bored at work today

[fat cherry]

so I put the US Tour venues into google and drew the map. Its all quite logical, goes up the left side, across the top and then down the rigth side. Sort of skirts around the edges, missing about 99% of the country, but I guess they'd need a major spnsor for that, not to mention a throat transplant. Tomorrow I will be back to concentating on my job.

[Mr. Brian]

It happens a lot with bands like this. NY, Chicago and LA are the staples and it's hard to blame them in middle America, its a big land mass and good haul from the West Coast across the Plains States and then between cities like Dallas and St Louis or Atlanta.

[Dr Cheese]

Surely the middle of America is full of cowboys wrangling their chaps or whatever it is that cowboys do, would they want to see the Bunnymen anyway?

[Mr. Brian]

Surely the middle of America is full of cowboys wrangling their chaps or whatever it is that cowboys do, would they want to see the Bunnymen anyway?

I don't think we have cowboys any more. We have people that wear the costume and drive around in their Dodge Ram listening to pop music with a country accent.
I know Bunnymen fans all over the country, the US just isn't the East and West Coast but I would think the Bunnymen would need to get on some US festivals to make any money to defray travelling costs. They did some decent touring here from Evergreen to Flowers as I recall even doing some double bills with the Psychedelic Furs which brought them to smaller Midwest markets like Columbus OH which is 90 minutes from me. These days you really need to sell merch and concert tickets to make a living in music since music sales are not doing well. The Psychedelic Furs it seems have been touring for years non-stop but I think they are US based now.

[Dr Cheese]

I don't think we have cowboys any more. We have people that wear the costume and drive around in their Dodge Ram listening to pop music with a country accent.

You've just destroyed my mental image of the US you heartless bastard!

[Mr. Brian]

I don't think we have cowboys any more. We have people that wear the costume and drive around in their Dodge Ram listening to pop music with a country accent.

You've just destroyed my mental image of the US you heartless bastard!

Sorry. Then I guess I fit in somewhere between "only matters in an election" and "Indiana Jones". Some of these hold true. Florida is spot on I must say

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/the ... british-pe

[Dr Cheese]

C'mon admit it, you're wearing a ten-gallon hat right now aren't you!

[Mr. Brian]

C'mon admit it, you're wearing a ten-gallon hat right now aren't you!

yes but not on my head

[Mr. Brian]

I did own a cowboy hat once.
When I was 13 I stayed with my grandparents in New Mexico for the summer. My Grandpa just retired and moved there from Los Angeles which was kind of a bummer because they lived near the beach and had their own pool. Their new house had a "garden" that was like a small farm and was in the middle of nowhere, no pool, no beach, and the landscape looked like all those John Wayne movies with the mountains in the background and everything. I decided I wanted a cowboy hat, so we went to the local store and asked. The guy had no idea where to buy one, so he sent us to the next town over. I found my hat. Shortly after I made friends with some kids in the area. Despite the fact that they rode horses and went to rodeos, they laughed at my stupid hat and didn't listen to country music. They turned me onto Alice Cooper and Supertramp. It turned out to be a fun summer but I never wore the hat again.

[fat cherry]

A few years ago - round about 2000 the company I was with were tryin to flog their software to americans via the american chemical society conferrence in Dallas. Now this was only about the second time I'd been to the US. And because we were a little biddy company we hitched a ride on the exhibition stand of a larger software company (its OK, this story has a good ending). And anyway at some pooint one of the americans says to me, did I mind watching their stuff for a few minutes. Before I could say yay or nay they disappeared - and obviously thats when it starts to get busy. Then this bloke comes up and starts asking me some fairly technical questions about the functionality, limitations and all the rigth stuff to know - and not really a problem because I knew all the answers. The only thing was he was wearing massive cowboy hat, and though I'm trying to look him in the eye I keep drifting up to this hat. Had to be there really. I lied about the good ending. But I remember there being loads of 'stores' selling boots and hats. WOuld have bought some if they hadn't have been soooo expensive. Did I tell you about the beer shop? Thats a story for another day kiddies.

[Mr. Brian]

A few years ago - round about 2000 the company I was with were tryin to flog their software to americans via the american chemical society conferrence in Dallas. Now this was only about the second time I'd been to the US. And because we were a little biddy company we hitched a ride on the exhibition stand of a larger software company (its OK, this story has a good ending). And anyway at some pooint one of the americans says to me, did I mind watching their stuff for a few minutes. Before I could say yay or nay they disappeared - and obviously thats when it starts to get busy. Then this bloke comes up and starts asking me some fairly technical questions about the functionality, limitations and all the rigth stuff to know - and not really a problem because I knew all the answers. The only thing was he was wearing massive cowboy hat, and though I'm trying to look him in the eye I keep drifting up to this hat. Had to be there really. I lied about the good ending. But I remember there being loads of 'stores' selling boots and hats. WOuld have bought some if they hadn't have been soooo expensive. Did I tell you about the beer shop? Thats a story for another day kiddies.

Well Texas is it's own thing of course. American politicians no matter where they are from will attempt to appeal to more conservative voters by donning the hat and boots for some photo ops to appeal to the common voter and a level of patriotism. The thing is it works. People here really get all teary behind their rose colored glasses for some mythical rugged individual on the High Plains crap that mostly just existed in the movies and beer commercials. It's all theatre and people really buy into the fairy tale.

[In The Margins]

[quote="Mr. BrianI don't think we have cowboys any more. We have people that wear the costume and drive around in their Dodge Ram listening to pop music with a country accent.[/quote]

Ummm, not to interrupt this love fest going on between you two, but... Yeah, there are still cowboys in this country. I'm guessing mostly in the southwest, like in Arizona, or in Texas where the cattle ranches are. Also, rodeos are a big draw (12 circuits in 37 states and 3 Canadian provinces) and there are actual professional rodeo cowboy associations for both men and women.

As for New Mexico not having any cowboy hats, I have no answer for that. But I thought they were really only into A-bombs and crystal meth. Just kidding!

[Mr. Brian]

Regular modern Americans pretend those people don't exist. I still say for the most part it's a costume party.

[black francis]

I don't think we have cowboys any more. We have people that wear the costume and drive around in their Dodge Ram listening to pop music with a country accent.

You've just destroyed my mental image of the US you heartless bastard!

Don't listen to Mr. Brian. He hates white cowboys and denigrates them any chance he gets. They are alive and well and fighting injustice wherever it is found. Kind of like the A-Team. Apparently he was always the Indian when the neighborhood youth got together for cowboys and Indians.

[black francis]

C'mon admit it, you're wearing a ten-gallon hat right now aren't you!

Heh, when I was little and living in an adobe home with my grandparents in New Mexico I actually wore cowboy boots and a hat. I'll see if I can find a picture of that next time I visit my mother.

I've always been a fan of the old west and Billy the Kid in particular.