HelenaIR.com - 6/28/06

"July 1" Should Be Given Official Thumbs Up

by Emily Donahoe

Have you ever poured gasoline across a desolate mountain highway and then taken a match to it, creating a so called wall of fire?

Well, apparently, some kids from Helena High did.

That's according to native Montanan Nate Schweber, who now lives in New York City and plays with a band called The New Heathens. The bands first CD, Heathens Like Me, features a song about the incident called "July 1, Near Helena, MT."

Schweber has written a letter to our governor, Brian Schweitzer, to request that he make "July 1, Near Helena, MT" the official state song, just for July 1, 2006.

Just to be clear, Schweber has no desire to usurp our awesome state song you know, the one we sang in grade school and that people sometimes sing on that last flight from Salt Lake City to Helena with Capitan Kirk when they're overcome with love for our great state?

Montana, Montana, glory of the weeeeest...

Anyway, maybe because they both have Schwe in their names, Schweber seems to think he can be all jokey with our governor.

Here are some key excerpts from his letter:

I wanted to thank you for the gracious invitation you sent me to your inagural ball in early 2005. The invitation obviously acknowledged the fact that were it not for my generous $25 donation to your gubernatorial campaign Montana would be in the grips of a Bob Brown administration and you and Jag would be in Whitefish going door to door for Jon Tester. You're welcome, Brian.

...as far as songs about Montana go, "July 1, Near Helena, MT" whips "Meet me in Montana" by Dan Seals and Marie Osmond, and it stomps the ever-loving stuffing out of John Denver's maudlin, "Wild Montana Skies."

So Bri, if you're reading this, we agree that Schweber's song should be given that official thumbs up he requested because, well, that would be really schweet.

To listen to the New Heathens, go to www.myspace.com/thenewheathens.

Emily Donahoe, IR staff writer

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