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The Butte Creek Wranglers are real, live, modern-day working
cowboys who have honed their trade moving folks by horseback across the Cascade Mountains. Their performances blend an interesting mix of cowboy music and poetry guaranteed to give you a laugh or two, pause for thought, and an appreciation for a different perspective of the world we live in today. It's easy to step back in time listening to the BC Wranglers as they deliver panoramic views of wide open spaces and simpler times when a horse was your best friend and a handshake was your word. The Butte Creek duo includes:
- Mark Johnston plays the guitar and provides vocals for the duet. His songs take you to the campfire and deliver a gentle touch of cowboy music for the duet. The two got together about nine years ago when Mark hired on to move horses for the Boy Scouts. His interest in cowboy history, music and poetry eventually had the two of them performing together as a duet for clients around campfires on annual horse treks through the Cascade Mountains. Since then they have logged close to 1300 miles through the mountains making the trek in June each year for the last nine years. It wasn't long until folks started asking them to come and perform in town, and while it's not the same as around a campfire, the boys feel it is important to give others an opportunity to view the world from a cowboy's perspective.
- Scott DePaolo has always had a love for reciting cowboy poetry and he brings that talent to the duet. His stories and metered poetry delight young and old alike. He manages a herd of about 70 horses as part of his duties on the Butte Creek Boy Scout Ranch and is one of a handful of remaining cowboys that can truly say they ride for a living year round. Twice annually the horses take clients through the mountains from Butte Creek Ranch to Camp Baldwin in June, and then back to Butte Creek Ranch again in August. The Horse Treks, as they are called, cover a distance of about 150 to 180 miles each way and usually take about eight days to complete. It is during these treks that the boys have honed their skills as a duet, creating a delightful blend of poetry and music, which when performed, seems to flow and mix effortlessly in a delightful blend of the two art forms.
The Butte Creek Wranglers have earned a broad and enthusiastic following but their fans have to wait to catch them between horse drives. Their performances are always a treat if your're lucky enough to catch one. They've starred on stage at the Celebrate Music! concerts in Mt. Angel, Oregon as well as the 2001 and 2002 PeaceStrings concerts in Salem, Oregon.
For more information or to schedule bookings, email the Butte Creek Wranglers HERE
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