The Rodeo Boys

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It’s OK if you don’t take the Rodeo Boys seriously. The local cut-ups, whose somewhat slapstick songs make them class clowns among the scene’s more stoic musicians, consider their ironic humor lost on certain audiences. They suspect the kids of America might not pick up on subtle innuendos behind lines like, “There’s a monkey in the kitchen making beans and rice.” In fact, inside jokes and references to Scott Baio might explain the group’s poor track record with the under-21 crowd. “I think the band walks an ironic line that’s a bit above most younger music-lovers’ heads,” says bassist Greg Midgely, who joined drummer Clayton Scrivner, guitarist-vocalist George Elliot and Rhodes-maestro Ben Warren when founding member Brett “The Switch” Luddeman moved to Chicago. “More intelligent high-school students would probably understand what we’re going for.” Music for intelligent high-school students. It might seem derogatory, but the description is hopeful considering mainstream music reps take their cues from faux-hawked adolescents. But wait—the Rodeo Boys want to infiltrate the mainstream? Three years ago, they weren’t exactly gunning for success. The artwork for 2002’s Same as Cash featured a John Belushi-like photo of the boys racing around a track, cigarettes and cheap beer in tow. Songs like “Ecstasy Dad” and “Pancakes, Pancakes,” while endearing, sounded fairly amateurish when Elliot’s voice cracked or Scrivner skipped an obvious beat. Uneven musicianship is largely absent

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