When his first band, the Zesto Blues Cats, played for food in Steamboat Springs, circa 1969, the few folks in the bar couldn't have guessed that 40 years later Chuck Pyle would become the folk music laureate of Colorado.

His wise and funny songs have been recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Suzy Bogguss. Pyle's tune The Other Side of the Hill has been sung by dozens of musicians. The late Chris LeDoux topped the country charts with it after renaming the song Cadillac Cowboy.

Given the moniker Zen Cowboy for his philosophical musings, Pyle has stayed true to the state. His most recent CD is Higher Ground - Songs of Colorado.

Just back from a concert in Moose, Wyo., and sitting on the deck of his home in Palmer Lake, the 63-year-old Pyle answered a few pressing questions by phone for Rocky staff writer John Lehndorff before his gig tonight at Swallow Hill Music Hall.

What misconceptions do fans have about you?

I don't have horses because I travel too much. I don't live on a ranch, but I do live in a cabin in a small town. I grew up in Iowa, so I actually come more from a farm background.

Why do you play most of your shows in Western states?

It seems like every time I go East I'm confronted with people who don't come to my shows. I do play some bluegrass festivals back there. I'm the master of slo-o-o-w music, so I'm there to be a musical palate cleanser between fast guys like Del McCoury and Ricky Skaggs.

Was there anyone in particular that inspired your wit and storytelling?

I was stunned by the brilliance of Richard Pryor, the quickness of Robin Williams and the deadpan delivery of George Gobel. When I've tried to get too expressive, it was overdoing it, overacting. Now, the drier the better.

When you play it sounds like two guitars, lead and rhythm. Was there one guitarist who influenced the Chuck Pyle-style of fingerpicking?

Mississippi John Hurt, no doubt about it.

Why did you decide to record John Denver's iconic Rocky Mountain High?

I took it on because somebody suggested it. It's a big challenge because for many people it has too much meaning, or they've been overexposed to it. It has a penetrating melody and I do it very simply with finger-style guitar and fiddle.

What keeps you going?

My three passions now are food, fly fishing and health.

lehndorffj@RockyMountainNews.com; 303-954-5103

'Steady' as she goes

Lyrics from the Chuck Pyle song Keep 'er Steady Cowgirl from the CD Higher Ground - Songs of Colorado:

Wide open spaces

Between these two prairie hearts

Wonderin' where their place is

In a world so far apart

Keep her steady cowgirl

Don't let go of the reins

You are ready now girl

Never mind the growin' pains

Chuck Pyle

* When and where: 8 p.m. today, Swallow Hill, 71 E. Yale Ave.

* Cost: $24

* Information: swallowhillmusic.org; 303-777-1003

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