Oh, how far we have come — Cowboy State Daily has continued to reach new heights in the past three years, as has what’s become an Independence Day tradition: Playing “The Star Spangled Banner” on a chainsaw.
The tradition is in its third year, and we took it to new heights for 2025, thanks in large part to my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Veronica Zazueta, bringing her professional-grade videography talents into play.
How It All Started
The tradition of wailing out the national anthem on my Stihl MS261 chainsaw predates my tenure at Cowboy State Daily.
Four years ago on the Fourth of July, my family lived in Laramie with neighbors right up against us on both sides. Since Laramie is home to the University of Wyoming they were, of course, college students.
And as college kids are apt to do, they were being loud, whooping it up and setting off fireworks.
I thought to myself, “I’ll show them obnoxious. I’ll go play ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ on a chainsaw!’”
The MS261 is hardly my biggest saw, but it’s the most reliable and has the best tone. So it was perfect for the job.
I had my youngest daughter, Ebby, shoot video on my cellphone and posted it on Facebook. People loved it.
So when I went to work for Cowboy State Daily, I suggested to Jimmy Orr shooting a chainsaw anthem for our publication. He loved the idea.
The first edition was crude, also shot by Ebby on a cellphone at a fireworks stand outside of Laramie.
For version 2.0, Orr shot the video, again on a cellphone, at another fireworks stand, this time just outside Buford.
But we put more effort into it, experimenting with different camera angles and adding some smoke bombs for effect.
Pro Grade
This year, I showed Zazueta the older versions and told her it was time to take it to the next level.
The family relocated to Riverton earlier this year. So, we went to a shooting location several miles out of town, using the vast Wyoming badlands for our backdrop.
During previous shoots, I’d just imagined “The Star Spangled Banner” in my head and tried my best to match the tempo with the chainsaw’s throttle trigger.
The results were, well, mixed.
I put earbuds in underneath by headphones this time so I could play the anthem directly into ears as a played my saw, over multiple takes.
The results were, well, a little better, anyway.
Zazueta worked some patriotic images into the final edit of the video, including shots of one of my granddaughters, Reign, waving the Stars and Stripes.
Looking back, we’ve made each edition of the Cowboy State Daily chainsaw anthem better than the last. And the hope is to keep the momentum going.
Happy Fourth of July, Wyoming. And God bless America!
