Beat Rodeo was a country-rock band from New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 during the 1980s. They released at least two albums, Home in the Heart of the Beat and Staying Out Late With Beat Rodeo. They were mentioned in the acknowledgements of Elizabeth Wurtzel

Elizabeth Wurtzel

Elizabeth Lee Wurtzel is an American corporate attorney, writer and journalist, known for her work in the confessional memoir genre. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.-Early life:...

's memoir Prozac Nation.

Following the breakup of the Suicide Commandos (in which he played bass), Minneapolis' Steve Almaas moved to New York, turned to guitar and formed the Crackers; the band's ep Sir Crackers! indicates the rough-hewn melodic rock direction Almaas would later pursue.

After working with The Bongos

The Bongos

The Bongos were a rock band from Hoboken, New Jersey, primarily active in the 1980s. With a unique blend of British Invasion-flavored power pop, jangly guitars, and dance beats they made the leap to national recognition with the advent of MTV.-Biography:...

, Almaas headed down with boss Bongo Richard Barone

Richard Barone

Richard Barone is a rock musician born in Tampa, Florida who gained attention as frontman for The Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created major concert events at Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl and New York's...

 to North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 to visit Mitch Easter

Mitch Easter

Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M. from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, and...

 at his Drive-In Studio, where the three of them put together the Beat Rodeo EP.

Almaas almost immediately formed a quartet named for the EP but not including any of its other participants. Staying Out Late (originally issued in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in 1984) shows a country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 bent implicit in its name and integrates it (countryish guitar sound, even a dash of fiddle) into the already established pop-rock context.

Staying Out Late was produced by Don Dixon (with two tracks by Richard Gottehrer

Richard Gottehrer

Richard Gottehrer is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive.-Career:Gottehrer came to prominence as a songwriter in the 1960s with his most notable songs being "My Boyfriend's Back" and "I Want Candy". As Feldman-Goldstein-Gottehrer , he wrote various songs including...

). Scott Litt

Scott Litt

Scott Litt is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums.-Biography:...

produced the second Beat Rodeo ep, Home in the Heart of the Beat.