The bulls are back in town

By Pamela Sitt
Seattle Times staff reporter

	ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jenna Kraft, 21, gets tossed from the mechanical bull at The Ballroom in Fremont. Lending proof to the adage that everything comes back in style again, the bull made famous in 1980's "Urban Cowboy" is rearing its head in popular culture.
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Long a staple of bars like L.A.'s Saddle Ranch Chop House, the mechanical bull was made famous by the 1980 film "Urban Cowboy" and has stampeded its way back into the cultural zeitgeist. Cynthia Nixon straddled one in an episode of "Sex and the City," as did Anna Nicole Smith in her E! reality series.

"Seattle needs something like this," said Dave Brownell, a co-owner of The Ballroom.

Indeed, the bull has been an instant hit since its Oct. 9 debut, when Brownell cleared a couple of pool tables to make way for the action. The Ballroom's bull, rented weekly from Eatonville-based Mashell River Productions, is already drawing interest from other bar owners who may want to cowboy up.

"The Ballroom's the only bar in Seattle proper that is doing it regularly," said Brian Hoffman of Mashell River Productions, which does mostly county fairs and private parties in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California.

There is the occasional mechanical bull grazing in the suburbs. Big Apple Casino in Everett has Bikini Bull Riding Thursdays, and Smokey Point Steakhouse in Smokey Point is buying one — for about $18,000 — after the success of its rental, said owner Jason Poll.

"It's a generational cycle. So now you've got a whole new generation that hasn't been exposed to it," Hoffman said.

Originally made in the late 1960s and '70s for rodeo cowboys to practice on, mechanical bulls went mainstream after "Urban Cowboy" in the 1980s, but fizzled out after one too many riders got bucked off — and injured in the process, Hoffman said. But the mechanical bull made a comeback after a safer version, featuring variable speeds, was manufactured in the 1990s.

The idea for The Ballroom's bull came from an ex-girlfriend of Brownell's, who clipped an ad from — where else? — Maxim magazine.

"We kind of giggled about it for a few months," Brownell said.

By week two, the bar staff were in cowboy hats, Kid Rock's "Cowboy" pumped from the speakers and the hooting, hollering, catcalling and yee-hawing was in full force.

"It was harder than it looks," said a slightly breathless Katie Guerrieri, 21, after being unceremoniously dumped onto a thick landing pad. "First, I drank more than I thought I did."

On one recent Thursday, there were more cowboys than cowgirls climbing on. But it seems staying power has less to do with strength and more to do with technique.

Jason Lakman, 27, a former Woodinville High School baseball star, has strong arms from pitching in the minor leagues, but still called his performance on the bull "sub-par."

"It's not very giving," he said of the machine. "I've been on a horse before. It was nothing like that."

Zuzana Willis, in pigtails and a black cowboy hat, had one of the better rides of the evening, eliciting rousing cheers from a packed house. It was her third time on the bull in two weeks.

"You have to be as close to the front as you possibly can," said Willis, 29. "Today, I actually sat on my hand."

Brownell, the bar owner, said he was nervous before the bull's debut and had his share of what-was-I-thinking moments in the weeks prior. An unexpected effect of the bull has been the way it draws a room together, he said.

"It gives people a reason to talk to each other," Brownell said. "I've never seen so many people laugh and smile throughout a night."

The Ballroom is committed to weekly bull rides through December, and may sign on for another three months if demand keeps up, Brownell said. Cover is $5 on Thursdays and the bull is first-come, first-serve.

Further fueling an interest in all things cowboy is the latest installment of Fox TV's "Joe Millionaire," which features a hunky Texan rodeo rider in the title role. Yee-haw!

But you don't have to be a professional to get the spotlight at The Ballroom. You pretty much just have to hang on.

Says Willis, the Seattle woman who had a great ride: "It makes you feel like a superstar."

Pamela Sitt: 206-464-2376 or psitt@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company