Wyoming Roundup - the Wyoming State Library
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<strong>Library</strong><br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
&<br />
<strong>Roundup</strong><br />
music<br />
musicians<br />
Spring 2010<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010
<strong>Wyoming</strong>, <strong>Wyoming</strong>! Beloved <strong>State</strong> of mine!<br />
There has been some<br />
confusion in <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
as to when <strong>the</strong> song<br />
“<strong>Wyoming</strong>” became <strong>the</strong><br />
official state song.<br />
According to <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> statutes, <strong>the</strong> song<br />
“<strong>Wyoming</strong>,” words by<br />
Charles E. Winter and<br />
music by George E.<br />
Knapp, was named <strong>the</strong><br />
official state song in<br />
1955.<br />
But <strong>the</strong> song had been<br />
called <strong>the</strong> official song<br />
for more than 50 years<br />
prior to that. <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
has several o<strong>the</strong>r notable<br />
songs that were also<br />
known to <strong>Wyoming</strong>ites<br />
as <strong>the</strong> state song.<br />
“Over <strong>the</strong> years, we<br />
at <strong>the</strong> state library have<br />
fielded requests for <strong>the</strong><br />
state song, including its<br />
history and background,”<br />
says <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Library</strong> Digital Initiatives<br />
Librarian Erin Kinney.<br />
Kinney says <strong>the</strong><br />
confusion has been a part<br />
of <strong>the</strong>se inquiries.<br />
The version we know<br />
as <strong>the</strong> state song was<br />
adopted by <strong>the</strong> Industrial<br />
Convention in 1903,<br />
according to <strong>the</strong> Oct.<br />
15, 1903 issue of The<br />
Saratoga Sun.<br />
As found in <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> Newspaper<br />
Project, in <strong>the</strong> Friday,<br />
Oct. 26, 1903 edition of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Grand Encampment<br />
Herald, it states that<br />
<strong>the</strong> song was first<br />
announced by Governor<br />
Fenimore Chatterton<br />
at <strong>the</strong> convention and<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>’s <strong>State</strong> Song<br />
In <strong>the</strong> far and mighty West,<br />
Where <strong>the</strong> crimson sun seeks rest,<br />
There’s a growing splendid <strong>State</strong> that lies above,<br />
On <strong>the</strong> breast of this great land;<br />
Where <strong>the</strong> massive Rockies stand,<br />
There’s <strong>Wyoming</strong> young and strong, <strong>the</strong> <strong>State</strong> I love!<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>, <strong>Wyoming</strong>! Land of <strong>the</strong> sunlight clear!<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>, <strong>Wyoming</strong>! Land that we hold so dear!<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>, <strong>Wyoming</strong>! Precious art thou and thine!<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>, <strong>Wyoming</strong>! Beloved <strong>State</strong> of mine!<br />
In <strong>the</strong> flowers wild and sweet,<br />
Colors rare and perfumes meet;<br />
There’s <strong>the</strong> columbine so pure, <strong>the</strong> daisy too,<br />
Wild <strong>the</strong> rose and red it springs,<br />
White <strong>the</strong> button and its rings,<br />
Thou art loyal for <strong>the</strong>y’re red and white and blue,<br />
Where thy peaks with crowned head,<br />
Rising till <strong>the</strong> sky <strong>the</strong>y wed,<br />
Sit like snow queens ruling wood and stream and plain;<br />
‘Neath thy granite bases deep,<br />
‘Neath thy bosom’s broadened sweep,<br />
Lie <strong>the</strong> riches that have gained and brought <strong>the</strong>e fame.<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r treasures thou dost hold,<br />
Men and women thou dost mould,<br />
True and earnest are <strong>the</strong> lives that thou dost raise,<br />
Streng<strong>the</strong>n thy children though dost teach,<br />
Nature’s truth thou givest to each,<br />
Free and noble are thy workings and thy ways.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> nation’s banner free<br />
There’s one star that has for me<br />
A radiance pure and splendor like <strong>the</strong> sun;<br />
Mine it is, <strong>Wyoming</strong>’s star,<br />
Home it leads me near or far;<br />
O <strong>Wyoming</strong>! All my heart and love you’ve won!<br />
was later endorsed as <strong>the</strong><br />
official song by <strong>the</strong> state<br />
press association, state<br />
industrial convention and<br />
<strong>the</strong> state university—<strong>the</strong>n<br />
called <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
University.<br />
In a piece called “The<br />
<strong>State</strong> Song of <strong>Wyoming</strong>”<br />
by Kenneth Crouch in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Vol. 29, No. 1 (April<br />
1957) p. 38 of <strong>the</strong> Annals<br />
of <strong>Wyoming</strong>, he brings <strong>the</strong><br />
attention of his readers<br />
that <strong>the</strong>re is in fact no<br />
state song. Instead, <strong>the</strong>re<br />
is a poem written by<br />
Winter that was popularly<br />
accepted as <strong>the</strong> state song.<br />
As <strong>the</strong> piece states, in<br />
<strong>the</strong> summer of 1903,<br />
Winter wrote <strong>the</strong> poem<br />
while traveling through<br />
Pennsylvania. Upon his<br />
return, Winter gave <strong>the</strong><br />
poem to Earl R. Clements,<br />
who was <strong>the</strong> editor of<br />
Grand Encampment Herald<br />
at that time. Winter told<br />
Clements if he wanted a<br />
state song he needed to<br />
add a melody.<br />
Both were delegates<br />
in 1903 to <strong>the</strong> third<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> Industrial<br />
Convention in Sheridan<br />
where <strong>the</strong> two created a<br />
quartet to sing <strong>the</strong> song.<br />
According to <strong>the</strong><br />
Crouch article, years later<br />
Professor George Edwin<br />
Knapp created music to<br />
go with Winter’s poem<br />
and named it <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
March Song. It is Knapp<br />
and Winter who are<br />
credited for <strong>the</strong> creation of<br />
<strong>the</strong> state song in <strong>the</strong> state<br />
statutes.
4<br />
<strong>Library</strong><br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
<strong>Roundup</strong><br />
Spring 2010<br />
Native <strong>Wyoming</strong> songwriter<br />
Les Bowron ........................................3<br />
The Beat Goes On with<br />
Musicians in libraries ........4<br />
table of contents<br />
20<br />
26<br />
Smells Like Teen Spirit<br />
Teens and Music ........................10<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> All-Around Cowboy<br />
Chris LeDoux .............................12<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>’s<br />
Music Festivals ............................15<br />
Musical trio, The Prickly Pair<br />
Romance with <strong>the</strong> Range ......20<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> Arts Council Roster<br />
Taking Care of Business ....22<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>’s historic<br />
Composers .....................................24<br />
Ten Sleep’s music festival features<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> Musicians .............26<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010
Dancing on <strong>the</strong> Desk<br />
Former elementary teacher<br />
Eugene Gagliano had a frontrow<br />
seat to <strong>the</strong> everyday trials<br />
of school life. In honor of all<br />
students who have ever grappled<br />
with show-and-tell missteps<br />
and problematic classmates, he’s<br />
penned a clever poetry collection,<br />
My Teacher Dances on <strong>the</strong> Desk.<br />
Episodes from every aspect of<br />
school life, from visiting <strong>the</strong><br />
school nurse to sitting next to <strong>the</strong><br />
wrong student, are told through<br />
humorous verse.<br />
Move Me Soon<br />
I don’t like sitting next to Rose.<br />
She’s always picking at her nose,<br />
And chews her fingernails way<br />
down,<br />
And always wears a pouty frown.<br />
From Buffalo, Wyo., Eugene<br />
Gagliano is known as “<strong>the</strong><br />
teacher who dances on his desk.”<br />
Gene travels to schools and<br />
conferences with presentations<br />
as entertaining as <strong>the</strong>y are<br />
informative.<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
<strong>Library</strong><br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
<strong>Roundup</strong><br />
Official publication of <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Library</strong>,<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> Association,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> Center for <strong>the</strong> Book<br />
Volume 52, Number 2, Spring 2010<br />
ISSN: 0043-9738<br />
Tina Lackey<br />
Editor<br />
Lesley Rowbal<br />
Assistant Editor and Writer<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Library</strong><br />
Publications and Marketing Office<br />
2800 Central Avenue, Cheyenne, WY 82002<br />
307/777-6338<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> is published quarterly by <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> Association and <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Library</strong>.<br />
All rights reserved. Contents of this magazine may not be<br />
reproduced without <strong>the</strong> express permission of <strong>the</strong> publishers.<br />
E-mail us at roundup@state.wy.us<br />
The <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> is produced in part with <strong>Library</strong> Services and Technology Act federal funds<br />
awarded to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Library</strong> program from <strong>the</strong> Institute of Museum and <strong>Library</strong> Services.
“Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience:<br />
this is <strong>the</strong> ideal life.” (Mark Twain)<br />
Twain’s recipe on life lacks one important ingredient<br />
- great music. Friends, books, a conscience nodding<br />
off, and a great song playing on <strong>the</strong> radio: now that<br />
is <strong>the</strong> ideal existence. For me, great music is melody<br />
AND lyric, married toge<strong>the</strong>r so <strong>the</strong> lyric speaks what<br />
<strong>the</strong> music feels. Technicians call this prosody. Studio<br />
musicians call it “in <strong>the</strong> pocket.” I like to call it “<strong>the</strong><br />
sweet spot.” Like hitting a baseball dead center – <strong>the</strong><br />
bat doesn’t vibrate or sting your hands. Instead it<br />
sends a solid, warm sensation from <strong>the</strong> wood to your<br />
palms as <strong>the</strong> ball leaves <strong>the</strong> bat screaming toward<br />
<strong>the</strong> fences. A great song does that to <strong>the</strong> ears when<br />
songwriters are skilled or lucky enough to ensure that each musical<br />
phrase matches <strong>the</strong> rhythm and intent of <strong>the</strong> lyric.<br />
The craft of songwriting, like carpentry or sculpture, requires hours of practice: drafting, re-writing,<br />
editing, and mental torture. When a songsmith finds <strong>the</strong> sweet spot, songs like “In My Life”(Lennon/<br />
McCartney) or “I Hope You Dance” (Mark D. Sanders/Tia Sillers) happen, and whe<strong>the</strong>r you’re listening<br />
to it for <strong>the</strong> first or hundredth time, <strong>the</strong> song sends physical and emotional sensations into your mind and<br />
body. Many of us can trace memories to songs. A song like “American Pie” (Don McLean) comes on <strong>the</strong><br />
radio and transports us back to when we fell in love for <strong>the</strong> first time, felt hearts break for <strong>the</strong> first time, or<br />
saw a great artist in concert for <strong>the</strong> first time. When I hear “Go Your Own Way” (Lindsey Buckingham) on<br />
<strong>the</strong> radio here in 2010, I remember <strong>the</strong> color of <strong>the</strong> t-shirt I wore to <strong>the</strong> concert back in 1977.<br />
I can’t tell <strong>the</strong> story of how a 7 year old kid from Casper fell in love with music and lyrics, unless I draw a<br />
direct path to our local library. I didn’t learn to play piano or drums at <strong>the</strong> library, and we couldn’t play our<br />
records <strong>the</strong>re ei<strong>the</strong>r. The library is where my imagination was set free – to roam <strong>the</strong> forest where Twain,<br />
Hemingway, Kipling, Shaw, Fitzgerald and even Hunter Thompson all lived. All I had to do was hand <strong>the</strong><br />
lady my card and she let me take <strong>the</strong> books home…and for 14 days those books were MINE! I wandered<br />
down pathways of carefully chosen words and phrases, and my mind turned those phrases into pictures<br />
and mental “movies”… and as fast as I could read <strong>the</strong> words, so moved <strong>the</strong> story in my head. At 17, when<br />
I became infected by <strong>the</strong> notion that I could write a song - all those words and phrases were living in my<br />
imagination, and parts of <strong>the</strong> Natrona County <strong>Library</strong> had become a mini-library inside my head.<br />
I’ve never stopped going to <strong>the</strong> library, never stopped reading or listening to good books, and never<br />
stopped wandering <strong>the</strong> forests of words and phrases. I can’t stop, because one of <strong>the</strong>se days a word or<br />
phrase is going to send a signal to my brain and it’s going to match up with a melody floating around in my<br />
subconscious, and BANG! I’m going to write a song that hits that “sweet spot” and all my good friends will<br />
be sitting at home reading good books and it will be my song playing on <strong>the</strong>ir radios - and that will be <strong>the</strong><br />
ideal life!<br />
Les Bowron, a former <strong>Wyoming</strong> Legislator, now lives with his wife Beth in Nashville, Tennessee, where<br />
he works for Metro Nashville Government and writes songs in his spare time.<br />
les bowron, songwriter and former wyoming legislator<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 3
The Beat Goes On<br />
Musicians in <strong>Wyoming</strong>’s Libraries<br />
4<br />
In previous issues of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong>,<br />
we’ve showcased librarians across <strong>the</strong> state with an<br />
artistic flair. We’ve also shown light on those who have<br />
honorably served our country in <strong>the</strong> military. But our<br />
stories of librarians do not end <strong>the</strong>re. In this latest<br />
edition of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong>, we explore librarians across<br />
<strong>the</strong> state who have musical talents. They may be a<br />
part of an ensemble, band, or write songs. They might<br />
even be a combination of it all. We invite you to take<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r look at <strong>the</strong> lives of our <strong>Wyoming</strong> librarians.<br />
Byron Tomingas, Teton County <strong>Library</strong><br />
While growing up, Byron’s fa<strong>the</strong>r had always been very quiet and very private,<br />
but when Byron Tomingas’ uncles came to visit his dad came alive.<br />
“When his bro<strong>the</strong>rs would come to town <strong>the</strong>y would all pull out <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
instruments and play. They were all like that and <strong>the</strong>y would just open up and<br />
laugh and play and have a good time. I thought, ‘That’s something I want to do,’”<br />
says Tomingas, a library assistant at <strong>the</strong> Teton County <strong>Library</strong>.<br />
And that’s how it was. Music was a pivotal part in <strong>the</strong> Tomingas family life and<br />
upbringing. That is until Tomingas turned five years old when a tragedy hit his<br />
family hard.<br />
“My oldest bro<strong>the</strong>r played trumpet, and at 12 years old he was a prodigy. He<br />
was brilliant,” he says.<br />
“He was going to be a professional musician, but <strong>the</strong>n all three of us boys got<br />
polio, and he ultimately perished.”<br />
After that <strong>the</strong> Tomingas family was different. Music was different.<br />
“Music disappeared for <strong>the</strong> next five to seven years,” he says.<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010
“It hurt my parents so much that all <strong>the</strong><br />
instruments disappeared from <strong>the</strong> house,<br />
and music was essentially turned off.”<br />
Tomingas was <strong>the</strong> youngest of <strong>the</strong><br />
bro<strong>the</strong>rs and <strong>the</strong> middle bro<strong>the</strong>r, Henry,<br />
was eventually <strong>the</strong> one who would work<br />
to bring music back into <strong>the</strong> family.<br />
“He came home one day with a guitar<br />
and slowly music started to be back in<br />
<strong>the</strong> family. He showed me how to play<br />
some chords and my interest only grew<br />
from <strong>the</strong>re.”<br />
Henry went on to college, but even<br />
in his absence encouraged his younger<br />
bro<strong>the</strong>r to start a band.<br />
“I was a very shy person so <strong>the</strong> thought<br />
of doing this seemed nearly impossible.<br />
The last thing on earth I wanted was<br />
everyone looking at me,” he says.<br />
But his love for music pushed him<br />
on stage. He organized a band, which<br />
also allowed him to share <strong>the</strong> spotlight<br />
with o<strong>the</strong>r people and not have all <strong>the</strong><br />
attention on himself.<br />
“I would put toge<strong>the</strong>r a list of songs and<br />
teach people to play. I was <strong>the</strong> only one<br />
around that time who knew how to sing<br />
and play, so in order to have my band<br />
I had to be<br />
willing to<br />
teach.”<br />
The music<br />
kept him busy<br />
and helped<br />
keep <strong>the</strong> town<br />
teenagers<br />
busy as well.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> same<br />
time, <strong>the</strong><br />
band taught<br />
Tomingas<br />
so much<br />
about <strong>the</strong><br />
business side<br />
of <strong>the</strong> music<br />
industry.<br />
“We’d<br />
rehearse,<br />
send out<br />
advertising<br />
and get<br />
<strong>the</strong> hall set<br />
up. If we<br />
couldn’t find<br />
chaperones<br />
to come,<br />
we’d hire a<br />
policeman.”<br />
When it was time for Tomingas<br />
to attend college, he chose <strong>the</strong><br />
University of <strong>Wyoming</strong> with a major<br />
in psychology. He calls this move<br />
“disastrous.”<br />
“Right before my finals I would be<br />
playing guitar for 10 hours. I thought<br />
‘this is wrong.’”<br />
Tomingas decided that if music was all<br />
he was doing with his time, <strong>the</strong>n that is<br />
what he should plan on doing with his<br />
life. He enrolled in <strong>the</strong> newly created<br />
California Institute of <strong>the</strong> Arts.<br />
“It was just an extraordinary learning<br />
environment,” Tomingas says.<br />
“They had <strong>the</strong> very best performers in<br />
<strong>the</strong> world as teachers and that’s why it’s<br />
always been considered one of <strong>the</strong> top<br />
schools.”<br />
This type of college proved to be a<br />
perfect match for him. Upon graduation<br />
he worked in a variety of jobs from<br />
symphony to TV shows, but California<br />
wasn’t <strong>the</strong> right fit for him.<br />
“The problem is that if you’ve been<br />
raised in Jackson Hole, <strong>Wyoming</strong>, it<br />
really spoils you, and it’s hard to live<br />
anywhere else.”<br />
<strong>Library</strong> assistant Byron Tomingas has spent <strong>the</strong> majority of his life playing and making music.<br />
Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, he had a great interest<br />
in computers as a hobby, so he chose<br />
to switch his career and hobby. He was<br />
going to work on computers and play<br />
guitar on <strong>the</strong> side.<br />
“Science is a real passion for me, so<br />
when personal computers came out, I<br />
really tried to learn about <strong>the</strong>m.”<br />
While still in California, Tomingas<br />
absorbed himself in <strong>the</strong> computer<br />
technology field, so much so that when<br />
he returned to <strong>Wyoming</strong> he was able to<br />
use some of his technology skills at <strong>the</strong><br />
library.<br />
“My mom worked at <strong>the</strong> library, and<br />
I thought why not go home, do my<br />
concerts and become a librarian instead.”<br />
And that’s what he did. Tomingas<br />
has been working at <strong>the</strong> Teton County<br />
<strong>Library</strong> since 2006—working with <strong>the</strong><br />
public in circulation.<br />
“I had always been such a shy person<br />
that it seems almost odd to me that I<br />
could work <strong>the</strong> circulation desk and talk<br />
to so many people.”<br />
“Four people have always been a lot<br />
harder for me than 1,000, but it seems<br />
I’ve found a way.”<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 5
Bobby Phillips, Laramie County <strong>Library</strong> System<br />
There was a lot going on for Bobby<br />
Phillips when he turned 16.<br />
He had just started writing his own<br />
music and got his first job. He always<br />
expected his first job would be working<br />
at McDonalds or some o<strong>the</strong>r fast food<br />
restaurant, but instead, it was at <strong>the</strong><br />
Laramie County <strong>Library</strong> System.<br />
“I was in a car accident that year and<br />
had to pay for <strong>the</strong> damages. I found<br />
out about this job opening up at <strong>the</strong><br />
library through my dad’s work, took<br />
<strong>the</strong> interview, and got <strong>the</strong> job,” Phillips<br />
says.<br />
And he’s been at <strong>the</strong> library ever<br />
since. Last year he was promoted to a<br />
circulation position that allows him to<br />
work more with <strong>the</strong> public.<br />
But <strong>the</strong> great thing about working<br />
at <strong>the</strong> library is that Phillips can still<br />
devote a large amount of time to his real<br />
passion—music.<br />
“When I was five, my grandma gave<br />
me this dinky little acoustic guitar. I<br />
would bang on it and try to play music,”<br />
he recalls.<br />
He put <strong>the</strong> guitar down for quite<br />
awhile and didn’t pick it back up until<br />
he was 12 or 13 years old.<br />
“The music thing dropped off until I<br />
read a Stevie Ray Vaughn biography in<br />
junior high. I picked up <strong>the</strong> guitar again<br />
and learned how to tune it. I learned<br />
how to play songs by ear and continued<br />
to play.”<br />
Growing up, Phillips says his fa<strong>the</strong>r<br />
was an avid music fan of everything<br />
from AC/DC to Dire Straights, and, of<br />
course, Stevie Ray Vaughn.<br />
“I’d go to school, see someone playing<br />
and ask if I could play. I just kept<br />
playing and showing more people.”<br />
When he started to write his own<br />
music, it only got better.<br />
“I was asked to join a band. I have<br />
been in three different bands in <strong>the</strong><br />
past,” he says.<br />
He plays at many of <strong>the</strong> bars<br />
throughout Cheyenne and along with<br />
his band, is trying to branch out to<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r places in <strong>the</strong> area.<br />
6<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
“It’s a tight-knit<br />
music scene in<br />
Cheyenne. Most<br />
of <strong>the</strong> people who<br />
play here have<br />
been playing for<br />
years and years. I<br />
was lucky to know<br />
people who already<br />
had a foot in <strong>the</strong><br />
door.”<br />
First and foremost,<br />
Phillips says he<br />
is a guitar player,<br />
although he can also<br />
play <strong>the</strong> bass and<br />
hold a decent beat<br />
on <strong>the</strong> drum.<br />
“I like to pretend I<br />
can play keyboards,”<br />
he jokes, “but it’s<br />
mostly guitar.<br />
He also does his<br />
own instrumental<br />
music at home<br />
and even contracts<br />
out his musical<br />
talents. He recently<br />
wrote music for a<br />
Laramie County<br />
Community<br />
College play.<br />
The library has<br />
been a great place<br />
for Phillips to work,<br />
he says, especially<br />
because he has such<br />
a strong interest in<br />
music.<br />
“One of <strong>the</strong><br />
cool things about<br />
working in a library<br />
is I’ve worked a<br />
lot with <strong>the</strong> music<br />
collection as a<br />
shelver and that<br />
really expands<br />
your knowledge of<br />
music,” he says.<br />
“With having access to such a vast<br />
library, I know that if I want to learn<br />
Bobby Phillips has been playing on and off since he was a child.<br />
how to do something guitar wise or<br />
recording wise, <strong>the</strong>re’s a book to do it.”
Jennifer Giese,<br />
Thayne <strong>Library</strong><br />
Music has always been<br />
a part of her life, no<br />
matter her age or life’s<br />
circumstances.<br />
“There’s only ever been<br />
maybe a short time<br />
without music: I need it,”<br />
says Thayne <strong>Library</strong> Aide<br />
Jennifer Giese.<br />
Giese has been singing<br />
since her youth, whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
that be through school or<br />
church choirs or smaller<br />
groups.<br />
“Music was <strong>the</strong> biggest<br />
part of my life while I<br />
was living in Houston<br />
for about 30 years and<br />
singing in <strong>the</strong> symphony<br />
chorus,” she says.<br />
That group was special<br />
and Giese says <strong>the</strong>y sang<br />
all types of music with very famous<br />
conductors.<br />
But as she and her husband got older<br />
<strong>the</strong>y were looking for a place to retire<br />
and get out of <strong>the</strong> “big, nasty city,”<br />
she jokes.<br />
“We had done a lot of traveling to<br />
figure out where we wanted to retire.<br />
We knew we wanted to be somewhere<br />
where we could experience all <strong>the</strong><br />
seasons. We had always vacationed in<br />
mountainous areas and we loved it.”<br />
As <strong>the</strong>y were looking for a place,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y drove through Star Valley, Wyo.<br />
“We said ‘Wow, this is just what we<br />
wanted,’” she recalls.<br />
She and her husband found a piece<br />
of property and in about three years<br />
<strong>the</strong>y built <strong>the</strong>ir perfect home.<br />
Giese quickly became involved in <strong>the</strong><br />
music community in her new Thayne.<br />
“After we moved here I found<br />
<strong>the</strong> Star Valley Ranch Singers,<br />
Jennifer Giese, far left, makes sure she’s a part of <strong>the</strong> music community no matter where she lives.<br />
which is a little group of mainly<br />
snow birds who sing popular stuff at<br />
nursing homes, around senior centers,<br />
flag ceremonies and what not.”<br />
She’s also part of a group called<br />
Summer Friends.<br />
“We’re called that because I’m <strong>the</strong><br />
only one who lives here full time.”<br />
Sometimes <strong>the</strong> group also teams up<br />
with a male quartet around town.<br />
Giese says that one of <strong>the</strong> first things<br />
she and her husband did when <strong>the</strong>y<br />
got to <strong>the</strong> area was go get a library<br />
card, and when she found out <strong>the</strong>re<br />
was going to be a Thayne library she<br />
knew it was something she wanted to<br />
be a part of.<br />
“When I was in high school, I<br />
went to our little branch library<br />
and pleaded for a summer job. They<br />
told me <strong>the</strong>y didn’t hire high school<br />
people,” she says.<br />
“But I thought <strong>the</strong> library was a<br />
perfect place. I had always loved doing<br />
research. I was one of those weird<br />
kids who would go to <strong>the</strong> library with<br />
index cards just to research and write<br />
papers.”<br />
Not long after <strong>the</strong> Thayne branch<br />
opened, Giese made her call to <strong>the</strong><br />
library offering to help in any way<br />
possible. She told <strong>the</strong>m she had always<br />
wanted to work in a library.<br />
“Now I’ve been working here as a<br />
library aide and assistant part-time<br />
pretty much since we first opened up,<br />
and I just love it.”<br />
Giese went into accounting when<br />
she was younger, and says she always<br />
thought <strong>the</strong> library would have been<br />
<strong>the</strong> right place for her. But even if<br />
she’s not sure of her decision back<br />
<strong>the</strong>n, she feels very comfortable with<br />
her life choices right now.<br />
“With <strong>the</strong> library and <strong>the</strong> music, I’m<br />
a pretty happy camper.”<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 7
But four years ago Calton and some of<br />
her fellow musician friends brought <strong>the</strong><br />
band back.<br />
“We decided we wanted to do a whole<br />
new thing in a whole new way.”<br />
Calton, one of four members of <strong>the</strong><br />
new “band,” started talking and created<br />
an entirely new organization which<br />
included bylaws and a board. That is<br />
when <strong>the</strong> ensembles started.<br />
“Very quickly we grew from four<br />
people to six and had a really hard time<br />
finding music because we had a flute,<br />
clarinet, trombone and a cello,” she<br />
jokes.<br />
“What do you do with that?”<br />
But that was <strong>the</strong>n, and now <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
ensemble has grown to more than 20<br />
people. One way <strong>the</strong>y increased <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
numbers was by working with <strong>the</strong> high<br />
school band.<br />
“We’re still missing some areas but<br />
now we can play regular songs and<br />
make it work. We’re a lot better. We<br />
really love it.”<br />
The ensemble has a regular season<br />
and takes off January, May and August,<br />
after <strong>the</strong>ir big concerts at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong><br />
season.<br />
8<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
“Most of us probably played<br />
instruments in high school and <strong>the</strong>n<br />
just kind of stopped,” Calton says. She<br />
started playing <strong>the</strong> trombone in sixth<br />
grade.<br />
“Then you grow up and you stop<br />
doing it because you don’t have anyone<br />
to play with anymore. This is a great<br />
way for a bunch of us to say ‘Wow, I<br />
can still play <strong>the</strong> horn or <strong>the</strong> flute or<br />
whatever.’”<br />
The best part of <strong>the</strong> ensemble for<br />
Calton has been watching it grow.<br />
“Those from <strong>the</strong> earlier years still<br />
remember when <strong>the</strong>re were only six or<br />
seven of us.”<br />
“When a fellow trombonist started<br />
playing with me it was one of <strong>the</strong> most<br />
exciting days because I wasn’t <strong>the</strong> only<br />
one playing that part all <strong>the</strong> time and<br />
had someone to learn with and from.”<br />
Calton says her own musicianship<br />
is better than it’s ever been. She says<br />
she thinks that is because she is more<br />
mature, experienced and focused than<br />
she was in her youth.<br />
“I’m <strong>the</strong> kind of person who loves<br />
collaborating with people, so <strong>the</strong> growth<br />
of <strong>the</strong> group and how we work toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
Jenita Calton,<br />
Carbon County <strong>Library</strong><br />
In addition to being a member of <strong>the</strong> ensemble, Jenita Calton also directs <strong>the</strong> Rawlins Children’s Hand Bell Choir.<br />
In her nearly 20 years<br />
in Rawlins, she has seen<br />
<strong>the</strong> music scene have its<br />
ups and downs.<br />
“Probably about 10<br />
years ago <strong>the</strong>y had a<br />
Rawlins Community<br />
Band and <strong>the</strong>n that<br />
kind of petered out,”<br />
says Carbon County<br />
Technology Librarian<br />
Jenita Calton.<br />
is great for me.”<br />
When Calton originally joined <strong>the</strong><br />
Rawlins Community Band it became a<br />
real part of her, just <strong>the</strong> way <strong>the</strong> library<br />
did. She started at <strong>the</strong> library 14 years<br />
ago while her daughter was just starting<br />
school and her son was at home with<br />
her.<br />
“The library was moving shelves and<br />
<strong>the</strong> penitentiary guys came to move<br />
books. Well <strong>the</strong>y just left <strong>the</strong>m in <strong>the</strong>se<br />
stacks on <strong>the</strong> floor and it was a mess.<br />
The library asked for volunteers from<br />
<strong>the</strong> community to help out, so I came<br />
to help,” she says.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> same time she had been looking<br />
for a part-time job where she could still<br />
have <strong>the</strong> flexibility to be with her kids.<br />
“I didn’t want to work when my<br />
kids weren’t in school. I had all <strong>the</strong>se<br />
conditions, but <strong>the</strong> library was great.<br />
We made it work.”<br />
Calton says while she was in college<br />
at Utah <strong>State</strong> as a wildlife major she<br />
worked at <strong>the</strong> library.<br />
“It’s funny how it all works out. It all<br />
kind of makes sense now.”<br />
She is also <strong>the</strong> director of <strong>the</strong> Rawlins<br />
Children’s Hand Bell Choir.
Jessica<br />
Neiweem,<br />
Park County<br />
<strong>Library</strong><br />
Park County Teen<br />
Librarian Jessica Neiweem<br />
doesn’t just work with her<br />
coworkers, sometimes she<br />
performs for <strong>the</strong>m, too.<br />
Neiweem and her<br />
band mate, Al Dimond,<br />
performed at <strong>the</strong> library<br />
in November. She says<br />
performing in front of<br />
her coworkers and library<br />
patrons is both exciting and<br />
challenging.<br />
“Al really enjoys<br />
performing here but I’m<br />
just not as into performing<br />
in public,” she says.<br />
“My favorite Cowboy<br />
Poet showed up and I<br />
thought ‘He’s never going to look at me<br />
<strong>the</strong> same way again,’” she jokes.<br />
The duo met during Neiweem’s<br />
sophomore year of college and started<br />
recording music toge<strong>the</strong>r in 2008.<br />
“He was taking part in <strong>the</strong> RPM<br />
Challenge and was kind of struggling<br />
with lyrics. I helped him out with that<br />
album and we had a really good time and<br />
worked really well toge<strong>the</strong>r,” she says.<br />
The RPM Challenge literally challenges<br />
musicians to create an entire album<br />
in <strong>the</strong> month of February. “Record an<br />
album in 28 days, just because you can,”<br />
<strong>the</strong> site says. That is 10 songs or 35<br />
minutes of original material recorded in<br />
<strong>the</strong> month of February.<br />
They have previously recorded under<br />
<strong>the</strong> names Elko West and City Steve<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Neon Lights. Their music is<br />
available on <strong>the</strong> RPM Web site.<br />
“Fortunately, Al and I are dating, so<br />
we live toge<strong>the</strong>r--which makes recording<br />
really easy. Anytime we’re at home it<br />
becomes a recording session.”<br />
Teen librarian Jessica Neiweem and Al Dimond form <strong>the</strong> band City Steve and <strong>the</strong> Neon Lights.<br />
Neiweem admits that she feels like<br />
she’s been singing forever. She was in<br />
choir in elementary school and took<br />
piano and guitar lessons.<br />
But it was librarianship that led<br />
Neiweem to <strong>the</strong> state of <strong>Wyoming</strong>. She<br />
was a creative writing major in college,<br />
but with a limited number of career<br />
opportunities, Neiweem says she wanted<br />
to do something she would love and<br />
that would put food on <strong>the</strong> table.<br />
“At <strong>the</strong> time I thought well, I<br />
am working in <strong>the</strong> library as an<br />
undergraduate and I think I could do<br />
this after I graduate too,” she recalls.<br />
But that job at <strong>the</strong> library wasn’t<br />
always a lot of fun Neiweem says. She<br />
worked as a shifter.<br />
“For six hours a day I would pick<br />
books up and move <strong>the</strong>m to a different<br />
location. So I was saying ‘I love libraries,<br />
but I’m not sure if this is necessarily <strong>the</strong><br />
role I want to play in <strong>the</strong>m,’” she says.<br />
Neiweem made her decision and<br />
headed to library school.<br />
“My intro professor in library school<br />
said, ‘I have been on <strong>the</strong> Admissions<br />
Committee and can say <strong>the</strong> only thing<br />
all of you have in common is that you’re<br />
all crazy enough to want to go to library<br />
school.’”<br />
After completing her master’s degree,<br />
Neiweem says she was open to going<br />
pretty much anywhere.<br />
“I was looking for a library position<br />
anywhere in <strong>the</strong> country,” she says.<br />
“The people here seemed to really<br />
click and things went well when I<br />
interviewed. It has been a great fit.”<br />
She says she was open to doing pretty<br />
much anything as long as it was in a<br />
public library.<br />
Neiweem says she loves how libraries<br />
and music both represent <strong>the</strong> best parts<br />
of us.<br />
“Music as an art form helps you access<br />
your whole and helps you integrate<br />
your experiences in life and libraries can<br />
really help us do <strong>the</strong> same thing.”<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 9
10<br />
Smells Like Teen<br />
Spirit<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
Teens complaining of boredom have<br />
not gone unnoticed, especially by<br />
libraries in <strong>Wyoming</strong>.<br />
“They were always saying ‘We’re bored.<br />
There’s nothing to do,’” says Ellie Eaton,<br />
Assistant Youth Services Librarian at <strong>the</strong><br />
Sweetwater County <strong>Library</strong>.<br />
“So, I said OK well what do you want<br />
to do? What are you interested in? They<br />
said music, poetry, acting and art. And<br />
that’s where this all started.”<br />
That’s when <strong>the</strong> library started to offer a<br />
variety of activities, especially in music.<br />
“The teens wanted to listen to music<br />
and have concerts. Because all events<br />
at <strong>the</strong> library are free, this was a great<br />
opportunity to do something for<br />
<strong>the</strong> teens and also give back to <strong>the</strong><br />
community,” Eaton says.<br />
Donations from <strong>the</strong>se events go to<br />
local food banks, help pay for people’s<br />
bills who have been involved in an<br />
accident, and however else <strong>the</strong> library<br />
and teens can help.<br />
“The library now holds several events<br />
focusing on music in some locations<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> library. We use venues<br />
throughout <strong>the</strong> community such as<br />
parks,” Eaton says.<br />
“When planning last summer’s Benefit<br />
Metal Show a band member of <strong>the</strong> metal<br />
band Picture It In Ruins provided <strong>the</strong><br />
substantial damage deposit on behalf of<br />
<strong>the</strong> library in order to enable us to use a<br />
larger venue in town, which allowed us to<br />
accommodate <strong>the</strong> 450 attending patrons.”<br />
Shane Siler, bass player for <strong>the</strong> band Never<br />
Reaching Tomorrow plays during <strong>the</strong><br />
Sweetwater County <strong>Library</strong>’s big concert<br />
last summer.
Last year’s annual benefit/metal<br />
concert came in response to grief<br />
of losing two young men in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
community.<br />
“Everyone handles grief differently and<br />
many people feel helpless about it,” she<br />
says.”<br />
The funds raised from <strong>the</strong> show were<br />
used to buy a memory tree for both<br />
young men and at <strong>the</strong> request of <strong>the</strong><br />
two families ano<strong>the</strong>r tree will be planted<br />
in memory of a two-year-old boy who<br />
died very close to <strong>the</strong> same time.<br />
There has been more than one<br />
occasion where <strong>the</strong> library has been<br />
filled to capacity.<br />
“This is so neat because by doing<br />
<strong>the</strong>se concerts, Poetry Jams and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
events we’re able to get people into <strong>the</strong><br />
library who would not ordinarily walk<br />
through our doors. It’s almost a sneaky<br />
way to grab <strong>the</strong> attention of people who<br />
may not realize <strong>the</strong> variety of materials<br />
available,” Eaton says.<br />
“There are many teens whom as I get<br />
to know <strong>the</strong>m and <strong>the</strong>ir interests, I am<br />
able to slyly suggest books to <strong>the</strong>m that<br />
I feel will interest <strong>the</strong>m. In some cases I<br />
encounter closet readers who are better<br />
versed in classics than I, and yet previously<br />
didn’t feel it was<br />
‘cool’ to advertise<br />
this fact.”<br />
Eaton says<br />
everyone who<br />
works with <strong>the</strong><br />
libraries to help put<br />
on <strong>the</strong>se concerts<br />
and attend are very<br />
respectful. Some of<br />
<strong>the</strong>se bands are just<br />
looking for a way<br />
to showcase <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
music and can’t<br />
afford a big venue,<br />
and also with a<br />
limited number<br />
of venues in <strong>the</strong><br />
area it’s a great<br />
opportunity for<br />
<strong>the</strong> library and <strong>the</strong><br />
bands.<br />
Through <strong>the</strong>se<br />
programs, Eaton<br />
says she and o<strong>the</strong>rs have also been able<br />
to see musicians’ skills grow, especially<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Poetry Jams.<br />
“Poetry Jams offer a really comfortable<br />
environment for individuals to perform<br />
and often musicians will end up being<br />
featured in one of our concerts later.”<br />
“To see <strong>the</strong> growth in <strong>the</strong>se people is<br />
just amazing,” Eaton says.<br />
The Poetry Jams are geared toward<br />
people of high school age and up<br />
because <strong>the</strong> material is completely<br />
uncensored. With an open mic<br />
setting, <strong>the</strong>re is a variety of poetic<br />
and music genres that make <strong>the</strong> jams<br />
unique.<br />
“We had two young men who started<br />
out performing <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>me to <strong>the</strong> Pink<br />
Pan<strong>the</strong>r at a Poetry Jam. Since <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>y<br />
helped found a heavy metal band and<br />
are one of our featured bands at <strong>the</strong><br />
benefit concerts.”<br />
The library holds <strong>the</strong> Poetry Jams<br />
about once a month, which fills to<br />
capacity <strong>the</strong> library’s multi-purpose<br />
room with o<strong>the</strong>rs filling <strong>the</strong> foyer and<br />
clustered around <strong>the</strong> doors in <strong>the</strong> main<br />
room.<br />
Sweetwater County isn’t <strong>the</strong> only<br />
library that coordinates <strong>the</strong>se events.<br />
A large crowd is nothing strange for <strong>the</strong> events put on by <strong>the</strong> Sweetwater County <strong>Library</strong>.<br />
Shari Haskins, Young Adult Services<br />
Librarian for <strong>the</strong> Riverton Branch<br />
<strong>Library</strong>, has also paid some special<br />
attention to <strong>the</strong>ir local bands.<br />
“It all began in 2004 with <strong>the</strong> Rock <strong>the</strong><br />
Vote concert for <strong>the</strong> presidential, national<br />
and local elections,” Haskins says.<br />
“We had <strong>the</strong> Fremont County Election<br />
Office at <strong>the</strong> concert to help register<br />
new voters. We also had state and local<br />
candidates present, and <strong>the</strong>y had <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
chance to speak to <strong>the</strong> crowd.”<br />
After <strong>the</strong> Tsunami in South Asia in<br />
December 2004, <strong>the</strong> library held a<br />
benefit concert for Tsunami Aid in<br />
2005. They’ve also hosted three Darfur<br />
Awareness and benefit concerts.<br />
Haskins has said that sometimes<br />
teens don’t get enough exposure and<br />
awareness and she feels like it’s part of<br />
her job as someone who disseminates<br />
information to bring awareness.<br />
“The bands have always been excited<br />
about participating and very generous<br />
with <strong>the</strong>ir help in organizing <strong>the</strong>se<br />
benefits along with <strong>the</strong> set up and<br />
breakdown,” Haskins says.<br />
“I will continue to use our local talent<br />
and this is an excellent way for <strong>the</strong><br />
bands to expose <strong>the</strong>ir ‘sounds.’”<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 11
Remembering <strong>Wyoming</strong>’s<br />
All-Around Cowboy<br />
As of March 2010, it has been five<br />
years since <strong>the</strong> death of renowned<br />
country music artist and <strong>Wyoming</strong>ite<br />
Chris LeDoux.<br />
For most of LeDoux’s fans this is a<br />
shock, because in <strong>the</strong> last five years his<br />
fans’ loyalty and love have not faded.<br />
The life and a half size sculpture of<br />
LeDoux, titled “Good Ride Cowboy”<br />
12<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
by D. Michael Thomas, will be unveiled<br />
during LeDoux’ memorial park<br />
dedication June 18-19 this summer in<br />
Kaycee, Wyo.<br />
“There was never any give in Chris’<br />
character,” says friend and former<br />
guitarist and road manager for Ledoux,<br />
Mark Sissel.<br />
“Everything was real about him. He<br />
was <strong>the</strong> epitome of <strong>the</strong> real American<br />
cowboy. People saw that he was true,<br />
and people draw on that kind of thing.”<br />
Sissel spent 16 years as a member of<br />
LeDoux’s band, Western Underground.<br />
“Sixteen years is longer than most<br />
marriages, and to end that time without<br />
having a bad thing to say--in all those<br />
years--well, that says a lot about who
(Left) Mark Sissel,<br />
left, and Western<br />
Underground perform<br />
with Chris Ledoux.<br />
Photo by Paula<br />
Goodell.<br />
Chris was,” he says.<br />
When Sissel met<br />
LeDoux in 1989,<br />
he knew little about<br />
him or his music.<br />
“If <strong>the</strong>re were<br />
people attending his<br />
show who had never<br />
heard his music, you<br />
can guarantee by <strong>the</strong><br />
end of <strong>the</strong> show <strong>the</strong>y<br />
were leaving fans.”<br />
After Sissel was<br />
hire, LeDoux<br />
gave <strong>the</strong> band <strong>the</strong><br />
name Western<br />
Underground. That<br />
was before he was<br />
signed to Capitol<br />
Records in <strong>the</strong> early<br />
1990s. By <strong>the</strong>n,<br />
LeDoux already<br />
had a pretty strong<br />
following. He had<br />
been selling his records<br />
independently for years<br />
through <strong>the</strong> rodeo circuit.<br />
“The early fans could have cared less if<br />
Chris went main stream, actually <strong>the</strong>y<br />
probably liked it better when he wasn’t.<br />
That’s because Chris had always been<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir guy.”<br />
LeDoux sold nearly $4 million in<br />
records before he was even signed, Sissel<br />
says.<br />
“By <strong>the</strong> time he got signed, he had<br />
already built a following that he was<br />
honestly barely aware of,” Sissel says.<br />
“It always surprised him when all <strong>the</strong>se<br />
people showed up to <strong>the</strong> shows.”<br />
Sissel says he remembers LeDoux<br />
asking more than once, “why do you<br />
think all <strong>the</strong>se people come out and<br />
follow this raggedy old Cowboy?”<br />
“Because <strong>the</strong>y believe in you. Hell, I<br />
believe in you. We have no reason not<br />
to,” Sissel would tell him.<br />
There was something refreshing about<br />
The bronze Chris LeDoux statue, titled Good Ride Cowboy, was created by D. Michael<br />
Thomas--who was one of LeDoux’s favorite sculptors.<br />
LeDoux’s music, not only because it was<br />
real, but also because it was all positive.<br />
LeDoux didn’t have any cheating,<br />
fighting, did-me-wrong songs.<br />
“Positive music was always important<br />
to him. It was important <strong>the</strong> kind of<br />
message he sent out to his fans about his<br />
music and who he was.”<br />
LeDoux was always very true to<br />
himself; no matter how big he got, <strong>the</strong>re<br />
were certain things he wouldn’t do.<br />
“Before every show he’d have me go<br />
tell <strong>the</strong> meet and greet folks that <strong>the</strong>re<br />
would be no hugging or kissing Chris.<br />
He was more than willing to take<br />
pictures with <strong>the</strong> fans, but if it was with<br />
a woman you can bet his hands were<br />
folded in front of him.”<br />
This was all out of respect for his<br />
wife. LeDoux never wanted a picture<br />
of him to end up in some magazine of<br />
him and a female fan. His wife was too<br />
important for that.<br />
“If someone<br />
gave him a love<br />
song about a<br />
brown-eyed,<br />
red-haired girl<br />
you can bet he<br />
was going to<br />
change <strong>the</strong> lyrics<br />
to a green-eyed,<br />
blonde-haired<br />
girl. It was always<br />
about his wife,”<br />
he says.<br />
Sissel says that<br />
he has never<br />
met anyone like<br />
LeDoux and he<br />
probably never<br />
will.<br />
“He was positive<br />
in nature, a kid<br />
at heart. He had<br />
a strong character<br />
and knew what<br />
he wanted and<br />
went for it. He<br />
was very focused,<br />
and very loyal<br />
in all things. He<br />
was just truly <strong>the</strong><br />
great American<br />
Cowboy.”<br />
Sissel says<br />
LeDoux really believed in <strong>the</strong> lifestyle he<br />
sang about, he believed in <strong>the</strong> West.<br />
“He once joked about being <strong>the</strong> only<br />
person who liked to irrigate, but that<br />
was Chris. This place was his home.”<br />
Although LeDoux was a <strong>Wyoming</strong>ite,<br />
he didn’t start out that way. He was<br />
born in Mississippi and moved around<br />
with his military family. When <strong>the</strong><br />
family moved to Texas, he found a way<br />
of life that he loved.<br />
“I think he had some uncle stick him<br />
on a calf and went to it,” Sissel says.<br />
The family eventually moved to<br />
Cheyenne and when it was time to<br />
move again, LeDoux decided that he<br />
wasn’t leaving.<br />
“He wasn’t leaving <strong>Wyoming</strong>. He<br />
had found his place and <strong>the</strong>n he really<br />
became that guy.”<br />
It took a while to figure out what<br />
Western Underground was going to do<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 13
after LeDoux’s death.<br />
“We talked about what we were<br />
going to do for several months, and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n someone invited us to come play<br />
and that really helped us.”<br />
To sing <strong>the</strong> songs, <strong>the</strong> band hired<br />
Dustin Evans who opened up 20 to<br />
25 of LeDoux’s shows.<br />
“He knew all <strong>the</strong> material and was<br />
a great guy. He wasn’t someone to fill<br />
Chris’s shoes by any means, but he<br />
was someone who could pay respect<br />
to <strong>the</strong> music,” he says.<br />
They continued to do shows<br />
throughout <strong>the</strong> last half of 2005.<br />
Sissel says <strong>the</strong> shows were almost<br />
<strong>the</strong>rapeutic for <strong>the</strong> band.<br />
“We really went out late that first<br />
year to just play a few shows and kind<br />
of tip our hats and say goodbye to<br />
<strong>the</strong>se special places we’d played many<br />
times over <strong>the</strong> 15-16 years, and really<br />
say farewell given <strong>the</strong> fact that Chris<br />
didn’t ever get a chance.”<br />
That first year <strong>the</strong>y played mostly<br />
songs <strong>the</strong>y had performed with<br />
LeDoux. They added a song called<br />
“King of <strong>Wyoming</strong>,” co-written by<br />
Sissel that paid homage to LeDoux.<br />
“It felt so good to be out <strong>the</strong>re and I<br />
think it helped some of <strong>the</strong> fans too.<br />
Actually, I know it did.”<br />
Sissel says <strong>the</strong>y had a lot of fans<br />
come up and just be thankful to hear<br />
<strong>the</strong> music again. That’s what Western<br />
Underground had really wanted too.<br />
“There were some who just couldn’t<br />
handle coming to <strong>the</strong> shows, and<br />
I certainly understand that. It was<br />
different for everyone.”<br />
He recalls playing a show in Oregon<br />
and watching two women in <strong>the</strong> front<br />
row and <strong>the</strong>ir reaction to <strong>the</strong> music.<br />
“There were two fairly young gals in<br />
<strong>the</strong> front row and <strong>the</strong>y were crying at<br />
<strong>the</strong> beginning of <strong>the</strong> show. I watched<br />
<strong>the</strong>m throughout <strong>the</strong> show and <strong>the</strong>y<br />
slowly began screaming and carrying<br />
on--just having a good ole’ time by <strong>the</strong><br />
end,” Sissel says.<br />
“So at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> show I put down<br />
my guitar and went up to <strong>the</strong>m and said<br />
‘do you feel better now?’ And <strong>the</strong>y said<br />
yes, we do, and we’re glad we came.”<br />
That was nice to see, because <strong>the</strong><br />
14<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
The life and a half sized statue will be unveiled during <strong>the</strong> Chris LeDoux Memorial Park<br />
Dedication on June 18-19.<br />
band was struggling with those same<br />
emotions. But with each year <strong>the</strong> band<br />
continues to add its own music to <strong>the</strong><br />
lineup. In 2007, <strong>the</strong>y recorded an album<br />
of all <strong>the</strong>ir own material.<br />
“Our music is still in <strong>the</strong> same taste<br />
that Chris would like. It’s still about this<br />
area and it’s still all positive in nature,”<br />
Sissel says.<br />
The show is now about 50 percent<br />
LeDoux music and 50 percent <strong>the</strong>ir own.<br />
“No matter what, Chris and<br />
remembering him will always be a part<br />
of our shows.”<br />
Telling stories about LeDoux, can<br />
sometimes by hard for Sissel and <strong>the</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r band members.<br />
“There’s an awful lot of memories <strong>the</strong>re<br />
and it feels good when we can all get<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r and remember Chris and all<br />
those times,” Sissel says.<br />
Sissel talks a lot about how real<br />
LeDoux’ character was, how he was<br />
that guy, that great American Cowboy.<br />
But even with all those things LeDoux<br />
was, Sissel says <strong>the</strong>re was really only one<br />
thing he wanted to be remembered for.<br />
“If I’m to be known for anything, I’d<br />
hope it was for being a good husband<br />
and fa<strong>the</strong>r,” LeDoux would say.
<strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
music festivals<br />
turn heads<br />
Beartrap Summer Festival, Aug. 7-8, 2010<br />
The Beartrap Summer Festival, held on Casper Mountain,<br />
is a premiere Central <strong>Wyoming</strong> event for families, music<br />
lovers, and anyone who enjoys a good party in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
sunshine. The festival started 16 years ago as a showcase<br />
for bluegrass music, and live musical performances are still<br />
<strong>the</strong> heart of <strong>the</strong> event. Over <strong>the</strong> years, <strong>the</strong>y’ve diversified<br />
<strong>the</strong> music to include elements like western swing and<br />
contemporary folk, and added well known headliners like<br />
Asleep at Wheel, <strong>the</strong> Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Ricky<br />
Skaggs – but <strong>the</strong> emphasis remains acoustic, accessible, and<br />
fun.<br />
In addition to music, <strong>the</strong> festival serves as an outdoor<br />
marketplace for many regional vendors. They have up to 80<br />
vendors selling <strong>the</strong>ir arts and o<strong>the</strong>r commodities as well as a<br />
tempting array of foods from finger snacks to hot meals.<br />
Beartrap has always been a family-friendly event, with<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 15
special activities for children throughout both days and a<br />
no-alcohol policy. There’s also a Pickin’ Tent where local<br />
musicians can play toge<strong>the</strong>r, as well as seminars put on<br />
by <strong>the</strong> visiting bands. Many families use <strong>the</strong> festival as an<br />
anchor event for reunions and family camping trips, and<br />
it has become a favorite with locals and folks who come<br />
from around <strong>the</strong> state and <strong>the</strong> region to attend.<br />
The festival began as a co-operative project between<br />
GapWest Broadcasting (<strong>the</strong>n under <strong>the</strong> banner of Clear<br />
Channel Radio) and Natrona County, and <strong>the</strong>y are still<br />
<strong>the</strong> primary organizers. But <strong>the</strong>y couldn’t do it without<br />
<strong>the</strong> numerous o<strong>the</strong>r supporters and sponsors – many of<br />
whom have been with <strong>the</strong>re since <strong>the</strong> beginning. The<br />
number of sponsors and attendees who come back year<br />
after year is <strong>the</strong> best evidence that <strong>the</strong> Beartrap Summer<br />
Festival is one terrific party<br />
16<br />
Big Horn Mountain Festival, July 9-12, 2010<br />
The Big Horn Mountain Festival is<br />
a premier, family-friendly, three-day<br />
music festival dedicated to promoting<br />
acoustic American roots music through<br />
performances and workshops. Various<br />
musical genres are presented at <strong>the</strong> festival<br />
including bluegrass, old-time cowboy,<br />
blues, old time Appalachian, and folk.<br />
The Big Horn Mountain Festival<br />
continues to showcase performers from<br />
around <strong>the</strong> country and <strong>the</strong> world,<br />
many of whom have Grammy and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
prestigious awards under <strong>the</strong>ir belts. The<br />
2010 sixth annual festival features The<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
Grascals, The Steep Canyon Rangers,<br />
The Wiyos, Anne & Pete Sibley, The<br />
Jalan Crossland Band, Troxel & Krieger,<br />
Too Wet To Plow, D. Michael Thomas,<br />
Anastasia's Fault, and Ralph Reed Jr.<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>'s Mandolin and Banjo<br />
<strong>State</strong> Championships are hosted at <strong>the</strong><br />
festival, and <strong>the</strong>re are contests for fiddle<br />
and guitar players as well. Professional<br />
musicians lead a variety of workshops<br />
for <strong>the</strong> amateurs, and jam sessions last<br />
well into <strong>the</strong> night at <strong>the</strong> campgrounds.<br />
Food and craft vendors, instrument<br />
raffles, and a band scramble round-out<br />
<strong>the</strong> fun and enjoyment for everyone.<br />
The festival will begin early Friday<br />
afternoon, July 9, and run until late<br />
Sunday afternoon, July 11, with a<br />
traditional gospel show on Sunday<br />
morning.<br />
Both RV and tent camping are available<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Johnson County Fairgrounds in<br />
Buffalo where <strong>the</strong> event takes place.<br />
More information about <strong>the</strong> Big Horn<br />
Mountain Festival can be found at www.<br />
bighornmountainfestival.com or by calling<br />
<strong>the</strong> Buffalo Chamber of Commerce at<br />
307-684-5544.
<strong>Wyoming</strong> Old Time Fiddle Association, May 29-30, 2010<br />
The <strong>Wyoming</strong> Old Time Fiddle<br />
Association (WOTFA), is a group of<br />
old time fiddlers from all over <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
who enjoy playing and listening to fiddle<br />
music. The organization has been in<br />
existence since <strong>the</strong> 1970s, and began<br />
holding <strong>the</strong> <strong>State</strong> Contest in Shoshoni.<br />
The contest continued in Shoshoni<br />
for more than 30 years, but moved to<br />
Thermopolis a few years ago.<br />
Old time fiddle music is tuneful,<br />
rhythmic and danceable.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> typical fiddle contest a fiddler<br />
will play three kinds of tunes: a hoedown<br />
(such as Arkansas Traveler), a waltz (such<br />
as Peek-a-boo), and a tune of choice<br />
(such as Dill Pickle Rag). A contest is an opportunity for<br />
a fiddler to compare his or her playing to o<strong>the</strong>rs, but more<br />
importantly it is a chance to see old friends. The best music<br />
is usually in <strong>the</strong> jam sessions that go on all day and night at a<br />
fiddle contest.<br />
The 2010 <strong>State</strong> Contest will be held in Thermopolis at <strong>the</strong><br />
Hot Springs County High School May 29-30, 2010. For<br />
more information, contact Contest Director Ed Capen (307-<br />
921-8120) at w.fiddle@bresnan.net or WOTFA President<br />
Dick Enders at aec@bresnan.net.<br />
For more information about <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> Old Time<br />
Fiddlers, <strong>the</strong> state contest, and o<strong>the</strong>r fiddle everts, please visit<br />
www.wyomingfiddle.org.<br />
Happy Jack Music Festival, July 30-Aug. 1, 2010<br />
If you love music and love <strong>the</strong> outdoors, this festival is for<br />
you. The Happy Jack Music Festival will be held July 30–Aug.<br />
1 at <strong>the</strong> amphi<strong>the</strong>ater at Curt Gowdy <strong>State</strong> Park, on <strong>the</strong> north<br />
side of <strong>the</strong> highway. This beautiful state park is located 24 mi.<br />
west of Cheyenne and 23 mi. east of Laramie on Highway<br />
210 (Happy Jack Road).<br />
In <strong>the</strong>se times of economic hardship, free entertainment<br />
helps <strong>the</strong> pocketbook and <strong>the</strong> music lifts <strong>the</strong> spirit.<br />
Although <strong>the</strong> music is free, this festival is a fundraiser for <strong>the</strong><br />
Friends of Curt Gowdy <strong>State</strong> Park, a group whose mission is<br />
to raise awareness about <strong>the</strong> park through activities such as<br />
this music festival. All day fees and camping fees will go to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Friends group to help <strong>the</strong>m continue. Fees are as follows:<br />
Daily Park use: $4 resident, $6 non-resident. Overnight<br />
use camping fee, includes daily fee: $10 resident, $17 nonresident.<br />
Bands from <strong>Wyoming</strong>, Colorado and Tennessee are<br />
donating <strong>the</strong>ir time and talent to this effort and will provide<br />
all types of acoustic music – Bluegrass, Country, Folk,<br />
Celtic, Gospel, Old Time, Original Songs – something for<br />
everyone.<br />
There will be a fiddle contest, jamming, workshops, and<br />
a worship service Sunday morning. Great concessions will<br />
be available on site all weekend. On Saturday <strong>the</strong>re will be<br />
activities for children in <strong>the</strong> Kid’s Tent.<br />
In addition to <strong>the</strong> music, enjoy o<strong>the</strong>r activities in <strong>the</strong> park<br />
and nearby – fishing, hiking, mountain biking on world class<br />
trails, rock climbing or just relaxing in <strong>the</strong> sunshine.<br />
The amphi<strong>the</strong>ater is also handicapped accessible. So, as John<br />
Prine sings – “Blow up <strong>the</strong> TV, throw away <strong>the</strong> paper, Go to<br />
<strong>the</strong> country”.<br />
For more information, call Dave or Julee, 307-433-9463, or<br />
go to www.hjmusicfestival.com.<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 17
Grand Teton Music Festival, June 30-Aug. 14, 2010<br />
Gail Williams is one of <strong>the</strong> finest<br />
French horn players in <strong>the</strong> world.<br />
Retired from <strong>the</strong> Chicago Symphony<br />
Orchestra after 20 years, she still<br />
performs at <strong>the</strong> highest level with <strong>the</strong><br />
Chicago Chamber Musicians. It sounds<br />
glamorous, but it’s hard work.<br />
“Even though it might be one of <strong>the</strong><br />
best gigs in <strong>the</strong> world,” says Williams,<br />
“it’s still a job.”<br />
So what does Gail Williams do in <strong>the</strong><br />
summer, between regular seasons in<br />
Chicago? For <strong>the</strong> past 18 years, she has<br />
played with <strong>the</strong> Grand Teton Music<br />
Festival in Walk Festival Hall in Teton<br />
Village, spending up to seven weeks<br />
performing with 200 like-minded artists<br />
from <strong>the</strong> best ensembles throughout <strong>the</strong><br />
country.<br />
“It rejuvenates my batteries,” she says.<br />
“I don’t know if anyone really calls<br />
it your job – you’ve chosen to do it,<br />
you don’t need to do it. There’s no<br />
tenure, everyone is playing at <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
best. It’s a very special music making<br />
opportunity.”<br />
Williams isn’t alone holding that<br />
attitude, which is why so many come<br />
back year after year, for 20, 30 even 40<br />
years or more. Jennifer Ross, a violinist<br />
with <strong>the</strong> Pittsburgh Symphony, has been<br />
coming for 28 years.<br />
“It takes a certain kind of person to<br />
play in an orchestra all year long and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n, during <strong>the</strong>ir vacation time, come<br />
to <strong>Wyoming</strong> to play in an orchestra<br />
some more, at a fraction of our salary,”<br />
Ross says. “Many of my colleagues in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Pittsburgh Symphony think I’m<br />
crazy ... but only <strong>the</strong> ones who’ve never<br />
played here and never felt <strong>the</strong> magic.”<br />
In 2011, <strong>the</strong> Grand Teton Music<br />
Festival marks its 50th season. Over<br />
that half century, <strong>the</strong> basic structure of<br />
<strong>the</strong> festival has been well established:<br />
Tuesdays through Thursdays are<br />
dedicated to chamber music, works for<br />
smaller ensembles or soloists, often a<br />
grab-bag of musical treats. Fridays and<br />
Saturdays feature <strong>the</strong> Festival Orchestra,<br />
18<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
with up to<br />
100-plus<br />
instruments<br />
as well<br />
as guest<br />
soloists<br />
and guest<br />
conductors<br />
– brilliant<br />
stars in <strong>the</strong><br />
classical<br />
music<br />
firmament.<br />
Overseeing<br />
<strong>the</strong><br />
proceedings<br />
is Donald<br />
Runnicles.<br />
As Music<br />
Director of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Deutche<br />
Opera<br />
Berlin,<br />
Chief<br />
Conductor<br />
of <strong>the</strong> BBC<br />
Scottish<br />
Symphony<br />
Orchestra,<br />
Principal<br />
Guest<br />
Conductor of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and<br />
former Music Director and Principal<br />
Conductor of <strong>the</strong> San Francisco Opera,<br />
he’s a pretty bright star himself. His<br />
interest in GTMF, and appointment<br />
as its Music Director in 2006, speak<br />
volumes about <strong>the</strong> allure of <strong>the</strong> festival.<br />
For this 49th season – June 30-<br />
Aug. 14 – Runnicles has secured<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r world-class roster of guests,<br />
including violinist Sarah Chang,<br />
pianist Stephen Hough and conductor<br />
Mark Wigglesworth. Programs feature<br />
universal favorites (Beethoven’s<br />
Symphony No. 5, Mozart’s “Jupiter”<br />
Symphony), 20th-century masterpieces<br />
(Berg’s Violin Concerto, Debussy’s<br />
La Mer), and neglected gems (such as<br />
works by J.S. Bach’s sons).<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r events include a free Fourth of<br />
July concert, <strong>the</strong> family-friendly “6:15<br />
Music Machine,” pre-concert talks,<br />
free Tuesday night “Inside <strong>the</strong> Music”<br />
programs, and <strong>the</strong> “Music in Nature”<br />
program – in which a string quartet<br />
plays free programs in <strong>the</strong> national<br />
park. Such ga<strong>the</strong>rings give audiences <strong>the</strong><br />
chance to explore <strong>the</strong> music and musicmaking<br />
process, and deepen <strong>the</strong> ties<br />
between <strong>the</strong> Jackson Hole community<br />
and long-thriving artistic community<br />
created anew each summer in Walk<br />
Festival Hall.<br />
For additional information or to<br />
purchase tickets, contact <strong>the</strong> Festival<br />
Box Office at 733-1128 or go online to<br />
www.GTMF.org.
Oyster Ridge Music Festival, July 30-Aug. 1, 2010<br />
The Oyster Ridge Music Festival<br />
(ORMF) committee believes that music<br />
should be enjoyed by all. Because of this<br />
<strong>the</strong>y host a three-day music festival that<br />
is free to <strong>the</strong> public.<br />
Oyster Ridge is <strong>the</strong> largest free<br />
festival in <strong>Wyoming</strong> and won <strong>the</strong> 24 th<br />
Annual Governor’s Art Award in 2005.<br />
Organizers pride <strong>the</strong>mselves in having<br />
an intimate venue on <strong>the</strong> Famous<br />
Historic Triangle Park in Kemmerer.<br />
For <strong>the</strong> three days, attendees hear<br />
music that varies from traditional<br />
bluegrass to exciting, innovative and<br />
edgy original compositions. Strings<br />
and percussion instruments combine<br />
with vocal talent to offer an auditory<br />
feast that satisfies <strong>the</strong> hunger for live<br />
performance. The event is supported<br />
entirely by sponsorships and donations<br />
making it even more remarkable.<br />
The Oyster Ridge Music Festival has<br />
allowed this small town to experience<br />
world-class music of various genres<br />
and appreciates <strong>the</strong> variety of styles<br />
and techniques. The community<br />
has come toge<strong>the</strong>r to support this<br />
musical experience, which has now<br />
taken on a life of its own, one that<br />
presents participants with a unique<br />
opportunity to interact with <strong>the</strong> arts<br />
in <strong>Wyoming</strong>.<br />
The mission of <strong>the</strong> Oyster Ridge<br />
Music Festival is to create a premier,<br />
quality music event to attract a large<br />
community audience while also<br />
appealing to those from surrounding<br />
areas. Every year <strong>the</strong> festival hires<br />
around ten to eleven bands to perform.<br />
The festival also organizes different<br />
workshops each year that students<br />
from around <strong>the</strong> region can attend.<br />
Generally guitar, banjo, mandolin,<br />
vocal, songwriting and fiddle workshops<br />
are available and taught by different<br />
professional band members.<br />
ORMF is also <strong>the</strong> home of <strong>the</strong> state<br />
Fingerpick and Flatpick contests.<br />
The <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong> contests are held<br />
during <strong>the</strong> last day of <strong>the</strong> festival. The<br />
winners become <strong>the</strong> state champions<br />
and as part of <strong>the</strong> prize, admission and<br />
entry into <strong>the</strong> National Flatpick and<br />
Fingerpick contests are provided.<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r activity at <strong>the</strong> festival is <strong>the</strong><br />
Infamous Band Scramble. In <strong>the</strong> Band<br />
Scramble, musicians are randomly<br />
grouped into a band. Winners are<br />
chosen by <strong>the</strong> crowd on <strong>the</strong> basis of<br />
stage presence and overall impression.<br />
This event has always been one of <strong>the</strong><br />
most popular at <strong>the</strong> Oyster Ridge Music<br />
Festival because it is open to all levels of<br />
musicians. The Band Scramble usually<br />
consists of about 75 contestants.<br />
The Oyster Ridge Music Festival has<br />
become <strong>the</strong> highlight of <strong>the</strong> year for<br />
many residents of Kemmerer and <strong>the</strong><br />
surrounding communities as evidence<br />
by <strong>the</strong> increase in numbers of attendees.<br />
Kemmerer is known for <strong>the</strong> festival, but<br />
<strong>the</strong> state is recognized for <strong>the</strong> best free<br />
entertainment in <strong>the</strong> West. It is through<br />
combined efforts that this festival is<br />
in existence today. The festival is an<br />
exceptional event and <strong>the</strong> more support<br />
it receives <strong>the</strong> better it will continue to<br />
be.<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 19
Locke says <strong>the</strong>ir newest member, Norman Winter, is <strong>the</strong> future of <strong>the</strong>ir music genre.<br />
He and his wife Locke are part of <strong>the</strong><br />
ensemble, <strong>the</strong> Prickly Pair. They’re also<br />
joined by Norman Winter.<br />
Both had musical up-bringing but<br />
took a long break from <strong>the</strong> music scene.<br />
“We turned pro when most everyone<br />
else in our industry starts to give up. We<br />
turned pro in our 40s and it’s been quite<br />
a ride,” Les says.<br />
Les grew up in rural <strong>Wyoming</strong> and<br />
played music from a very early age. He<br />
played music with his family and also<br />
joined <strong>the</strong> string program at school and<br />
learned to play <strong>the</strong> violin.<br />
20<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
“Back <strong>the</strong>n you didn’t know any nice<br />
standup musicians. The idea of being a<br />
musician was kind of taboo.”<br />
But at <strong>the</strong> same time, Les says if he<br />
showed up at a family function, he was<br />
expected to join in.<br />
“That was part of <strong>the</strong> deal. Playing was<br />
a family thing or a real ‘churchy’ thing<br />
when you did play, it was important.”<br />
Locke knew how to play <strong>the</strong> guitar<br />
when she was young, but says she isn’t<br />
an overly great singer—Les argues this<br />
opinion. Regardless, she still focused a<br />
lot on her singing. Then she left singing<br />
Romance<br />
with <strong>the</strong><br />
Range<br />
The Prickly Pair<br />
“If it’s in you, it’s going<br />
to come out of you,”<br />
that’s what musician Les<br />
Hamilton says about people<br />
born with artistic abilities.<br />
“When you’re unabashed<br />
about what you let flow out<br />
of you it becomes very real<br />
for your listeners. That’s<br />
very readable and people<br />
pick up on that.”<br />
for nearly 25 years and had a career as a<br />
horse trainer.<br />
“I’ve read that if you have a musical<br />
gift and you’re not doing something<br />
with it, you will be miserable. That led<br />
me back to my desire to sing,” she says.<br />
Then <strong>the</strong> universe set it up, she says,<br />
so she could meet Les so <strong>the</strong> two could<br />
create music toge<strong>the</strong>r and also wed.<br />
“Everything was sort of meant to be,”<br />
Locke says.<br />
The two met in 1993 at a cowboy<br />
music show in Riverton. They soon<br />
started doing gigs at different resorts
and guest ranches before officially<br />
becoming <strong>the</strong> Prickly Pair in 1995.<br />
“We’ve both played music for as long as<br />
we can remember. A love of <strong>the</strong> West and<br />
<strong>the</strong> lifestyle brought us to our roots and<br />
<strong>the</strong> kind of music we do today,” she says.<br />
They describe <strong>the</strong>ir sound as a unique<br />
and refreshing blend of old time fiddle,<br />
cowboy tunes, vintage Western and folk<br />
tunes that trace cowboy music to its<br />
Celtic roots.<br />
Their type of music doesn’t really fit in<br />
any particular genre, although <strong>the</strong> group<br />
can be heard on Americana folk music<br />
radio from time to time. Six out of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
seven albums have charted on American<br />
folk music radio.<br />
The two started out doing covers of<br />
more famous traditional songs and<br />
started to add <strong>the</strong>ir own songs and<br />
rework songs of <strong>the</strong> past with new lyrics<br />
and melodies.<br />
“When people hear we play country<br />
music <strong>the</strong>y think it will be like what<br />
<strong>the</strong>y hear on <strong>the</strong> radio, and <strong>the</strong> music<br />
we play has some roots <strong>the</strong>re but it’s<br />
nothing like what we do. We have a very<br />
niche market,” Les says.<br />
And <strong>the</strong>y’ve been very successful in this<br />
niche market. The two aren’t ones to toot<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir own horns but were nominated<br />
for Best Group or Duo of <strong>the</strong> Year in<br />
1998 by <strong>the</strong> Western Music Association.<br />
They were also nominated for <strong>the</strong> Rising<br />
Star Award in 1998 by <strong>the</strong> Academy of<br />
Western Arts. After taking a break from<br />
<strong>the</strong> Western Music Association, <strong>the</strong>y<br />
rejoined recently and were nominated in<br />
six categories and walked off with Best<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Best Harmony Singing Group in<br />
Western Music.<br />
The two love <strong>the</strong> music part of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
life but admit <strong>the</strong>y have a harder time<br />
touring because <strong>the</strong>y don’t want to leave<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir home.<br />
“We live in such a beautiful place,<br />
that it gets harder and harder to take<br />
ourselves away,” Les says.<br />
Locke says, “I think we’ll eventually<br />
retire and probably take gigs as <strong>the</strong>y<br />
Les and Locke Hamilton along with Norman Winter make up <strong>the</strong> group. The Prickly Pair.<br />
come instead of shopping around for<br />
<strong>the</strong>m—which we’ve really started to do<br />
more of now.”<br />
Locke thinks <strong>the</strong>ir third and newest<br />
member, Winter, will carry on <strong>the</strong>ir music.<br />
“I can definitely see him going out<br />
and joining and forming ano<strong>the</strong>r band<br />
at some point and taking that sound<br />
to venues. He’s really excited about <strong>the</strong><br />
music. Younger people are drawn to him<br />
and want to find out more about him.<br />
That’s how it will all live on.”<br />
Les says he thinks at some point <strong>the</strong>y<br />
may start putting on workshops or<br />
offering some kind of help to aspiring<br />
musicians in <strong>the</strong>ir genre.<br />
“You can spend a lot of time in school,<br />
but sometimes spending 10 or 30 minutes<br />
with a pro can teach you more than a<br />
whole semester of class work,” he says.<br />
For more information on <strong>the</strong> Prickly<br />
Pair or to see when <strong>the</strong>y’re coming<br />
to a venue near you, visit www.<br />
pricklypair.com.<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 21
22<br />
Paul Taylor is<br />
an acclaimed<br />
Australian<br />
performing artist<br />
who delights<br />
in sharing <strong>the</strong><br />
culture of his<br />
homeland.<br />
Takin’ Care of Business<br />
Being selected to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> Arts Council (WAC) Artist Roster<br />
can help a struggling artist.<br />
“Sometimes this is <strong>the</strong> push <strong>the</strong>y need,” says WAC Literature,<br />
Visual and Performing Arts Specialist Mike Shay.<br />
“I’ve had plenty of artists say, ‘This was <strong>the</strong> last time I was<br />
going to give it a go. I was so close to just giving up.’”<br />
Not only does <strong>the</strong> roster help artists, it also gives places like<br />
schools and libraries a place to go when <strong>the</strong>y’re looking to<br />
bring in some entertainment.<br />
“If a library is looking for more activities when students are<br />
on break, <strong>the</strong>y can come to our site and check out what we<br />
have that might help,” he says.<br />
To get <strong>the</strong>se artists, whe<strong>the</strong>r that be in performing arts,<br />
folk arts, or literary arts, libraries can apply for grants<br />
through <strong>the</strong> arts council to offset <strong>the</strong> cost. Usually <strong>the</strong>se are<br />
matching grants.<br />
“This gives a lot of <strong>the</strong> smaller libraries an opportunity to<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
bring some really neat stuff to <strong>the</strong>ir area,” Shay says.<br />
Artists are selected once a year by an arts council<br />
committee. These selected artists are assigned to <strong>the</strong> current<br />
roster.<br />
“We meet for about a day and let our committee go<br />
through all <strong>the</strong> applicants. The arts council doesn’t decide<br />
who gets added to <strong>the</strong> roster, instead we’re just <strong>the</strong>re to help<br />
<strong>the</strong> committee.”<br />
Every five years everyone on <strong>the</strong> roster is required to<br />
reapply. This helps <strong>the</strong> council determine who has become<br />
inactive on <strong>the</strong> roster and o<strong>the</strong>rs who may have moved and
not notified <strong>the</strong> council.<br />
“Many arts councils use rosters from o<strong>the</strong>r states to<br />
locate people to bring in <strong>the</strong>ir state, just like people from<br />
outside <strong>the</strong> state use ours.”<br />
Shay says <strong>the</strong> work artists do in libraries helps artists a<br />
great deal.<br />
“We have great libraries in <strong>the</strong> state and with <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
being such a word-of-mouth state, if people like what<br />
you’re doing <strong>the</strong> word will get around.”<br />
This means more opportunities for <strong>Wyoming</strong>’s artists.<br />
“The majority of <strong>the</strong> artists on our roster are performing<br />
artists, but <strong>the</strong>re’s such a variety in <strong>the</strong> ones listed,” Shay<br />
says.<br />
When<br />
<strong>the</strong>y started<br />
<strong>the</strong> roster<br />
<strong>the</strong>re were<br />
only about<br />
20 people<br />
featured. Now<br />
<strong>the</strong> roster<br />
has grown to<br />
feature more<br />
than 65.<br />
“The roster<br />
“The roster really does two<br />
things for artists. It gives <strong>the</strong>m<br />
credibility, a real stamp of<br />
approval. And it serves as a<br />
resource to <strong>the</strong> communities.”<br />
~Mike Shay, <strong>Wyoming</strong> Arts Council<br />
has a potential to be as large as it wants to be,” he says.<br />
There is no set number of artists accepted each year.<br />
The council starts taking applications in September and<br />
announces <strong>the</strong> roster during <strong>the</strong> fall season.<br />
“The roster really does two things for artists: it gives<br />
<strong>the</strong>m credibility, a real stamp of approval; and it serves as<br />
a resource to <strong>the</strong> communities.”<br />
After choosing an artist, organizers must finalize <strong>the</strong><br />
David L. Shaul, a <strong>Wyoming</strong> native,<br />
is a virtuoso performer on both folk<br />
and pedal harp.<br />
The Fat City Mardi Gras Band is a unique band that blends <strong>the</strong><br />
best of Fat Tuesday’s celebration music.<br />
project with <strong>the</strong> artist. A contract is signed and <strong>the</strong> WAC<br />
funding is paid directly to <strong>the</strong> grantee.<br />
Sometimes artists apply for one of <strong>the</strong> individual grants<br />
<strong>the</strong>mselves.<br />
This can help<br />
<strong>the</strong>m finish<br />
a book or<br />
record a CD.<br />
For more<br />
information<br />
on how to<br />
apply for a<br />
performing<br />
arts grant or<br />
an individual<br />
grant, visit<br />
<strong>the</strong> WAC<br />
Web site<br />
at http://<br />
wyoarts.state.<br />
wy.us.<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 23
composers<br />
historic<br />
of <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
24<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> has been home to more than 100 composers in its past. Most of <strong>the</strong>ir names and <strong>the</strong><br />
music <strong>the</strong>y composed have been lost to history. Names like Flora Heathman, Mabel Cuthbert,<br />
Mary Morris and John Morgan. Compositions with titles like “Take Me Back to Frontier Days”,<br />
“Western Plains” and “Fall Flowers in <strong>Wyoming</strong>.”<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
Most had careers unrelated to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
music. Dr. Irvin Blake was a beloved<br />
pioneer physician of Buffalo in <strong>the</strong><br />
early 1900’s. He was also a composer<br />
of waltzes. David G. Thomas moved to<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> in 1878 and was employed in<br />
<strong>the</strong> coal mines. He held public offices<br />
in Sweetwater and Uinta counties and<br />
served as <strong>the</strong> <strong>State</strong> Coal Mine Inspector.<br />
He wrote poetry and words for “My<br />
Sweet <strong>Wyoming</strong> Rose.” J. Emilus<br />
Blivin of Rock Springs wrote <strong>the</strong> music.<br />
(The <strong>Wyoming</strong> Press, April 28, 1906)<br />
Some worked as teachers in <strong>the</strong><br />
public schools of <strong>Wyoming</strong>. John J.<br />
Brueggemann of Rock Springs was<br />
responsible for <strong>the</strong> development of<br />
<strong>the</strong> music education programs for <strong>the</strong><br />
Sweetwater County schools. He also<br />
organized a school of music in Rock<br />
Springs and lead <strong>the</strong> orchestra at <strong>the</strong><br />
Rialto Theater. More information about<br />
him can be found at <strong>the</strong> American<br />
Heritage Center in Laramie. “<strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
Moods” and “<strong>Wyoming</strong> Youth” are<br />
two of his better known orchestral<br />
compositions.<br />
Many played important roles in<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>’s early music history. Mary<br />
Lee Merritt and Mary Read Rogers<br />
both wrote music and served as<br />
president of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> Federation<br />
of Music Clubs. Alice Ross, composer<br />
of “<strong>Wyoming</strong> Sketches,” a set of tone
poems for organ, helped found <strong>the</strong> Cheyenne<br />
Little Symphony, <strong>the</strong> predecessor of <strong>the</strong><br />
Cheyenne Symphony. Cady Kenney had<br />
many songs published while he taught music<br />
and established <strong>the</strong> Rawlins Conservatory of<br />
Music.<br />
Sometimes, compositions are more well<br />
known than <strong>the</strong>ir composers. Marie Montabe<br />
Horton authored <strong>the</strong> pageant play “Gift of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Waters” while Corrine Barrow Williams<br />
wrote some of its music. The “Gift of <strong>the</strong><br />
Waters” Pageant, first held in 1925, still<br />
occurs every August at <strong>the</strong> Big Spring in<br />
Hot Springs <strong>State</strong> Park, Thermopolis. Jack<br />
Bryant was commissioned by <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
Department of Commerce and Industry to<br />
write “That’s <strong>Wyoming</strong>” <strong>the</strong> state’s golden<br />
anniversary <strong>the</strong>me song. And Lorene M.<br />
Decker wrote “Yankie Sammies” in 1918, a<br />
copy of which is housed in <strong>the</strong> British <strong>Library</strong><br />
Reference Collection.<br />
According to “<strong>Wyoming</strong> A Guide to its<br />
history, highways, and people” compiled by<br />
workers of <strong>the</strong> Work Projects Administration<br />
in <strong>Wyoming</strong> in 1941, John L. Hunton of<br />
Laramie “is <strong>the</strong> only <strong>Wyoming</strong> composer<br />
whose work is known to any extent outside<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>State</strong>. In his piano and violin studies,<br />
which describe <strong>the</strong> roundups, cattle<br />
stampedes, blizzards, <strong>the</strong> beauty of hazy<br />
prairies, and similar Western scenes, he has<br />
woven original versions of some of <strong>the</strong> oldest<br />
cowboy songs. For <strong>the</strong> piano Hunton wrote<br />
‘Sagebrush,’ ‘Prairie Dogs,’ ‘Indian Paintbrush’ ‘Jackrabbits,’<br />
‘Autumn Aspen,’ and ‘Blizzards’…” Copies of Hunton’s<br />
Sketches of <strong>the</strong> West: suite for piano solo can be found at <strong>the</strong><br />
University of <strong>Wyoming</strong> Libraries.<br />
Finally, <strong>the</strong>re are many composers who were affiliated with<br />
<strong>the</strong> University of <strong>Wyoming</strong>. George Edwin Knapp became<br />
director of music at <strong>the</strong> University of <strong>Wyoming</strong> shortly after<br />
World War I. He is most well known as <strong>the</strong> composer of<br />
<strong>the</strong> music of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> March Song, our state song, for<br />
which Charles E. Winter wrote <strong>the</strong> words (see story elsewhere<br />
in this issue). June Etta Downey was a noted professor of<br />
philosophy and psychology at <strong>the</strong> University but she also<br />
wrote <strong>the</strong> words and music to <strong>the</strong> UW Alma Mater. Allan<br />
Arthur Willman, who was chairman of <strong>the</strong> music department<br />
at <strong>the</strong> university from 1942-1974, was a classical composer<br />
and <strong>the</strong> recipient of <strong>the</strong> Paderewski Prize for his symphonic<br />
poem, Solitude. He was also <strong>the</strong> founder of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
Music Teachers Association. Willman’s papers are held by <strong>the</strong><br />
American Heritage Center in Laramie.<br />
This is just a sampling of <strong>the</strong> composers who have lived<br />
in <strong>Wyoming</strong>. It does not recognize any of <strong>the</strong> composers of<br />
<strong>the</strong> past 30 years. Sources used include <strong>Wyoming</strong> Composers<br />
compiled by The <strong>Wyoming</strong> Federation of Music Clubs,<br />
1941 and <strong>Wyoming</strong> Composers A Bicentennial Review by<br />
Curtis Snook and David Tomatz, 1976. The <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Library</strong> also has a set of index cards, circa 1940-1960, that list<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> composers and <strong>the</strong>ir music. The American Heritage<br />
Center in Laramie holds <strong>the</strong> papers of a number of <strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
composers. Also, <strong>the</strong> Hebard Collection at <strong>the</strong> University of<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> Libraries has a large collection of original music by<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>’s composers.<br />
~by Venice Beske,<br />
Special Projects Librarian<br />
at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Library</strong>.<br />
Images courtesy of University of <strong>Wyoming</strong> Libraries<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010 25
<strong>Wyoming</strong><br />
<strong>Library</strong><br />
<strong>Roundup</strong><br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>Library</strong><br />
2800 Central Avenue<br />
Cheyenne, WY 82002<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong> <strong>Library</strong> <strong>Roundup</strong> • Spring 2010<br />
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Music festival in Ten Sleep<br />
features <strong>Wyoming</strong> musicians<br />
NOWOODSTOCK is an annual music festival held <strong>the</strong><br />
second full weekend of August in Vista Park, Ten Sleep,<br />
<strong>Wyoming</strong>. Vista Park, true to its name,<br />
provides an engaging panorama of<br />
<strong>the</strong> eastern flank of <strong>the</strong> Big Horn<br />
Mountains, red rock cliffs, and Ten<br />
Sleep Creek. Ten Sleep, population<br />
304, is <strong>the</strong> perfect setting for an<br />
enjoyable and entertaining weekend of<br />
music, friends and fun.<br />
The festival is dedicated to bringing<br />
excellent talent to <strong>the</strong> Big Horn<br />
Basin. Over <strong>the</strong> past nine years<br />
approximately 70 percent of <strong>the</strong> acts<br />
have been from <strong>Wyoming</strong> or have<br />
strong connections to <strong>the</strong> state. Folk,<br />
singer/songwriter, jazz, blues, bluegrass,<br />
western, country, Hispanic, Celtic,<br />
and just about any combination of<br />
musical styles have graced <strong>the</strong> stage<br />
at NOWOODSTOCK. Many of <strong>the</strong><br />
attendees cite <strong>the</strong> variety of musical<br />
styles as <strong>the</strong>ir favorite part of <strong>the</strong> event.<br />
NOWOODSTOCK X is scheduled<br />
for August 13-15, 2010. Tickets are available at <strong>the</strong> main<br />
entrance to <strong>the</strong> park and are priced at $15 Friday and Sunday,<br />
$20 Saturday, or $30 for <strong>the</strong> weekend. NOWOODSTOCK<br />
offers a family friendly environment and<br />
children under 12 are admitted free.<br />
Local and regional artists provide an<br />
array of jewelry, art, turned bowls, blown<br />
glass, and much more for sale.<br />
Ten Sleep’s own Jalan Crossland<br />
is <strong>the</strong> most popular act at<br />
NOWOODSTOCK. He is <strong>the</strong> only<br />
artist to appear every year since <strong>the</strong><br />
festival started in 2001. Regardless of<br />
who is on <strong>the</strong> bill, Jalan is <strong>the</strong> biggest<br />
audience draw.<br />
“Jalan will play every year until he tells<br />
me he doesn’t want to play anymore,”<br />
Festival director Pat O’Brien says.<br />
The beauty of <strong>the</strong> setting, <strong>the</strong> quality<br />
of <strong>the</strong> music, and <strong>the</strong> demeanor of <strong>the</strong><br />
crowd offer a truly relaxing and totally<br />
unique experience. There are no hassles,<br />
no huge crowds, and no problems<br />
encountered by festival-goers.<br />
For more information on <strong>Wyoming</strong>’s<br />
music festivals, see page 15 in <strong>the</strong> magazine.