Cowboy and Indian

The story of Cowboy and Indian is a fascinating one, the likes of which this country traveler has seen only once, maybe twice before. You see, the story begins in the unlikeliest of settings. You'd have to travel one thousand miles east of the Mississippi River, and then you may just stumble upon Classroom 121 of 1879 Hall, a building that houses the Department of Philosophy--I gather that's what Old Man Halvorson used to call "deep thinking"--in the local university where our story originates. This classroom was, during the Spring months of the two thousand and fourth year of our Lord and Savior, home to a series of lessons in logic. So captivating were these lessons that one of the young pupils continued her studies with the instructor after the formal Semester had concluded. Now, I'm not well-versed in the principles of logical implication, but it seems to me logical to think that after a good while, these two would consider pursuing a relationship that is, shall we say, less academic in nature.

As a matter of course, it wasn't long before our two scholars shared a domicile in the Empire State, County of Queens. And this is where our story takes an interesting turn. From what I hear, it was in the basement of that domicile that former instructor and former pupil combined their musical talents into one, disparate though their origins--musical and otherwise--were. The words and melodies, well those are provided by a good ol' country girl from the honest town of Humble, Texas. Indrany Datta-Barua is her name. Now that may not sound like an American name, but I can assure you that she's as American as they come, with a voice of singular quality. As for the music beneath the melodies, you might expect to hear a trusty old six-stringed guitar, in which case your expectations are sure to be confounded. It is a four-stringed bass guitar that you will hear instead, coming from the hands of Brett Sherman, a fast-walking New Yorker of modest stature, bearing an otherwise temperate disposition.

Unfortunately for the duo, like many of their compatriots, they are no stranger to the harsh economic winds that have swept across our fine nation. Unable to secure adequate employment, they gathered their belongings and moved west to the ever-down-on-its-luck city of Cleveland, Ohio, where it is said that Ms. Datta-Barua is pursuing an education in the medical arts. It is in spite of these adversities that they travel and perform their music, sharing a vision of America for the common folk. Theirs is a message of opportunity amidst struggle, beauty amidst depression. Last I heard, they've been traveling to New York to record an Extended Play of three of their finest songs. I'm told it has something to do with a pony.