| The Beat Farmers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Diego, CA |
| Genres | Cowpunk Roots rock Country rock |
| Years active | 1983–1995 |
| Labels | Rhino, Curb, Sector 2 |
| Associated acts | The Penetrators, Shames, The Rockin' Roulettes, The Pleasure Barons, Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies, The Buddy Blue Tribute Band, The Farmers |
| Website | http://sdam.com/artists/bf/ |
| Past 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, California, 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, rockabilly, and swamp rock.
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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 and the Crawdaddys, formed the Beat Farmers with ex-Shames singer-guitarist Jerry Raney. The two musicians quickly recruited singer-guitarist Bernard "Buddy Blue" Seigal 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 'n' roll.
1984 - By March they were signed to a record deal with Rhino Records for a one-off-deal with a $4,000 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 song was extensively played on San Diego radio station KGB-FM by disc jockeys 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 twelve other original songs.
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 and 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.
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 classic "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 December 30 and 31, 1989, and January 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.[1] 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. In fact, Curb released the album using the artwork from the band's road manager's business card for the cover.[2] 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. Since that time, the remaining members would form several new bands including Raney-Blue (Jerry Raney and Buddy Blue), Powerthud (Jerry Raney and Joey Harris), The Joey Show (Joey Harris), Joey Harris and The Mentals, Flying Putos (Jerry Raney, Buddy Blue, & Rolle Love), and the Farmers (Jerry Raney and Buddy Blue). As of 2011, The Farmers (Jerry Raney) and Joey Harris and the Mentals are still together
1996 – Bar None Records of Hoboken, N.J posthumously released The Devil Lied to Me, the 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 entitled Bum Rap.
2003 – The Beat Farmers Live at the Spring Valley Inn, 1983 was released on Clarence Records. Happy Boy was featured in the 2003 movie Dumb and Dumberer.
2006 - Buddy Blue died of a heart attack on April 2 at his La Mesa home at the age of 48.
The Beat Farmers were an unusual band as they had two lead guitarists and three lead vocalists.