Dave Stamey calls himself a cowboy singer, which we guess is true considering that he is a bona fide cowboy, and he's one heck of a singer. In getting to know him, though, and hearing him sing his songs and tell his stories, whether it's around a campfire or in front of an enthusiastic concert audience, it's clear that he is a great artist. What's more, he's a wonderful man, and we're honored to call him our friend. In our interview with him, following his first Tales from the Tavern performance back in 2004, we asked him about his intention as an artist and a performer, and his answer was, "to just keep getting better and better." We have witnessed his success in this regard. In that same interview Dave said, "I'm in what you call the blue collar end of the music business." In that sense, we have a lot in common, for the artists we feature at Tales from the Tavern are not the product of promotion. They are the real deal; people who have put in the years and the miles to attain a level of authenticity that you cannot get in other way. One of the things we love most about Dave's songs, is they are romantic; whether it's the romance of being out on ride with the one you love, the romance of a child's dreams, the romance of tales about bandits and heroes and horses and such, or the simple romance of Nature. Dave Stamey has made it his mission to chronicle the experience of "the West," and all that it entails. He is helping preserve that experience for all of us, and as we visualize the pictures in his songs, and become part of the story, we d we find out, as he says in the song, that "sometimes it's just a state of mind." RC / CAC 4/07.