Sharky Schauer & Chris

Mark “Sharky” Schauer and Christine Schauer are part of the West Country music tradition that runs through Sundre, Alberta—an area shaped by foothill ranching, cowboy poetry, and small-town gatherings where songs travel from one campfire to the next. Their writing springs directly from that landscape: Weasel Hill, Hummingbird Creek, the Ram River country, and the community of ranch families and musicians who anchor the region. Moonlit Mountain Melodies (2000) reflects those ties, with contributions from close collaborators Butch Falk, Ben Crane, and Bryn Thiessen, and with a special nod to Wayne “Cinch” Arthur, one of the area’s most respected cowboy storytellers and songwriters. The Schauers include two of his compositions—“In the West Country” and “Pack Up My Ponies”—songs Arthur first recorded himself during his Sundre years, including his own version of “In the West Country” on his 1976 LP Alberta Gold. By bringing those songs into their repertoire, Sharky and Chris place themselves squarely within the living, passing-hand-to-hand tradition of Cowboy Trail music, where local stories move between generations and settle into new voices. https://citizenfreak.com/titles/265762-arthur-wayne-cinch-alberta-gold -Robert Williston