An accomplished musician on many levels, Randy Skalicky a.k.a. Cowboy Randy Erwin, found his niche several years ago as a yodeler of American western swing music. By learning tricky rope tricks (like lassoing stuff, dude), the Texas native developed an entertaining character who ropes and yodels some sweet old-fashioned tunes from the Wild West. Lest you think this is a passing fancy or hometown hobby, please note that Cowboy Randy is the yodeling voice in the Disney movie Home on the Range, appeared in David Byrne’s film True Stories, has sung at Carnegie Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Library of Congress, Kerrville Folk Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival and Ravinia Festival, been heard on NPR, BBC, ABC and CBC, released four internationally acclaimed CDs, composed several film scores and is commonly known amongst the yodeling in-crowd as one of the best purveyors of the genre in the whole wide world. Other than that he grew up on a farm and claims to be one of the foremost rice combine harvester operators known to man, giving him something to fall back on if the music fails to work out.
Cowboy Randy Erwin Fri, Dec 31, 8pm First Night Springfield Grace Lutheran Church www.cowboyrandy.com
Tom Irwin, a sixth-generation Sangamon County resident, has played his songs and music for nearly 40 years in the central Illinois area with occasional forays across the country. He's contributed to Illinois...
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