Roping cowboy memories

Paul Clinton

AUTRY MUSEUM -- Cowboy singers took the stage Sunday to lasso the

spotlight for their tales of Western yore.

Cowboy bands and solo songsters spun their musical stories during a

live concert at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. The event also

served as a fund-raiser for the Western Music Assn., an organization

dedicated to keeping alive the spirit of the Western prairie through

song.

“Our mission statement is to preserve and promote Western music,”

Southern California chapter President Jeffrey Barber said.

Six cowboy artists -- including Riders of the Purple Sage, Michael

Fleming and Cowboy Nation -- took the Autry stage during the three-hour

benefit concert. The Buckaroo Balladeers, The Lobo Rangers and The Radio

Ranch Straight Shooters also performed.

The groups sang bluesy ballads, life-on-the-trail work songs and

humorous numbers intended to evoke the cowboy way.

“It’ll take you someplace when you listen to those tunes,” Cowboy

Nation member Chip Kinman said. “It can really transport you.”

Kinman, 42, hasn’t forgotten his background as one of the founders of

the now-defunct 1970s Los Angeles punk band The Dils. But nowadays, he’s

singing songs about the Old West.

Kinman fits right in at the Autry, a fact confirmed by a quick glimpse

at the song list of Cowboy Nation’s latest album, which contains a cover

of Gene Autry’s “Back in the Saddle.” The album, known as “A Journey Out

of Time,” was released by Western Jubilee Recording Co. in July.

Autry, the original singin’ cowboy, would no doubt be proud.

The Western Music Assn. plans to make the fund-raiser, which was

attended by about 200 people, an annual event. The group raised about

$2,000 Sunday, Barber said.

IF YOU MISSED IT:

Cowboy Nation will perform at 8 p.m., Nov. 11 at Borders Books, 100 S.

Brand Blvd. For more information, call 241-8099.