Lost Horse Ranch Cowboy Gathering; June 23, 2007

Well, we had a great time in Oregon last weekend. Billy Rose and I have been working together a lot more lately and things are starting to click with us. We joined with Dan Emert (A National champion Fiddle Player) and Alan Feves (Bass player with the Oregon East Symphony) to back up Myra Pearce at a show she did near Elgin, Oregon. The show went very well, we all had a great time and I really can't think of anything about it all that I'd change. Well, maybe one thing. Apparently, I subconciously felt that Idaho had one too many deer so I hit one with my car!

Anyway...the Lost Horse Ranch has had three previous Gatherings. They are a little different from the "Gatherings" that we are used to. I think of it as being a Cowboy Poetry or Entertainer Gathering but this was a "Cowboy" Gathering. They had trail rides, riding and roping competiions and all kinds of stuff going on. It was very interesting and very entertaining. You might keep track of their website and see when they are doing it again as it looked like a really good time.

We stayed at the Stampede Inn in Elgin and got a chance to talk with the owners. They are very nice people and I reccommend their place if you're in that area. Of course, I'm not sure there are a lot of choices!

I'm hoping we get other opportunities to work with Myra. It was a blast to work with such a consumate professional. She has a beauitful voice and a happy, smiling personality. We enjoyed our contact with her. She is getting a new CD out and I enjoyed doing songs from it. Keep track of her website also as she should have a lot going on.

Well, it's off to Virginia City for the weekend and maybe for the whole week. Have fun out there "y'all"

Notice from Marvin O'Dell

Dear Western Artists and Fans,

I've just received a kind letter of frustration from the owner of Heartland Public Radio (HPR) telling me that by the end of summer, HPR2, the all-cowboy music channel of HPR, will probably have to come to an end due to lack of financial support. As you probably know, the all-western channel started up last year because there was a wonderful show of support for it from western music lovers and artists. This show of financial support convinced the station management that western music lovers would support the channel if it were established. Some of you are giving monthly to the cause of western music on HPR, and I want to thank you for your sacrifices.

Not wanting to write monthly and hound our listeners for money, I have neglected to let you know that the initial support has been slipping badly over the last few months. I know enough about fund-raising to know that if the need is not kept continually before the public, giving will slack off. But I just HATE to ask for money! It's just not part of my nature. However...I'm writing now to ask if you can make a generous one-time donation for HPR toward keeping the all-western music channel open. If everyone who receives this will send some kind of gift, it will definitely show enough interest to keep the station going. I'm personally going to send what I can, and I hope you will, too.

My feeling about this is simply that we will either keep the station on the air or we won't. (Profound, huh?) I just say that to say that I realize that not many people have extra money just lying around to give away frivolously. Even though I'm seeing gas prices drop a little, they haven't dropped near enough to take the pressure off me, and I'm sure that's true for you, too. And I know that everything else costs money, too. I guess what I'm saying is that we'll have the all-western station because we can afford to keep it on the air or we won't. HPR is TOTALLY sponsored by its listeners - and no one at the station gets paid for anything we do. It is a complete labor of love. And we're glad to continue it if all of us can do something to ensure its longevity.

I have a selfish reason, too, for wanting the channel to stay on the air. My CD gets played there - as yours probably does, too, if you are an artist. :-)

So - that's it. No begging - just stating the facts - we can either do it or we can't, and I understand that. If you can send something, we can receive personal checks and money orders by mail. The address is: Heartland Public Radio, PO Box 461, Branson, MO 65615. Checks should be made out to Heartland Public Radio. You can also use PayPal or a credit card. The following link will allow you to do this online through our secure server: http://www.heartlandpublicradio.org/contribute.shtml. Your gifts are also tax deductible as HPR is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

Remember that your western music goes around the world on Heartland Public Radio due to it being played on the internet. We are currently realizing nearly a quarter of a million unique listeners over any 30-day stretch - which is part of the problem, because the more listeners we get, the more band width we have to purchase :-). But that's a good problem.

Thanks for reading this far, and thank you in advance for any contribution you may be able to make.

For Cowboy and Western Music,

Marvin O'Dell
Around the Campfire
HeartlandPublicRadio.org

Virginia City, Montana

I love working VC during the summer. John Westbrook and I live in our campers out on the gulch where the miners of the early 1860s found the richest gold strike in history. Each morning, we dress in our period clothing and head into VC where we walk around, talking with people and getting our pictures taken until around lunchtime when the crowd begins to build at the Virginia City Cafe. Then, we start playing music at the Cafe for the rest of the day.

Once the VC Cafe closes, then I head either to the Bale of Hay Saloon or the Pioneer Bar and start looking for a pool game or two. Sometimes I make a few bucks doing that, sometimes I LOSE a few bucks doing that and often I'm just playing all night for free. Close the bar, head back out to the gulch for a few hours sleep and then start all over again.

At the Cafe, we play to about 200-300 people a day, about 20 or 30 at a time as they filter through, getting their meals and listening to us at the same time. We sell a lot of CDs and meet a lot of great folks.

This next weekend, John will be in Bannack at a little concert while I will be at the Lost Horse Ranch in Elgin, Oregon with Myra Pearce. Then, nest week, John and I will be back to our regular "job" in Virginia City.

Comment rules

I don't think I ever posted my personal rules for approving comments and it seems I should.

I don't have a problem with debate, even spirited debate, as I think that's a big part of what we want to do here is have a forum for different views. But, we have to be civil and respectful towards one another at the same time.

Also, I don't plan to post anonymous comments. If you've got something to say, stand up and be counted. No comments will be approved that are abusive or unkind and so you shouldn't have any fear in identifying yourself.

All that said, we must always remember that I am the final arbiter of what is approved or disapproved. At some point, my decision is final.

High Strung Band "Not Western Enough" for Elko!!

Ok. I'm having a hard time with something I learned today and I'm about to seriously insult some people. Tough. In case no one has noticed, there are idiots in our world and I plan to point one or two of them out today. It's kind of too bad, too as I have made some friends at the Western Folklife Center in Elko and they will probably be mad at me after reading this.

First, let's recap what we already know about the Reddington Family (the High Strung Band). they are some of the best musicians you will see anywhere anytime, adult or child. Landen's youtube video of El Cumbanchero has the highest viewing numbers of any on our youtube site. Every Gathering they attend, they are far and away the big CD sellers, all the performers love them, they are constantly in demand from the audiences at every show and, above all, they are really nice people.

At the Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering, held last weekend, we got so many requests for them that we had them do an encore performance after the Saturday Night Show and only about 10% of the audience thought is was too late to stay. Almost everyone was still in their seats and the only reason the Reddingtons aren't still playing on that stage is because I called a halt to it at 11PM.

I'm trying to get across to the world that this is an exceptional entertainment group. Look at the youtube videos and you'll get a tiny taste of what I mean.

Today, I learned that not only did they get their Elko Rejection Letter but it had a handwritten note on it that they weren't "WESTERN" enough!! I'm so amazed at the colossal stupidity of that that I don't even know what to say. I've been one of the few who has come out on the side of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering selection committee as I truly believed that they are doing their best to be fair about choosing performers. This, however, is enough to make me lose breakfast. a note to Elko...FIRE whoever wrote that letter!

A quick history lesson for the letter writer. When the cowboys of the 1800s were composing their poems and eventually putting some of them to music, much of it was done to a bluegrass or celtic style. Many of the early settlers of the West were from the hills of the Southeast and had their roots in those music styles. When you hear bluegrass music, you hear WESTERN music. In addition, very few cowboys carried guitars with them. Have you ever actually ridden a horse? It's not very comfortable to put a guitar on there with you! The musical instruments were in the bunkhouse or maybe carried on the chuckwagon. And what were the most prevelant instruments? Guitars, fiddles and harmonicas. I can't imagine a more Western scene than a couple of fiddles and guitars being played around the campfire or at the barn dance or whatever. Not Western Enough?!

I don't even know what else to say. Let's let a couple of videos speak for me.

I'm now an Official Elko Reject

"Dear Larry:

Thank you for submitting an application for the 2008 Gathering. This year there were nearly 200 submissions and we continue to be heartened by the creativity and talent inspired by normal western life as demonstrated by these submissions. The Selection Committee, none of whom are members of the Western Folklife Center's staff, had a difficult time choosing the final performers. Unfortunately, you were not selected to be a featured performer this year."

Oh well, can't win 'em all. Now, I can attend our Elko Rejects Gathering as a full fledged member. I want the T-shirt concession!

Things are warming up for the summer. John Westbrook and I, together and separately, will be in Virginia City, Dillon, Belgrade and West Yellowstone, Montana this weekend. We should be in Virginia City together Thursday, I'll be in West Yellowstone Friday while John is in VC, then we'll both be in VC and Dillon Saturday, he'll do a private party in Belgrade Sunday while I'm back in VC and then I'm back in West Yellowstone on Monday. Should be an interesting weekend. I guess I'll find out if that "high mileage vehicle" oil makes a difference! I'm to the point now where I spend more on my oil consumption than my gas. Poor old pickup.

The real test will be the trip to Elgin, Oregon on the 23rd to play at the Lost Horse Ranch out there.

Anyway, back to work here. Lots to do before I can take off for the weekend trips.

Our Gathering is over for this year

Well, our Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering has come and gone. The lights are out, the floors swept and mopped and the doors locked on another great weekend Western Entertainer party. We had a blast!!


It seemed like Friday was a complete zoo, with little problems cropping up constantly and Joann and I running from one brushfire to the next, frantically slapping out the flames. But, at the same time, the top quality entertainers we had here took over the actual performance area and handled everything for us so that we could get the dinner, auction, vendors, concession stand, motel rooms, promotions, setup...all the wonderful things that go on in the background...done.


Of special note as someone who was invaluable to us this weekend was Doug White, the husband of one of our entertainers, Valerie White. Everyone knows that if Doug hadn't been there to take over the CD table and admissions and so on I would have run away and I'd be halfway to Guadalahara by now! Thanks Doug.


Then, a special "Thank You" to all the performers and their families who attended this year. You all know the lack of reliable memory in my head so I won't try to list everyone. We had over 30 people show up to entertain at our little party and each one was appreciated and welcome. I can only hope that we see all of them again next year and they each bring a friend.

John Westbrook handled all of our sound issues and as usual did a great job. A little tip for those of you thinking of setting up any kind of performance show, whether Western or Rap. Have a great sound guy and system or don't do the show.

I'm not going to do a complete Gathering Report here and now, but will write something up soon for both here and the www.cowboyentertainer.com website.

Those who were here, thank you so much for coming and we sure hope you had a good enough time that you want to come back next year. Those who couldn't make it, we sure hope to see you next year!

Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering

Well, our weekend is almost here! The 6th Annual Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering is about to begin. (www.cowboyentertainer.com/ourshow.html )

The Program book is being printed, the banners are going up, the radio, TV and newspaper ads and articles are out there and the performers are coming. Am I ready? Not even kind of!

There's a lot involved in getting one of these together and we actually work on it pretty much all year long with the most pressure these last two or three months. The program book is the hardest part, getting ads, building ads, arranging the book and getting it all printed off by a reasonable date. But, without the revenue produced by the program book, we couldn't do this show. But I don't believe we'd get the numbers of ads we do without this being a fund-raiser for the volunteer Fire Department. After expenses, all of the money for this Gathering goes to the Broadwater Rural Fire District. Joann Shindoll and myself make all the arrangements, do the program book, the promotion and everything. We are not on the list of expenses, other than our travel and so on. We'll have Helena's KBLL radio here doing a remote broadcast from about 1PM Friday until about 5PM. That should be fun

We give the Night Show performers a little for being here and we arrange lodging for them but with current gas prices, we aren't really even covering gas for most of these folks. Maybe someday we can be making enough on this to be able to actually pay performers but we are happy do do what we do for them.

We keep lunch and snacks available in the "green room" all day long, we provide dinner both Friday and Saturday evenings and of course all performers and their companion come into the night show at no cost.

We do this without asking for a percentage of CD sales. That has always been a big issue with me and I personally don't like to attend any Gathering or show where they charge me part of my sales. I won't pay them for the privilege of entertaining their audience! The very few Gatherings I have attended where they do that, I have not checked any of my CDs into their sales area. I just carry them with me and do all the sales myself.

Anyway, I need to get back to work on making my house livable for guests this weekend. This is my once a year housecleaning and I'm not doing as good a job as no one is bringing a wife this year so no woman has to try to exist in my little cave. Guys can handle my lifestyle a little better.

Summer's Gettin' started!

I went down to Alder, Montana last weekend and played at the Alder Steakhouse with Jamie Baker. We had a great time and the show went very well.

Anyway, on the way to Alder, I went through Virginia City at about noon and the Gazebo at the Virginia City Cafe was packed. Jamie and I went back to VC and played at the cafe for a while and then I played Saturday for a few hours, sold CDs and so on like usual. All about a month early. Either that means we'll have a big summer or it means we'll have a hot dry summer with no water. Guess we'll wait and see.

John Westbrook and I will be playing at the VC Cafe all summer. Whenever we don't have any other gigs scheduled we plan to do the VC Cafe. That is a fun job. We live in our campers out on Alder Gulch, start playing music about noon each day and play as long as we want. We'll each make decent money, sell CDs and talk with lots of great people. In the evening I'll hit the pool tables at the Pioneer Bar and the Bale of Hay Saloon then back out to the Gulch to sleep late and start over again. What a great way to spend the summer!

We get to meet people from all over the world. As customers come in to the cafe, finish and then move on, we play to about 200-300 people each day, about 30 at a time. We figure that every 45 minutes or so the audience changes and we can start our set all over again. We sell a bunch of CDs all summer as not only do people enjoy the music but they also want souvenirs of their Montana trip.

We hope to see yo out here this summer. Make sure you look us up and say "Howdy"!

Virginia City, Montana Gathering

Jamie Baker; jcbaker@3rivers.net, will be organizing the Virginia City Gathering this year. It should be a great show and I'm sure Jamie will do a great job of putting it together.

Anyway, if you need to ask about it, contact Jamie, not Toni James.

See ya there!

Finally!! Posting something new!

Ok, I know, it's been a month since I posted anything here. I've been kind of running in many different directions and I'm really not caught up yet.

First, of course, is that Joann Shindoll and I are the primary people involved in setting up the Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering and that pretty much takes up almost all the spare time (?!) we might have. The program book is the biggest part of the whole thing. We personally visit with each business in Broadwater County and with many in Helena and Bozeman, getting ads for the book. These are what pay for all the things we try to do for the performers but it really takes up a huge amount of time and travel.

Then, Joann creates all the ads and she and I get together and assemble the ads and information into the program book for the printer. It's a lot of time, effort and argument that starts in February and goes until the last possible day before the show!

At the same time, both of us are keeping our real jobs going in order to stay alive the rest of the year, I'm booking up a bunch of music jobs and have already done several; Virginia City, Montana is already seeing good business and I'd really like to grab my guitar and be a part of it but not until after the first weekend in June!

Ok. enough crying and whining. I actually really have a great time with our Gathering and we'll have a big bunch of some of the best entertainers in the world right here in Townsend in a week or so. Many of my best friends will be here with me, we'll play music, laugh, talk, complain, fix the problems of the world and in general have a wonderful time. Once we're all together, all the work and pain of the past few months are just dim memories.

If you've never been to a Cowboy Entertainer Gathering before, either as a performer or as audience, then you are missing some great times and great memories. The past 8 or 9 years that I've been involved with these Western Performers has really been some of the best times of my life and I cherish each memory.

I'll get on here and put in some postings about the last couple of gatherings and shows I've been to and start being better about passing info out to the world.

The Decline of Country Music

Today I read the posts at http://dekerivers.wordpress.com/2007/04/23/getting-old-at-the-grand-ole-opry/ and it made me think about some of the things I've seen in the Music world lately.

I grew up in the back of a station wagon surrounded by amps, speakers, guitars and so on as my Dad travelled from one gig to another around the Western US. My brother and I played classic country in bars and cafes around southern Oregon several years ago. I have done a single act in the same kinds of bars as well as being a singer in a couple of country bands. I've even had the distinction of playing in a chickenwire cage like in the movie "Roadhouse"! There's an experience best missed if possible!

A few years ago, I began following the Cowboy Entertainer shows. I kind of slowed down on calling them Cowboy Poetry shows as people seem to be afraid of poetry in all its forms. Just listen to good Cowboy Poetry once and you'll be clamoring for more but I digress. I had gotten started with this Cowboy thing for several reasons. First, it really is the life I was leading at the time. Second, my musical experience doing bar gigs where the audience has no idea what you are playing most of the time. they are busy shooting pool, getting drunk, trying to find a wife for the night...all those wholesome "honky-tonk" pursuits we all know and love. So, an original song really isn't noticed. Just; is there a beat you can dance to?

Concerts, dinner shows, specialty events...all places where my original songs are noticed, my renditions of the old cowboy ballads are appreciated and classic country is loved. That plus the exceptional talent I was seeing all around me with these Cowboy performers and then add the love and friendship we all share for each other. Those are the main reasons I'm headed for these Cowboy Entertainer shows whenever I get a chance.

But, to speak to the theme of the dekerivers blog, todays country music executives are not seeing the truth of what's going on out here. I still do bar gigs once in a while and even the younger audience enjoys my old classic country. I get requests for Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings songs all the time. And not just from old farts like me, either! Kids, with their pants hanging down around their knees and rings in their (?) are asking for old country.

Check with Jason Deshaw about his popularity at college campuses all over the country. You'd better look around Nashville and see the trees in your forest. Or pretty soon the Western Artists will be running the show and you'll be taking the back seat! Hopefully that happens while I'm still not too old to play.

20th Annual St. Anthony Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Hey there everyone! I know, I haven't been keeping up here very well but when there's nothing much to report...I don't.

We had a great show at St. Anthony again. It's one of my favorites, mostly because I don't have ANY work involved in getting it up and going and I get to see almost all my friends there. Some of us may not do any other shows together during the year but we'll be at StA together.

I took a bunch of videos this year and I'm slowly getting them uploaded to YouTube. Those of you who aren't familiar with Cowboy Poetry and/or Western Entertainment, here is your chance to learn. I just expect that we'll start seeing you at all the Gatherings you can find after this!

First, here is Vern Woodbury giving us his own version of Western Music:



Now, here's another one of my favorite performers, Bill Chiles, doing "Springtime in the Rockies".



And here is Wayne Nelson with his Classic: "Snowville"



And our friend from the Great White North: Mike Burns:


There were many other entertainers there and I have some more videos that I will be posting soon. Enjoy these and we welcome comments to the blog.

St Anthony Gathering gets started

The St Anthony Gathering has started off with a great big BANG! We've been having a blast! The Thursday jam session was a lot of fun but we broke up too soon. Friday was a great time during the Day Show and then the night show line up was top.

I took some good videos and will be uploading some more of them when I get a chance. Here's one of John Westbrook (with me on rythm guitar) doing his version of Sheb Wolley's "I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore".

St. Patty's Day At the Sportsman's Bar in Island Park, Idaho

Colt Angel called me yesterday morning to ask me if I wanted to play in Island Park. Lots of lead time! Anyway, I managed to get my stuff together and get down there in time. It's actually less than a 2 1/2 hour drive to the Sportsman's Bar and it was a gorgeous drive! Down 287 through Ennis and up the Madison River. I can't imagine a better way to spend my afternoon than taking a drive through Montana in the springtime.

Anyway, we had a great time down there, playing the old Country dance songs and a few originals. The crowd was very appreciative and I even sold a CD! You don't get many CD sales at a bar gig, normally. I thought of something I'm going to say at Bar gigs from now on though. Someone always wants to buy me a drink and I usually don't drink at all when I'm playing and certainly not when I'm facing a 2+ hour drive home. Anyway, instead of buying me two or three drinks during the night, just buy one of my CDs. you'll have something to show for your money and I'll be able to afford a little more gas!

I haven't played with a band for a long time. I'm so used to playing a single or maybe a duo with a rehearsed partner that the band thing is really different. It was a lot of fun and we clicked very well. Everything sounded as if we'd actually practiced...even my originals!

I've got a video of Colt at my youtube channel that you might enjoy.

Have fun out ther y'all!

Lee Earl Memorial Scholarship Gathering

The Lee Earl Memorial Scholarship Gathering was held in Lewiston, Idaho March 2 and 3, 2007. Somoe of the top Western performers in the Northwest attended and provided two full days of quality entertainment.

I can't list them all and won't even try. Even the night show had too many great performers for me to try listing them all as I'd just forget someone. I think everyone would agree that, once again, the High Strung Band was the highlight of the weekend. If CD sales are any indication, the audience thought so too as the HSB sold out before the main Saturday Night show was even over!

The whole weekend was a positive. We had a great time, spent some wonderful time with our friends and heard some great entertainment. Anyone of you out there who has a chance to go to one of these gatherings, Don't Miss Out!

Another Roxy Theater Benefit

Well, we had a great show at the Roxy theater in St. Anthony, Idaho on February 24th. We had a great audience and top notch performers. Bill Chiles, Colt Angell, Bill Hirshi and I all were there and we had a great response from everyone.

Here's a youTube video of Bill Chiles doing "The Queen of Diamonds"
and this one of him doing R.W. Hampton's "My Maria"

This is Colt Angell doing "The Wild Side"

On the way home, I went through West Yellowstone and checked out all the new snow they had been getting. When I went that way after the Elko show, everything was melting and there wasn't much left. This time, there was about 4 feet of snow on the ground and a town filled with exuberant snowmobilers and those who cater to them.

Jam Session Benefit in Dallas; from Bobby Newton

Benefit And Jam

Local musician Kelly Hickey was killed in an automobile accident on his way to a gig
February 10, 2007. He leaves behind a family of three. His wife, Brandi, his daughter
Katelyn and his 3 month old son, Harrison.
A Benefit and Jam will be held at The Saddle Club In Dallas, Texas on Sunday February
25, 2007 at 2 p.m. Proceeds from the event will go to Kelly's family.
Come join us to honor his life and enjoy lots of friends, family, live music and food.
In lieu of a cover charge donations will be accepted at the door. Entertainment will be
non-stop with several local bands playing and track singers between bands. If you are
interested in performing at this event as part of the tribute please call Brad Swiger @
817 905-0429. The event will go until approximately 6pm (later if needed) and will
conclude with an all-star jam! Saddle Club, 14010 C F Hawn Fwy Dallas TX 75253 (972)
557-1638

Thanks for your time
Brad Swiger & Marcus Lindsey

Just another "Montana Day"

Happy Valentines Day y'all.

Take a look at this picture, see a little news about New York and Chicago's record snowfalls and the freezing of oranges in Florida and California; then take a deep breath and warn me again about Global Warming!

We've had a very cold winter but not much snow until this week. Even this isn't what we used to get. Actually, what we are seeing back East is what I used to see in West Yellowstone all the time when I was a kid. but our temperatures don't seem to be any better. We've had an awful lot of sub-zero this winter.

Otherwise, not much going on in the Western Music World apparently, as no one has sent me anything new to post. I've had some good comments about my website article at cowboyentertainer.com but no one seems to have anything in particular to add.

Billy Rose, Doc Quam and Jamie Parker-Frank had a good time in Wyoming last week, doing a show at a Holiday Inn as well as several house concerts. I wish I could have joined them but duty called me here. Many computers needed my personal attention!

Well, enough for now. Give thanks if you are warm, dry and fed. Many aren't.

Sorry, but this is a political post

I never planned on doing anything this far off subject but I couldn't help it.

Notice!! Info about the American Community Survey!ACS is a huge violation of privacy
Last week, I got a call from someone claiming to be with the US Census Bureau. This lady asked why I had not returned
my American Community Survey form which had been mailed to my physical address. When I explained that I don't receive
my mail there, then she told me we could fill out the questionaire over the phone. I refused to answer her intrusive
questions as I really had no idea who she was. She asked me to call an 800 number for verification and told me that
my answers were "mandatory". Since anyone can have an 800 number and have someone there to "verify" identity, that is
a stupid suggestion and the idea that it is mandatory for me to answer the kind of questions she had was enough to
make me tell her to go away.



I looked up the ACS information at
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/
and learned a lot about it, including thatit is statutorily mandatory, according to
US Code Title 13.

I got another call today (Feb 11, 2007) from another woman with the same requests and responses. I still was not happy
with answering any of her questions over the phone and the idea of the "suspect caller" giving me a phone number to verify their identity is ludicrous at best. Anyway, I had answered my name, date of birth and number of people in
the household when my phone battery gave out and thus she probably thinks I hung up on her. I should have. I have
further researched this ACS thing and it's likely that a protective spirit killed my phone battery!


I recommend the following blog site.
http://www.survivalarts.com/archives/001095.html
Read the whole blog from beginning to end. Afterwards, you will likely do exactly as I intend.


I will not respond any further to the questions on the American Community Survey. If a representative of the Census
comes to my door in an effort to cooerce me so to do, I will politely order them off of my property. If they do not
immediately leave, I will call the Sheriff and request that trespass laws be enforced. I have already written snail-mail
letters for my Congressional Representatives in protest of this intrusive and offensive survey.


I have read the questions from the sample form that is available on the internet:
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest05.pdf
and I don't believe any of this is the business of the United States Government. I urge anyone out there to research this
issue carefully before filling out this survey. If you feel, as do I and many others, that we taxpayers should not be paying
for this survey, nor should we be "required" to answer such invasive questions, then please write your Congressmen and
make your voices heard.

Saturday YouTube videos available

Howdy All:

Well, I didn't get far yesterday. Billy Rose, Jamie Parker-Frank, Toni McGuire and I all sat around Billy's house and talked over the weekends events until after 5PM. I then got started on the road but was so tired that I gave up at Wells, a whopping 50 miles down the road!

Now, after a good nights sleep I'm ready for the rest of my trip.

Anyway, I have two videos of the Reddington family here for you. The first is of the whole family doing a song which features each in turn.

The Reddington family from Cove, Oregon

and the next is a video of Landen and his mother, Jennifer, playing El Cumbanchero. This video is better than the one taken at the Dos Amigos restaraunt as there isn't any crowd noise to interfere.

Landen and Jennifer Reddington

Once I get back home I will sit down and organize a comprehensive report of my trip to Elko this year. I learned a lot and I'm eager to share it with the world.

Anyway, I'm out of here and back on the road. 4 hours to Wayne Nelson's house!

Saturday in Elko: The last night to shine

Once I managed to become concious after the late Friday night (actually, late Saturday morning) bedtime, I headed to the Junior High School across the street from the Elko Convention Center, where the music day-show is held. I had managed to get signed up for one of the coveted Day Show slots, as had Jamie Baker from Alder, Montana. We were in the same session and Jamie asked me to come up on stage and give her some guitar back-up.

She did a really nice job and managed to get out a couple of her original songs before her time ran down.

Afterward, there was one other group and then I would be up for my set. I went to the back of the audience and talked with the Reddington family and had a sudden inspiration! Landen Reddington and I borrowed a guitar from Valerie White and raced to the tune-up room for some quick practice. He has listend to my CDs many times so he at least knew the songs a little so we practiced "X" for a few minutes and then they called us for the stage.

Landen played a flawless lead for me when I did "X" and, of course, instantly stole the show! Then, we did "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and he of course did a wonderful lead with that also. I had him do an instrumental called "El Cumbanchero", which I just love. Even though he didn't have a rythm guitar to back him up (no WAY I can keep up with him on this song!) he did a great job. The audience wanted more and we had a little time so I had him do another instrumental. What a blast! It was great being on stage with such an outstanding talent.

I played at Corral West again and then on over to Duncan Little Creek for our Night Show.



Such a great show Billy Rose presented there. "STAMPEDE" was there and, as usual, we enjoyed their show. It's significant that Steve Taylor, the President of the Western Music Association, was not at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering night show. He was at the Elko Rejects Gathering!



Billy hosted many great talents last night and I have no intention of trying to list them all. As a matter of fact, some of the best entertainers I got to watch in Elko this year were at the Duncan Little Creek Gallery open mic show.



One of my new friends (actually, we became friendly last year at the DLC Gallery show) is Ron Christopher from (sorry, but somebody has to be) Los Angeles, CA. Here's another example of a fantastic talent, singer, guitar player and, most significantly, songwriter, who has to seek out a good place to play while he's here.



That reminds me, the Reddington Family story needs to be mentioned. Here, now and probably in other places later.



During the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering of 2006, the Reddingtons (the "High Strung Band") were unable to find a place to play for any audience. Essentially, they were walking the streets, looking for someone who would listen. they heard about the Open Mic show hosted by Billy Rose so they asked Billy if they could play. We were absolutely floored by the talent in this family. you have to see them to believe it. But they couldn't get on the stage at the "Big Show" and still haven't. They got on at Duncan Little Creek, though and have a permanent invitation to the Townsend Montana Cowboy Entertainer Gathering and will dominate any show on which they appear.



I went to the Stockmen Casino to check out the jam sessions there. There were a few performers playing for a crowd of about 100 people and I joined in for a while. It was fun and I got to meet and greet a few more folks but I soon wandered back to the Gallery show.



I helped Billy break down the equipment after everything was done and we didn't get to bed until 6:30AM!


Ok. As soon as the youTube videos are available, I will post them here. I have a couple of good videos of the Reddington family and you'll see some of what I mean.

Friday events in Elko, Nevada

Friday was a great day for Western Music in Elko, Nevada! The day-shows at the Elko convention Center were awsome, the other venues we were playing around town were great and we all had a grand time.

At 1:00, I played at Corral West with Billy Rose, Jamie Baker, Jamie Parker-Frank, Valerie White and Ron Christopher. Lots of people came through to listen while they shopped and everyone seemed to enjoy the entertainment. I got a good video of Billy and you can see it at:

A Short Billy Rose video on YouTube

Later we went to Mountainview School and entertained a room full of elementary school kids. They loved what they heard and we loved playing for them.

I went to the Montana Show at the Elko Convention Center and watched Stephanie Davis, Paul Zarzisky and several other great Montana performers; after which we had a Montana Performers party. I had brought Montana made beer and wine with me when I came down to Elko. There was Elk salami, Cowboy Poets salsa, Rocky Mountain Oysters, Huckleberry candies and Giant Cookies along with Montana coffees. Some of the attendees were; the Ringling Five, Stephanie Davis, Paul Zarzisky, Henry Realbird, DW Groethe, Buzzy Vick, Jamie Baker and many other really great entertainers. We had a lot of fun and got to know each other a little.


Later, I went to Dos Amigos restaraunt where the High Strung Band was playing. This family consists of some of the best musicians you could ever see. The father and mother are both talented musicians but you'd never notice them because you'll be busy watching and listening to 8 year old Morgan and 11 year old Hunter play the fiddle while 13 year old Landen amazes you with his lead guitar picking. Watch Landon pick a song at this Youtube link:

The Reddington family at Dos Amigos in Elko, NV

There's my quick report for this morning. Keep tuned for more later.

Some things I've learned about "Elko"

Ok. I've been talking with some of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering staff, volunteers and even a couple of Board members. For all you aspiring Western Entertainers out there I have some bad news.

First, a little background on my perspective. I am an entertainer and I would like to be featured at Elko. I have not been chosen to although I know John Westbrook and I are every bit as good the entertainers as anyone on the Elko Night Show. But I also organize a small Cowboy Entertainer Gathering in Townsend, MT and I have to select the night show participants, juggle the requests for attention and all that. Yes, on a much smaller scale but still the stress exists. I've experienced some of that here this weekend as a matter of fact.

All this to tell you that I believe the selection process at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is as fair and honest as it can be. I'm sure there are personality issues and even maybe some political issues but by and large I can't see what they could do to change it.

They get over 200 applications each year for only a very few slots. The selection board ( a top secret organization!) has to go through all these apps, reading bios, listening to Demo CDs (tapes? Videos? 8TRACKS?), asking each other: "Does anyone know this one?" "Has anyone seen him perform?" Sometimes one of the board members knows an applicant personally and can vouch for him. sometimes even that doesn't mean they get on.

Yes, there are people who are on the main show every year. But, are they performers who are requested by the public? I have this same thing in Townsend. I'm often asked about specific entertainers and if we are bringing them back.

I've performed with Bob Peterman, of Wiboux (Weebow), Montana before and I've known him for several years. He applied and was selected for the "Elko" Night Show. He doesn't "know anyone" in particular, didn't do any politicking or anything like that. Just submitted his application material like every one else and got "the call".

My access this year has given me a new perspective on this whole thing and my attitude is changing for the better here.

New business. If you think the selection process for the Night Shows is fun...you should talk to the guy who sets up the Day-Shows! I only checked out the music Day-show but I'm sure the Poetry area is much the same.

There are a total of 24 15 minute Day-Show slots for the entire weekend. At present, performers sign up for these slots on a "first come, first served" basis. Sign-up for the Thursday show was scheduled for 11AM. When Mike got there at 9:45 there were already 9 people waiting to sign up! I was there at 10:45 and there were over 20 people waiting for the process to begin.

Stan Howe was there with me and he had what I thought was a great idea. Assign everyone a number and then do a lottery for Day-Show slots. That might help. And I'm thinking as much for the volunteer here as for performers. Imagine how much abuse the poor guy gets in a weekend from people who feel that the process is unfair!

Anyway, for all of you who want to perform at Elko: Follow the process, send in your applications and keep on trying. If you are only able to sign up for Day-shows, however they may do that in the future, give the guy at the door a little break. He's not trying to personally ruin your career or get his friends in ahead of you. If you didn't make it in time to sign up...try again next time.

Wednesday begins the weekend!

Ok. first, Wednesday afternoon and evening were busy! After getting here and getting settled in, we headed for the bar at the Western Folklife Center to meet and greet all those others who've come to Elko for the Big Show!

I got a chance to talk with Bob Peterman, from Wibaux, MT and the guys from the Ringling 5. All of these are featured in the Night Shows this year and are great entertainers. Jinny Lowe of "Happy Trails" and Cowboy Troubador fame was here along with Smoke Wade, who writes for both her magazines, Rope Burns and for cowboyentertainer.

Later, we went out to JRs Bar and Grill to listen to Ernie Sites, a very entertaining musician who does a mix of Western and Country much like the shows I do. I especially enjoyed his Rap version of "Strawberry Roan".

At 7:00 this morning (Thursday and far too early for me!) we interviewed at KRJC Radio in Elko. Billy Rose, Jamie Parker-Frank, Jamie Baker, Toni McGuire and myself all got a chance to talk with the Elko area via FM radio and either perform or have played some of our material. It was a lot of fun and very productive.

What is "Elko"?

For those of you who are not involved in or familiar with the Western Entertainment world, I guess I should start this weekend's odyssey with a quick explanation of what is going on.

23 years ago, several Cowboy Poets gathered together in Elko, Nevada to share stories, poems and friendship in a more structured surrounding than their normal bunkhouse performances. That kind of started a big revival of the popularity of Cowboy Poetry and then Western Music.

Since then, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering has grown far beyond anyones expectations. Hundreds of entertainers from all over the country (and the world) come to Elko for the Big Gathering during the first weekend in February. All the history and information about the Gathering can be found at westernfolklife.org .

Anyway, this is the "Big Show" for those of us involved in Western Entertainment and it's a great honor to be among those few who are invited to perform on the Night Show.
This is the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, held in Elko, Nevada. Known semi-fondly by all of us simply as "Elko". As in, "Are you going to Elko this year?" or, "I was invited to Elko this year!" or, more often; "Did you get your Elko Rejection Letter yet?"

There are far too many really good performers applying to perform at Elko for their selection committee to make everyone happy. Literally hundreds of entertainers...part-timers, professionals, wanna-be's and never will be's begging to be a part of the Elko Night Show. I'm one of those. Of course, I'm well accquainted with many others, some of whom are extremely talented performers, writers, singers, musicians...entertainers. Although we all go to "Elko" and enjoy the shows and meet up with friends we haven't seen since last year and we all understand very well the tremendous job it is trying to select the few who get to be on the Night Show...down deep; we are a little unhappy that we (again!) didn't "make the cut". Rejected...again.

The last couple of years, Billy Rose has presided over a small "open mic" stage at the Duncan Little Creek Gallery in Elko, during the "Big Weekend". It gave us a place to play, meet our friends and have a lot of fun while not letting our disapointment about our "rejection" show too much. This is becoming the "Elko Rejects Gathering" and is growing on it's own!

So, if you'd like to see some of the best Western Entertainers in the world; Musicians, Cowboy Poets and so on, come to Elko this weekend. Those on the "Big Stage" Night Show are very good, make no mistake. But many of those who will be at Duncan Little Creek and Walmart in the open mic shows are every bit as good...sometimes better. Try to catch it all! I'll see you there.

Wayne is doing great!

Well, I made it as far as American Falls today and I'm staying with Wayne Nelson. He's the same old Wayne. We've been jammin a little, he's doing some recording and everything seems pretty good.

Of course, he's got to watch his diet and that sort of thing from now on...like the rest of us. He's joined the rather large sub-organization of the Cowboy Poets of Idaho...diabetic/heart problems. We need to fund a retirement home for us. We can sit around and talk about our blood sugar levels and what we used to eat!

Bill Chiles, John Westbrook, Layle Bagley, Gordon Peterson....and many others welcome Wayne to our little group.

I'll be trying to keep up with what I see at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko this weekend and put something on the blog about it each day. That's my goal. Now, let's see how well I do.

I did a little show in Big Sky with Buzzy Vick

I had a short notice show scheduled for last night, 1-27-07, at the Half Moon Saloon in Big Sky, Montana. There was a special party/banquet for executives from the Continental Tire company and the piano player cancelled on them. Buzzy Vick suggested they call me. What a great friend she is!

Anyway, I went down there last night and played for about 70 people who all seemed to really enjoy the show. Buzzy and I entertained for about 45 minutes after they were through with dinner. All in all, a very successful trip.

Speaking of successful, the results of a couple of pool games and a couple of hours at the poker table made it even better! I have to say, I enjoy my life!

See ya all in Elko.

That reminds me: for all of you who will be attending the Montana party in elko on Friday: I have five cases of Montana made Adult Beverages, three cases of Cowboy Poets Salsa and two big boxes of Rope Burns. There's not going to be much room left in my car for me and a guitar!

Wayne Nelson has heart attack

Howdy all:

Becky Nelson called me Thursday night (1-25-07) to let me know that Wayne had a heart attack and was in the hospital. Apparently, he is ok and will be going home soon.

Ken Wellard called with the address for the hospital:

Wayne Nelson

c/o Portneuf Medical Center

E Campus 777 Hospital Way

Rm 2827

Pocatello, ID 83201

Hopefully, though, he will be at home soon and we can bug him there

For those looking forward to seeing Wayne at the Elko Rejects shows in Elko this coming weekend, it's not likely that he will be going this year. I'll be stopping in to see him on my way down, though and will try to get him to write us something for the website/blog.

Come on Down to Elko, all you Elko Rejects!!

I've been trying to get Billy Rose to help organize an "Elko Rejects" Gathering down there during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering but he doesn't want to take anything away from the "Big Show". He's probably right.

But still, for those of us who, for one reason or another just "don't measure up" for an invite to the Main Stage, we will have some open time at a couple of places.

First, at the Duncan Little Creek Gallery, right next door to Cappriola's Western Store, just down the street from the Stockman and just across the parking lot from the Folk Life Center...(pant--pant) Billy Rose will be hosting an open mic stage Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of February. All are invited, rejects or not, to perform at the Gallery Stage. Also, this year, he will have an open mic setup at the Elko Walmart. Same deal, show up, get up, perform, have fun, enjoy some great times with great people.

I know that some of the performers you will see at these two venues will be Wayne Nelson, STAMPEDE!, The High Strung Band, Toni McGuire, Billy Rose, Valerie White and myself as well as many, many other great entertainers. I don't mean to make waves, but this will be the best show in town!

All of these and many more will likely also make an appearance at Walmart. Stop in and check out these two venues while you are in Elko this year.

Mon-Dak Ag Show in Sidney, Montana

Rusty Feathers (www.cowboypoetssalsa.com ) and I had a great trip out to Sidney, Montana this weekend. We played for the Banquet at the Mon-Dak Ag Fair and Trade Show. The banquet was held at the Triangle Night Club and we had a pretty decent sized crowd who seemed to really enjoy the show. A great time was had by all as we did about an hour and a half of Western Music and Cowboy Poetry for those folks.

It was great to do one of our shows for an audience of Montana Ag-related people. We did some of our more "Cowboy" songs and poems and our audience didn't have to have the punchlines explained! Also, my Californicator jokes went over well with them!

After the banquet was over and most of the audience had trailed on home, we were talking to the owner of the Triangle while her employees cleaned up the banquet area and got tables off of the dancefloor. The Triangle Night Club bar was still open so there were several folks to visit with. Anyway, Rusty is a "great dancer" and they tried dancing to the jukebox for a while with little satisfaction so I went out and got my guitar and played some bar/dance music for an hour or so, just to give Rusty a chance to show off his dancing skills. That was fun, too. I really enjoy doing the bar thing when people are actually listening and dancing. It's when we are just sonic wallpaper or accompaniment for orchestrated fights that I don't enjoy the bar gigs.

This next couple of weeks, I'll be getting my stuff together for the trip to Elko and the big National Cowboy Poetry Gathering therein.

New Years Bar Gig

Well, as I had warned, I did a Bar Gig for New Years weekend. and, it was a blast! Colt Angell and I played at the American Legion Club and the Mint Bar in Townsend, Montana for the weekend and we had a great time. Crowds weren't huge but they weren't anywhere in town as I guess there were several private parties going on. Anyway, I had blown the dust off of my old bar song list and Colt does these quite often so it went very well and I've been getting great comments since.

Colt is a great guy and a great musician. He plays just about anything he takes an interest in...guitar, fiddle, bass guitar, standup bass, piano...Young, good-lookin' and talented! I remember being young. Oh well.

Now, I'm getting things together for a trip to Sidney, Montana (on purpose) for the Mon-Dak Ag Days banquet where Rusty Feathers ( www.cowboypoetssalsa.com ) and I are scheduled to perform.

Hope Y'all had a Merry Christmas

Howdy all:

Just a few ramblings to keep everybody interested.

First, a slightly belated Merry Christmas to all. I hope yours was as great as mine. My friend Joann and I went to one of the local churches and helped serve a dinner which was open to all. Lots of people came in and had a good traditional Christmas dinner, Carols were sung, old friends visited with and new friends made. Just like it should be! We had a blast and I went home just slightly overstuffed. Again, just like it should be! Even though we had a tan Christmas here in Townsend this year. It snowed hard and went sub-zero for Thanksgiving but was over 40 degrees all through the Christmas weekend. Oh well.

Sorry I haven't been posting here the last few days but you know how the Holidays are. also, I've been dealing with some issues with the new Google Blogger. It's become another example of "the bigger the company, the less service".

I'm doing something I'd hoped not to do any time soon but now I'm kind of looking forward to it...I'm taking some bar-gigs New Years Weekend. Colt Angel and I will be playing in Townsend, MT at the Legion Club on Friday and the Mint Saturday and Sunday. We had a great time when we played together at the Bale of Hay Saloon in Virginia City last summer and we've worked together really well in St. Anthony and some other shows over the last few months so this should go really well.

I've blown the dust off of my old bar list of songs and I've been practicing some that none of my Western Music friends have ever heard me do. I can only hope that Colt has been playing my CD once in a while and listening to some of the songs on there. It's kind of hard to practice together when you live 3 hours apart!

I guess I'll bulldoze my house a little so I can have company this weekend!

Have fun y'all and I'll be back with you again soon!

Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering is a "GO"

Ok. some of you "in the loop" were aware of the fact that we have been having a little problem with the local school administration. they were obivously not thrilled with our little Gathering and were trying to make us unhappy enough to just not do it. That was how things felt, anyway.

Well, tonight, I took it to the School Board and we were then able to work around the problems and get everything ironed out. The short story is that the 6th Annual Townsend Cowboy Entertainer Gathering will be held at the Broadwater High School in Townsend, Montana, on June 1-3 of 2007.

Additionally, we have applied for a small grant and we stand a better chance of being accepted if they get positive comments in favor of us on the website. The link to that is: http://www.myhometownhelper.com/ViewProject.aspx?tell=2&id=7058 . Just click on that link and go be a positive influence!

We are again supposed to be listed in American Cowboy Magazine as one of their "Top 101 Things To Do In the West" this year and we already have our listings in Visitmt.com and Gold West Country. Of course, all of these went to print quite a while ago and the school not being willing to give us the dates we expected was a real problem.

So, the Gathering info will soon be posted on www.cowboyentertainer.com and we'll keep you updated as to who will be here and what's going on.

Roberta Green Passes on

On December 5th, 2006, Cowboy Poetry and Western Entertainment lost one of it's most loved members. Roberta Green, of Challis, Idaho, passed away.

Roberta was one of the founders of the Cowboy Poets of Idaho and has been involved in Cowboy Poetry for many years. Roberta has won the Cowboy Poets of Silver Quill Award and is in the CPI Hall of Fame. She's served on the CPI Board of Directors for many years.

Roberta had written many poems and books. I have "The World By the Tail On a Downhill Pull" and have read it more than once. Such a special lady with a special gift to entertain folks while informing us at the same time.

Roberta was a special friend to all of us and will be greatly missed. Her passing is a loss to all of us in Western Entertainment but such a gain to those she entertains today!

Her funeral will be Monday the 11th in Challis Idaho at the Congregation Churchat 11:o'clock.

I'll be updating this blog entry as I get more information about her many awards and accomplishments. Please feel free to leave comments here.

Another Message from Kathy Camden

To all who support the AWA... There are fair weather friends and those who run and critize when the chips are down.. My husband was on the board of directors at the time the WMA was in so much trouble..and people didn't run or stop the org.. they got to the heart of the problem and solved it.. That is the Cowboy Way.. Loyalty is at the top of my list, and at the top of most of the Cowboys I know..Donna Hatton is a long time friend and I value many of the friendships I have made over the years... This is not about me making money, or who I know!! But about supporting the Western Movement and moving it to a higher level..I will be working with Bobby . the award show will happen, and the AWA will continue..We will be incorporating Classic Country with the Western..Bobby has a new name for it and will soon get letters out to all who would like to continue with the AWA.. If you are interested please send me your name and address so i can send the and application form.
Take Care
and from the snow in Idaho
Happy Trails
Kathy Camden
609 oak
Nezperce, ID 83543
208-937-9899
ckcamden@yahoo.com

Lots of interest in the discussion of our various organizations.

Ok. As you can see, we have had a bunch of replies to the discussion of the Western Music Association/Academy of Western Artists/Cowboy Poets of Idaho post I put up last weekend.

On november 23, Donna Hatton posted a nice message on the AWA Yahoo group appealing for help for the AWA for an unspecified problem. Juni Fisher answered it and then I felt compelled to answer with My Post to the AWA Yahoo group on Nov 24 . That post prompted several replies, some of which I posted here. Most of the others were one-liners such as "Right on, Larry" and that sort of thing.

As many of you know, there have been even more posts to the various Yahoo groups involved.

All of you who know me know that I enjoy a good debate, whichever side I might be thrown to. Also, I'm never shy about voicing my opinion. It's obvious that my opinion isn't shared by all out there. Horrors! You mean, not everyone agrees with me? Is it possible that I might not be right?
Please take the time to read what I've got posted here and comment on those you find interesting. This has become a good discussion and I'm learning a lot...mostly positive stuff. One thing seems clear to me. Whether you feel that any or all of these organizations are helpful to you or not; worth your time, effort and money or not...obviously, they are very important not only to many individual performers but to our industry as a whole.

I think that one feeling I have gotten from this discussion is that Donna is probably right. We probably do need to help out with the AWA if they are having problems. Also, it might be a good idea to throw our support to the WMA and CPI as well. All three of these groups have a positive impact on our Western Entertainment world. If not, there would not be so much passionate interest in them from so many people.

Comments from Bill Chiles in re; our current ongoing discussion!

This popst is an e-mail from Bill Chiles in reference to the posts I've made and various e-mails and replies this week. Bill gave me permission to post it here.


I just got back from the WMA Albuquerque festival, I received treatment equal to the amount of work I have put in.

Was I the best singer their? Hell yea, I believe LynnAnderson...( yes the Lynn Anderson, performed and jammed and visited allweekend with her) I believe Belinda and Curly and Junie and this years winner Dave Stamey when they say I am, what I also believe is, it is more than talent, it is managing your talent correctly, hard work, yes giving it all up for one dream, their is no being discovered, just damn hard work AND the talent.

Some work smart and hard and have mediocre talent and they end up on top or near, but all the talent in the world cannot end up on top without managing it all, I have received respect for my talent, but none for my business sense, the proof is in the pudding, If I want to be on the A+ list then I have to manage myself to get there. So lets quit whining and looking for a organization to be a talent/booking agency for us. It's family for when we travel far away, it's unconditional caring while we learn and try and fail and win. In the end, no one does it for you, the entertainment business is not set up that way, only the cream goes to the top. You figure it out or the audience will figure it out for you. Am I the best I can be? No way am I a real entertainer, a long way to go.

Bill Chiles

Comments from Juni Fisher about the WMA/AWA Discussion

Howdy again folks. This was an e-mail I got from Juni Fisher last weekend at the beginning of this discussion. She agreed to let me post it here.


Hi Larry,

I am answering your email, off the forum, since I don't want to call you down on something, you are a nice fella. But to compate the WMA to the AWA is to compare A whole bag of beautiful apples to one rotten one.

The WMA has workshops for youth, for folks wanting to know how to pitch to radio, pitching to festivals, and they added a day-long songwriter workshop this year.

Now in years past, the WMA was taken down by unscrupulous folks, special grants were stolen...yes, stolen, and the possibility of getting those particular ones is lost. BUT, a dedicated and honest group of folks reformed the WMA, and worked hard to recoup, get a new format, and build great relationships. Now the WMA is strong again and growing. The awards are VOTED by the members...not the case with the AWA. Bobby Newton decides the AWA awards. Not informed decisions, as he does not attend shows or showcases....he picks who he wants to add to the membership roster.

Last year we who were still members of the AWA paid an extra fee to be included on the website listing, and those listings did not go up till 10 months after we had paid the fee, and two months before our membership would expire. We were charged for a convention that was not a convention at all. The "showcases" were a lame flop, sound men did not even show up.

Now back to the WMA. The showcases go on throughout the event, pairing folks who are the most experienced for some, pairing the up and comings together for others. There is a Best of the Best Show at the end, and those performers are the proven entertainers who have won awards that year or in years past. OF COURSE IT'S THE BEST...why would we want the public to come see our not so good, in hopes they will get hooked on western music?

The WMA is run by a governing board, with an advisory board. The board members are voted on by the genereal membership, in and OPEN meeting. We all feel a part of the running of the WMA because we ARE a part of it.

I hope you will come to the WMA convention next year and see for yourself that it is a fine organization, full of dedicated, hardworking and honest people who promote WESTERN music.

I have been to three WMA conventions in the past three years...they are on the rise for all the right reasons.
Juni

Juni Fisher
2006 WMA Female Vocalist of the Year
2005 AWA Western Female Performer of the Year
2005 WMA Crescendo Award
Red Geetar Records
www.junifisher.net
Larrivee' Guitars

An inspirational post from Kathy Camden

Dear all: I think a lot of people need to look at the broad picture. Everyone benefited from the org.'s. whether you were a member or not, because what you did was being promoted. We used to do this for a fun time like the one in Rupert... NOT FOR MONEY. If this business is to be a business, then we have to pull together as a team, not whine and cry. You can "should of" all day and night... but that doesn't fix the problem. I will say a line for a Wayne Damron song... "Don't should of on me and I won't should of on you".

While I am on a roll.... STRIVE, ACHIEVE, SUCCEED AND GO FORWARD....could have,,,, should have.... and would have.... if you are using these words, you need to go forward. You are in neutral.

Kathy Camden

ps... my husband and I started with this cowboy stuff around 1983... so been down the road.

Some general thoughts about last weekends e-mail storm

What a great day!! It hasn't managed to climb above 10degrees F yet today and it's been snowing a little bit all day long. I'm not sure if it's snowing here or if it's falling above Great Falls and landing here, the way the wind is blowing!

The e-mail storm over my AWA-WMA post seems to have subsided a bit, at least for me. All but one person who commented on it was positive. They all basically said that they had planned to answer the thread until they saw my post and since I had said everything they wanted to they just commented..."right on"!

It did make me take a closer look at what we want these different organizations to do for us. Yes, I'd like to have more recognition for what I do. But, I want to be recognized for my talent, not for who I've been freindly with. I know that's kind of an unrealistic view. In almost any endeavor it's not so much what you know as who you know and the Music business, in any genre, is very much that way. On the other hand, I'm old enough now that I can look out at the world and say "Don't care. I'm gonna do it my way" and be able to live with the consequences. In the past 8+ years that I've been following Western Entertainment I've made some of my greatest friends. I've had a wonderful time and built hundreds of special memories that I will be able to take with me when I'm gone. The awards I've won and the money I've managed to make are nice but when I'm gone, they will stay here. I can't take them with me. The money, of course, was gone Long before I made it!

One of the e-mails I saw mentioned bringing in "big names" so that we could charge $30-40 per ticket and thus make real money for everyone. Let's have a reality check here, folks. Aside from one or two (literally) performers, no one knows who any of our "big names" are except those already interested in Western Music or Cowboy Poetry. Maybe out in Arizona or California you are getting $30 a ticket for an AWA "star" but out here in Montana...well, good luck.

What Bobby Newton of the AWA is saying is true. We are NOT going to beat Nashville at a game they've been playing for a long time. We need to work with them in some way. If Bobby has some ideas about that, I'm ready to listen.

John Westbrook and I were out to dinner with an AWA award winner not long ago. This person spent most of the dinner talking about the "big names" they had played with and were friends with. Names we are all familiar with because we are AWA and WMA members and the success of our peers is important to us. The speaker was "name dropping" to the wrong folks since John has played with Merle Haggard, Johnny Lee and MMM but we didn't say anything...just let it all run past us. My point here is that if this person had been bragging to anyone else in the restaraunt, they wouldn't have known any of the "big stars" being spoken of. Unless John had spoken up! THOSE names, everyone in the building would have known. For Merle you might get $30 a ticket in Montana. Murphy was in Missoula about four years ago and I think the ticket price was $25 and I'll bet there were less than 500 in the audience.

Now I know, because I went to Elko last year and saw what SHOULD be going on at every Western show, that there are a lot of fans out there and a lot of people are learning who we are and what we do. But the few thousand that we see in Elko each year is only a small piece of the thousands who attended Garth Brooks concerts only a few years ago! I'm right back around to; if Bobby Newton and the AWA (or anyone else for that matter) has a plan for building our popularity beyond what we have now, then I'm all for it!

I've got lots of ideas too. Everyone who knows me knows that when it comes to ideas, my motto is: "Quantiy, not quality!" I figure, if only one in 100 ideas works out, that just means you need to crank more ideas out there, faster!

I'm looking forward to meeting more of you out there. One of the best things about this Western Music quest, we all get to run into each other once in a while. With the small size of our "family" it's inevitable. Leave a comment. Let's hear Your ideas! Maybe the solution is out there.

If you missed out on Rupert, you really missed out!

Rupert, Idaho; November 9-12, 2006. One of the best Gatherings I have ever attended. Thursday jams on stage, Friday and Saturday day and night shows, Sunday Cowboy Church....the same kind of schedule as most Cowboy Poets of Idaho sanctioned Gatherings but all the stuff that went on! Wow!

The Jam sessions at Earl and Sandy White's house...all nighters, all weekend. I staggered off to bed about 3AM each night (morning?) and left some still playing and talking when I did. A weekend of the best poetry, music and above all, friendship you could ever find, any where.

I'll be posting a comprehensive report at cowboyentertainer.com but here are a few pictures to give you an idea. Wish you had been there. Hope to see you at the next one!

My Post to the AWA Yahoo group on Nov 24

I've done the Bar-band thing, as a single, duo and with a band. I've even played in the chicken wire cage for orchestrated fights. Top 40 country and some rock. Then, in 1998, someone invited me to a "Cowboy Poetry Gathering". There were about as many performers as audience at the first gathering I attended. Approx 30+ of each. The audience size wasn't what attracted my attention. First, it was the quality of the performers. These weren't the local jam-session cowboys I was used to seeing. These were exceptionally talented performers. Then, they were doing the kind of music that I played for myself in my living room. The old cowboy songs, Marty Robbins, Ian Tyson and even...ORIGINAL MUSIC! Add to that the fact that the audience was there to listen. Not to get drunk, get laid, shoot pool or whatever but to actually pay attention to the performers.

The Cowboy Poetry was also something I had never experienced before. Stories about MY life, told in verse...Funny, sad, frightening but true! I was enthralled and it all changed my life dramatically. I invited myself to another Gathering in Virginia City, Montana; joined the Cowboy Poets of Idaho and turned my back on the bars (hopefully) forever! I've spent 8 of the best years of my life growing from the country singer in a group of Western Performers to a Western Performer who still does the occasional country song. So much for my quick autobiography.

In the past few years, I've researched the more successful Western performers and the organizations that are supposed to help us in our craft. The three main organizations I would discuss are the Academy of Western Artists, the Western Music Association and the Cowboy Poets of Idaho. Each has about the same number of members although the CPI is still running third in numbers. Many of the best performers I know are members of all three. I was a member of all three at one time and even was President of the WMA's Northwest Chapter for a while. Although I never went to a WMA or AWA awards show, I believe that I did get a good insight into what was going on. I have several friends whom I respect who are or were very involved in the AWA and the WMA and we have discussed, at length, our impressions of all three organizations and the reasons for those impressions.

In my opinion, the reason for an organizations existence is to support all its members. In our case, I want to see training/workshops in the things which help me advance my craft. For instance; writing workshops, guitar maintenance, promotion instruction and so on. Organization sponsored or sanctioned Gatherings or shows should provide an opportunity for newer members to not only "showcase" but grow with on-stage experience and advice, instructions and support from the more experienced members.

My impression of the awards shows for the WMA and the AWA has been that they are "showcases" for the more well known performers to "strut their stuff" as well as a place for the unknowns of our world to meet "the right people". It all sounded like a place to compete with my peers, not advance with them. I can do enough of that with things like the Northwest Fair Association or groups like them. Thus, the extreme cost of traveling so far would not have, in my opinion, brought any returns for me. In addition, it seemed that the awards for both of these groups were given to the same people each year...Just different awards once in a while. And, there were rarely Northwestern names in the ballot and almost never a northwestern name in the list of winners, even though I had come to know many Northwestern area entertainers who are the best I've seen, bar none, of Western performers. I'll list a few here but look at the list of featured performers at http://www.cowboyentertainer.com for a good idea.

One of the best writers, of music or poetry, I have ever met or heard of is Wayne Nelson. Wayne is the only member of the Cowboy Poets of Idaho to have won not only the Golden note Award for music and the Silver Quill Award for writing but is also in the CPI hall of Fame.

Arguably one of the best guitar players in the country today is John Westbrook. John also is a great songwriter and has several songs which have become very popular wherever we have been seen. If you judge by CD sales, in the past five years I've rarely seen John outsold. In fact, at a show we did where we shared the stage with Brenn Hill, Eli Barsi and Joni Harms, the only one who outsold John was Joni.

Bill Chiles has one of the most beautiful singing voices in America and he does Western Music...The old trail songs that we are trying to carry on to the next generation. To show a little conceit, I'll say that I also have a remarkable singing voice and I have written several Western songs which are very popular. I'm one of the few who has ever outsold John Westbrook in CDs! (I put that in just to prod him a little!).

Wyoming Red was a sister duet who had the most wonderful repertoire of old Western songs as well as the addition of their genetic harmony that made them one of the biggest crowd pleasers I've worked with. Another Northern female vocalist that is top notch is Terri Taylor of "Stampede!". None of these great entertainers, with the recent well deserved exception of "Stampede"!, have been noticed by either the AWA or the WMA.

Those of us up here in the Great White North have found that the Cowboy Poets of Idaho meets all the expectations we have in an organization. They do provide workshops at several of their sanctioned shows, they make it a point to help new and younger performers get the stage experience they need and awards from the CPI are granted to different names each year by the overall memberships vote as the other organizations do. But, the list of names on the ballot seems different each year. When you go to the Annual Gathering in St. Anthony, Idaho you usually see new faces on the night show and many new ones in the day shows. Everyone is treated like a star, not just a select few and this, I believe, is the job of an organization such as this one. And I know of several Gathering organizers (I am one) who actively seek new talent to put out for all to enjoy.

Most CPI sanctioned Gatherings have a multi-talent night show with no "headliner" or "top billing". Each performer is treated the same and if anyone is paid, all get the same pay. One of my big frustrations was to be a Day-show performer, for free, and have someone "Headline" the Night-Show (usually for a decent check) who was no better than I and often (here I take a deep breath and show some arrogance) not anywhere near as good! And, don't start with the "You have to pay your dues" line. Read the first paragraph. When you can tell me your Bar-fight stories then we can talk!

I have heard these same concerns about the AWA and the WMA from more than just myself. I know several exceptional performers who once were members of all three groups who gave up on the two Southern groups and focused on the CPI. I'm sure not because of the awards and recognition but because of the family feeling for ALL members and the friendly helpful atmosphere that is a big part of all CPI Gatherings.

If the AWA is in trouble, maybe they could revamp a little and try to be more accessible and friendly towards ALL the members, not just a select few "stars". Possibly an effort to enhance the abilities, help with the problems and address the concerns of everyone would help.

In my case, I plan to be aware of the AWA and the WMA and what they are doing. I count several active members of both organizations as special personal friends and I certainly hope my words here didn't hurt any feelings. At the same time, I feel the need to help CPI grow to be, in the Northwest, what the other two are for the South.