Bernard R. "Buddy Blue" Seigal (December 30, 1957 – April 2, 2006) was an American musician, music critic and writer, who performed and often wrote under his stage name Buddy Blue. He was a founding member of The Beat Farmers , a Southern California rock band that blended country roots music and rock 'n' roll. As a music critic , he was known for his straightforward style of critique that often used colorful language and original metaphors to either praise or lambaste musicians whom Seigal liked or disliked.
30-623: Daniel Monte McLain (May 11, 1955 – November 8, 1995), known by the stage name Country Dick Montana , was an American musician best known as a member of The Beat Farmers . He was born in Carmel , California . In 1995, It was reported that Montana suffered a heart attack and died while playing "The Girl I Almost Married" during a Beat Farmers show at the Longhorn Saloon in Whistler, British Columbia , Canada. The cause of death has been otherwise reported by
60-641: A heart attack while performing "The Girl I Almost Married", three songs into the set at the Longhorn Saloon in Whistler, British Columbia . The remaining Beat Farmers decided to dissolve the band three days later. In 1996, Bar None Records of Hoboken, New Jersey , posthumously released The Devil Lied to Me , the Country Dick Montana solo album. The performers included members of the Farmers, Katy Moffatt , Rosie Flores , Mojo Nixon , and Dave Alvin . In 2002, Rhino Records digitally remastered and reissued
90-597: A band called Country Dick & the Snuggle Bunnies, which included an array of San Diego talent, most of whom would play major roles in the Beat Farmers legacy. The band included: Montana, drums/vocals; Richard Banke (aka Skid Roper ), mandolin/washboard/vocals; Robin Jackson, guitar/vocals; Paul Kamanski, guitar/vocals; Joey Harris, guitar/vocals; and Nino Del Pesco , bass/vocals. "The Ballad of Country Dick" by Mojo Nixon
120-573: A crash course in tight songs and sets and exposed them to myriad musical styles and canvasses. Shortly before his death, Seigal reunited with Jerry Raney and Rolle Love of the Beat Farmers, along with drummer Joel 'Bongo' Kmak as 'The Flying Putos' at local venues, but started using 'The Farmers' when they decided to record an album together (circa 2005). (Country Dick Montana died onstage of an aneurysm back in 1995 ) playing shows as The Farmers. He had previously played in Raney-Blue (circa 1996) but left when
150-450: A full-time writing position with the weekly La Jolla Light At the time of Seigal's death, he had been writing for several years for the OC Weekly alternative paper. He also wrote for a national magazine, Video Store Magazine, a trade magazine for the home video business. In March 2002, The Union-Tribune issued a memo to its staff stating that one of Seigal's articles, which had run in
180-736: A heart attack at his La Mesa home at the age of 48. Also that year, a live recording of an early show was released as The Beat Farmers Live at the Spring Valley Inn, 1983 on Clarence Records. In January 2010, the Beat Farmers started a tradition of an annual Hootenanny that features Jerry Raney, Joey Harris and Rollie Love getting together to play Beat Farmers songs. These are held at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California. The show typically features Raney (playing with his band, The Farmers), Harris (playing with his band, Joey Harris and
210-812: A number of Beat Farmer songs, Banke teamed up with Mojo Nixon , and Del Pesco later formed The Lonesome Strangers with bandmates Randy Weeks, Jeff Rymes, and Joe Nanini and Snake Farm with Barry McBride of The Plugz . In 1984, they were signed to a one-off record deal with Rhino Records . The first album, Tales of the New West , was produced by Blasters and Los Lobos saxophonist Steve Berlin and released in January 1985. The album included cover songs "Reason to Believe" by Bruce Springsteen , " There She Goes Again " by The Velvet Underground , and "Never Going Back" by John Stewart . It also featured their most well known song, "Happy Boy", which gained national exposure through
240-527: A six-song EP for Demon Records . It was co-produced by Graham Parker and The Rumour keyboardist Bob Andrews and included a version by Buddy Blue of Neil Young 's "Powderfinger" and Country Dick singing "Beat Generation" with backing vocals from Dave Alvin , Nick Lowe , Gene Taylor, Dan Stuart , and Loudon Wainwright III . Their month-long tour of England drew praise from critics, particularly from Melody Maker , whose editor followed them around and subsequently compared them to The Beatles . In 1986,
270-776: The San Diego Reader (a publication local to the home of the Beat Farmers) as having been ruled as an aneurysm . The band disbanded shortly thereafter. In the 1970s, Montana owned a record store called Monty Rockers and was a member of two seminal San Diego bands. He drummed for both punk rock pioneers The Penetrators and roots rock band The Crawdaddys. From 1983 to 1995, Montana played drums, percussion, guitar and accordion for The Beat Farmers with founding member Buddy Blue Siegal . Montana also performed lead vocals on at least one song on every Beat Farmers album, singing humorous songs frequently related to drinking. The song "Happy Boy"
300-627: The Doctor Demento radio show, and was played as a novelty song across the country, notably by disc jockeys Jim McInnes and Pat Martin on San Diego radio station KGB-FM , on Pittsburgh station WDVE , where it has been played weekly since the 1980s, and in the early 1980s on San Francisco , California , FM radio station KQAK aka The Quake FM 99, particularly on the morning show with DJ Alex Bennett (the Quake closed its doors on June 18, 1985). In 1985, they traveled to England to record Glad 'N' Greasy ,
330-744: The Grossmont College student newspaper as a writer and was later promoted to editor. In 1981, Seigal, a singer and guitarist, formed the rockabilly band the Rockin' Roulettes. In 1983, he quit the Roulettes after he was invited to join the Beat Farmers with Jerry Raney and Country Dick Montana . He took musician Rolle Love with him. The Beat Farmers eventually signed with Rhino records and became known regionally and nationally with their performances of songs such as "Happy Boy", "Riverside" and "Gun Sale at
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#1732872352362360-831: The Yardbirds , ham fisted into a food processor, stuffed into a shotgun shell, and blasted into a beer keg at three in the morning." As of 2024, remaining members Jerry Raney, Joey Harris, Joel Kmak, and Rollie Love have been performing again in San Diego and throughout the Southwest. In 1983, The Beat Farmers were formed by Country Dick Montana , former drummer for San Diego bands The Penetrators and The Crawdaddys, and Jerry Raney, singer and guitarist with The Shames and formerly of 1970s psychedelic band Glory. Singer-guitarist Bernard " Buddy Blue " Seigal and bassist Rolle Love from local rockabilly band The Rockin' Roulettes were recruited to round out
390-504: The Beat Farmers and the neo-traditional Country and cow punk scenes. Country Dick & the Snuggle Bunnies were: McLain (aka Country Dick Montana), drums and vocals; Richard Banke (aka Skid Roper ), mandolin, washboard and vocals; Robin Jackson, guitar and vocals; Paul Kamanski, guitar and vocals; Joey Harris, guitar and vocals; and Nino Del Pesco , bass and vocals. Harris later replaced Buddy Blue in The Beat Farmers, Kamanski penned
420-530: The Buddy Blue Band. Throughout his musical career, Seigal performed jump blues , a form of jazzy blues focused on uptempo rhythms and loud, boisterous vocals. Seigal's impact on the San Diego music scene was diverse. As a critic, he promoted those who he thought were worthy and viciously degraded musicians who he perceived as faking it or contrived. As a musician, he proliferated different styles of jazz and blues and periods in his bands often gave performers
450-542: The Church". Seigal left the Beat Farmers after three years, in 1986, to start a new band, The Jacks. The Jacks recorded one album for Rounder Records , Jacks Are Wild in 1988. A year later, he was hired as a music critic for the San Diego Reader . He would later be fired from the paper when his editors suggested he write negative reviews about local musicians whom Seigal felt did not deserve bad press. Recording as Buddy Blue, Seigal began performing again in 1991. He released
480-565: The Mentals) as well as the Beat Farmers with Love (and Joel Kmak on drums). There is typically a number of special guests as well. These have included Dave Alvin, Steve Berlin, Mojo Nixon, Paul Kamanski and others as they pay tribute to Country Dick Montana and Buddy Blue. On Feb. 26, 2022, the Beat Farmers (Raney, Harris, Love, Kmak) performed on the Outlaw Country Cruise. They performed two other sets (Feb. 27 and March 2) as well as joining
510-637: The Warner Hodges Band (ex-Jason and the Scorchers) for a jam session. The Beat Farmers will be on the West Coast version of the Outlaw Country Cruise in 2022. All U.S. releases unless otherwise noted Buddy Blue Born in Syracuse , New York , Seigal moved to San Diego in 1973 and played in several unknown bands while working as a clerk at a record store and attending community college. In 1979, he joined
540-470: The album/CD Guttersnipes 'n' Zealots in 1991, which included vocals from Southern California rockers Dave Alvin and Mojo Nixon . It featured the songs "Duke of J Street," "Someone You Knew," and "Gun Sale at the Church." The albums/CDs Dive Bar Casanovas (1994), Greasy Jass (1997), Dipsomania! (1999), Pretend It's Okay (2001, which included a guest spot from Chris Gaffney ), and Sordid Lives (2003) followed. All were recorded by either Buddy Blue or
570-487: The band became Powerthud. Seigal was a champion of underground comics from the 1960s and 1970s, writing about them for the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers. By 1990, Seigal's irreverent style of writing led him to writing assignments with a variety of Southern California newspapers, including The San Diego Union-Tribune , Los Angeles Times , The Orange County Weekly , San Jose Mercury News and
600-419: The band continued to tour and signed a seven-record deal with Curb Records . Fed up by working with Curb Records, Buddy Blue left the band. Their major-label debut Van Go was produced by Craig Leon and featured performances by both Blue and new member Joey Harris, who previously played with John Stewart , The Speedsters, and Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies. The next year, The Pursuit of Happiness
630-501: The first CD release of Glad n' Greasy , now subtitled "The Lost Beat Farmers Recording", and an extended version of Tales of the New West . The remaining members formed 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, The Flying Putos (Jerry Raney, Buddy Blue, & Rolle Love), and The Farmers (Jerry Raney, Rolle Love and Buddy Blue). On April 2, 2006, Buddy Blue died of
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#1732872352362660-797: The game, his "tombstone" appears in a graveyard on the 12th level, complete with the words "the devil lied to me" as his epitaph, which refers to his 1996 posthumous album. The Beat Farmers The Beat Farmers are an American rock band that formed in San Diego , California , United States, in August 1983, and enjoyed a cult following into the early 1990s before the death of drummer and sometime lead singer Country Dick Montana . Their music can be described as an amalgam of jangle pop , roots rock , hard-twang Americana , country rock , rockabilly , and swamp rock . The San Diego Reader summed up their sound as ..."like Bo Diddley , CCR , Joe South , and
690-568: The group began to record Viking Lullabys in Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada. It was released in August 1994 by Sector 2, an Austin, Texas , record label. In 1995, Curb/MCA released The Best of the Beat Farmers without the consent or involvement of the band. That same year, the Beat Farmers released Manifold , their second record for Sector 2. Paul Kamanski, who wrote several songs on previous Beat Farmers releases, appeared on vocals and guitar. On November 8, 1995, Country Dick Montana died of
720-473: The lineup. The band regularly played at the Spring Valley Inn and venues around San Diego State University . In 1984, they won the annual San Diego Battle of the Bands and gained a Southern California following. The Beat Farmers were born out of an earlier band formed by Dan McLain called Country Dick & the Snuggle Bunnies. That band included many San Diego musicians who would later play important roles in both
750-415: The next year. In 1991 Montana was treated for a thyroid condition and continued to visit a doctor for cancer treatments. The band appeared on Late Night with David Letterman on Friday, June 14, 1991, on NBC . Over the years, the band grew increasingly dissatisfied with its relationship with Curb Records, and repeatedly attempted to get out of their seven-album contract. Finally succeeding in 1993,
780-687: The paper, used words like "old fart," "love turnips", "rat bastids", "crapola" and "pooh-butts" that were deemed unsuitable for readers. Seigal was known as the Lovable Curmudgeon during his days writing weekly articles called “Blue Notes” that ran each Thursday in the Night & Day section in the Thursday edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune . Seigal died of a heart attack on an early Sunday morning April 2, 2006 at age 48. Siegal's last performance
810-472: Was popular on The Dr. Demento Radio Show and featured in several feature films. Montana was also famous for his onstage antics, frequently related to drinking. During this time, he was also in the short-lived trio the Pleasure Barons with Mojo Nixon and Dave Alvin , The Incredible Hayseeds, Country Dick's Petting Zoo, and Country Dick's Garage. Prior to co-founding the Beat Farmers, Montana put together
840-440: Was released in 1989, and included "King of Sleaze", a 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 . The Beat Farmers finished the year with a three-night stand at San Diego's Bacchannal nightclub. The album Loud and Plowed and . . . LIVE!! was culled from those three nights and released
870-475: Was released on Curb Records/ MCA . The single "Make It Last" was briefly played on dozens of Country-Western stations across the nation, but the rest of the album was too rock n' roll-oriented for the format, and the single was dropped from rotation. "Hideaway" was featured in the soundtrack to the film Major League and "Big Big Man" was featured in The Garbage Pail Kids Movie . Poor and Famous
900-480: Was written after his death. The song "Happy Boy" was written by Dane Conover, formerly of the Puppies—the band in which Del Pesco played bass prior to joining Country Dick & the Snuggle Bunnies. Conover would later go on to form Trees. In 1996, the posthumous solo album The Devil Lied to Me was released. A reference to Montana can be found in the 1997 first-person shooter video game Redneck Rampage . In
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