A better title for this CD would be Rex and friends for all who joined me in recording this project. It was so great to bring them together in the studio.
Rex sings of the American West, from the times of the early explorers, the fur trade, the Civil War and the cattle drive era to the end of the 19th century. From Lewis and Clark to Jack Thorp and Badger Clark he brings to life the music from another time on the instruments from that time. As the proprietor of Time Travel Music, Rex has performed at countless historic sites and museums across the West playing fiddle, banjo, mandolin and other instruments. His music has been featured on television and radio such as CBS Sunday Morning, museums like the Western American Art collection at the Denver Art Museum and the soundtracks of three National Park Service visitor center films.
A long-time collaboration with historian, Mark Gardner has produced the CD, "Frontier Favorites: Old-Time Music of the Wild West". They have also created the award winning book/CD, "Jack Thorp's Songs of the Cowboys" published through the Museum of New Mexico Press in Santa Fe. 2008 was the centennial of Thorp's first book. In celebration, Rex and Mark went on a nine city tour throughout New Mexico supported by the New Mexico Humanities Council. This in turn led to their award of Best Musical Tour of the West from True West Magazine for 2009. They continue to celebrate the legacy of Jack Thorp.
Rex joined Southern Colorado musicians, Tom Munch and Don Richmond to create the CD, "A Voyage of Such Nature: Acoustic Music in Celebration of the Pike Expedition”. This was a study not only of the music popular in the early 19th century but also the Pike Expedition itself. The CD led to many concerts along Pike's route in 2006 and 2007 culminating with three concerts with the Alpine Symphony Orchestra.
Studying how 19th-century man obtained food, shelter and, when possible, entertainment, has been a life-long interest. When he is not performing, or swinging an axe or hammer, Rex works in the Geology and Physics Departments for the Colorado School of Mines. Rex lives with his family in the high, cool, thin air of Conifer, Colorado.
Some of the places where Rex has performed:
The Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, La Junta, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado
Fort Bridger State Historic Site, Fort Bridger, Wyoming
Fort Union National Historic Site, North Dakota
Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Wyoming
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Washington
Fort Clatsop National Memorial, Astoria, Oregon
Sequoia National Park, Giant Forest Village, California
Fort Larned National Historic Site, Larned, Kansas
The Museum of the Fur Trade, Chadron, Nebraska
Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, New Mexico
Historical Society of New Mexico, Clayton, New Mexico
Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
El Pueblo Museum, Pueblo, Colorado
Arrow Rock State Historic Site, Arrow Rock, Missouri
The Stuhr Museum, Grand Island, Nebraska.
Western History Association Annual Meeting, Colo. Spgs.
Zebulon Pike Symposium, Alamosa, Colorado
Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Arvada Center, Arvada, Colo.
Santa Fe Trail Center, Larned, Kansas
El Rancho de las Golondrinas, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
NRA Whittington Center, Raton, New Mexico
New Mexico State Capitol, Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Fort Restaurant, Morrison, Colorado
Santa Fe Trail Symposium, Trinidad, Colorado
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