By Roger Porter It wasn't too long ago while on a ride with a friend that he plugged a CD into his player and, lo and behold, out came my kind of music.
I was particularly intrigued when I heard names like Ekalaka Hank, Glendive and Wibaux in the lyrics.
When I questioned my friend as to who was the singer he surprised me when he told me it was a fellow named Randy Lovaas, owner of the Oasis Bar in downtown Glendive, situated on the lower Yellowstone and just minutes from the Montana-Dakota line.
As often happens (usually to my detriment), my curiosity got the better of me and I endeavored to locate this "Troubadour of the Plains." Successfully tracking Randy down certainly isn't going to win me any detective merit badges as all I ended up doing was ferreting out his home phone number and giving him a call.
What did surprise me was the fact I interrupted Randy as he was working on a book for children. Alarmed by the current child obesity problem, Randy decided to pen a book aimed at solving that very problem. (You'll know it is his book if you find the two main characters are a pig and a turtle.)
Back to the man and his music.
Randy told me he has always had a love affair with music and some of his earliest remembrances as a child were of singing one song or another as he went about the business of childhood. As he reflected, he said he firmly believed "laughter and music to be lubricants of the soul."
As for his own music, he related that much of what he has recorded he has done with a karaoke instrumental backup. However, he has also accompanied himself strumming his classical guitar, which he says he prefers because nylon strings are kinder to his fingers that the more popular steel.
In addition to utilizing the karaoke set-up, he also runs regular sessions at his bar and he marvels how participation has "opened the door for a lot of people." As a reward for those who turn in the best performance every month, Randy treats them to a recording session where they can record a CD of their own music.
Astounded at the strides of modern electronics and technology, he says he remembers when recording a CD would run $2,500, whereas today it' a relative pittance.
To date he has recorded about 30 CDs of performers in his karaoke crowd. He aspires eventually to putting together a CD featuring the "Greatest Hits" of his top singers.
One of the first things a visitor to the Oasis will notice is the guitars on the walls. These guitars are available for use by anyone who wants to entertain the crowd.
In addition to music, the Glendive native also has a passion for poker and when I talked to him he had just returned from playing at a tournament.
Oddly enough, poker is what got him started in the bar business, he says. Prior to owning the bar, he says he farmed, ranched and dabbled in real estate. It was with his realtor' cap on that he decided to buy his favorite poker playing parlor, the Oasis.
Although the Oasis has short order food available mainly via the Auto Fryer, Randy says it is simply a tool to get patrons in the door and he speculates that he gives half his food away.
The victim of a recent Dawson County Sting operation, Lovaas maintains it is the under-age buyers who are breaking the law and champions fining the youthful offenders $1,500 as a stern deterrent.
Getting back to the music, I think I like his choice of songs equally with his singing. Long time favorites such as Good Old Mountain Dew, Strawberry Roan, Cowboy in a Continental Suit and Wabash Cannonball, coupled with such whimsical numbers as Bear Tracks, Egg Suckin' Dog, Ekalaka Hank, The Bull and The Old Hare, make for good listening and a great way to pass the time on those long lonesome drives in Eastern Montana.
I close with a question to ponder: Bartender, poker player, singer, recording engineer, former rancher, farmer and real estate broker... Have we finally found the Modern Renaissance Man biding his time in Glendive, Montana?
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, August, 2006, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.