Although we've had some pretty serious wind, it's been fairly warm (other than Wednesday morning..25degrees) all day with the sun shining and water starting to move. The Missouri is running high and off color, just as it should, and all the little creeks and tributaries are running well now.

I'd love to be in Virginia City or West Yellowstone but we are deeply into putting the final touches on our Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering. We've got some great performers lined up and I think this will be one of our best shows.

As usual, though, the real work is getting the program book together. Joann Shindoll and I go to each business in Broadwater County and many around Bozeman and Helena, trying to get sponsors for the show. We usually wind up with around 75 ads in the book which pays most of the bills, including what we give performers, food in the green room, motel costs and all the other expenses that arise from something like this.

I'd love to get someone else to do all this Program Book work but Joann is the artist who makes all the ads and I put the booklet together and I really dont think any one else would do it as well as she does.

Anyway, the Pit roasted pig dinner will be held Saturday evening at 5:00PM again. This has become a very popular part of our event. We aren't doing a dinner for the performers on Friday this year as we didn''t get a very good response for it last year. Everyone will just have to hit the local restaraunts for Friday dinner. We will have menus from our sponsoring food purveyors available in the Green Room.

Gathering schedule

2009-05-19T10:18:00.002-06:00

At the White Sulphur Springs Gathering over Mothers Day weekend, I was asked by two different people how to know when shows like that were being held.

Rope Burns has an overwhelming list of almost everything going on but it isn't on the web and easily available, although I told both of these folks to get a subscription to Rope Burns.

I try to post the ones I know about at www.cowboyentertainer.com/gathering.html but if no one tells me about it, I can't post it!

That's the point of this little missive. If you have a Gathering or Western Music /Poetry show coming up, please let me know and I'll get it posted.

White Sulphur Springs "Motherin' Up" Gathering

2009-05-12T16:46:00.003-06:00

We had a great time in WSS last weekend. There were lots of very good performers here from all over.

What I particularly like is that many good Montana performers come to this one. We are always trying to get more Montana people to our show in Townsend in June and we like to get a chance to mix the Montana performers with all the Cowboy Poets of Idaho members who come here.

WSS Gathering is held at the school and Day-shows are in one of the classrooms and in the Library. There was a good audience for Day-shows also, with plenty to listen to us in both locations. CD sales seemed to be pretty good all day.

The local 4H provided a concession stand and Margaret Wilhelm, the main organizer, had green-room food and drink for all us travelling entertainers.

The night show was very well attended with about 150+ in the audience.

This gathering seems to get very good community support and we allways enjoy attending.

2009-05-07T15:18:00.002-06:00

Cowboy Poetry Week in Review
April 19 – 25, 2009
By Smoke Wade

Lewiston, ID.

With well-intentioned plans and ideas, I had thought of National Cowboy Poetry Week for several months in advance, and I had thought about what I might do to celebrate the week. Yet, when the 19th of April drew nigh, the best thing I could think of was to cook a pot of beans and bake a pan of sourdough biscuits – cowboy food. And perhaps if I would eat this cowboy food each day of the week, some how I would feel connected to the celebration and feel that I had contributed to the experience.

Then it dawned on me that perhaps I would keep of journal for the week, take a few notes and see if something spawned besides sitting by the wayside eating biscuits and beans.

April 19: What started off as a routine Sunday morning - checking out all the news that is news on
http://www.cowboypoetry.com/ - I soon found my self writing several media releases for 2010 cowboy gatherings. Now in the mood to contribute, I continued by writing a report on the Lee Earl Memorial Scholarship Cowboy Gathering and got it sent off to the Bar-D Ranch and to Rope Burns. Ate a bowl of beans and three biscuits. Very good, this cowboy food!

April 20: Lacking high speed internet, I spent an hour on the phone listening in to poet’s from across American share their poetry on
www.blogtalkradio.com/ralphsbackporch. Wrote some cowboy poetry related emails with others, then ate a bowl of beans and two biscuits. Not bad!

April 21: Today the emails started rolling in from a few cowboy poets and musicians telling what they were up to. Listened to a new cowboy poetry CD, Rhyme Without Reason (2009) by Orvil Sears of Washington. Ate a bowl of beans (added more catsup) and one slightly stale biscuit.

April 22: By now the Cowboy Poetry Week event emails are rolling in faster than I can answer them, and by golly, it looked like Cowboy Poetry Week was being celebrated every where. Took a mid-week look at http://www.cowboypoetry.com/ to keep up on all the happenings.
Spent an hour reading from Songs of the Outlands, a book of poetry by Henry Herbert Knibbs. Ate a bowl of beans - skipped the biscuit.

April 23: Began working on another report for a cowboy gathering and spent time working cowboy poet and musician photos through my photo workshop. Found that if I put the biscuit in the bowl first with beans on top, it was edible – extra catsup.

April 24: Woke up dreaming that I had eaten steak. This was the best day of the week. As co-host of the Western Heritage Show with Toe Tappin’ Tommy Tucker on KRLC 1350 AM, Lewiston, ID, I joined with the "Toe Tapper" to spend two hours celebrating cowboy poetry and Cowboy Poetry Week. Live telephone interviews included Margo Metegrano, publisher of CowboyPoetry.com, and Susan Parker, cowgirl poet from California. Several tracks were played from The Bar-D Roundup: Volume Four (2009) including: "Henry" by Pat Richardson; "Star Cavvy" by DW Groethe; the Henry Herbert Knibbs poem, "The Shallows of the Ford" recited by Jerry "Brooksie" Brooks; "Average Girl" by Doris Daley; and "The Sierry Petes" by Gail I. Gardner. Smoke Wade recited his original poem "Leather Gods" as a tribute to cowboy poets everywhere.

Cowboy music complemented the poetry with songs such as "The Habit" by Don Edwards, "The Wonder of it All" by Ian Tyson, "Man Walks amongst Us", by Les Gilliam, "Ballad of Boot Hill" by Johnny Western and "Act Naturally" by Wylie & The Wild West. As the show drew to a close, both Tommy and I gave The Bar-D Roundup: Volume Four (2009) "Ten Big Toes a Tappin" for excellence in quality, production and entertainment value. This is one heckuva CD folks, and we recommend you get one by visiting http://www.cowboypoetry.com/.

The evening was spent once again listening to blogtalkradio.com/ralphsbackporch as cowboy poets shared their poems and stories of the cowboy. Ate the last bowl of beans with a half a bottle of catsup. Threw the last stale biscuit into the walnut grove out back for the squirrels to eat.

April 26: Up early and off to the cowboy breakfast at the Asotin County Fair, Asotin, WA. Almost twisted my ankle when I stepped on the rock-hard biscuit the squirrels had left on my front step during the night. Ate hotcakes and sausage links at the breakfast – real cowboy food – and asked for more. Didn’t realize how hungry I was. Listened to poetry and songs from Stuff That Works (2008) by Criddles & McCords. Rode in the parade with Toe Tappin’ Tommy Tucker as representative of the Western Heritage Show to further celebrate Cowboy Poetry Week in America. Came home after the rodeo to find the fridge was empty. Cooked up a pot of beans and a pan of sourdough biscuits for dinner. National Cowboy Poetry Week was a good week!

Smoke Wade

St. Anthony Cowboy Poetry Gathering

2009-04-21T23:12:00.002-06:00

As usual, we had a great time in St. Anthony again this year. Westbrook, Wayne Nelson and I stayed with Colt Angel and the jammin' started almost as soon as I got there Thursday night. Colt and I played until we were tired then we went out for a while so that I could try and find some pool games. No luck. Lots of terrible pool players out there but none had any money so I gave up and went to bed.

Friday was a blast! For those of you who don't get the allure of these Gatherings, let me tell you that the best thing about them is the people. We get to see friends who we might only see at St. Anthony each year. Like a family reunion but we don't have to put up with relatives.

John and I weren't scheduled on the Night Shows this year but we both backed up others. We'll don Anything (almost...we won't play "Achy Breaky Heart") to get up on the Night Show stage.

Saturday, Colt Angel, Kevin Peterson and I got up as the last Day Show act. I have been telling everyone that the "Western Music Nazi's"; those who insist on strictly cowboy music, were in for a shock. There are some really good rock bands who did "cowboy" songs. So we did the Marshall Tucker Band song; "Fire On the Mountain". Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

I played my flute for Gordon Peterson. I went up to the crows nest, by the spotlight, and played from there. Everyone said it gave just the right atmosphere to the poem. It was fun, too.

I was playing for a benefit in Townsend on Sunday afternoon so I left when the jam broke up at Colts...about 1:30AM. It was a fairly uneventful drive home. The elk near Cameron didn't surprise me as I'd been looking for them all along. About a dozen head on and beside the highway. I stopped in Ennis and slept for a couple of hours and got home about 8AM Sunday.

Another stellar weekend in Western Music. Another bunch of memories to take out and look at once in a while.

Where are the Heros? (Beware! Political post)

2009-03-29T14:55:00.001-06:00

Where, today, are our heros? As our Country faces so many problems; economy, war, terrorism and so on, where are the Men with Principles? Men who will stand by their country and do what’s right without regard to the political expedient, the polls or the money?

Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. How about Houston, Travis or Austin? We used to be a nation of heros and the whole world saw us that way. Now, we are a nation of political correctness and weakness. No wonder Al-Quieda attacked us so forcefully. They were used to seeing America as a coward, hiding behind rhetoric and diplomacy. Did you ever try to talk a schoolyard bully out of picking on you? Did logic work with him?

I believe certain things about our country. I believe that there are still a significant number of strong, courageous and ambitious people living here in America. Most of them are those for whom our “leaders” feel nothing but contempt. They didn’t go to the “right schools”. Most of them either didn’t go beyond High School or went to local or state Colleges. But they WORK for a living and for America. They build the cars, they grow the food, they build the “infrastructure” that our elitist leadership takes for granted. Our enlisted military is made up of those people today.

I believe that if we are allowed to do our work, without Government interference then our economy will rebound on its own. Just lower the taxes and get out of the way!

I believe that if we are allowed to take the war against terrorism to them…wherever they may be and however that might have to be done and then terrorists will run and hide. And leave the 2nd amendment alone. Our ability to protect our homes and communities is part of the reason that those same terrorists don’t want to come to rural America.

We need cowboys, farmers and other working class folks from the flyover states running our government and all those elitist Ivy League fat cats can go back where they came from!

In around forty years, we have come from Rosa Parks to Barack Obama. We should be rejoicing at the fact that racism is no longer a block for anything. If it were, then President Obama would not have been elected! Instead, we watch more of the same politics as usual, with a figurehead out front being led by his teleprompter. We don’t need socialism in our financial market, our healthcare or our government. We need Freedom to do what we do and the rewards of doing it well.

Our country was not built on handouts from the government. The government didn’t subsidize the westward expansion. There were no bailouts to the makers of covered wagons or those who drove them. No food stamps or welfare programs. Neighbors helped each other. Churches took care of their communities.

So, what can we do today? Contact your congressmen. Let them know how you feel about increasing taxes, increasing our national debt and handing money out to those who already have it all! When there is an election or referendum in your community…VOTE! If there is an issue about which you feel strongly, then get out there and work for it. Volunteer to help. If political causes aren’t your thing, I’ll bet there are places that provide help for the poor and needy in your community. When was the last time you helped at the local shelter, donated food to the local food bank or gave of yourself for a local charity or benefit?

I believe it is again time for our country to be built from the bottom up. Those at the top screwed it all up so those of us at the bottom have to start again. The problem is that our elected leaders are standing on us and not letting America’s people do the work they are so capable of doing.

I’m going to the Tax Day Tea Party at the State Capital in Helena, MT. Find out where your closest Tea Party is and attend! Show Washington that it’s more than just a few out here who are not interested in paying more taxes so that things can just get worse!

http://taxdayteaparty.com

Congressional representatives: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml
Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Ruth Sweeten Obituary (From Becky Muench)

2009-03-27T02:31:00.001-06:00

OBITUARY

Ruth Gerber Sweeten

February 2, 1922 – March 21, 2009

Ruth Gerber Sweeten, formerly of Malad, Idaho, passed away from natural causes on March 21, 2009 in the home of her daughter, Christine Goodwin of Orem, Utah.
Ruth was born February 2, 1922 in Spring Lake, Utah to Ether Lyman and Cornelia Hanks Gerber. She was the second of four children and the only girl. Ruth attended many schools as her father was a carpenter who moved the family from job to job. Ruth graduated from Shasta Union High School in Redding, California where she was on the diving team. Ruth served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in southern California where she met her future husband, Colen H. Sweeten Jr., who was also serving a mission there at that time. They were married in the Salt Lake temple on June 29, 1944 while Colen was on furlough from the U.S. Army during W.W. II.
Ruth spent most of her married life living in Malad and Holbrook, Idaho. She worked in the Ford Garage as bookkeeper and later in the Malad Department Store. Ruth developed the well deserved reputation of a great candy maker and sold many, many boxes of her wonderful chocolates over the years. Ruth and Colen raised their family in Malad and then lived in Boise, Idaho for nine years where she worked for Boise Cascade. She and Colen both worked and retired in Boise and then returned to Malad. They moved to Springville, Utah in December of 2000 to be closer to family.
Ruth was a member of the L.D.S. Church and held many positions over the years as she loved to serve her Heavenly Father.
Ruth was preceded in death by her husband, Colen H. Sweeten Jr., her daughter, Jan Isom, her son-in-law, Charles Isom, her granddaughter, Jennifer Isom, Ruth’s parents and her three brothers, Dale, Clyde and Glade Gerber. She is survived by her children Susan (Bill) Erickson, Pleasant Grove, Utah; Eileen Hess, Springville, Utah; Christine (Bryce) Goodwin, Orem, Utah and Colen H. (Cindy) Sweeten III, Springville, Utah; fifteen grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.
A viewing will be held Friday, March 27 from 6 to 8 pm at the Horsley Funeral Home at 132 West 300 North in Malad, Idaho and also one hour prior to funeral services. Funeral services will be at 12 noon on Saturday, March 28 at the Malad 6th Ward building at 200 West 400 North. Burial will be in the Malad City Cemetery.

Kalispell weekend

2009-03-22T11:34:00.003-06:00

Howdy all!!

Well, John Westbrook and I had a great time opening for the "Members of" the Mission Mountain Wood Band on Friday, the 20th. Let's get some links here and then go on with the story.

The Good Wood Band (some of the M2WB members)
Rob Quist (One of the original members of M2WB)

This was a benefit concert for the Kalispell Police Association. The KPA does a lot of anti-drug education, suicide prevention and other great things for the youth and schools in the Kalispell area. A very nice bunch to work with.

First, I think that if I'd been with Lewis and Clark, they'd have discovered Cleveland. I haven't been to Kalispell in a long time but I knew to go east from Helena, take 141 north at Avon, then 200 then 83. But somehow, I missed the junction at Hwy 83 (There's only a big gas station, Convenience store, rest area and campground there. No wonder I just didn't notice all of that along with the big reflective highway sign that says "Kalispell -->").

Anyway, we wound up going through Missoula and up Hwy 93 through Polson. Apparently, it's springtime. Road Construction season is upon us!

Despite my superior navigational skills, we actually got to Kalispell with plenty of time to spare and got over to the Fairgrounds for a sound check. Rob Quist's sound guy, Walt Peckham, ran the hardware and was very good. We were extremely impressed with the job Walt did for both groups.

One of the Kalispell PD detectives MC'd for us and after his introduction, as we were getting ourselves together on stage, John said to the crowd: "It's good to see a policeman nervous, isn't it?" They loved it and he got a big laugh. Our show went very well. We had the audience laughing, crying and singing along throughout our hour plus of time. I finished by doing Wayne Nelson's "Snowville" poem and when the MC came up to get rid of us, the audience didn't want us to get down. We got a standing O as we walked off stage. All in all a very great time.

The Out of the Blue-Grass (Mission Mountain WB) band did their usual fantastic job. I love to listen to these guys. With Rob's original songs and the bluegrass instrumentals and all the stuff they do they are a very entertaining group. I hope we get a chance to see them again.

I managed to find the right route back home so we cut about an hour off the trip on our return.

For you pool players out there, I went to a bar in Kalispell where they had one pool table. The nap was so thick that I thought they might have covered it in shag carpet. The cuestick tips were terrible and they were using that cheap Chinese chalk. You know the stuff. Anyway, if you made anything other than a centerball hit you got a miscue. The kids in there to hear the band were terrible pool players but they were willing to play for $5 a game all night. Pity I had such a short time to enjoy their company! Oh well, gas money, anyway.

2009-03-11T07:55:00.002-06:00

Ok. I feel the need to debunk some current religious fervor. Global warming is a hoax. Climate change is not caused by the overuse of SUVs or the flatulence of cows.

It's 12 below zero here this morning. It's March. The coldest Montana March in over six years and really a normal condition for us here. The arctic Ice is increasing again. Las Vegas had snow this year for the first time in a long time. You notice that those who were crowing the most about Global Warming only a year ago are now calling it "Climate Change" to try and cover these weather situations.

I guess nature just does what she wants without our help. Sorry Algore, your Nobel Prize was issued a bit prematurely.

Later all, I'm on my way up to Shindolls to help feed cows this morning.

Modern Country Music...Yuck!

2009-03-08T14:18:00.002-06:00

I've been somewhat disenchanted with the modern country music that I hear when I'm forced to listen to top 40 stations but I rarely have much exposure to it because I just don't listen to those stations much. Yesterday, though, I was practicing my pool game in a bar where they have continuous country music playing and a video screen which displays info about the artists. It was horrible.

They all sound the same. They all look the same. It was almost like one four hour song playing! The only time there is a semi-break in the monotony is when they switch from a male to a female singer. So far, you can still tell those apart.

One "Country" band had information about their "influences" U2, Elvis and some other rock bands I didn't really know. Their main influences were rock bands and their "country" music reflects that.

The argument is "That's what the kids want". Why, then is the popularity of Country Music dwindling? Could it be because; if you want to listen to Rock, you'll listen to a rock station?

I'm an old guy, I know. And I try not to sound like my mother who really hated my ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Styx and Creedence. But I can't help it. The modern rock is either Rap or way too hard for me and modern Country doesn't really exist. I listen to the local classic rock station if I listen to music radio.

That brings up another point. It's not hard to find a classic rock station in most areas. Something that plays the 70's and beyond rock. Try to find a country station that isn't top 40!

Oh well, I'm old and grouchy and I guess I plan to stay that way. I'm gonna put on some Jerry Jeff Walker albums (note: albums, not CDs) and relax.

Montana Global Warming

2009-02-26T08:34:00.003-07:00

Twelve degrees this morning. We need to drive more SUV's up here and get this global warming thing started in Montana. Check out

www.westyellowstonewebcam.com and see what Global Warming looks like to us.

The 25th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

2009-02-19T09:49:00.007-07:00

A Reunion of Cowboys

By Smoke Wade

Elko, NV. In 1985, when the first Elko Cowboy Gathering brought grassroots cowboy poetry to the stage, the organizers wondered if anybody would show up to listen to a bunch of old cowboys get up on stage and share their poems and stories. It was to be a one-time event, which was organized by a group of folklorists to gather and document cowboy stories, poetry, and song before the art form was lost to the world. Surprisingly, it was found the rhyming stories were, in fact, very much alive and, perhaps even more surprisingly, there were plenty of folks who wanted to hear these poems and songs of the cowboy. Perhaps it was something new for the media, or maybe it was just one of those celestial things where an event occurred at the right time and place. Whatever it was that occurred, the modern cowboy poetry gathering was born and the event organizers decided they would do it again in 1986. It was in this fashion that cowboy poetry became a household word and cowboy poetry gatherings began to spawn across the West.

Fast forward 25 years later to 2009 and we find not only the world has changed beyond our imagination, but also cowboy poetry has evolved greatly as well. Every weekend in North America there is a cowboy poetry gathering or festival taking place somewhere. In Australia, bush poets gather, while in our seaport cities, fisher poets hold their gatherings. Large gatherings occur on a regular basis across Canada, and cowboy lore from countries around the world is recognized and celebrated. Cowboy poetry has spread to schools, libraries, nursing homes, universities, churches, city parks and the Smithsonian Institute. Radio shows play cowboy poetry live and on the Internet. Cowboy poets appear on television shows and they have infiltrated musical organizations such as the Western Music Association. Dozens of cowboy poetry writer groups meet on a regular basis and cowboy poetry organizations and clubs boast large memberships. And all this time, cowboy and western musicians gathered with the poets and shared their songs of the cowboy.

During this 25 year span, the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering, sponsored by the Western Folklife Center, became known as The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. So it was fitting to hold a reunion – a Silver Reunion - to draw back many of those that were there in 1985, and to draw back those that have participated since, and to invite new poets as well. And for 8 days in January, they came and reunited, and told their stories once again.

The granddaddy of them all, the 25th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering took place January 24 – 31, 2009, in Elko, NV, as hundreds of cowboy poets and musicians descended upon the small Nevada town. They came from around the world, from the United States, Australia and Canada. And their appreciative fans came with them - thousands of fans that turned Elko into a boomtown like atmosphere. Motels filled to capacity, long lines formed at restaurants, while casinos and nightclubs booked cowboy singers, and everywhere could be heard the song and poetry of the cowboy. Open mic venues took place in art galleries, there were school performances, and the media swarmed in from everywhere looking for a slant on this Silver Jubilee.

The large crowds of folks at the Elko Convention Center and at the Western Folklife Center were extremely diverse. Old time cowboys mingled with friends and newcomers alike. Local people visited with city folk from virtually every big town in America. Folklorists beamed with satisfaction as they listened to the cowboy artists share their work. Youth performers stood along side of modern day folklore legends. What had possibly been a media phenomenon in 1985 had evolved into the greatest cowboy poetry spectacle on Earth!

With more than 75 featured cowboy performing artists, including 16 featured performers from the 1985 gathering, the reunion got under way on Saturday, January 24, 2009. The heart of the event took place over a 3 day period later in the week – Thursday through Saturday, January 29 – 31, 2009. Added to the featured performers was a long list of performers that contributed to reunion shows at the Western Folklife Center and at the Elko Convention Center. Also added to this group were all those that came for the various open mic stages around town, as well as the featured entertainers at almost every nightclub and casino in town. The list of cowboy performers was long and impressive, yet several names stood out - household names from the 1985 gathering like Waddie Mitchell, Wallace McRae, Baxter Black, and Ian Tyson. From the original 1985 group, Baxter Black has emerged, as possibly America’s most successful poet of any genre.

A special show was presented over a two day period at the gathering that is certainly worthy of mention. A Ride With Bob – The Bob Wills Musical which was written by Anne Rapp and Ray Benson, and featured Ray Benson and Asleep At The Wheel, along with a large cast of talented actors and musicians. The full capacity audience sat spellbound through the entire performance, grinning ear to ear from start to finish. And no small wonder, for A Ride with Bob Wills was an amazing stage production. To sum up the show in two words – Absolutely Fantastic!

Some performers brought their own special mixture of high energy with them to the reunion. Several musical groups rocked the house every time they took the stage. Wylie & the Wild West, the Quebe Sisters and Hot Club of Cowtown, along with poet, Paul Zarzyski, all presented superb performances much to the delight of audiences. Wylie & the Wild West also presented a very entertaining tribute to the Snake River Outlaws, an Idaho band, circa 1950, that had a successful radio show in Missoula, MT.

During the heart of the gathering, multiple performances took place at a half a dozen venues at the same time. A bustling crowd scurried about the lobby of the Elko convention center trying to juggle their schedules between the Cedar, Silver and Turquoise rooms and the main auditorium. Others gathered in the front atrium jostling for a place in line at the goody table to buy cookies, brownies and coffee. Some found quiet time sitting at a table in the back of the lobby while reading a new book of poetry they had just purchased from the performer product sales store.

Behind the scenes other folks were just as busy. Behind the main stage, performers calmed themselves in the Green room while waiting their turn on stage. Upstairs in the media room, Lora Minter and Darcy Minter – no relation to each other – busied themselves for long hours with the press corp.

Across town at the Western Folklife Center, volunteers ushered people into the Wiegand Gallery to view Between Grass and Sky: Trappings of a Ranch Life, a display of finely crafted saddles, bits and leatherwork. On the wall in the Gallery hung a quilt hand-crafted by Yvonne Hollenbeck. The quilt displayed the brands of 159 cowboy performers. In the main lobby of the Western Folklife Center, other volunteers took up the role as bartender in the Pioneer Bar. Adjacent to the bar, non-stop shows took place in the G Three Bar Theater.

The Pioneer Bar in the Western Folklife Center seemed to be the central gathering point for folks at all times of the day. As the sun went down over the high desert mountains, the facility filled with people and it became standing room only. From the front door of the Center, one could look across the plaza and see the blazing neon sign of the Stockman’s Casino advertising Michael Martin Murphey in concert. On the other side of the plaza hung a sign over the door of the Duncan Little Creek Gallery advertising open mic for poets.

With so much going on in addition to the poetry and music venues – workshops, ranch tours, and film sessions – and so many performers, it would be impossible to include them all. The essence to be captured is that this week was Cowboy Carnival, and what a grand celebration it was!

An often-heard comment was "What happens when all these old cowboys are gone? Will their poetry and music die out?"

One only needed to expand their horizons at the gathering and take a look around. One young performer, singer-songwriter, Adrian, seemed to step up to the plate in grand fashion. There was a Young Buckaroo poetry session on Saturday morning, and the open mic sessions were crowded with new performers from across America hoping that one day they, too, would step into the spotlight. It would appear from these performances, that the future of cowboy poetry and music is in good hands.

With so much entertainment and activity to absorb in such a short period of time, it was easy to suffer from image overload. By Saturday afternoon, folks were beginning to have a glazed look in their eyes. Yet they continued on like it was their last day at Disneyland, trying to catch one more ride before they had to leave for home. Long days and short nights apparently were the standard fare for the Silver Reunion.

Everyone wondered how the Western Folklife Center could come up with a National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 2010 that would top this most recent event. Yet the planning for the next gathering had been going on for some time. In 2010 look for "cracker" cowboys from Florida and swamp cowboys from Louisiana. And to top it all off, the Florida Folklife Program has created an exhibition entitled Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition that will be featured at the Wiegand Gallery during the Gathering.

As the Sunday morning sun laced the peaks of the Ruby Mountains with gold, the gathering of cowboys began to depart for all points of the compass. Poets, musicians and fans hugged and bade each other goodbye in motel parking lots. Each one departed knowing that they had shared in something special - an event of a lifetime – for they were there, in Elko, and they had contributed to the experience. They had been to Elko when cowboys gathered as each brought 25 years of new stories with them. This gathering of cowboys had been a Silver Reunion, yet the memories they took home were solid gold!

Smoke Wade

Valentines gig

2009-02-15T11:13:00.002-07:00

Eric Nelson (Wayne Nelson's son) and I played at the Townsend American Legion last night. It was a good night and everyone had a good time.

The Legion has gone Non-Smoking (FINALLY) and business slowed for them quite a bit these first couple of weeks. I'm hoping that all those people who gripe about the smoky bars will start patronizing the Legion now and build the business back up.

Anyway, they had a mixed doubles pool tournament last night so we had a good crowd right from the beginning as well as the few who came in just for the music.

Eric and I are a good mix as he is an extremely good guitar player and is founded more in Rock than Country/Western. He can play along with my classic (old-guy) country and then throw in some good rock stuff once in a while for variety.

We were done about midnight and I played the male half of the tournament winning team for his share of the tournament winnings. That added to my take for the night!

No trip to West Yellowstone this weekend as I'm finishing up a couple of computers that I was working on so I just don't have time to run down to West for a pool tournament. Maybe next week.

Another Montana week

2009-02-11T12:49:00.002-07:00

Well, it's still winter up here! Actually, it hasn't been bad lately. We had temps into the fifties last week for a day or two.

Westbrook and I are still doing our "Happy Hour" show at the Mint in Townsend, MT every Friday from about 5pm until about 8pm. We're starting to see more people coming in to hear us so our audience is building a little.

I'll be doing the Mint thing by myself this Friday (the 13th) as John will be playing with Country Traditions at the Lounge in Belgrade, MT on Friday and Saturday.

Eric Nelson and I will play at the American Legion, in Townsend on Saturday (Valentines) evening. I'm looking forward to that as it should be a lot of fun. I don't know how much advertising the Legion has done, though. We may be entertaining the bartender and ourselves!

I'm updating (slowly) the www.cowboyentertainer.com performers pages by changing the sample music from realplayer to MP3 files. It's kind of tedious work so it's going pretty slowly but I've been keeping at it a little at a time. My page, Wayne Nelsons and parts of Bill Chiles, Valerie White and John Westbrook are done.

Lacie Madison (Pierry)

2009-02-01T11:55:00.004-07:00

When John Westbrook and I did our "Happy Hour" thing at the Mint Friday, we had a special treat. Lacie Madison stopped in with her Dad, Russ Pierry.

I met Lacie several years ago when they first moved here to Townsend. She was all fired up to be a singer/songwriter. Lacie was 15, I think, when I first met her. Very pretty and extremely "upbeat" about everything.

We invited her to Music Ranch, which Was in Belgrade, MT at the time, and she would come there every week and perform with us. She sang a lot of Civil War era songs and played the guitar ok.

Since then, she has been on TV shows in Hawaii, Memphis and Nashville and is currently living in Nashville where she is pursuing her musical career. She has one very nice CD out and is having some great success. Yesterday, I got an earfull of why.

Lacie had come home to attend the funeral of a friend of ours. Lacie had written a song about Dorothy and the family asked her to perform it for the funeral.

She has a lovely, clear penetrating voice, plays the guitar very well and delivers her songs extremely well. My only comment, as she finished, was: "Wow!"

In addition, of course, she has grown from a pretty young girl to a very attractive young woman. I'm suitably impressed. Keep at it Lacie!

Westbrook and Gibson together again

2009-01-25T15:57:00.002-07:00

John and I were both pretty busy during the summer but we were either doing separate single shows or he was playing with the Country Traditions band from Bozeman.

We are scheduled to open for members of the Mission Mountain Wood Band in Kalispell on March 20th though so we are actually taking time to relearn each others material. The Kalispell thing will be at the Fairgrounds and is a benefit for the Law Enforcement Association up there.

Anyway, we've played at the Mint Bar in Townsend, MT the last two Fridays and we're scheduled there every Friday, during "Happy Hour" (from 5PM till whenever) for the forseeable future. Hopefully, we'll get our "stuff" together by March.

You can see info about us at www.cowboyentertainer.com .
John's Schedule is at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=242679604
and mine is at http://calendar.yahoo.com/grublinerider

Helena Bar-Box tournament

2009-01-15T23:37:00.003-07:00

Saturday, the 10th of January, the Helena Bar-box pool tournament was held at the Edge Bar in Helena.

Lots of extremely good pool players showed up and we all had a great time. Most of the waiting time between matches was spent upstairs where we played on the 9' table, just to keep warm.

Besides the tournament purse, lots of other money changed hands upstairs. Some of it was (note WAS) mine!

Anyway, it was a good tournament and a good time. Jeff Boucher was the overall winner. He never even looked like he would lose a match all day. Josh Morgeaux and George Price were also in the semi finals. I have to admit that I was pretty beat (in more ways than one) so I wimped out and went home while the semi's were still going on.

Wayne is home

2009-01-15T23:35:00.002-07:00

Wayne got home a couple of days ago. they were qable to fix him up with no major surgery and I guess he's pretty glad to be home again.

Wayne Nelson having heart probs again

2009-01-13T03:06:00.002-07:00

On Sunday, Becky Nelson let me know that Wayne had been having heart probs again and had been hospitalized in Pocatello. He has since been transferred to the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City, UT.

Becky says he is feeling good, joking around with everyone and just being Wayne so far so we can all hope and pray that things go well for them.

When I know more, I'll let you know.

Montana weather

2009-01-07T01:14:00.003-07:00

We've had our usual interesting weather for Dec and Jan this year. Our usual December cold snap hit two weeks before Christmas with 20 below zero temps and extreme winds. The wind blew the roof off of a business on Main St and the temps stayed sub-zero for almost two weeks.

Last Friday, it was 40 degrees and raining when I got up. About three hours later it was 10 degrees and snowing.

Colt Angel and I played a New Years Eve party at the Lakeside Lodge in Island Park, Idaho. It was plenty cold that night and snowing hard the next day. Pretty standard Montana winter so far.

If you'd like to check out current conditions in West Yellowstone, there is now a web-cam at www.westyellowstonewebcam.com

I also found a really good webcam list at www.bigskyfishing.com/Web-Cams/Web-Cams.htm

Go Sarah-Cuda!

2008-11-03T15:37:00.003-07:00

I know this blog wasn't designed as a political forum but I get to put in my thoughts anyway.

PLEASE go vote. You are probably very aware of the fact that I don't want to see our country go Socialist and racist and I most certainly don't want to see the destruction to our economy, freedoms and rights that an Obama Presidency will likely bode.

On the other hand, I was never a big McCain fan and figured this was a "hold your nose and vote" election all along. Voting against Obama instead of for McCain. Then, enter Sarah Palin.

Wow! A regular person in line to be one of our national leaders? Not an Ivy League elitist attorney who knows the best restaurant in London but instead knows how to fix Hamburger Helper? Then the media assault on her. Anybody that the Main Stream Media hates so much MUST be exactly who I am looking for.

Think about this. We know all about Sarah's life, family, finances, hairstylist and anything else you can imagine. She's been hunted and haunted since McCain announced her as his VP choice.

Who paid for Obama's Harvard education? Who is financing his campaign? What is the real truth about his relationship with Ayers/Rezko/Wright and Raines? Why has the Media ignored all these things? Could they be shoving him down our throats for their own reasons? I resent that.

My vote for McCain was for three major reasons...I don't want to live in a Socialist, possibly totalitarian country so it was a vote against Obama. Second, I would like to see Sarah in the public eye for the next four years. If she's as impressive by then as I believe she would be, she'll be around for another 8. Third, I want to see the lying Main Stream Media take one in the shorts!

Oh well; enough. Please, just go vote. A vote for any other candidate than McCain or Obama is a vote for Obama. NOT voting is a vote for Obama.

Go Sarah-Cuda!

Not a great start

2008-11-03T15:31:00.002-07:00

Well, I'm off to a not too auspicious start to my litle trip. The pool playing hasn't worked too well. Didn't place in the money at a tournament in Pocatello and then did my usual approach to gambling at pool. I'm like some guy who thinks he's tough, always picking on the biggest guy in the room. Oh well, I'm sure he needed the money more than I did!

Hopefully, I'll do better with my CD sales in Rupert. If not, I may have to get a REAL job in order to get home!

On the Road Again?

2008-10-30T21:39:00.002-06:00

I'm planning to take off this weekend and head south. The Diamond Field Jack Cowboy Gathering will be in Rupert, Idaho November 7-9 and I'm going to take an extra few days to see if I can make a few bucks on the way.

If any of you have an idea about House Concerts or anything else, please let me know as I'm going to need gas money.

I'll try to keep y'all up to date on my experiences on the road.

My political post for the month

2008-10-13T13:13:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone. I know. I still haven't gotten back into the groove of submitting to this blog regularly. Actually, my days are so much the same that there just doesn't seem to be anything new to post.

Anyway, I have some thoughts about our upcoming election and the "coverage" we seem to be getting in the left-wing media.

Since Sarah Palin was picked as our Vice-Presidential candidate there has been a lot of contemptuous talk among the “elite” members of our society, especially the celebutards on the TV, about small-town people; country people and others of us who do not have the right background. I’m a little tired of the condescending tone from these useless individuals who only survive because of those of us who are beneath them.

I don’t want another “leader” who knows the best restaurant in London (and really has no concept of the prices on the menu!). I want a real Leader who knows how to make Hamburger Helper!

Consider, if you will, two men of my acquaintance.
One, Ed, looks as tough and strong as he is. Wide shoulders, forearms as
big as my biceps etc. His brother, Tom, looks like any slender young man.
Not much to him. Looks like a strong wind would just blow him off the
mountain.

They are Farmers. They can empty 40,000 pounds of grain out of a truck
with a scoop shovel. And, it's not even noteworthy to them! Build a mile
of fence. Carry railroad ties over their shoulders; throw hay bales six feet
or more in the air. And not just for a few "reps". No. All day long!

Ed works at least two jobs and helps on the farm when he can. Tom has his
own business (As physically demanding as the farming) as well as working
full time on the farm. Their sister, Joann (who is easily as strong and
tough as I) works full time as a waitress and then as much time as she can on the
farm, doing the same job as the men.

They can fix a truck, build a shop, wire it for electricity, insulate it,
install their own furnaces and equipment, all on their own. Am I impressed? I
couldn't begin to tell you! They raise cattle and grain.
Food which literally feeds people around the world.

On top of all that, they volunteer for their community. Ed is the Rural fire Chief…a volunteer fire Dept.
Tom is also a volunteer Fireman and is on the County Fire Board. Joann has been an election judge in this county for over 30 years and is also active with the Fire Departments and other local events. Their mother, in her 70s, is on the Museum Board and is active in the American Legion Auxiliary. All this in their “spare time”.

Now, are they unique? Not at all. There are hundreds just like them, just
in this valley. Thousands all over Montana. Millions in our country. They
are pretty quiet. You don't see them on TV or in protest marches. You don't
see them as guests on Leno or Letterman. They just go on, every day, doing
work harder than most of us could stand, as a matter of course. If they are
mentioned on one of the TV shows, it's to snicker at them. "Hicks".

And they sure don’t do it for the money! For playing a game, sports stars get millions.

For keeping the whole world fed, Farmers and Ranchers get zilch. They don’t even get the respect they deserve. Regular people. It’s great to see one in Sarah’s position and our hopes, prayers and Votes go out to her…if McCain gets elected because of her, more power to him.