Original, high-flying country-rock featuring performances by The Dead & Phil Lesh & Friends keyboardist Rob Barraco, Former E-Street Band drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter, The David Nelson Band's pedal steel wiz Barry Sless, harmony vocals by The Rowan Brothers- Lorin & Chris Rowan, Nash Bridges Musical Director Geoege Michalski on piano, guitar mastery by Jody Salino, and Kingfish keyboadist Barry Flast. The music ranges from pedal to the metal southern rockers and western swing, to weepy ballads. Includes a 12 page full-color booklet with photos by Jay Blakesberg, design by Robert Minkin, and a stunning full color mural of J.C. Flyer by renown artist Steve Johnansen. So strap yourself in and take the ride...
The Legend of J.C. Flyer
The first country song that I can remember hearing was "I've Just Seen a Face" that kicked off the Beatles "Rubber Soul" album (the original US album). While the Beatles did Buck Owens' "Act Naturally" on their earlier US release, "Yesterday and Today", my young ears didn't differentiate the cover version of Buck's classic honky tonk tune. What struck me the most about "I've Just Seen a Face," was the acoustic guitar sound and the brilliant back woods harmony that came out of a love of traditional American bluegrass music. Way back then, bluegrass was something that I was not yet aware of, although through the Beatles, and later, the Byrds, I became quite fond of that high-lonesome sound. With the proceeds that I saved from my paper route I bought an old Harmony acoustic and strummed out the three chords needed to play along with my musical heroes of the day.
After Bob Dylan went to Nashville to record "Blond on Blond", and later, "Nashville Skyline", the music community began to take notice of a simpler sound, one that touched hearts with simplicity. Through underground radio, which later became the standard FM stations, adventurous DJ's would fill the airwaves with not only what is known as classic rock today, but they also began to play music with a more home spun sound. Dylan's backing band, The Band's first album, "Music From Big Pink", was truly revolutionary. The Byrds begat the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Grateful Dead's country cousins, The New Riders of The Purple Sage, quickly caught my attention as well. Like many, I believe that Jerry Garcia was the first person that I ever saw play the pedal steel live. On "Movin' On" I tip my hat to all.
I had a musical epiphany of sorts when I first saw Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen at My Fathers Place in 1972. The Old Commander had what was perhaps the finest band ever to mix Bob Wills swing, with old timey music, topped off with some dance floor shaking boogie-woogie. Hell, I didn't ever know Bob Wills' music, but I sure did after that! Along the way, the David Bromberg Band quickly picked me up and continued me through my American musical journey.
In the early seventies, I worked at a microbiological lab in Elmsford, NY. One of the microbiologists was also a country music performer. Patrick "Lefty" Malia performed a mix of covers and originals in low-lit lounges on the wrong side of town, Army bases, and USO Clubs throughout the tri state area. Lefty turned me on to a trove of great songwriters; Tom T. Hall, Johnny and Tommy Cash, the Hanks; Williams, Thompson, and Snow, Merl Haggard, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Red Simpson, Ernest Tubb and many, many others. Back in 1972 it was as if I were learning another language, and I considered my self quite knowledgeable about all kinds of music at that time.
Little did I know....
Somewhere along the line I crossed the line from music aficionado to music performer. It was inevitable. Chronicling the San Francisco music scene in my Bay Area Bits column published in the pages of Relix Magazine for nearly 16 years certainly didn't hurt.
Several years after moving to San Francisco, Scott Wiseman, the producer from public access telev
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