One of the goals of The Big Blend Magazine, is to keep the "Old West" alive for our readers. We had the opportunity to meet Mike Moutoux, listen to some of his poetry, hear some of his songs, and watch him perform for a group of people seated around a campfire just outside Silver City, New Mexico.
 The weather was perfect and as the sun began to set, we enjoyed a New Mexico sunset with a glass of wine. Mike and his wife Emily, welcomed guests and as we made ourselves comfortable around the campfire, the aroma of Mike's chicken stew bubbling over the campfire piqued our appetites. The group chatted about the beautiful setting we were in, some javelina that visited--and then Mike began to recite some of his poetry. He has a very natural way of starting a conversation that finds it's way to one of his poems. As he delivers his composition, you relax, sit back, and can feel yourself transported to the western way of life lived by a cowboy--the dust, the bellowing of a calf, the heat, all come alive for you.
  Mike enchants you with his easy manner--and his songs, like his poems, draw you into an "experience" similar to those he has had as a working cowboy on the J.E.J. Ranch, where they ranch in the traditional methods. He creates characters like Slick Rock Sam and Cowboy Charley that will stick in your mind.
  In 2006, Mike was nominated for “Cowboy Poet of the Year” with the Western Music Association and performed at their festival in Albuquerque. After Mike's performance at the 100th Anniversary of the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, one of his poems, “Spirits Still Remain”, has been archived by the National Park System in a time capsule. Headin' Home, Mike's third CD, won a nomination from the Western Music Association for "Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year" in 2007.