Straight ahead rock & roll in the Southern tradition, with plenty of indie-rock energy to boot, is what has kept Dash Rip Rock going since 1984. A trio of vocalist/guitarist Bill Davis, bassist Ned "Hoaky" Hickel and drummer Chris Luckette, the group formed in 1984, originally with Fred LeBlanc on drums, though he left in 1989 (after the Mammoth... [+] Read More

Straight ahead rock & roll in the Southern tradition, with plenty of indie-rock energy to boot, is what has kept Dash Rip Rock going since 1984. A trio of vocalist/guitarist Bill Davis, bassist Ned "Hoaky" Hickel and drummer Chris Luckette, the group formed in 1984, originally with Fred LeBlanc on drums, though he left in 1989 (after the Mammoth label LPs Dash Rip Rock and Ace of Clubs) to found Cowboy Mouth. The duo then recruited Luckette and recorded 1990's Not of This World with producer Jim Dickinson. After the concert record Boiled Alive!, Dash Rip Rock left Mammoth Records and released 1993's Tiger Town on Doctor Dream. Two more label switches, from Sector 2 to Naked Language, preceded the release of 1995's Get You Some of Me (after which Luckette left the band) and 1996's Dash Rip Rock's Gold Record. Pay Dirt followed in 1998. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Beat Farmers enjoyed a cult following throughout the 1980s and early '90s until the untimely passing of lead singer/drummer/guitarist Country Dick Montana in November 1995. He was just 40, and he collapsed of a massive heart attack at the Long Horn, a bar in Whistler, British Columbia, in western Canada.

Montana, a former record... [+] Read More

The Beat Farmers enjoyed a cult following throughout the 1980s and early '90s until the untimely passing of lead singer/drummer/guitarist Country Dick Montana in November 1995. He was just 40, and he collapsed of a massive heart attack at the Long Horn, a bar in Whistler, British Columbia, in western Canada.

Montana, a former record store owner, and past president of the Kinks Preservation Society fan club, formed the Beat Farmers in San Diego in 1983, influenced on the one hand by country and blues music, but on the other by the first wave of punk rock bands to come out of Los Angeles. The group began to latch on to a following at San Diego and Los Angeles-area clubs, satisfying a need for roots-based rock &' roll before most people even knew the need existed. Over the years, Montana collaborated with a wide range of Los Angeles-based musicians and singers, including Mojo Nixon, John Doe from the group X, Rosie Flores, the Bangles, Los Lobos, Katy Moffatt, blues singer/pianist Candye Kane and ex-Blasters guitarist Dave Alvin.

The Beat Farmers discography is more extensive than most people would think, because a number of recordings are hard to find or out of print. The original group consisted of Montana on drums, guitar and vocals, Jerry Raney on guitar and vocals, Buddy Blue on guitar and vocals and Rolle Dexter on bass. The group's albums include Tales of the New West (1985, Rhino), Glad 'n' Greasy (1985, Rhino), Van Go (1986, Curb Records), The Pursuit of Happiness (1987, Curb Records), Poor and Famous (1989, Curb Records), Live, Loud and Plowed (1990, Curb Records), Viking Lullabys (1994, Sector 2 Records), Greatest Hits (1995, Curb Records), and Manifold (1995, Sector 2 Records).

The Beat Farmers formed in August, 1983 when they played a series of shows at the Spring Valley Inn in San Diego, and later played a local bar, Bodies. By March of 1984, they were signed to Rhino Records for a one-off deal, and with a 4,000-dollar budget, recorded Tales of the New West, their debut, which was released in January, 1985. They began their first U.S. tour and signed a seven record deal with Curb Records. In December, 1985, Buddy Blue left the band and was replaced by guitarist/mandolinist Joey Harris, who had worked earlier with Montana in a precursor to the Beat Farmers, Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies. Around the time of their first U.S. tour, the band also begins to tour in Europe, where the passion for blues-rock, roots-rock and country rock runs higher than in parts of the U.S. The group's album, Pursuit of Happiness spurred the single "Make It Last'' which got airplay on more than 40 country western stations. But once country radio programmers had a chance to hear the rest of the album, they quickly dropped the single, since many of them felt the rest of the album was too rock 'n' roll oriented.

In 1989, Montana and Harris joined Mojo Nixon and Dave Alvin from the Blasters to form the Pleasure Barons, a group that specialized in "lounge" music. A year later, Montana went into the hospital for thyroid surgery and continued to visit the doctor's office for cancer treatments. In the midst of all of this, the group grew dissatisfied with its relationship with Curb Records, and they attempted to get out of their seven album contract around the same time they discover a live album, Live, Loud and Plowed has been released without their knowledge. In between national tours, Montana occupied himself with other projects in the Los Angeles area, including the Incredible Hayseeds, Country Dick's Petting Zoo, Country Dick's Garage and the Pleasure Barons.

In 1993, the Beat Farmers recorded their first album for Sector 2 Records (an Austin, Texas label), in Vancouver, Canada, Viking Lullabys. (sic) The record is released in August, 1994 and the band toured in earnest once again to support their release. While working on a second album for Sector 2, Curb Records released a Greatest Hits album, again without the band's consent. The Beat Farmers last album, Manifold, is released on September 19, 1995, but was released two weeks earlier in San Diego to coincide with the Street Scene, an outdoor festival there. The group toured the U.S. in September and October, playing venues in Texas, the midwest and New York City.

On Nov. 8, 1995, Montana suffered a massive heart attack three songs into the band's set at the Long Horn in Whistler, B.C. The remaining Beat Farmers decide to dissolve the band on November 11, 1995.

Despite his risqué stage antics and bantering with his audiences, whom he often sprayed with beer, Country Dick Montana was a gentle soul who, after shows, would make his way around a club, shaking hands, signing autographs and chatting for a few minutes with all who took the time to say hello. Since Montana's death in 1995, guitarists Joey Harris and Jerry Raney have gone on to form their own bands, continuing to some extent the roots-rock tradition of the Beat Farmers. At their live shows, the group was unique for the way Montana would get out from behind his drum set to step out front and center and play guitar as well.

In 1996, Bar None Records of Hoboken, N.J. posthumously released The Devil Lied to Me, a long-awaited Country Dick Montana solo album. A star-studded affair with regionally and nationally famous musicians from the Los Angeles area, Montana is joined on this excellent release by roots chanteuses Katy Moffatt and Rosie Flores, as well as talented live performers like Mojo Nixon and ex-Blasters guitarist Alvin. Highlights include 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 -- and there are many of both in San Diego -- "Bum Rap." ~ Richard Skelly, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Out of all of the bands that made SST Records a towering force in the American underground during the mid-'80s, the Meat Puppets lasted the longest, surviving where other bands fell apart. The Meat Puppets never had the dedicated following of Hüsker Dü or the Minutemen -- two fellow SST bands who played the same circuit as the Puppets -- but... [+] Read More

Out of all of the bands that made SST Records a towering force in the American underground during the mid-'80s, the Meat Puppets lasted the longest, surviving where other bands fell apart. The Meat Puppets never had the dedicated following of Hüsker Dü or the Minutemen -- two fellow SST bands who played the same circuit as the Puppets -- but they were able to carve out a long career where other hardcore bands could not, because they always drew from conventional hard rock as well as punk. Not only did they play hard, loud, and fast, but they also had elements of the blues-rock of ZZ Top, the ambling folk-rock of the Grateful Dead, and Neil Young's country-rock and hard rock. As they grew older, the band matured musically, developing an accomplished instrumental technique and moving closer to the traditional hard rock that was always underneath their punk. But they never quite abandoned their punk roots, even when they briefly broke into the mainstream in the early '90s.

The core of the Meat Puppets was Curt (guitar; b. January 10, 1959) and Cris Kirkwood (bass; b. October 22, 1960), a pair of brothers born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. As teenagers, the Kirkwoods played in local rock & roll bands, primarily playing mainstream rock and hard rock. After graduating from a Jesuit prep school, the brothers formed the Meat Puppets in 1980 with drummer Derrick Bostrom. Unlike the Kirkwoods' earlier bands, the Meat Puppets were directly inspired by punk rock; they were so committed to keeping the music punk that they refused to rehearse.

A little over a year after their formation, the Meat Puppets released their first EP, In a Car, on World Imitation. At this point in their career, the band was at its noisiest, playing furious hardcore with avant-garde leanings. Greg Ginn, the lead guitarist for Black Flag and the head of SST Records, heard the record and offered the Meat Puppets a contract with SST. In 1982, the band released their full-length eponymous debut album on SST, which continued in the experimental vein of their EP.

The Meat Puppets didn't develop their own distinctive voice until their second album, Meat Puppets II, which was released in 1984. On Meat Puppets II, the band created a fusion of punk and country that sounded unlike anything else in the American underground. With their second album and constant touring, the Meat Puppets began to cultivate a dedicated cult following across the U.S. that continued to grow throughout the rest of the decade. In 1985, the group released their third album, Up on the Sun, which earned them their first reviews in mainstream music publications. Up on the Sun also demonstrated that the band was beginning to streamline their sound, moving closer to traditional blues-rock, country-rock and psychedelia. This shift toward conventional hard rock continued throughout the late '80s, as the band gradually sanded away their rougher, punk edges.

After releasing an EP called Out My Way in 1986, the Meat Puppets released two critically acclaimed albums -- Mirage and Huevos -- in 1987. By the release of Mirage, the Meat Puppets had established themselves as college radio stars, as well as popular attractions on the American underground circuit. Monsters, their final album for SST Records, was released in 1989 and its heavy rock attack foreshadowed the approach the band would adopt in the following decade. The straightforward sound of Monsters wasn't greeted favorably by the band's cult following, and the record stiffed on college radio.

Following the weak reception of Monsters, the Meat Puppets broke up. In 1991, they re-formed and signed a major-label deal with London Records. Before they recorded their first album for London, SST issued the compilation No Strings Attached in 1990. The following year, Forbidden Places, the group's major-label debut, appeared in the stores. Forbidden Places was neither a commercial nor underground success.

For two years after the release of Forbidden Places, the Meat Puppets were relatively quiet, playing a couple of gigs every once and a while. In 1993, they re-emerged as an opening act on Nirvana's In Utero tour. Toward the end of the tour, Nirvana taped an appearance for MTV Unplugged, during which they covered three songs from Meat Puppets II with the Meat Puppets themselves. The exposure on MTV Unplugged helped set the stage for the commercial breakthrough of the band's second major-label album, 1994's Too High to Die. Released around the same time as MTV Unplugged originally aired, Too High to Die didn't gather much attention at first, but after Kurt Cobain's suicide in April, the record and its first single, "Backwater," began to move. This was due to radio's acceptance of "Backwater," but also to MTV's constant airings of Nirvana's MTV Unplugged. By the summer of 1994, "Backwater" was a genuine hit, climbing to number two on the album rock charts and just missing the pop Top 40. None of the other singles from Too High to Die performed quite as well, but the album was a success, becoming the group's first to go gold. The Meat Puppets released No Joke!, their follow-up to Too High to Die, in the fall of 1995. However, this album received mediocre reviews and little airplay, and disappeared from the charts and radio a few months after its release.

Following this setback, the Pups effectively went on hiatus. Derrick Bostrom recorded a one-off EP of goofy, saccharine pop covers for the Amarillo label in 1996 under the name Today's Sounds; he subsequently took a job with a multimedia company, also overseeing both the band's website and Rykodisc's 1999 Meat Puppets reissue campaign. Cris Kirkwood, unfortunately, did not fare so well. With the influx of fame and cash, his drug problem had worsened during the No Joke! sessions, and in 1995, he married Michelle Tardif, whose own addictions and run-ins with the law sent things spiraling out of control. Tragedy struck in December 1996, when the Kirkwoods' mother died, and again in August 1998 when Tardif died of a drug overdose. After virtually disappearing for a short time, Cris began to sort out his addictions in rehab programs, and his attendant legal problems in court. Meanwhile, the band's label, London Records, was swallowed up by Universal in a corporate mega-merger.

An overloaded Curt Kirkwood had already relocated to Austin, TX, prior to Tardif's death; there he formed a new outfit dubbed the Royal Neanderthal Orchestra with ex-Pariah members Kyle Ellison (guitar) and Shandon Sahm (drums; also the son of Doug Sahm), plus former Bob Mould bassist Andrew Duplantis. Eventually, this group took over the Meat Puppets name (although neither Bostrom nor Cris Kirkwood was ever officially removed from the lineup). Curt secured a release from his prior contract and signed with Breaking, an Atlantic subsidiary. Golden Lies, the Meat Puppets' first new album in five years, was released in the fall of 2000. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

A country/hard rock band formed by Illinois native Jason Ringenberg in 1981, Jason and the Scorchers came careening onto the indie rock scene seemingly out of nowhere (truth was, it was Nashville) with a debut EP whose most killer track (among a slew of killer tracks) was a fire-breathing cover of Bob Dylan's "Absolutely Sweet Marie." This... [+] Read More

A country/hard rock band formed by Illinois native Jason Ringenberg in 1981, Jason and the Scorchers came careening onto the indie rock scene seemingly out of nowhere (truth was, it was Nashville) with a debut EP whose most killer track (among a slew of killer tracks) was a fire-breathing cover of Bob Dylan's "Absolutely Sweet Marie." This amalgam of speedy hard rock fused with Ringenberg's decidedly country twang, along with the band's ability to deftly negotiate between Rolling Stones-style stomps and quieter, more melodic acoustic country music, led to Jason and the Scorchers becoming a critically lauded and fairly popular '80s band. Capitalizing quickly on the notoriety brought by their debut EP, the Scorchers kicked out two fine LPs (Lost & Found and Still Standing) that sounded perfect for radio, but not so slick as to sound manufactured. With Ringenberg's yowling voice pushed way up front, the band's sonic power came from the synchronous playing of Nashville rock veterans Warner Hodges (guitar), Jeff Johnson (bass), and Perry Baggs (drums). Sharing similar musical backgrounds that valued the music of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash as much as the Stones or Beatles, these guys could crank out mega-amped hard rock one minute and sound like the Flying Burrito Brothers the next, all of it done with great skill and excitement. Despite their obvious talent, by the release of 1986's Still Standing, it seemed as though the band wasn't going anywhere. They had achieved a modicum of success but weren't able to break through to mass acclaim, partly because they came along just before the explosion of country radio in the late '80s/early '90s. Hence, rock radio was reluctant to play them because they sounded too country, and country radio thought they were too rock; it's an old story that usually spells doom for the band in question. After a three-year break that saw Johnson's departure, the Scorchers released a desultory third album (Thunder and Fire) that sounded like a desperate attempt at hard rock credibility. They broke up soon after. Ringenberg went on to record country-oriented solo work, re-formed the original Scorchers in 1994, and released a modest reunion record (A Blazing Grace) that sounded like the Scorchers of old. Two years later, the reunited Scorchers released Clear Impetuous Morning; Midnight Roads followed in 1998. Rock on Germany appeared three years later. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Meat Puppets' second album, 1984's appropriately titled Meat Puppets II, has since gone down in the rock history books as an all-time classic, and rightfully so. The Meat Puppets were one of the first punk acts to inject different musical styles into their sound, something that was an absolute no-no at the time -- especially the sparkling... [+] Read More

The Meat Puppets' second album, 1984's appropriately titled Meat Puppets II, has since gone down in the rock history books as an all-time classic, and rightfully so. The Meat Puppets were one of the first punk acts to inject different musical styles into their sound, something that was an absolute no-no at the time -- especially the sparkling sounds of country. The trio resembles a more conventional band than on their white-noise self-titled debut; the songwriting had improved dramatically, and you could even clearly decipher the playing and singing this time around. As many '90s alt-rock fans know, Meat Puppets II reached a whole new generation of fans when Nirvana covered the album's three best tracks on their MTV Unplugged special from 1994 -- "Plateau," "Lake of Fire," and "Oh, Me." But this was an incredibly consistent recording from beginning to end; other highlights included the instrumentals "Magic Toy Missing," "Aurora Borealis," and "I'm a Mindless Idiot," the rockers "Split Myself in Two" and "New Gods," plus such mellower fare as "Lost," "We're Here," "Climbing," and "The Whistling Song." An essential recording that sounds as fresh and inviting as the day it was released. [The 1999 Rykodisc reissue containes seven additional tracks, including the contrasting two-part epic "Teenager(s)," as well as "What to Do" and "100 Percent of Nothing."] ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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Essential, Vol. 1 (Are You Ready for the Country) compiles Jason & the Scorchers' first EP, Fervor, and their debut LP Lost & Found, adding four bonus tracks for good measure. It's an excellent way to acquire their best records, yet it was replaced four years later by the nearly identical Both Sides of the Line, which featured the EP and LP...

Essential, Vol. 1 (Are You Ready for the Country) compiles Jason & the Scorchers' first EP, Fervor, and their debut LP Lost & Found, adding four bonus tracks for good measure. It's an excellent way to acquire their best records, yet it was replaced four years later by the nearly identical Both Sides of the Line, which featured the EP and LP without the bonus tracks. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Best of the Beat Farmers is a skimpy, 10-track survey of the band's career that covers their best known songs. For those who just need a taste, the album works well as a basic introduction. Liner notes would have been nice. ~ Chris Woodstra, All Music Guide

The Best of the Beat Farmers is a skimpy, 10-track survey of the band's career that covers their best known songs. For those who just need a taste, the album works well as a basic introduction. Liner notes would have been nice. ~ Chris Woodstra, All Music Guide [-] Hide

With the original band personnel intact, the second Beat Farmers album, Van Go, continues the group's approach as a down and dirty country-rock band. Lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Jerry Raney comes up with some great originals, such as "Deceiver" and "Gun Sale Down at the Church," that are delivered in the Farmers' sweaty, alcohol-drenched... [+] Read More

With the original band personnel intact, the second Beat Farmers album, Van Go, continues the group's approach as a down and dirty country-rock band. Lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Jerry Raney comes up with some great originals, such as "Deceiver" and "Gun Sale Down at the Church," that are delivered in the Farmers' sweaty, alcohol-drenched sound. There is also an amazing cover of Neil Young's "Powderfinger," which sounds like it was written for the band, and it's easily one of the album's highlights. Drummer/vocalist and part-time frontman Country Dick Montana continues on with his skewed version of Johnny Cash with an excellent version of "Big Ugly Wheels." All of this proves that a change to a major label didn't diminish the band's style or appeal. ~ Matthew Greenwald, All Music Guide [-] Hide