Beat Farmers

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The Beat Farmers
Origin San Diego, CA
Genre(s) Cowpunk
Hard rock
Country rock
Years active 1983-1995
Label(s) Rhino, Curb, Sector 2
Associated acts The Penetrators, Shames, The Rockin' Roulettes
Website http://sdam.com/artists/bf/
Former members
Country Dick Montana, Jerry Raney, Rolle Dexter Love, Buddy Blue, Joey Harris

The Beat Farmers were a cowpunk band who formed in San Diego, CA in August 1983, and enjoyed a cult following throughout the 1980s and early 1990s before the premature death of lead singer and drummer Country Dick Montana. Their music has been described as an amalgamation of cow punk, jangle pop, roots rock, hard-twang Americana, country-rock, swingabilly, and Creedence swamp-pop. The Beat Farmers discography is extensive but numerous recordings are hard to find or out of print.

Contents

[edit] History

1983 - A former record store owner, and past president of The Kinks Preservation Society fan club, Country Dick Montana, drummer for the pioneering San Diego punk band The Penetrators, formed the Beat Farmers with ex-Shames singer-guitarist Jerry Raney. The two musicians quickly recruited singer-guitarist Buddy Blue and bassist Rolle Love from local rockabilly band The Rockin' Roulettes. The new group began a residency at the Spring Valley Inn (having to move the pool table out of the way before performances), then moved to Bodie's, near San Diego State University. The band started to gain a following in San Diego and Los Angeles clubs, satisfying a need for roots-based rock &' roll.

1984 - By March they were signed to a record deal with Rhino Records for a one-off-deal with a 4,000-dollar budget. The first album, Tales of the New West, was produced by Blasters / Los Lobos saxophonist Steve Berlin and released in January 1985. It included Happy Boy, frequently played on the Doctor Demento show, a favorite of the group's live shows and the only song of the 1980s--or any other era--to contain the chorus "Hubba-hubba-hubba-hubba-hubba"; the song was extensively played on San Diego radio station KGB-FM by disc jockey's Jim McInnes and Pat Martin. The album also included cover songs Reason to Believe by Bruce Springsteen, and There She Goes Again by The Velvet Underground, along with 12 other original songs. The first studio experience, according to guitarist Buddy Blue,

“Was pretty intimidating, I remember at the studio Barbra Streisand was in one room and Jermaine Jackson was in another. Later we did overdubs in a smaller studio and there was this big tank of nitrous oxide. That album was kind of cut in between everybody taking trips over to the tank and huffing nitrous!”

1985 – During a month-long tour of England, the band recorded a six-song EP for Demon Records, Glad 'N' Greasy. It was co-produced by Graham Parker & The Rumour keyboardist Bob Andrews. The EP included a sped-up dancehall version of Neil Young's Powderfinger, as well as an outrageous version of Beat Generation performed in a Rod-McKuen-meets-Richard-Hell style by a bassoon-voiced Montana and featured intoxicated backing vocals from Dave Alvin, Nick Lowe, Gene Taylor, Dan Stuart, and Loudon Wainwright III.

According to guitarist Blue,

“[Loudon Wainwright] just happened to be in London, too, so he was hanging out with us drinking in pubs.”

The English critics loved the band; the editor of Melody Maker followed them around and subsequently compared them to The Beatles.

1986 – After England came a grueling American tour and a seven record deal with Curb Records followed by a souring experience making the next Beat Farmers record, Van Go. According to Blue, “Curb Records wanted the next Dire Straits.” A disgusted Blue gave his notice and went solo. Montana wanted to replace him with Joey Harris and Paul Kamanski, both formerly of top local rock band The Fingers. Raney objected that the band does not need three singer-guitarists, so only Harris is added to the lineup. Joey Harris, a guitarist and mandolinist, had worked earlier with Montana in a precursor to the Beat Farmers called Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies.

1987 – Curb Records/MCA released The Pursuit of Happiness. The album featured Kamanski's Hollywood Hills and a memorable cover of the Johnny Cash chestnut Big River. Hideaway, written by Joey Harris, was featured in the soundtrack to the film Major League. The band also began a tour in Europe, where the passion for blues-rock, roots rock and country rock ran higher than in parts of the U.S. The single Make It Last got airplay on nearly 45 country western stations. However, once country radio programmers listened to the rest of the album, they dropped the song. Many programmers felt the rest of the album was too rock 'n' roll oriented. In this year, the Beat Farmers' song "Big Big Man" was featured in The Garbage Pail Kids Movie.

1989 – "Poor and Famous" was released and included King of Sleaze, a notable collaboration by Montana and Mojo Nixon. Later in the year, Montana and Harris formed a side project with Nixon and Alvin called the Pleasure Barons, a group that specialized in lounge music.

1990 – "Loud and Plowed and . . . LIVE!!", a live album released by Curb Records. It was recorded in San Diego at the Bacchanal nightclub on the nights of Dec. 30 and 31, 1989, and Jan. 1, 1990, capturing the vibrant essence of the band. It featured cameos by Nixon and Iron Butterfly alum Jack Pinney. The funny opening remarks are by then-KGB afternoon deejay and huge Beat Farmers fan, Jim McInnes.

1991 - Montana was treated for a thyroid condition and continued to visit the doctor's office for cancer treatments. The band appeared on Late Night With David Letterman on Friday, June 14, 1991 on NBC. The band grew dissatisfied with its relationship with Curb Records and attempted to get out of their seven-album contract. Montana continued side projects in the Los Angeles area, including the Incredible Hayseeds, Country Dick's Petting Zoo, Country Dick's Garage, along with the Pleasure Barons.

1993 – Finally free from its contractual obligations with Curb/MCA, which reportedly hoped to oust Montana from the band, the group recorded Viking Lullabys in Vancouver, Canada.

1994 – Viking Lullabys was released in August by Sector 2 , an Austin, Texas record label. The band toured heavily to support the release, while working on a second album for Sector 2.

1995 – Curb/MCA put out The Best of the Beat Farmers, without the band's consent. Sector 2 released Manifold in September; however, it was released two weeks earlier in San Diego to coincide with the San Diego Street Scene Outdoor Festival. The group toured the U.S. in September and October, playing venues in Texas, Chicago, Detroit, and New York. On November 8, Country Dick Montana died of a heart attack while performing The Girl I Almost Married, three songs into the set at the Long Horn Club in Whistler, British Columbia. The remaining Beat Farmers decided to dissolve the band three days later; however, in the years that followed, the remaining members would form several new bands, including Raney-Blue, Powerthud, The Joey Show, Joey Harris and The Mentals, Flying Putos, and the Farmers.

1996 – Bar None Records of Hoboken, N.J posthumously released The Devil Lied to Me, a Country Dick Montana solo album. The performers included Katy Moffatt, Rosie Flores, Nixon, and Alvin. The selections include Dave Alvin's Rich Man's Town, Paul Kamanski's Indigo Rider, a cover of Tom Petty's Listen to Her Heart, and the originals King of the Hobos, as well as a tribute to amateur rappers Bum Rap.

2003 – Buddy Blue released The Beat Farmers Live at the Spring Valley Inn, 1983 on his own label, Clarence Records. Happy Boy was featured in the 2003 movie Dumb and Dumberer.

2005 – The newly named Farmers (Blue, Raney, Love and drummer Joel Kmak) released Loaded, also on the Clarence label. The Farmers played at local San Diego venues, thrilling the crowd with old Beat Farmer tunes on request. One of them, Watching the River, closed out the re-released and extended edition of Tales of the New West; its inclusion made a nice coda to the story of the Beat Farmers’ early-and best-years

2006 - Buddy Blue died on April 2, suddenly and unexpectedly at his La Mesa home at the age of 48. A few days earlier, at a club called the Parkway in El Cajon, California, he had given his final performance, joining Jerry Raney for an acoustic show that featured new material as well as versions of classic Beat Farmers songs.

Country Dick Montana was known for lying on his back and drinking his beer using only his feet, like a grizzly bear and bantering with his audiences, whom he often sprayed with beer. After performing a show, he would often walk around the club, shake hands, sign autographs, and chat with fans. Despite being treated for throat cancer twice, he was always ready for a beer run.

The Beat Farmers were a band that stayed true to what they believed, which is good, honest, and straight ahead rock and roll music. Their sound is difficult to describe--too rock for country, too country for rock. They were an influential and unusual band insomuch as they had two lead guitarists and three lead vocalists.

[edit] Band members

  • Country Dick Montana (Dan McLain) (drums, guitar, vocals) 1983 to 1995
  • Jerry Raney (guitar, vocals) 1983 to 1995
  • Rolle Dexter Love (bass) 1983 to 1995
  • Buddy Blue (guitar, vocals) 1983 to 1986
  • Joey Harris (guitar, vocals) 1986 to 1995

[edit] Discography

  • Tales of the New West (1985)
  • Glad 'N' Greasy (1986)
  • Van Go (1986)
  • Pursuit of Happiness (1987)
  • Poor and Famous (1989)
  • Loud and Plowed and . . . LIVE!!(1990)
  • Viking Lullabys (1994)
  • Manifold (1995)
  • Best of the Beat Farmers (1995)
  • The Devil Lied to Me (1996) Country Dick Montana posthumous solo
  • Live at the Spring Valley Inn, 1983 (2003)
  • Tales of the New West (re-released in an extended edition by Rhino Records in 2004)

[edit] Media occurrences of music

[edit] External links

*The ORIGINAL BEAT FARMERS website

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