*As seen/read on the front page of the Moberly Monitor Index, October 12, 2015.
Cowboy BarT is a very special friend of ours. He was there when we started dating. During our courtship, he was even with us at the end of several good dates (okay, so we ended the night at one of his performances.) He was with us on our wedding night (okay, so he was the entertainment for our reception.) He was there for our baby’s first wedding dance that he could really enjoy (okay, so he also performed at my cousin’s wedding.) But nonetheless, he really has been with us during a lot of important events in our lives. And so has his musical partner in crime, Red.
Bart Colliver is an extremely talented musician and performer (33 years and counting), and the lead vocal and acoustic guitar player, along with our friend Red who plays electric guitar (and more), in their band: Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman, formerly known as Cowboy Bart’s Imaginary Band.
I believe my husband met Cowboy BarT in the local tavern, but I first met Bart in a little (I mean teeny-tiny) party shack in my husband’s grandparents’ backyard that sits on the banks of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad tracks, and which we named the “Trackside Saloon.” Bart describes it as a “remodeled chicken coop.” It was a snowy winter Christmas night (yes, it was actually Christmas) and a whole gang of us were hanging out at the Trackside Saloon in the late night/early morning hours. Bart was kind enough to join us and break out his guitar for some fabulous entertainment. We had that coop rockin’. And we made Bart’s version of Wagon Wheel a #1 hit way before Darius Rucker did. From the first strum of Cowboy BarT’s guitar, I was in love with his music.
As Bart and I got to know each other over the years, we had some other connections. We grew up (well, Bart never really grew up; he’s still hoping to one day) in the same area (although he was born one county to the west and spent his early years in Tina {that’s Ty-nuh, not Tee-nuh}, Missouri).
[Side note: Tina is where my husband and I went to our first cattle sale together.]
Bart and I both moved to Warrensburg for college. Bart has spent the past 25 years traveling, but usually still parks his RV somewhere around The Burg.
Cowboy BarT not only sings and plays guitar, he also plays Hammond organ, piano, bass, synthesizer, squeezebox, and he even played tenor sax in college. Remember when I said he is extremely talented? I’ve also seen him play the accordion (a favorite of mine.) Bart’s favorite instrument is just whatever fits the song; maybe a different instrument than everyone else he’s pickin’ with.
He figured out his voice before any of the instruments. When he was about five, he harmonized his voice with a boat motor.
Now, not only can Cowboy BarT sing and play all those instruments, he can write, too. He covers some of my personal favorites like John Prine, George Jones and Don Williams, but Bart’s originals are always what you’ll request over and over again. He wrote his first song, Imported Love, for–you guessed it–his first love. He’s flexible when it comes to his favorite songs. He says it changes with the direction of the wind. His favorite lyric however, just surfaced last month in the recording studio. It’s a lyric by his buddy G dub: “My ekg is laughing at me.” Bart recently wrote a song about having a band out in the barn that could only play the theme to the Benny Hill Show. It contains one of my favorite lyrics (and Bart’s pretty fond of it, too): Chicken was nervous but the eggs got laid; we passed the hat and the band got paid.” (And we have passed the hat to pay Bart and Red many times!)
He’s opened for Jimi Buffett, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “almost George Jones”–Asleep at the Wheel ended up filling in for George–, Bobby Bland, Delbert McClinton, Joe Ely, Doug Sahm Quartet, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Al Stewart, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bo Diddley, Cate Brothers, The Band, Rainmakers, Bottle Rockets, The Byrds, Bill Wharton (The Sauce Boss), Eddie Rabbitt, John Conlee, Lynn Anderson, N.I.L.8, The Jayhawks, and more. Now do you believe that he’s extremely talented?
Right now, Cowboy BarT is enjoying the joy he brings to the residents he plays for in a nursing home. He also has several regular gigs and he’s always willing to schedule in a wedding or other event. Some of his past favorite places to play were Key West, at a hog roast last month along the Neosho River, and in the walled city of Tournon, France.
Aside from Cowboy BarT’s musical and writing talent, he can also cook. He started out in a restaurant in our hometown at age 14. Now he’s learned to clean as he goes so when he’s done eating, he only has a plate and fork to wash.
Ladies, this guy also grows out then cuts and donates his hair, had a pet named Scairdy Cat and found her a loving home with an elderly lady that was blind, loves to throw horseshoes and see a good baseball game at the stadium, and he’s traveled all across the US and parts of Europe with his music. And he’s single!
His first car was a ’72 Dodge Charger. He found it at a garage sale and his dad helped him fix it up. They even painted it right out in their front yard. He totaled it four months after he turned 16; distracted by his cassette player.
When he was a bluesman with King Alex and the Untouchables, the folks at Harold Penner in KCMO helped him pick out the coolest Italian suits. He never left the store without matching shoes. He’s still got all of them.
He used to feel guilty for being a musician, so he cured that with ten years of pipe organ building. He says it was hard work and it later gave him the patience for songwriting.
If you’re wondering about his name, he was named after Bart in the TV show, Maverick. His parents thought about naming his brother Bret, but Bart wanted to name him Corey so they did! His nickname comes from the Frank Zappa song, Lonesome Cowboy Burt. He dropped the Lonesome (because he has lots of friends!) and stuck with Cowboy BarT.
Cowboy BarT’s advice: Question. Make mistakes. Try not to repeat them. See where the horseshoes land and make new friends along the way. Never stop learning. Enjoy the little things. Skip, because it’s hard to skip without smilin’.
Cowboy BarT is friendly, approachable, and he loves to let a higher power play through his fingertips (R.L. Burnside’s drummer told him he did that!) He likes to live simply. Greed bums him out. He believes that music is the highest form of communication. And he appreciates Red for putting up with him.
Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman were at our house for Labor Day. We used a flatbed trailer for a makeshift stage and they entertained our family and friends, creating a Labor Day party better than anyone else’s. This past weekend they were at the John Hartford Memorial Festival for the Hartford Boogie in Dunmor, Kentucky. Anyone that was lucky enough to hear them play had a good time, no doubt.
Cowboy BarT’s favorite thing about his music is making people smile, and he definitely does that.
To watch and listen to their audition for the Hartford Boogie go here: Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman If you don’t have time to listen to the whole audition, at least listen to Whatever Floats Yer Boat written by Bart (about two minutes in) and I promise by the end of the song you’ll be on your feet dancing and ready to set it on repeat. If you have lots of time, watch their other YouTube videos, too!
To contact Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman for your next event (they’re reasonably priced!) or purchase one of their many CDs, find them on Facebook or call (660) 864-5211.
Cowboy BarT is a very special friend of ours. He was there when we started dating. During our courtship, he was even with us at the end of several good dates (okay, so we ended the night at one of his performances.) He was with us on our wedding night (okay, so he was the entertainment for our reception.) He was there for our baby’s first wedding dance that he could really enjoy (okay, so he also performed at my cousin’s wedding.) But nonetheless, he really has been with us during a lot of important events in our lives. And so has his musical partner in crime, Red.Bart Colliver is an extremely talented musician and performer (33 years and counting), and the lead vocal and acoustic guitar player, along with our friend Red who plays electric guitar (and more), in their band: Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman, formerly known as Cowboy Bart’s Imaginary Band.
I believe my husband met Cowboy BarT in the local tavern, but I first met Bart in a little (I mean teeny-tiny) party shack in my husband’s grandparents’ backyard that sits on the banks of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad tracks, and which we named the “Trackside Saloon.” Bart describes it as a “remodeled chicken coop.” It was a snowy winter Christmas night (yes, it was actually Christmas) and a whole gang of us were hanging out at the Trackside Saloon in the late night/early morning hours. Bart was kind enough to join us and break out his guitar for some fabulous entertainment. We had that coop rockin’. And we made Bart’s version of Wagon Wheel a #1 hit way before Darius Rucker did. From the first strum of Cowboy BarT’s guitar, I was in love with his music.
As Bart and I got to know each other over the years, we had some other connections. We grew up (well, Bart never really grew up; he’s still hoping to one day) in the same area (although he was born one county to the west and spent his early years in Tina {that’s Ty-nuh, not Tee-nuh}, Missouri).
[Side note: Tina is where my husband and I went to our first cattle sale together.]
Bart and I both moved to Warrensburg for college. Bart has spent the past 25 years traveling, but usually still parks his RV somewhere around The Burg.
Cowboy BarT not only sings and plays guitar, he also plays Hammond organ, piano, bass, synthesizer, squeezebox, and he even played tenor sax in college. Remember when I said he is extremely talented? I’ve also seen him play the accordion (a favorite of mine.) Bart’s favorite instrument is just whatever fits the song; maybe a different instrument than everyone else he’s pickin’ with.
He figured out his voice before any of the instruments. When he was about five, he harmonized his voice with a boat motor.
Now, not only can Cowboy BarT sing and play all those instruments, he can write, too. He covers some of my personal favorites like John Prine, George Jones and Don Williams, but Bart’s originals are always what you’ll request over and over again. He wrote his first song, Imported Love, for–you guessed it–his first love. He’s flexible when it comes to his favorite songs. He says it changes with the direction of the wind. His favorite lyric however, just surfaced last month in the recording studio. It’s a lyric by his buddy G dub: “My ekg is laughing at me.” Bart recently wrote a song about having a band out in the barn that could only play the theme to the Benny Hill Show. It contains one of my favorite lyrics (and Bart’s pretty fond of it, too): Chicken was nervous but the eggs got laid; we passed the hat and the band got paid.” (And we have passed the hat to pay Bart and Red many times!)
He’s opened for Jimi Buffett, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “almost George Jones”–Asleep at the Wheel ended up filling in for George–, Bobby Bland, Delbert McClinton, Joe Ely, Doug Sahm Quartet, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Al Stewart, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bo Diddley, Cate Brothers, The Band, Rainmakers, Bottle Rockets, The Byrds, Bill Wharton (The Sauce Boss), Eddie Rabbitt, John Conlee, Lynn Anderson, N.I.L.8, The Jayhawks, and more. Now do you believe that he’s extremely talented?
Right now, Cowboy BarT is enjoying the joy he brings to the residents he plays for in a nursing home. He also has several regular gigs and he’s always willing to schedule in a wedding or other event. Some of his past favorite places to play were Key West, at a hog roast last month along the Neosho River, and in the walled city of Tournon, France.
Aside from Cowboy BarT’s musical and writing talent, he can also cook. He started out in a restaurant in our hometown at age 14. Now he’s learned to clean as he goes so when he’s done eating, he only has a plate and fork to wash.
Ladies, this guy also grows out then cuts and donates his hair, had a pet named Scairdy Cat and found her a loving home with an elderly lady that was blind, loves to throw horseshoes and see a good baseball game at the stadium, and he’s traveled all across the US and parts of Europe with his music. And he’s single!
His first car was a ’72 Dodge Charger. He found it at a garage sale and his dad helped him fix it up. They even painted it right out in their front yard. He totaled it four months after he turned 16; distracted by his cassette player.
When he was a bluesman with King Alex and the Untouchables, the folks at Harold Penner in KCMO helped him pick out the coolest Italian suits. He never left the store without matching shoes. He’s still got all of them.
He used to feel guilty for being a musician, so he cured that with ten years of pipe organ building. He says it was hard work and it later gave him the patience for songwriting.
If you’re wondering about his name, he was named after Bart in the TV show, Maverick. His parents thought about naming his brother Bret, but Bart wanted to name him Corey so they did! His nickname comes from the Frank Zappa song, Lonesome Cowboy Burt. He dropped the Lonesome (because he has lots of friends!) and stuck with Cowboy BarT.
Cowboy BarT’s advice: Question. Make mistakes. Try not to repeat them. See where the horseshoes land and make new friends along the way. Never stop learning. Enjoy the little things. Skip, because it’s hard to skip without smilin’.
Cowboy BarT is friendly, approachable, and he loves to let a higher power play through his fingertips (R.L. Burnside’s drummer told him he did that!) He likes to live simply. Greed bums him out. He believes that music is the highest form of communication. And he appreciates Red for putting up with him.
Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman were at our house for Labor Day. We used a flatbed trailer for a makeshift stage and they entertained our family and friends, creating a Labor Day party better than anyone else’s. This past weekend they were at the John Hartford Memorial Festival for the Hartford Boogie in Dunmor, Kentucky. Anyone that was lucky enough to hear them play had a good time, no doubt.
Cowboy BarT’s favorite thing about his music is making people smile, and he definitely does that.
To watch and listen to their audition for the Hartford Boogie go here: Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman If you don’t have time to listen to the whole audition, at least listen to Whatever Floats Yer Boat written by Bart (about two minutes in) and I promise by the end of the song you’ll be on your feet dancing and ready to set it on repeat. If you have lots of time, watch their other YouTube videos, too!
To contact Cowboy BarT and Band of Redman for your next event (they’re reasonably priced!) or purchase one of their many CDs, find them on Facebook or call (660) 864-5211.
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