Barnes and Lucero Outdeul Pogue and Bockius For George Strait Team Roping Classic Title When the pressure is on, there is no one from the recent win at the Bob Feist Robinson and Ashley Swedenberg won better on the front end of a steer than Jake Invitational, earned $7,010 each and beau- $4,360 for their time of 4.58 seconds. In Barnes. Barnes, a seven time World tiful George Strait Team Roping Classic addition to Barnes and Lucero, others Champion Header from Cave Creek, AZ saddles with their 3-head time of 16.36 earning money in the first go round were and his healer, John Paul Lucero needed a seconds. Kyle Graham of Sims, TX and Mark Simon and Martin Lucero, $2,860 5.78 run with the last steer in the final go Todd Trammel of Milsap, TX earned each; Jason Tucker and Brad Culpepper, of the George Strait Team Roping Classic $5,965 each for their 3rd place time of $2,100 each; Joel Maker and Todd to win the title. With the anticipation run- 19.60 seconds. Fourth place money of Markham, $1,350 each and Nick Sartain ning high on the final run of the day, $4,910 each went to Joel Maker of and Andy Bolton, $750 each. Barnes and Lucero answered the call with Talaquah, OK and Todd Markham of Even with a new, deeper roping box and a time of 4.98 seconds to wrestle the Vanita, OK while Matt Tyler of an 11 foot score, team ropers challenged crown away from Charles Pogue of Weatherford, TX and Bobby Harris of the clock and stock before sold out audi- Ringling, OK and Britt Bockius of Gillette, WY won $3,860 each for fifth ences at both days’ roping events that were Claremont, OK. The title was worth more place. Sixth place money of $2,805 each held at the J.K. Northway Arena in than $50,000 in cash and prizes each to went to Mark Simon of Socorro, NM and Kingsville, TX. Three hundred and thirty Barnes and Lucero. They walked away Martin Lucero of Villa Nueva, NM while four teams paid $400 each to enter the with $8,605 each in cash plus 1999 Chevy seventh place earnings of $1,755 each Classic that ended up paying out more twin-cab duly trucks and 3 horse slant were paid out to Charles Pogue and Allen than $200,000 in cash and prizes. Bruton trailers. Barnes and Lucero also Back of Toltec, AZ. The eighth place The weekend’s activities culminated on added $3,605 each to the earning by tak- award money of $700 each went to Steve Saturday night July 10th, as George Strait ing the second spot in Friday’s first go. Purcella of Hereford, TX and Britt and his Ace In The Hole Band were joined he winning time for the 3-head final Bockius. by Asleep at the Wheel for a sold out con- ound was a quick 15.56 seconds. In the first go on Friday, July 9th, Glynn cert before 5,200 rabid fans. Charles Pogue and Britt Bockius, fresh George Strait Will Have A New Christmas CD In September MCA Records is scheduled to release titles. The traditional Christmas titles His Way” by David Anthony, “Old Time George Strait’s new Christmas CD is include “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Let It Snow, Christmas” by Aaron Barker and John September. The album, recorded during Let It Snow, Let It Snow,” “The Christmas Jarvis and “Noel Leon” by Mike Gieger, April in Nashville, is expected to be avail- Song,” “All I Want For Christmas Is My Woody Mullis and Ricky Ray Rector. ble to record buyers on September 21st. Two Front Teeth” and “Rudolph The Red Another cut that Strait Recorded, he CD was co-produced by Tony Brown Nosed Reindeer.” The new Christmas titles “Christmas Cookies” by Aaron Barker, and George Strait. will be “Merry Christmas (Wherever You will be on a special Christmas compilation The new project is “Merry Christmas Are)” by Jerry Laseter and Mack Vickery, package that will be sold only at Target Wherever You Are.” It will include five “I Know What I Want For Christmas” by stores during the Christmas season. aditional Christmas songs and five new Dana Hunt and Charlie Black, “Santa’s On S T R A I T T A L K Strait To The Point: Country Music Fans Like George Written by Hank Schaller, Oakland Press Door Productions, the local promoter of “For an all-day event, this is a great one,” Stetson hats such as the one that topped the festival, believes the loyalty shown by Barnett said. “You put 50,000 people in the head of John Chigas were out in force Strait’s fans is in large part due to the one spot for nine or 10 hours, and you Saturday as 50,000 fans from Michigan, artist’s loyalty to them. expect some trouble. But this is a pretty Ohio and Ontario descended on the “An artist like George Strait is very good well-behaved bunch.” Silverdome to pay homage to country to his fans,” Itsell said. “Just look at this For longtime Strait fan Dan Ruzic, a music great George Strait. road show he put together. Everything he retired letter carrier from Dearborn, the Chigas, a self-proclaimed cowboy from does is a first-class event.” fact the crowd seemed to be having a good Pinckney, said there’s just something Besides Strait, the other artists on the time was no surprise. bout Strait that convinced him to make bill, which featured more than six hours of “George’s music has got a good beat and the journey to Pontiac two years in a row. music, included Tim McGraw, Dixie it makes everyone feel good,” Ruzic said. “He’s got real catchy tunes,” Chigas said. Chicks, Jo Dee Messina, Kenny Chesney, “Besides you can understand what he’s “You may not like his music at first, but it Mark Wills and Asleep at the Wheel. singing. That’s a big change from much of rows on you. It grew on me enough that I Pontiac Police Capt. Mark Barnett said today’s music.” was way up in the eighth row from the police expected few problems from the ont a year ago.” massive crowd, based on last year. Perhaps Sue Domin of Cleveland put it better. “I like the old true, bluesy roots type of country that he sings,” said Domin, who At RFK, Giving Everything was attending her fourth Strait concert after watching him perform a year ago in Columbus, Ohio. “He’s not all rockabilly For Their Country like a lot of bands are.” Forget about Garth and Shania. Five of packing plenty of vocal power. A lot of the True-blue Strait fans such as Chigas, the seven acts that performed at RFK songs she performed-the old (“Heads Domin and Michelle Greathouse, also of Stadium Saturday currently have Top 10 Carolina, Tails California”) as well as the Cleveland, insist that not even fellow albums on the country charts. But music new (“Stand Beside Me”)-were well suited country music sensation Garth Brooks can wasn’t the only reason the arena was to her spirited and sometimes defiant alto, hold a candle to their man. packed with cheering and often screaming and she punctuated the set by playing tim- “George is a Garth and a half,” fans. bales on a crackling summertime arrange- Greathouse said. “He’s got a twang to his To judge by the number of women who ment of Paul Simon’s “Late in the music that Garth just doesn’t have.” spent much of the afternoon and night Evening.” That indescribable something Strait has squealing their hearts out, attending the In sharp contrast, Messina stilled the is responsible for a box-office bonanza at concert was akin to booking a room at the crowd by alluding to the student killings in the Silverdome two years in a row, said Heartthrob Hotel. Even Dixie Chicks lead Littleton, Colo., before singing the reflec- Greg Roberts, director of marketing at the singer Natalie Maines confessed that the tive ballad “Even God Must Get the stadium. best thing about being part of the tour was Blues.” Despite a few lulls created by “We’re going to have somewhere close to watching “George Strait and Tim McGraw mediocre tunes, Messina ended the set on 50,000 fans here this year, and that’s after walk away from you.” a high note withe her engaging hit “Bye, ttracting over 52,000 a year ago,” he said. Following performances by Asleep at the Bye.” Besides coming to listen to down-home Wheel and Mark Wills, the midafternoon The Dixie Chicks were never more country music, Roberts said Strait fans performances kicked off with lively sets appealing than when they briefly recalled also like to eat and drink. by Jo Dee Messina and Kenny Chesney. their early association with the Birchmere “The average fan here today will spend Chesney’s show was a big crowd-pleaser, in Alexandria with a rollicking string band between $13 and $14 each on food and long on energy and short on emotion. A version of “Roanoke.” At this stage in the beverages,” he said. “That’s nearly double versatile singer, he performed his own hits, trio’s quickly blossoming career, vocalist what is spent at the typical Detroit Lions including a few custom tailored for the Maines, banjo-dobro player Emily Erwin ootball game, which is $7 or $8 a head.” Washington audience, with the same ease and fiddler Martie Seidel are still perform- At least part of that spending was going that he brought to tunes associated with ing an uneven collection of cover tunes, on in Straitland, out in the Silverdome George Jones and Jimmy Buffett.