Beat Farmers
Encyclopedia
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.
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
. 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. 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.
Cowpunk
Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in the UK and California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New Wave with country music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style...
band who formed in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, in August 1983, and enjoyed a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
throughout the 1980s and early 1990s before the premature death of lead singer and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Country Dick Montana
Country Dick Montana
Country Dick Montana was a musician best known as a member of the Beat Farmers...
. Their music has been described as an amalgamation of cow punk, jangle pop
Jangle pop
Jangle pop is a genre of alternative rock from the mid-1980s that "marked a return to the chiming or jangly guitars and pop melodies of the '60s" bands such as The Byrds, with their electric twelve-string guitars and power pop song structures. Mid-1980s jangle pop was a non-mainstream "pop-based...
, roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
, hard-twang Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
, country-rock, rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, and swamp rock.
History
1983 - A former record store owner, and past president of The KinksThe Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
Preservation Society fan club, Country Dick Montana
Country Dick Montana
Country Dick Montana was a musician best known as a member of the Beat Farmers...
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
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
. The band started to gain a following in San Diego and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
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
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
/ Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
saxophonist Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, The Blasters, and The Flesh Eaters...
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
KGB-FM
KGB-FM is a classic rock radio station in San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-History:...
by disc jockeys Jim McInnes and Pat Martin. The album also included cover songs "Reason to Believe" by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, and "There She Goes Again
There She Goes Again
"There She Goes Again" is a song by The Velvet Underground. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. The syncopated guitar riff is taken from the 1962 Marvin Gaye song, "Hitch Hike", but is most likely influenced by The Rolling Stones' cover version, from their...
" by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, along with twelve other original songs.
1985 – During a month-long tour of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the band recorded a six-song EP for Demon Records, Glad 'N' Greasy. It was co-produced by Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
and The Rumour
The Rumour
The Rumour were a British rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour...
keyboardist Bob Andrews
Bob Andrews (keyboardist)
Robert Charles "Bob" Andrews is an English keyboardist and saxophonist. He played with Brinsley Schwarz and Graham Parker's backing band, The Rumour, which he left in 1980.-References:...
. The EP included a sped-up dancehall version of Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
's "Powderfinger", as well as an outrageous version of "Beat Generation" performed in a Rod-McKuen
Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen is an American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music...
-meets-Richard-Hell
Richard Hell
Richard Hell is a singer, songwriter, bass guitarist, and writer.Richard Hell was an innovator of punk music and fashion. He was one of the first to spike his hair and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held together with safety pins...
style by a bassoon-voiced Montana and featured intoxicated backing vocals from Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin , is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music....
, Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
, Gene Taylor
Gene Taylor
Gary Eugene "Gene" Taylor is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He was defeated for re-election in 2010 by State Rep. Steven Palazzo, who gained 52% of the vote compared to Taylor's 47%. He left office in January 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Dan Stuart
Dan Stuart
Dan Stuart is an American musician best known as the leader/singer/songwriter of 80's post punk, alt-country rock band, Green On Red , and for his teaming with Steve Wynn as Danny & Dusty.-History:Raised in Tucson, Arizona, Dan Stuart founded punk band The Serfers in 1979...
, and Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
.
The English critics loved the band; the editor of Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
followed them around and subsequently compared them to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
1986 – After England came a grueling American tour and a seven record deal with Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
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
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
released The Pursuit of Happiness. The album featured Kamanski's "Hollywood Hills" and a memorable cover of the Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
classic "Big River
Big River (Johnny Cash song)
"Big River" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. Released as a single by Sun Records in 1958, it went as high as #4 on the Billboard country music charts and stayed on the charts for 14 weeks...
". "Hideaway", written by Joey Harris, was featured in the soundtrack to the film Major League
Major League (film)
Major League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...
. The band also began a tour in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where the passion for blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
, roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
and country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
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
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie is a 1987 live action musical film adaptation of the popular series of children's trading cards directed by Rod Amateau. The cards were a parody of the popular Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and each card featured a character that typically had a gross habit or abnormality...
.
1989 – Poor and Famous was released and included "King of Sleaze", a notable collaboration by Montana and Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon is an American musician, known for playing psychobilly music...
. 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
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
.
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
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
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
Thyroid
The thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...
condition and continued to visit the doctor's office for cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
treatments. The band appeared on Late Night With David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
on Friday, June 14, 1991 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. 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
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
1994 – Viking Lullabys was released in August by Sector 2, an Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. 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. Sector 2 released Manifold in September; however, it was released two weeks earlier in San Diego to coincide with the San Diego Street Scene
Street Scene (San Diego music festival)
Street Scene was a music festival that was held each summer in San Diego, California from 1984 to 2009. Street Scene was one of America's largest annual music festivals, growing to include over 70 musical acts covering different musical genres and styles on multiple stages.-History:Beginning in...
Outdoor Festival. The group toured the U.S. in September and October, playing venues in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Detroit, and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. On November 8, Country Dick Montana died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while performing The Girl I Almost Married, three songs into the set at the Long Horn Club in Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...
. 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
Katy Moffatt
Katherine Louella "Katy" Moffatt is an American musician, lyricist, composer, vocalist. She is the sister of country singer-songwriter Hugh Moffatt.-Midnight Radio:...
, Rosie Flores
Rosie Flores
Rosie Flores is a rockabilly and country music artist of Mexican American heritage. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage...
, Nixon, and Alvin. The selections include Dave Alvin's Rich Man's Town, Paul Kamanski's Indigo Rider, a cover of Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
'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
La Mesa, California
La Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 57,065 at the 2010 census, up from 54,749 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1869 and officially incorporated as a city on February 16, 1912. Its official flower is the bougainvillea....
home at the age of 48.
The Beat Farmers were an unusual band as they had two lead guitarists and three lead vocalists.
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, drums) 1983 to 1986
- Joey Harris (guitar, vocals) 1986 to 1995
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)
- Live at the Spring Valley Inn, 1983 (2003)
- Tales of the New West (re-released in an extended edition by Rhino Records in 2004)
Media occurrences of music
- "Happy Boy" is played on popular PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
classic rockClassic rockClassic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
station WDVEWDVEWDVE is a mainstream rock music formatted radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA at 102.5 MHz. It is often referred to by Pittsburghers as simply "DVE." WDVE's transmitter is located on Pittsburgh's North Side...
every Friday around 3 PM to signal the end of the work week and the start of the weekend. The tradition started sometime in the 1980s shortly after the song first came out. - "Happy Boy" was played in the 2003 movie Dumb and Dumberer.
- "Riverside" was played in the 1986 movie Rad.
- "Riverside" was used in a 1986 Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
radio commercial. Montana also provided the voice over for the ad. - "Hideaway" is featured in the soundtrack to the 1989 film Major LeagueMajor League (film)Major League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...
. - "Big Big Man" was featured in The Garbage Pail Kids MovieThe Garbage Pail Kids MovieThe Garbage Pail Kids Movie is a 1987 live action musical film adaptation of the popular series of children's trading cards directed by Rod Amateau. The cards were a parody of the popular Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and each card featured a character that typically had a gross habit or abnormality...
- "Baby's Liquored Up" and "Gettin' Drunk" were played in the 1997 PC game "Redneck RampageRedneck RampageRedneck Rampage is a 1997 first-person shooter game designed by Xatrix Entertainment and published by Interplay. The game features songs by Mojo Nixon, Reverend Horton Heat, Beat Farmers and other Psychobilly artists. As the name implies, Redneck Rampage has many hillbilly elements in it...
". - "Happy Boy" is played during the seventh-inning stretch at Fairbanks GoldpannersAlaska Goldpanners of FairbanksThe Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an independent barnstorming team. The Pan-Alaska Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball League at the league's inception in 1974. The Goldpanners play their home games at Growden...
games. - "Happy Boy" was played in the 1998 movie PeckerPeckerPecker has several meanings:* An American slang term for penis* A British slang term for the nose* Pecker , a 1998 movie directed by John Waters**Pecker , soundtrack of the 1998 movie Pecker...
.