Hippiebilly and no-hit wonders of California plus more

[Dave Zirbel]

http://www.slipcue.com/music/country/co ... ia_01.html

A friend sent me this link that I found to be pretty fun and interesting. It’s a list of regional country artists, mostly unknown but also a few well known. Several on the list comes with a description and he lists the musicians if possible…I skimmed through the California list which goes as far back as the late 50’s up to about the late ‘80’s. Most of what I read so far was 70’s and 80’s. I see lots of California celebrity Steelers like Al Perkins, Ernie Hagar, Red Rhodes, Tom Brumley, JayDee, Sneaky Pete, Bobby Black, Greg Liesz, John McFee, etc, and even Noel Boggs! Also I see some familiar names, even a few that I’ve played with, and a few I’ve seen on the forum, plus several unfamiliar (to me) steel players. Not sure how active the website is but he invites you to send more, which I imagine would be quite a few….sorry if this has already been posted, or posted on the wrong section. The link is for California artists but if you scroll to the bottom you can navigate to your home state or different lists. Let us know if you see your name on there!

[Dave Zirbel]

Some forum names I see are Joe Goldmark, Don McClellen, Gary Roda, Doug Livingston, Carl Walden, Barry Blackwood, Stu Schulman, and Chris Ivey.

Paul Dobbs is on there too. He was a Fresno guy that played like a Nashville guy!

I have one of the Monte Mills albums listed, but he doesn't list the band. Monte was a farrier in San Luis Obisbo County. I found a record in the used bin for $1 and Bud Isaacs and Roy Lanham play on it!

[Don R Brown]

Dave, thanks for posting that! I see a few familiar names in the New York section. The overall amount of talent would take a lifetime to digest.

[Dave Zirbel]

The overall amount of talent would take a lifetime to digest.

Yeah, right?!

After I posted the link I found other categories, like Western swing and alt country….I found a few things I tracked on in the alt country section…..

On the California list I was amazed at how many steel pickers I never heard of….but then again I was born in ‘63 and really didn’t start gigging until 1990/91…(late bloomer)😂

[Joachim Kettner]

Awesome list and thanks for posting. I would ad the duo Silverado with J.D on steel and of course Lawrence Hammond's Coyotes Dream. He also had a band called Mad River whom had a Country influence. But as Don said, a lifetime is not nearly enough to go through it all.

[Peter Dollard]

There was a seventies band Wild Country that had Bruce Turner on steel Billy playing lead and Larry Walck playing bass...Bruce was a very accomplished player and i have really been tring to find him for years.Our fearless leader Bob says he has heard of him but does not know his whereabouts...They played at the Ponderosa in Santa Rosa and Mardis on Top of the Hill outside Sebastopol

[Chris Bauer]

I love this!

Lotta memories in there...

[Chris Templeton]

I sent the link to David Phillips.

[Garry Vanderlinde]

Found one band that I played with at Knotts Berry Farm in the late "70's, maybe early '80's. Got to meet and play with the great Ed Black. Bobbi sang "Silver Threads" and Ed reproduced his fuzz steel break that he recorded with Linda Ronstadt.

Bobbi And Clyde "...And The Seaweed Cowboys" (BCS Records, 19--?) (LP)
The Southern California duo of Bobbi McGavran and Clyde Lucas worked in a wide variety of venues, including a stint as the house band at Knott's Berry Farm, gigs with various country rockers and later, work in film and TV. This album was made with Bill Cunningham and J. Scott Hendrickson, who wrote about half the songs on the album. Not sure of the year on this one, but I think it's of late 1970s vintage.

[Stephen Silver]

I have a few cuts on that album. Bobbi and Scott are still somewhere along the coast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBboyjVM1Zc

[Joe Goldmark]

Hey Dave, Great site and I've never seen it! Thanks for posting. This site is run by a local guy named Lawrence Kay, who also does some Blogs and Podcasts (I think) as "Joe Sixpack."

Joe

[Dustin Rhodes]

Tons of cool history there. I love this kind of stuff.

[Herb Steiner]

Found one band that I played with at Knotts Berry Farm in the late "70's, maybe early '80's. Got to meet and play with the great Ed Black. Bobbi sang "Silver Threads" and Ed reproduced his fuzz steel break that he recorded with Linda Ronstadt.

Ed did play a groovy... hey, I'm 73 ... solo on Linda's recording of "Silver Threads," but it was actually Linda's second recording of the tune. The first was on her "Hand Sown, Home Grown" album from 1969, with Red Rhodes on steel.

I was present at the sessions, and Red had a fuzz AND a phase shifter (remember those? ) going on for his solo, played on a Fender 1000 into a Twin Reverb. Ed's solo on the later cut pays homage to Red's initial version.

EDIT: My memory was faulty. Red was playing a Fender 800, not a 1000.

Ed was a good friend of mine. He was one of the best around. And the same goes for Red. I miss both those guys.

[Skip Edwards]

Me too, Herb...

[Danny Naccarato]

Dave, I worked a lot of jobs with Monte Mills since the late 80’s whenever I would visit SLO, even one with Roy Nichols. Monte would use Roy, Tiny and Norm Hamlet on most of his albums. They reviewed with him a lot over the years. Back in the 80’s, 90’s Monte was one of the biggest acts on the central coast

[Dana Blodgett]

I remember seeing Monte Mills & the Lucky Horseshoe Band, I’ve seen him a bunch in the 80s & 90s. He had a ranch on LOVR called the “Bar Nuthin” Ranch. (SLOCO)
One of the local Pathologists (Dr. Kirschner) would hold private Ranch Partys & BBQ’s. The band would play on an old flatbed truck sometimes.
He always had a really good band, sometimes have guest pickers sit in.
I think he sold the ranch and moved to the North County (805)area. There are some videos on you tube of Monte Mills & the Lucky Horseshoe Band.

[Danny Naccarato]

He moved out off Hwy 58 on Huer Huero Rd many, many years ago...