Same Planet Different Worlds

Thursday, 5:40 P.M. Elko, Nevada. Intern Andrew Church reporting for duty.

The walls of the press room are reverberating with Cajun music. Cowboy poets and Hungarians come and go at will. The aroma of meatballs and merlot wafts in the air. Unusual, for some. Not for Elko.

Those experienced in the ways of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering can be somewhat prepared for what's in store this week. The tenderfoots (tenderfeet?) will have the benefit of complete and unexpected immersion into the cowboy culture.

Me? I'm a veteran. My parent's have been forcing me to recite at the Gathering since I was seven. I've seen performers from most continents, excluding Antarctica (although I wouldn't be surprised if Meg somehow recruits talent from the subarctic). Yet in spite of these experiences, each year is always surpassed by the next, without fail.

The Gathering never ceases to amaze me with the talent it brings to Nevada, or its ability to unite cultures under one roof. What is more incredible are the ties these people have, despite living worlds away. Music, song, horsemanship, nature's boon, hard work. A livelihood based on an openness and freedom not found many places in this day and age. Here, language barriers are defeated with horsehair strings and accordion notes. We may only see these individuals once a year, maybe once a lifetime, but the connections and memories seldom fade.

What do I have planned? Make a few new friends and see a dozen old ones. Learn a few words in Hungarian and dance the zydeco. Partake in the overall camaraderie. In the meantime, I'm off to see Geno Delafose and the French Rockin' Boogie. Hope to see you there if you're not here already.

Ensign Church, signing out.

And We're Off!

Speaking of Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie, I have a story about how everyone in Elko comes together to make these performances happen.  For those of you who don't remember, I'm Tamara, Gathering Manager.  That title is apt for what happened yesterday.

I got a call at 7:15 am on Wednesday morning.  This was early for me, especially since workshops and shows weren't starting until 9:00 am, but I dutifully answered the phone.  Geno was calling to arrange a ride to the airport.  He and the band got in on Tuesday, as planned, but their luggage stayed in Salt Lake City.  They were told to pick up the luggage Wednesday morning at the Elko airport.

I headed in to the Folklife Center, planning on driving the 15 person van to the airport.  Luckily, I ran into Carol Gamm and handed her the keys.  She took them over to the airport while I handled some other issues (our shuttle coordinator fell ill with a nasty bug that's going around, so I was filling in until we could get things straightened out, which we did by 9:00 am).  At 8:30 am I got another call from  Geno.  Their luggage did not make it onto the 8:00 am flight.  Their luggage, which included their instruments, was coming in at 11:30 am.

Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie were scheduled to perform for the CowKids' Stampede at 10:00 am.

We couldn't disappoint 900 kids, of course.  So I got on the phone to find three instruments: bass guitar, single-note accordion, and frottoir, the washboard.  First I called Mike Polise, of Polise Music.  He had a piano accordion and bass guitar.  Easy.  Geno said he could play any kind of accordion, so we were set there.

So then I had to find a washboard.  Sure, Elko is a town that holds on to its past, but where was I going to find a washboard at 8:30 in the morning?

Luckily for me, Rori Holford, who helps with the exhibits, remembered seeing one at Cowboy Joe.  She called over there to see if we could borrow the washboard.  The women working at Cowboy Joe were gracious enough to lend us their antique washboard.

The look on Demetric Thomas's face was priceless when I walked in with a washboard.  Carol ran to get some spoons and Darryl Guillory (Geno's neighbor) found some rope.  A frottoir  was born!

Mike Polise dropped off the bass guitar and the accordion, and then ran back home to grab some drumsticks.  In the meanwhile, Geno had decided to play the keyboard, and Colin, the sound engineer, set it up on stage in less than seven minutes.

900 kids were treated to the show of the year, and the show even started on time!  Many thanks to Mike Polise and Cowboy Joe.

The 27th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is off to a great start!  Thanks for being here, and enjoy the show!

-Tamara

P.S. All the luggage came in on the 11:30 am flight.

Geno Delafose on the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Geno Saturday by Jessica Brandi Lifland

Geno Delafose and his band French Rockin' Boogie, a cowboy zydeco band from southwest Louisiana, performed at the Gathering for the first time last year. Listen to what he had to say about his experience. [audio http://westernfolklifecenter.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/geno-delafose-on-the-ncpg.mp3]

Geno and the band are returning this year and will be playing the Saturday Night Dance, among other performances. We just can't wait to get out there on the dance floor! Dick and Sandy Sturm hosted zydeco and cajun dances at the Western Folklife Center all summer and part of the fall, so there are lots of Elkoans who are ready to shake their groove "thang."