From the President

Howdy all,

This past weekend, most of the Board of Directors was in Las Vegas for IGRA University. We took classes; several of us taught classes, met up with old friends, made new friends and learned much. All this in an effort to better serve our membership and to produce a quality rodeo.

Speaking of rodeo…Atlantic Stampede is coming up in September. We are at a new hotel this year, the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. You can reserve your rooms right from our web page.

Thanks to your Vice President Jackie T., our 2008 Sponsorship Booklet is out in print. If you want to sponsor a buckle, place an ad in the program or be a sponsor of our rodeo, and want a booklet mailed to you or your company, contact our Rodeo Director Jon H. at [an error occurred while processing this directive].

We are planning Rodeo School for Saturday April 26 and Sunday April 27, 2008 at the Classic Rodeo Ranch in York Springs, PA. Prices are: $125 for both days or $70 for one day. Events offered: Calf Roping on Foot, Chute Dogging, Steer Riding, Bull Riding and Mounted Breakaway Roping. This training is open to ALL IGRA members and friends. If you're looking to get some practice in before the Liberty Stampede, this is the perfect opportunity. Registration forms will be available on the web site shortly.

Join your Board on March 6th as we participate in "Dining Out for Life". We will be at Freddie's Beach Bar and Restaurant (555 S. 23rd St., Arlington ).   Freddie's is giving 100% of all food orders for this worthy cause. If you can't make it to Freddie's, please consider going to one of the other restaurants in the DC Metro area that is participating in this event.

We are looking for a Public Relations chairperson. The specific job requirements can be found in the Bylaws, under Standing Committees. You can also read more from our former PR chairperson Patrick H. later in the newsletter.

Mike S.
ASGRA President

Meet Me In Montana

Pacific North West Gay Rodeo Association is having its third annual Meet Me In Montana Event August 1-3, 2008. Meet Me in Montana is a weekend of Camping, Cookout, River Rafting, Dancing, Dance Lessons, and great fun with some terrific cowboys and cowgirls. Meet Me in Montana takes place at the beautiful Cowboy Up Montana Roadhouse located in St. Regis, MT.

The roadhouse is 30 acres surrounded by beautiful forests and mountains. There is ample space for trailers, horses, campers and tents. For more information about the Meet Me in Montana weekend including schedule of events and pricing options visit http://www.meetmeinmontana.org. Space typically sells out, so those interested are encouraged to make their reservations early.

Patrick Hunter

Public Relations Chairperson Wanted

ASGRA is looking for a new Public Relations Chairperson to join its Board of Directors. Public Relations is responsible for the coordination of marketing efforts for the Atlantic Stampede Rodeo and ASGRA as a whole. Among the duties of the Public Relations Chairperson are:

• Coordination of Advertisements for Atlantic Stampede Rodeo and other ASGRA events including creation or soliciting for creation of print and electronic advertisements, scheduling of advertisements and negotiation of advertisement rates.
• Distribution of promotional materials for Atlantic Stampede Rodeo and other ASGRA events at local and national venues (bars, retail spaces, other clubs and organizations).
• Coordination of the Association's involvement in area events (Prides, Leather, Country/Western expositions/events/conferences)
• Coordination of program printing for Atlantic Stampede including solicitation and collection of written content and advertising.
• Being a spokesperson, along with the President, for the Association to help promote or respond to criticism of gay rodeo, the Association, ASGRA's promotion of the country western lifestyle, including interviews with local and national media, creation and distribution of press releases, editorial pieces, etc.

The Public Relations Chairperson is encouraged to form a committee of bright, hardworking, creative individuals to assist in the tasks as mentioned above. Graphics experience is not required for this position, but strong written and communication skills are a must. The Public Relations Chairperson should be comfortable speaking publicly and being visible and accessible to the GLBT community and general community at large. If interested in the position or if you have more questions, please contact Mike S. at [an error occurred while processing this directive].

Patrick Hunter

ASGRA By-Law Issues

Do you have any recommended changes to our By-Laws? We welcome all suggestions, well at least those that are printable. We would like to hear from you. Please send any recommended changes to [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Our cutoff for recommended changes this year is March 31st, 2008.

Thanks,
Tom

Music Review, by Patrick Hunter

Star System
Sucks, save you money and buy a beer
Borrow it from someone
Wait for it go on sale
Don't leave Wal*Mart without it
Stop whatever the heck you're doing right now, and download this puppy

Trisha Yearwood
Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love

This CD should be called Heaven, Heartache and Power of Trisha's Voice. Right on the first song Trisha Yearwood demonstrates once again why she is one of the premiere powerhouse vocals in country music. She blast out of the gate with her soaring voice and doesn't stop at all through these thirteen tracks. The album is packed with a good mix of hard, fast driving, rocking tunes such as the title track and "Nothing About You is Good For Me"; a kiss off song to a lying, silver-tongued devil of a lover who just keeps coming back; mid-tempo you can dance to it songs like "Not a Bad Thing" about getting to the other side of that hump in a breakup when you realized being by yourself ain't going to be so bad; and slow, melodic listen to them on a rainy evening songs like "This is Me you Talking To", a song about the realization that your relationship is over and there's no need for phony pleasantries because 'you know me better than that'. Two additional highlight tracks on this album are "Let the Wind Chase You", something that many of us can relate to; a poetic good-bye in your heart to someone you've just been chasing after and chasing after, but realize is never going to love you. "Cowboys are My Weakness", another song we gay men and bi gals and guys can relate to that has a Dale Evans feel to its melody.

Filled with every range of song from the having fun to the tear-jerker to the in between there is something for everyone on this Album and Trisha's voice never sounds out of place at all with any of the tracks. She brings emotion to every line of every lyric; singing not only with her voice but from her soul. The only reason that this CD misses out on being a fiver starrer is that while the songs and the voice are awesome, there isn't a song in the bunch that sticks with me. The CD is missing those songs that just want to make me hit the repeat again and again and thus it misses that last star. But believe you me, this CD is one that is definitely worth the price and will be priceless for years to come. It will surely surprise me if Trisha is not up for some type of major music award in the upcoming year.

Chris Cagle
My Life's Been A Country Song

I know what some of you who really are familiar with Chris Cagle and his life are thinking with regards to the title of this CD. That he's got another one of those songs where he writes about the hard times of his life being like that of a country song. But this particular track actually has a different take on that age old tune that has been sung by many a country performer before Chris. This one actually mentions specific songs and singers in its lyrics and how that relates to points in his life:

I know how Paycheck felt when he told his boss to take this job and shove it/
And I have had the girl who made me say I like it, I love it, I want some more of it

In addition, the melody of the song is somewhere between being a hard driving ain't-my-life-crazy-but-funny tune and a weepy poor me crying-into-my-beer-because-my-life-sucks. It takes a very objective approach in its view on how Country Songs can sometimes be the soundtrack for our lives and that is what makes it work.

The rest of the CD is filled with the slightly rockabilly tinged tunes that Chris Cagle is known for on his previous CDs (think back to Play it Loud). A few of the songs seem to be coming from where Chris is at this point in his life: heartsick love, bitter on love and coming back on the music scene. (I actually checked the CD notes to see if he had written some of these tunes himself, but he had not.) "No Love Songs" is a highlight of these types of songs. It has more of a spoken verse lyrics along with a sung chorus. This along with the more upbeat melody to the tune makes is a standout among the I-don't-want-to-hear-love-songs-cuz-I'm-hurting tunes. What makes it a special standout is the ending spoken part by Chris, where he even does a little bit of self-deprecation when he emphasizes I know it hurts - believe me I KNOW. Be sure to give it a good listen for the full comic touch of the monologue at the end as the song fades out. Of course not all the tunes are down on love songs. There are a couple of upbeat ain't love fun tunes.

"If It Isn't One Thing" is a song about all the wonderful things that you like about your partner such as their kiss, being your best friend and--something that I would like to do with Chris Cagle personally--the way you run your fingers through my hair. "Little Sundress" is another; a fun time in Cancun with a someone you just met. This contains another of my 'I want to do that with Chris Cagle' lyrics; got your [head] on my sunburned chest. My only real disappointment with the tunes on CD is that there isn't anything really stand-out. While there are tunes that I would replay there is nothing on here that really speaks to me or makes an impact like that referred to in the title track. My other disappointment with the CD, and this on a personal note, is the lack of photos of Chris Cagle. I'm all for going green and creating less waste in packaging, but I would have really liked to have some new photos of my dream country man Chris Cagle. Even posting new ones on the website would have satisfied me!

Chuck Wicks
Starting Now

When I first heard this CD, I thought to myself, 'what is this doing in Country?' Most of the songs that are on here sound more like soft rock or smooth Jazz 103 to me. I did a quick visit to his website to see if he were a runner-up contestant on Nashville Star, American Idol, or America's Got Talent that Music City just happened to snatch up. Nope. Seems that Mr. Wicks is another dues paying Nashvillion. Seems that he hit the bigger time with "Stealing Cinderella", the grooms answer to last years popular "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. Maybe it is because I like my country music being guy's guy music that I have an aversion to tunes that could be on a Carrie Underwood album and are just sung by a man. Chuck's voice is pleasant enough and the melodies aren't horrible, they just seem more at home in the CD changer for those pop loving women who want to 'go country' or for the background music in one of those bar scenes that you see on a NBC Soap Opera.

There are a couple of redeeming songs on the CD such as "Good Time Coming On" about driving out for a nice romantic weekend. "If We Loved", is a Wynonna inspired what-we-can-accomplish-with-love tune. As typical of country songs this one limits the 'don't judge others' to just their faith or their color (If we loved, indeed). "She's Gonna Hurt Somebody" speaks of getting revenge by hurting some random person because you were hurt by someone close to you. However, the rest of the songs just have no country flavor for me. Before buying I would definitely recommend going to Chuck's Website and click on 'Launch the Jukebox' option. This will give you a longer preview of all the songs than you can find on a music store website. It will be interesting to see if this CD really is the start of something for Chuck or if he'll just only be heard during the "first dance" of wedding receptions.

Patrick Hunter

SLOPPY JOES

Ingredients

1 lb of Ground Beef
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 Celery Stalk, chopped
1 Green Pepper, seeded, then chopped
4oz Mushroom, sliced
4 Tbsp Ketchup
2 Cups Tomato Juice
Salt and Pepper
2 Tbsp Tabasco or Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
Hamburger Buns

Directions

1. Brown meat in large frying pan, stir in the vegetables and continue cooking until they are tender.
2. Add ketchup and tomato juice, salt and pepper to taste, add Tabasco or Hot Sauce. Mix well and cook on very low for 2 hours.
3. Serve hot on hamburger buns. Toasting the buns makes them even better.

Spin That Pony

Album: If I Had A Horse

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For a limited time, Cowboy Frank is providing a stream to listen to this great song as sung by its author. Listen while you read. (should play on any player)

• Buena vaquero: Spanish for Good Cowboy
• Reata: lasso made from woven cow hide strips
• Starting a horse: training a young horse how to be ridden
• Two rein: a fancy rein using 2 lines on each side of the horse's bridle, very difficult to handle
• Spurs never raked hide nor hair: these spurs were strictly for show and never touched the horse
• Had his own lingo: by touching the horse with a foot or leg in a certain spot or moving the rein just slightly it is possible to communicate to a well trained horse very precise directions. This technique is the basis for the art of dressage

This song is based on a true story of a Mexican cowboy that Les Buffham knew as a kid back in the 1960s. While this cowboy was mounted on his horse, he would hang onto a reata which was suspended from a rafter in an old barn. Then his horse would spin in a circle making it look like he and the horse were suspended from the reata and twirling in one spot. Spinning is a very difficult maneuver with a horse under any circumstance, let alone making it seem you and the horse are suspended from a rope.

Started young horses in Bosca te Ador
Unto the two reign the old Spanish spade
Brought them along with two hands that were gentle
Some fine reigning horses as ever were made

And he'd spin that pony hanging onto the reata
He hung from a rafter in the Willow Creek barn
And I watched and I wondered man how could he do that
Then he'd change direction and spin him some more
Round and round, spinnin' and round

Had them big spurs that came from Chihuahua
They never had ever raked hide nor hair
They had a nice jingle and when he rode by
They made pertty music that danced on the air

Lived in a shack with his wife named Juanita
She cooked on a wood stove tortillas and beans
After we'd eaten he said come I show
What the word handle on a good cowhorse means

And he'd spin that pony hanging onto the reata
He hung from a rafter in the Willow Creek barn
And I watched and I wondered man how could he do that
Then he'd change direction and spin him some more
Round and round, spinnin' and round

He never did shout, he never did whisper
He had his own lingo that they understood
The touch of a knee or the lift of a rein
His horses all gave him the best that they could

In an old shed out behind his adobie
I helped him to hang up his bridles and gear
That's where I discovered an old tarp that covered
Three trophy saddles won back many years

And he'd spin that pony hanging onto the reata
He hung from a rafter in the Willow Creek barn
And I watched and I wondered man how could he do that
Then he'd change direction and spin him some more

And he'd spin that pony hanging onto the reata
He hung from a rafter in the Willow Creek barn
And I watched and I wondered man how could he do that
Then he'd change direction and spin him some more

Round and round, spinnin' and round
Round and round, spinnin' and round
Round and round, spinnin' and round
Round and round, spinnin' and round
Round and round, spinnin' and round
Round and round, spinnin' and round

The April newsletter deadline is March 31. Send your articles to [an error occurred while processing this directive]