Jubilee: Puttin' the country back in the community center

Back stage at the Carson City Community Center on Saturday night, none of the performers could sit still.

When they weren't preparing for their own shows, performer Sourdough Slim, musician Juni Fisher, poet Paul Zarzyski and Wylie & the Wild West were watching each other perform. For them, it's more than just a job, it's a chance to catch up with each other.

"Being able to do this is great because we are all friends and we get to see each other at the different festivals that we all do. I like coming to shows where I know Wylie and Paul are going to be here," Fisher said. "We look forward to getting together and being able to see each other again."

Saturday night they were part of the 13th annual Cowboy Jubilee and Poetry Show to raise money for the Carson Tahoe Regional Healthcare Auxiliary.

The evening started off with performer Sourdough Slim, who played the accordion and yodeled before moving on to the guitar and harmonica. The 56-year-old Slim, from Paradise, Calif., said he has been performing since he graduated high school.

As for his name, well, he's got an explanation.

"It was my wife's idea. I played along with it at first and now it's too late to change it," Slim said.

Sourdough was followed by Fisher and then Zarzyski before Wylie & the Wild West served as the headliner.

"Bucking Horse Moon," Wylie's new album includes two songs based on poems written by Zarzyski, including the title track.

"Paul has this charisma and energy and approach to the cowboy way of life and I thought it would be a good marriage," Wylie Gustafson said. "There's a lot of enjoyment when Paul and the band gets up on stage together."

While everyone else was inside enjoying the show, Gary Beverage and Roger Sayre were outside cooking more than 350 pounds of Tri-Tip for the barbecue dinner.

Beverage has volunteered to cook all but one year the jubilee has been put on and said Saturday's nice weather made his job easy.

"Last year cooking in the snow, that was the most stressful day we had. We were barely keeping up because we couldn't keep it hot enough," Beverage said.

Event organizer Delsye Mills said the auxiliary hoped to raise about $20,000 from the event, but believed $15,000 was more likely because of the high entertainment costs for this year's show.

The money will be used to purchase new equipment for various departments at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center.

A verse

A verse from "Bucking Horse Moon," a poem written by Paul Zarzyski and adapted into the title song of Wylie & the Wild West's new album.

A kiss for luck, then we'd let 'er buck-

I'd spur electric on adrenaline and lust.

She'd figure-8 those barrels

on her Crimson Missile sorrel-

we'd make the night air swirl with hair and dust.

The entire poem can be found at www.paulzarzyski.com

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.