From the President

ASGRA has the following positions available:

• Secretary (2-year term)
• Rodeo events and training chairperson (1-year term)
• Fundraising & sponsorship chairperson (1-year term)
• Public relations chairperson (1-year term)

We are also looking for people willing to serve as members of our 2009 royalty team (1-year terms):

• Miss ASGRA
• Mr. ASGRA
• Ms ASGRA
• MsTer ASGRA

Contact Mike at if you are interested in serving in any of these positions.

Mike S.
ASGRA President

ASGRA Vagabond Chuckwagon is on the Move!!

We had a terrific turnout of 12 ASGRA members and friends for the first Vagabond Chuckwagon dinner at Banana Café in DC on Friday January 16. Despite the frigid temperatures outside and the huge crowds coming into DC for Inauguration weekend, we had a cozy table, terrific waiter, delicious food, potent beverages (mojito anyone?) and lots of fun company.

So - now it's on to Virginia for February! We're going to take a suggestion from one of our dinner attendees and try out Thai Square, located at the corner of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike in Arlington, VA. ThaiSquareRestaurant.com

Between Valentine's Day weekend and IGRA University, it makes sense to do this a little later in the month. We're also going to try a weekend evening so no one has to rush from work. We'll plan to meet at Thai Square @7pm on Saturday, February 28. I don't know if they take reservations, but will look into that and keep everyone informed via the ASGRA website. Please RSVP by Monday night, February 23 if you plan to attend so I can include you! You can contact me via email at ajtygger@aol.com or on my cell at 703-371-7865. Come on out for a fun evening with your ASGRA friends and family!

Lonni La Bel

ASGRA Vagabond Chuckwagon
Thai Square
Saturday, February 28, 2009, 7 pm
Corner of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike
3217 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204     (Locate with Google Maps)
Contact Lonni La Bel: ajtygger@aol.com (cell) 703-371-7865

DC Cowboys

While the January weather might have been cold, cold, cold, the inside of Remington's on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC was hot, hot, hot with the first performance of the newest DC Cowboys. The class of six "freshmen" Cowboys performed for the first time to an enthusiastic and packed house. Dancing in black, graphic-print tank tops and jeans but sans hats, the boys strutted and thrust their way through some complicated moves to Beyonce's "One Night Only". But getting to this point was long, hard work. Auditions for the DC Cowboys took place back in November. Thirteen hopefuls showed up; were taught a combo and then tried it out themselves. After that first initial audition, letters are sent out by Artistic and Executive Director Kevin Platte notifying the guys if they made past this round or if they didn't. Those that continued on face 6 weeks of training camp where they are taught two existing DC Cowboys dance numbers. But even after that, it wasn't a guarantee that they would make it as a Cowboy. "We look for dance technique, appearance, how they carry themselves and showmanship. They have to look like they are having fun" says Platte. After the 6 weeks of training, another notification letter is sent out. It is with these letters that the final newest DC Cowboys are solidified. After the newest are confirmed, they then begin practicing for their inaugural number at the DC Cowboys monthly Hoedown Party at Remington's. "We like to throw them into the fire" Platte says. "This gives them an opportunity to perform on stage and in front of a crowd before we [go onto other venues]." Before they danced through that fire, this cowboy had an opportunity to meet with a few of the newest crop of fellas and found they all have varied and interesting backgrounds. Danny, 27, who joined the cowboys because "it's a good group and I can be more involved in the community" is originally from Columbia. Andrew, 23, who "loves to dance" and "was a former cheerleader" lived in Germany for a short time after graduating from George Washington University. Matt, 24, (my personal favorite) was a performance major and was a part of the Gay Men's Chorus. John, 22, has a background in Jazz, Tap and Ballet. All of the boys see the DC Cowboys as a continuing outlet for performing. So were there butterflies dancing around in these Cowboy's stomachs as they made their first appearance in front of a public crowd? "I was a little bit nervous" Danny says with a smile. "But I feel really good." Other guys confirm the sentiment. And so did the crowd. As the newest DC Cowboys performed their number, the crowd went wild with whistles, whoops and shouts as well as very enthusiastic applause when Kevin introduced them afterward; especially, Andrew, who seemed have brought his own cheering section. From what I saw of their performance and the reaction, these guys will have way more than just one night only of performing and adoring crowds. Patrick Hunter Trail Ride Coordinator Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)

Keven Platte DC Cowboys Executive and Artistic Director John Veteran DC Cowboys Craig & Enrique Freshmen Cowboys Mike & John with Veteran Keith Matt Andrew Danny Mr. Cleveland Leather 2006-07, Boy Ian; Mr. Ohio Leather 2009; Lekc Zhdanov and 1st Runner Up Mr. Boston Leather 2009, Joe Menick

Music Reviews

1 star - Sucks, save your money and buy a beer
2 star - Borrow it from someone
3 star - Wait for it go on sale
4 star - Don't leave Wal*Mart without it
5 star - Stop whatever the heck you're doing right now, and download this puppy  

Toby Keith

I spent quite a while listening to Toby Keith's latest CD trying to figure out just what about it makes it such a pleasant listen, but still have so little impact on me. After a while of thinking on this, I realized it is Toby's voice that is the appeal (or course the face and body ain't too bad either, but more on that later). Toby has an excellent voice. It's like syrup on pancakes. It draws you in and leaves you with that same kind of warm comfort feeling. He has the ability to go from singing something raucous to really wrapping his pipes around something soulful like the track Missing Me Some You. Unfortunately, on this latest CD the best thing about it is the voice; the songs--not so much.

There are a couple of fun tunes like That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy which as a good melody and the well known by its radio play torch ballad She Never Cried in Front of Me. But, then, there are others where you are just left with a 'huh?' feeling.

Time That It Would Take is one of those. This is something that falls into the category of a pick up line songs, but just isn't that good. I think that part of it may be that Toby's voice is overwhelmed with instrumentals and part of it is just the pace of the song. It's done at a very fast pace and you can hardly tell just what the protagonist of the song is singing. If it was put to a slower melody, then, I think that it could be a better tune than it is.

The one thing that I really do have something positive to say about the CD is the booklet. Not only has it got some decent pictures of my dream country boy and his nice-kept beard, mischievous grin and blond cowboy locks that curl out from under his hat, but the design and layout of it I like a lot. The colors are awesome. I love the way the layout of the titles; falling behind the pictures or lyrics on some pages or just slightly cut off on others. Each of the titles contains some of the bold colors that serve as the background on some of the other pages. The booklet has all the lyrics and even adds in some additional artwork photos like the sunset beach scene that appears behind the title of Cabo San Lucas. This booklet goes beyond being a supplement to the CD to being a real work of art itself. Too bad the music didn't achieve that same level of wow.

Randy Houser

When I first heard Randy Houser's "Anything Goes on the radio, I thought to myself 'Brooks and Dunn' has a good new hit.' He sounds so much like Ronnie Dunn that it is eerie. I have heard artists that sound alike before, but you could still distinguish one voice from another. With Randy and Ronnie it's not so easy. This is both a good and bad thing. Like Toby Keith, Randy has a deep and rich voice that works well with a number of songs on the CD. But on some listens it's hard to get that image of Ronnie out of my head.

The CD is a good one, but not a great one. What does make it a better CD than the above mentioned Bad Guy is that Anything Goes contains a lot more danceable tunes. Something Real is great for those late nights at the country bar when you want to slow dance and get real close to your honey or a potential honey. My Kind of Country is a hard-driving tune that would make for some good line dancing and Boots On, Strange and Wild, Wild, West make all good two-steppin' songs.

Though not a danceable tune, How Many Times deserves special note due to its ability to mix two genres of music together; soul and country. The tune is a slow instrumental song that talks about regrets from doing your baby wrong and sounds like something that you might expect Etta James to be singing about. It even has spoken parts as well as sung parts. Because honky-tonks are places where heartache, regrets and booze all come together, this type of genre mix actually fits well with country music. It helps to elevate the country music's familiar woes from something that folks poke fun at to something that even a broader audience can identify with.

Paycheck Man is another song that deserves mention due to its incorporation of Johnny Paycheck's famous song title Take This Job and Shove It into the chorus.

I'm a paycheck man/ Working hired hand/ I'd take this job and shove, but I just can't... ...I gotta make a livin', I'm a paycheck man

The song brings nothing new to the hardworking man odes. It's contains the familiar getting up, going to work for the man, getting paid and not getting ahead themes that we've heard time and again, but, the vigor of the melody of the song with its hard-driving could-be-a-line-dance song makes it a fun listen.

Anything Goes certainly does live up to its title, since there is such a mix of different types of music and they are all are a pleasant listen; especially with Houser's voice. While it may not a CD that is worth running right out to buy, some of the songs mentioned above are definitely worth a request to your DJ at your local honky tonk.

Taylor Swift

I was a little fearful about listening to Taylor Swift's newest album. This was mainly because I'm not an eighteen year old high school girl, but, then, I decided that I should get over myself and give it a listen. I am glad that I did because, surprisingly, this is a pretty good CD despite the bubble gummy breezy pop sound of the melodies. This is mainly because Taylor is singing about things that she knows. She is a teenager herself and makes no attempt to try and sing a song that revolves around more worldly issues.

Fifteen is a prime example of this. The lyrics revolve around those things that seem so important to someone in high school.

Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say/
you know I haven't seen you around here before...
...and then you're on your very first date and he's got a car...
In your life you'll do greater things than dating the boy on the football team.
You Belong With Me is another.
She wears high heels, I wear sneakers/
she's cheer captain, and I'm on the bleachers

This does not mean that all of the songs are completely unrelateable for those of us who may have left High School long behind. White Horse is something that can be sung by an individual of any age. The lyrics tell of the disappointment about someone with whom they were in love; realizing that life is a lot different from dreams.

I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairytale/
This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town/
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down/
now it's too late for you and your white horse now

You're Not Sorry is another that could apply to your boyfriend who is overly flirty with his Biology partner as well as the man or woman who stepped out on you on your birthday.

You don't have to call anymore/
I won't pick up the phone/
This is the last straw/
don't want to hurt anymore/
and you can tell me your sorry/
but I don't believe you baby like I did before/
You're not sorry anymore

This last song also happens to be one that isn't quite as bubblicious as some of the other offerings.

Falling into the it could be an anthem for our community theme is the song Change. I won't write out the lyrics for this one because just about every lyric of the song is for us. I will, though, give you an idea about some of the touchstones mentioned in the song: repeating history, falling walls put in place to hold us in, revolution, being outnumber, getting stronger and getting up off your knees for the fight of our lives. Yup, it's all in there and definitely worth a listen if you need something to pick you up from some of the lost battle that we have faced lately.

And, finally, the CD booklet that comes with this CD is the booklet by which all other booklets should be measured. It is the pinnacle of what all other CD graphic artists should strive to achieve. It has artistic photographic representations of the song; funny artistic representations of the song; photos of younger Taylor and photos of present day Taylor; surreal photographs and appropriate mix of fonts for the song titles as well as just some background patterns on other songs. This booklet is so great, I'm thinking about printing out some the photos and framing them. Definitely, if I ever go to a concert where Taylor swift is performing, I'll be bringing them in the hopes of getting her autograph and you know what; I'll, actually, really enjoy the music, too.

Patrick Hunter
Trail Ride Coordinator
Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)

Coosie's Corner

UNCLE TOM'S MAPLE SYRUP AND KETCHUP MEATLOAF

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Beef
1 Egg, beaten
1 Onion Chopped
1 Tbsp Worchester Sauce
½ Can Condensed Tomato Soup
½ Cup Oatmeal, uncooked
Salt and Pepper

Stir together:
½ Cup Ketchup
½ Cup Maple Syrup

Directions

1. Mix ground beef, egg, onion, Worchester Sauce, Tomato Soup, Oatmeal, salt and pepper.
2. Form mixture into four football shaped meatloaves. Place in greased baking pan and press down on their tops with a flat hand to make them about 1 ½ - 2 inches tall.
3. Cook in 380 degree oven for 45 minutes.
4. Mid-way in cooking remove from oven and lightly cover with ½ of the maple syrup and ketchup mixture.
5. Continue baking.
6. Five minutes before done, remove from oven again and place another coat of maple syrup and ketchup.

This serves 4. Serve with potato or vegetable of your choice. Maybe a salad and some rolls.

Buckaroo Man

Album: Buckaroo Man

---

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)

But come a ty yi yipee I O, on the back of my Caballo
I whoppy tie one on when I can
My spurs they don't ring much, I never did sing much
But I'm sure enough, a Buckaroo Man

Cold fingers stiff in the mornin'
By noon it's a hundred and three
Five year old slicks in the canyon
And never a hint of a breeze
Jug-headed hollow-back ponies
Provide all with hours of grief
There's snakes in the shade
Choya on the grade
And a half a ton of grit between my teeth

But come a ty yi yipee I O, on the back of my Caballo
I whoppy tie one on when I can
My spurs they don't ring much, I never did sing much
But I'm sure enough, a Buckaroo Man

But come a ty yi yipee I O, on the back of my Caballo
I whoppy tie one on when I can
My spurs they don't ring much, I never did sing much
But I'm sure enough, a Buckaroo Man

I said come a ty yi yipee I O, on the back of my Caballo
I whoppy tie one on when I can
My spurs they don't ring much, I never did sing much
But I'm sure enough, a Buckaroo Man

... a Buckaroo Man

The next newsletter deadline is February 23. Send your articles to