Gordie West and Mike Dygert make up the Gordie West Band
Other musicians can include; guitar, mandolin, dobro, and steel players!
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Gordie West
- Gordie was raised on a ranch near Acme, Alberta and began playing the local dance halls in his early teens.
- He spent his early years touring Alberta as a lead vocal for a country band and in 1976 struck out for England as the "Calgary Cowboy". Gordie has promoted the Calgary Stampede, Alberta and Canada throughout the British Isles, Europe, Scandinavia, the Orient and much of North America.
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Gordie West
photo by Jerry Stainer
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- He has released five albums in Britain covering a varied repertory of country, rock, easy listening, ballads and sing-a-long music.
- In the early 1990's Gordie returned to his home in Calgary and in 2003 moved to his
ranch north of Kamloops BC where he lives with his wife, Shirley.
- When he is not "playing and singing" he spends his days as a Tour Director showing visitors from abroad the wonders of our county.
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Mike Dygert
photo by Donna Smith
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Mike Dygert
- Mike Dygert also hales from Alberta ranch stock; his father grew up on ranches in southern Alberta.
- Mike lives in Three Hills - an hour and a bit northeast of Calgary with his wife Val.
Together they own a real estate franchise.
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- He too has a thirst for the stories of the old west, a dry wit that will have you wondering "where'd he come from?" and "How the heck did he get there?".
- When not playing for Gordie, you might well find Mike playing bass for Chris & Sharky Schauer, Hugh McLennan or playing guitar or bass with "Horse Feathers" - a country music dance band with a flair for the 'good old' sounds, dry wit humour and amazing musical stylings.
- You might also catch him driving or teching one of the Calgary Stampede mobile sound
stages. These are the sound stages the stampede uses for its caravan breakfasts during
stampede and during the rest of the year, they send them out to many events in BC and
Alberta. Mike is the guy who makes sure they arrive where they are supposed to!
- When he's not doing what he loves, Mike helps with the chores at Royal LePage Country
Realty (Yes he also holds a Real Estate licence and likes selling land) or working as
a website consultant for a major Canadian printing company.
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The Gordie West Band
- so here's how it all began ... Some number of years back,
Gordie West was singing his heart out on the Calgary Stampede Mobile Stage ... and the
sound technician working in the back of the stage was none
other than Mike Dygert. On a break the two got to talking and Gord discovered that Mike
played guitar and bass and liked to play country and cowboy music. Mike invited himself
along on Gord's next engagement, Gord found he wasn't a half-bad guy to have around, the
audiences loved the interaction between the two, and so The Gordie West Band was forged!
To give you an idea of the versatility of the band, over the years the two have travelled
to both ends of the continent - singing, playing, spinning delightful tales, amusing and
delighting audiences everywhere they've been. They continue to promote the Calgary Stampede
and have been as far away as Hong Kong. For 12 years they were featured at the Calgary
Stampede's Frontier Pavilion, a corporate sponsorship venue on Stampede Park. They have
travelled with the Stampede's Caravan Committee to such places as Ottawa, Crowsness Pass,
Rocky Mountain House and Edmonton. They have played on the Stampede parade float in the
Stampede parade and in Red Deer and Edmonton. They have been feature acts at cowboy
festival across the west including Calgary, Pincher Creek, Vernon and Kamloops. They
continue to be a yearly favourites at Stampede Breakfasts in Calgary. AND they continue
to find a host of private function to entertain at. Big or small - it don't matter the
size of the audience - these two are up for it!
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