BANFF – One of The Wardens’ hit songs will soon be down on the page with beautiful illustrations and a child-friendly storyline.
The Bow Valley band has taken their song “Government Cowboy” and, with the help of artist Lia Golemba and publisher Ayesha Clough, turned it into a children’s book called the Rocky Mountain Rangers: Guardians of the Wild.
The Wardens, a band made up of retired or currently working national park wardens, including Bradley Bicshoff, Scott Ward and Ray Schmidt ,
wrote songs about what it’s like working in the backcountry. Bischoff, who plays lead and rhythm guitar as well as vocals, said the children’s book is meant to do the same.
“It’s a day in the life of a warden on patrol in the backcountry and we’re calling ourselves the Rocky Mountain Rangers in this book because I think the word warden might be a bit confusing for young people,” he said.
“The book is pretty much a snapshot of life on the trail, a day in the life and [it’s] beautifully illustrated.”
Bischoff said Clough approached the band about turning a song into a book after realizing there wasn’t much for her three-year-old cowboy-loving son to devour.
“Ayesha approached us and said, ‘I’ve got this great idea about a book’ and so we’ve met several times and discussed many matters in it and it’s just great,” he said.
Clough, a Vancouverite initially, said her son loves to sing and dance along to The Wardens’ songs because of the modern-day cowboy and horses aspect. Since she’s now an Albertan, she wanted to read up on horses herself.
On a trip to the library she realized that while there were plenty of books on horses for adults to enjoy, the range of books for boys interested in cowboys had depleted significantly, with really only a series from the 1970’s available.
“There’s not a lot of options for that age range and I’m like, ‘How is that even possible?’ Boys, cowboys, horses, it all makes complete sense to me,” she said.
“They’re reprinting books from the ‘70’s and I thought surely there’s something newer for boys.”
She immediately thought of her friend who is an award-winning artist, Golemba, and The Wardens’ music. Something Bischoff said has made for a beautiful book.
“We’ve seen the hardcopy and it’s beautifully illustrated but it’s an idea that Ayesha approached us with and we thought it would be a great fit,” said Bischoff.
“We’re behind it 100 per cent and looking forward to the day it will be in stores and in libraries. We’ll be selling it off the stage as well,”
Clough said Golemba took on the role as illustrator with passion and perseverance, adding tactile aspects to it so it feels like the story it’s telling.
“She’s always up for an art challenge, I didn’t have to give her any direction,” said Clough.
“She came up with this whole thing of having to hand-carve each page, you know, give that sort of rugged outdoorsy tactile kind of feel to the book... that poor woman’s been working night and day.”
Meanwhile, Clough said she’s been working alongside The Wardens to make the lyrics more children appropriate.
“I’ve been working with The Wardens on wording and lyrics, kind of adapting their Government Cowboy song because there are some inappropriate lyrics in there about ‘you get the jug buddy and I’ll get the mix.’ There’s some adult themes which we needed to edit out,” she said through laughter.
All involved have worked tirelessly to ensure accuracies, including accurate illustrations. Clough said Albertans are likely to recognize the peaks within its pages as Golemba used pictures from The Wardens backcountry experiences to draw inspiration.
“Ray is like mister precise. The stuff in the book is very accurate to Alberta. Ray is like ‘nope, that’s not how you handle an encounter with a bear,’” said Clough. “It’s all very based in science and actual geography. Lia’s recreated actual mountain peaks because The Wardens have all these photos from their careers.”
The combination of talents working together makes one thing clear: all involved in the project are extremely passionate about it.
“[The Wardens] care so much about the outdoors, bringing kids into that world of conservation but they’re funny and they’re practical,” said Clough.
“The book isn’t a lesson, it’s more just fun and humour, a way of life. We just want to plant the seed with kids that you don’t have to end up at a desk job, there are these amazing outdoor spaces where you can actually work and get outside.”
Meanwhile, Bischoff said none of the members anticipated they’d be writing a children’s book during their careers as musicians.
“I never imagined that we’d have a Warden band, let alone write a children’s book, but it’s been a pleasant surprise and a great fit for us,” he said.
“We’re really looking forward to getting out there and getting into childrens’, and teachers’, and parents’, and grandparents’ hands.”
Clough said the book will hopefully be the first in a series of four; all will be adapted from Warden tunes and will include an education section.
“It’s so much education but it’s so fun you don’t even know you’re learning. The stories they have about Alberta are amazing, I think that’s kind of why my little three-year-old is gravitating towards it,” said Clough.
“It’s beautiful music, simple words and stories in their songs and that’s what really connects with kids I think.”
Bischoff said the books would be selling at upcoming shows, including the Canmore Folk Festival where the band will play the main stage.
In the meantime, all involved are working hard on their Kickstarter campaign to make sure they have the money to produce the book. You can find out more as well as order a book at www.kickstarter.com/projects/redbarnbooks/rocky-mountain-rangers-guardians-of-the-wild.
