 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The BIT-O-WYO Posse
The BIT-O-WYO Posse is a wonderful musical blend of the Steele family and friends - full of talent and fun. From parents to kids, the love of music and entertainment is spread through the generations.
 | |
 | Dennis Steele, Bit-O-Wyo Ranch Guitar, Mandolin, Banjo, Harmonica & Vocals |
Dennis Steele is the owner of Bit-O-Wyo Ranch and orginator of the The Blue Water Cowboy Band. His love of music started in grade school learning music with his father. In high school, he was the lead in several musicals and later toured the US with a barbershop quartet. In high school Dennis was a member of The Flapjacks, an award winning barbershop quartet. He has performed in The Music Man and toured Midwest colleges for three seasons with a quartet . Dennis has toured in the USO with the North Door. He has had the privilege of performing with the Osmonds, Johnny Cash, Bob Hope, and Charlie Pride. Dennis is a Professor of Computer Science at Regis University and is the proud father of his four children. Heather, Shannan & Gabe, are also members of The Bit-O-Wyo Posse and Chad, is an entrepreneur, leader for youth groups, enjoys playing the drums, and owns Cyber-reality in Denver, Co. “Doc”, as he is referred to by his university students, has written two books, one in Computer Science, and one forthcoming entitled: Synthesis: The Convergence of Consciousness Theory, Mythology, and Machine Intelligence. Dennis, as the proud father, is happy that he gets to share the Bit-O-Wyo stage with his family and friends.
 | Molly Myer, Bit-O-Wyo Ranch Business Manager |
Molly still calls herself a city girl but is a ranch person at heart. She works in the backgroung to make certain that everything runs smoothly. Molly enjoys getting to know all the guests we entertain every year.
Heather Steele, The Blue Water Cowboy Band- Vocals & Choreography
Dennis began singing to Heather before she was born. Her first performance at four years old was singing the Beatles hit, “Hey Jude”. By the time she was 5, she had a song written for her called “Heather is her Name” that aired on radio stations nationwide. It was written by her Dad’s best friends while performing with The North Door Singers on USO tours in the 60’s. At eleven, she was cast in Hollywood’s famous Mickey Mouse Club, was professionally modeling for names such as Sears and JC Penny’s catalogs. One of her favorite entertainment memories was working as a singing and dancing “Saloon Gal” in a western show in Cody, Wyoming at age 17. In College and throughout her twenties, she sang in a southern/country rock band, continued to perform with her family, and theatre. Today, Heather is the owner of Steele Communications, Inc., and as a writer, facilitator and life coach resides in Denver and Boulder Colorado when she is not “at home” here at the Bit-O-Wyo Ranch. Heather is a very proud mom of 20 year old Jon Tyler, who is also a full-time entertainer at the Union Colony Dinner Theatre in Greeley, Colorado and is in his Junior year at The University of Northern Colorado. Heather’s passion is when she is in service to others and her heart project with partner, Christopher Keener, [our tenor], is their summer kids camp- WindRiders Adventure Camp for Kids located right here at The Bit-O-Wyo-Ranch. Heather is delighted to be performing with her family and friends at the family ranch.
 |
Shannan Steele, The Blue Water Cowboy Band, Guest Artist - Vocals & Choreography
Shannan has been performing with her family since she was 5 years old, and once she started, she's never stopped. As a child, Shannan performed in the musical Annie with Cheyenne Little Theater, danced with Elizabeth Tolerton School of Dance, and performed in The Nutcracker with The Tulsa Ballet at the Cheyenne Civic Center. As an adult, Shannan found herself performing at The Wyoming Territorial Prison in the Saloon Show, and in "Raise The Roof" at the Horsebarn Dinner Theater. After moving to Denver, she has performed numerous seasons with Six Flags Elitch Gardens and with several vocal groups. For the past 9 years she has found her nitch in Denver's theater scene, performing at The Arvada Center, The Country Dinner Playhouse, and at The Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Productions include Violet, On The Town, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Sweet Charity, Guys and Dolls, Over the River and Through the Woods; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Denver's longest running musical), The 1940s Radio Hour (Denver Post Ovation Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical), My Way, Aida, Pippin, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Swing!, Clue the Musical, The Taffetas, The Last Five Years, Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, and most recently Les Miserables. Shannan is thrilled to be performing with her favorite group once again, her cherished family.
Blue Water Bucharoos Chris Heather Shannan & John |  |
Gabe Steele, The Blue Water Cowboy Band, Guest Artist - Bass & Vocals
Gabe has been playing bass for 12 years. He has performed in many theatres in the Denver Area. While a vocal major at the University of Wyoming, he performed in Brazil and at Carnigie Hall. After transferring to Regis University he played several roles in theatre productions, as well as, playing bass and trombone. Additionally, Gabe was the musical director for several of these productions. Gabe is currently with the IT department of the Arvada Police Department. Gabe is married to Kristi and they have a 5 year old son, Zane. Zane is learning to play the drums and performs a great Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Christopher Keener, The Blue Water Cowboy Band - Vocals
Christopher has been performing, directing, writing and producing professionally since 1983. His first role, back when he was sixteen going on seventeen, was Rolf, Liesl's love interest in The Sound of Music. One of his most memorable opportunities since then was Forever Plaid, which he performed hundreds of times from 1992-1998, and directed several productions as well. His company, The Performance Works, which was started in 2000, is dedicated to creating corporate messages that stick by infusing videos and live presentations with humor and music. Chris also runs WindRiders Adventure Camp along with the love interest in his life, Heather Steele. Chris is honored to share the stage with the talented Steele family.
Jon Dezelsky, The Blue Water Cowboy Band – Vocals
Jon has been performing all of his life in one way or another. Jon is a proud father of two lovely daughters, Madison age 15 and Evan age 11. His BA is from Hope College in Holland Michigan in Mathematics and his passion is working with kids. After teaching and coaching (Football, Basketball and Baseball), Jon co-founded and ran a progressive software company for 13 years in Denver, Colorado. The Blue Water Band begged Jon to get back on stage after 20 years of retirement, but don’t let him fool you. This guy is all about giving back and high performance whether on the field, in the office or on the Bit-O-Wyo stage. Though the band begged Jon to come out retirement, his musical background includes: Trained in Classical Music Jon toured Europe with a 200 person choir. In addition, he sang in Local Music Theater -(Little Abner, Mary Poppins, South Pacific), many Weddings, and was Featured in Elvira from the Oakridge Boys for 8 sold out shows in Michigan. Lastly, Jon has sung in High School, College and Church Choirs. He has served passionately on boards and committees for the Colorado Symphony, Colorado Business Round Table, Thank-a-Teacher.org, Just- Go- Global for kids, Project Cure, Foundation for Inventive Learning and much more. Jon is excited to be back performing, especially with the Steele family and Bit-O-Wyo friends.
Dennis Coelho, The Blue Water Cowboy Band - Strings
A recently retired history teacher, Dennis grew up with cowboy songs and ballads on his grandfather's homestead above the Snake River in southwestern Idaho. After service in the US Army in Europe, he played the coffee house / folk club circuit before returning to the States to attend college where he studied folklore and traditional music. While continuing to perform in bluegrass and old-time bands, he produced documentary albums for the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. Before turning to secondary teaching in Cheyenne, he served for five years as the Folk Arts Specialist with the Wyoming Arts Council where he produced the four-part CD series "You Know That Wyoming Will Be Your New Home: Songs and Stories of Wyoming Settlement," which has just recently been re-issued. He plays several string instruments and is delighted to be joining the "Bluewater Cowboys."
Perry Jones, The Blue Water Cowboy Band - Strings
Perry is a Wyoming native born and raised in Casper sometime during the last century. His musical adventure started at an early age with both the piano and the guitar but his passion for music began at age thirteen when he visited his sister in Nashville and heard his first 5-string banjo. Throughout high school and college Perry played the banjo and guitar with various bluegrass and country bands. His father began to make fiddles and mandolins as a hobby and after Perry received his first homemade mandolin he fell in love with the instrument. His striking good looks, effervescent personality, and clever wit have been a constant burden to bear over the years and countless cowgirls have suffered broken hearts after he has ridden off into the sunset. He and his current favorite cowgirl of twenty eight years have three children and live in Cheyenne where Perry is a Captain with the Wyoming State Patrol.
Carl Halladay, jr., The Blue Water Cowboy Band - Strings
Carl got his first guitar in grade school and since then has played almost every style from big band dance music to bluegrass with some early rock and roll, folk, jazz and a little classical thrown in along the way. He and his wife Joanne have spent their last fourteen winters in an adult community in Arizona where he has performed in several local productions. Carl was one of the founding members and is still performing with the comedy bluegrass group The Chugwater Philharmonic String Quartet. He is also an active member of the Cheyenne Guitar Society. In spite of all the fun, he did find some time to do a little work. He retired in 1993 from his one and only employer, Halladay Motors, as a second generation automobile dealer. It’s great to be a part of the Bluewater Cowboys.
