A cold December, day many years ago, I checked my phone messages and heard a familiar voice, “Is this the guy who runs sound and collects all the Riders stuff? I’ve got a snow globe that Ranger Doug says you need to have.” It was a message from that face slapper extraordinaire, Too Slim, from Riders in the Sky!
Riders in the Sky are a consistent crowd pleaser, appearing at the Reif Center 8 times over the last 25 years. They are America’s premier Western Heritage band, members of the Grand Old Opry since 1982, members of the Western Music Hall of Fame, multiple Grammy winners, had a seven year run on NPR with ‘Rider’s Radio Theater’ and have released over 40 albums! But the real reason we’ve had them so often is that the powers that be like to keep me happy, and they know that Riders in the Sky is my favorite band!
I haven’t always been a Riders fan. I grew up in the wilds of Anchorage, Alaska, and between taking care of the dog team and repairing our igloo I didn’t have much time for music. It wasn’t until I left Alaska to go to graduate school in Mississippi that I was introduced to the Riders. One summer in the early 90’s a grad school friend of mine and I were working a theater summer camp in Fairbanks. We drove from Mississippi to Alaska, and back, in his trusty Chevy.
From Seattle, we decided to drive non-stop to Texas! I remember getting very little sleep as we drove straight through over the 30 hours or so that it took. Back in those olden days, his truck only had a cassette player and we didn’t have much of a selection to choose from. One cassette we did have was “The Cowboy Way” from Riders in the Sky. My friend Mike was a fan from long back, being from Texas and all, and we practically wore that tape out on our drive! It’s a great live album and includes songs that are still my favorites like “Lonely Yukon Stars,” “Miss Molly,” and “The Salting of the Slug.”
A couple of years after graduate school I started at the Reif Center and shortly after that Executive Director at the time, David Marty, brought up the Riders at a selection committee meeting. I had to play it cool of course, but pushed it through the selection committee so that I could meet my idols!
I have a few of favorite (and not so favorite) memories. They joke about it on stage, but Woody Paul does always disappear! He usually finds a quiet spot for a nap. Woody is also the mechanic of the group and there’s been a few times the night has ended with him under the Winnebago fixing something!
One year I filled the greenroom with all the Riders swag and memorabilia I’ve gathered over the years. I think they were impressed. I’m sure that led to that voice mail and a Riders in the Sky snow globe for my collection!
Candy Cane Attack!
This next memory I’m not so proud of. The Riders were here for a Christmas show and I thought it would be a great idea to add these 16’ tall wooden candy canes from our Reif Dance Nutcracker props to the stage. I still insist that Too Slim brushed up against one as he came back on stage after changing out of his Side Meat persona, but the audience and crew watched in disbelief as it slowly toppled over, nearly taking out the entire band, or at least one or two of them. Those canes were never seen again. Rumor has it that they ended up in a bonfire at David Marty’s house!
I’ve also enjoyed learning more about them over the years. Doug Green (Ranger Doug) has a master’s degree in literature and is a well-regarded Western Music historian. Fred LaBour (Too Slim) has a master’s degree in wildlife management. Paul Woodrow Chrisman (Woody Paul) has a PHD from MIT in theoretical plasma physics—his thesis was “Inertial, Viscous, and Finite-Beta Effects in a Resistive, Time Dependent Tokamak Discharge.” Joey Miskulin (The Cowpolka King) has been performing professionally since 11 and started touring with Frankie Yankovic at 13.
If you know Reif tech crew member Greg Johnson, he has a little thing for the band KISS, and on our road trips we’ve visited many KISStoric sites. We even met (well, stalked) Paul Stanley at his house one time! If you haven’t heard the story, ask Greg sometime! I’ve never stalked any of the Riders but one trip through Nashville we did stop at the location of Herr Harry’s Frank N’ Steins, where Riders in the Sky had their first performance in 1977! It’s now a religious bookstore.
