The Beat Farmers

In August, 1983, a yet-to-be-named band begins to play a series of unannounced dates at the Spring Valley Inn. For a case of Bud Light, the band gets the name the "Beat Farmers". In January, 1984, the BFers begin playing Bodies, a dive bar in San Diego. By March, they are signed to Rhino Records for a one album deal. Armed with a $4000 budget, they record "Tales Of The New West" (featuring the Country Dick standard "Happy Boy").

Tales... is released in January, 1985 while the BFers play the Bacchanal in San Diego quite often. March, 1985, the BFers begin their first US tour. After opening for the Blasters, they make the mistake of their lives by signing a 7 record deal with CURB Records. They take off to England for a 3 week tour in June and record "Glad 'N Greasy" for Demon Records. December, 1985, Buddy Blue leaves the band after recording "Van Go" but never waiting around for its release. Joey Harris, who had worked with Dick in 1983 with Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies. "Van Go" is released in June, 1986 while the band plays two 60,000 person festivals in Belgium. The song "Riverside" gets radio play and the band is asked to make a cheesie Budweiser radio commercial using the music from "Riverside".

February, 1987, the BFers complete recording "The Pursuit Of Happiness". The single "Make It Last" is added to 40 country/western stations in June but as soon as the album is released, the radio programmers hear the rest of the album and drop the song from the play lists- to much rock and roll. October, 1987, Dick almost beats up the lead singer for Duran Duran. "Dark Light" makes some noise on radio play lists.

January, 1988, the BFers begin work on the next album. In May, 1988, they start a European tour for two months. They return to deal with label problems. In February, 1989, Dick and Joey join Mojo Nixon and Dave Alvin (Blasters) with nine other tuxedoed fools and play the west coast as "The Pleasure Barons". A live album is recorded an eventually released in 1993. In July, 1989, "Poor and Famous" is finally released. While playing their annual New Years shows, they record the shows for a live album.

In March, 1990, Dick has thyroid surgery. This problem has been bothering Dick for years now. He has been in and out of the doctor's office for cancer treatments. June, 1990, the live album is released, "Live, Loud, and Plowed" without the bands knowledge. Dick discovers it at a Tower Records in San Diego. They play the David Letterman Show in New York. Dave's says he wants to become a roadie for the band.

The band fights for the next few years to boot CURB. The lawyers get rich and the band continues to play regularly on the west coast with various swings to the mid-west and east.

The BFers continue to have various other projects going on including the Incredible Hayseeds (a country western review show with a trombone added), Country Dick's Petting Zoo, Country Dick's Garage, Jerry and Joey acoustic, Jerry and Buddy jam nights, and the Pleasure Barons. Country Dick is recording a solo effort. This will contain many of the nasty Dick songs we all know and love as well as some straight ahead rock and rollers like "Big Fast Town" and "Indigo Rider". Dick said recently that this will be out someday and is a concept album, Dick style. Dick is also working with Mojo Nixon when time permits.

Undaunted, the BFers head to Vancouver, Canada in 1993 to record their new record. The untitled album is completed and the band begins the search for a new record label. Sector 2 Records, out of Austin, signs the band and soon " Viking Lullabys" (spelled wrong because Dick likes it that way!) is pressed up on CD and readied for release on August 9, 1994.

The band continues to tour (what else is new!) and then returns to San Diego and begins work in early 1995 on a new album. They decide to produce it themselves and record it in San Diego (a first!). The Bfers change their sound slightly to get a harder sound to this new album. Those bastards at CURB decide to release a greatest hits package in truly cheap form. It is a very poor retrospective of the band that was packaged, put together, and released without the bands knowledge (sound familiar!). Oh how we love CURB!

By mid-year, the album is finished. " Manifold" is the title and it is released on September 19, 1995. As a tribute to the home town fans, the album is released two weeks earlier in San Diego to coincide with the Street Scene (an outdoor concert event that takes place every year in San Diego). The band hits the road with the Blasters for a co-headline tour that swings all over the country in September and October.

Suddenly on a Wednesday night, November 8th, 1995, while playing drums in Whistler, Brittish Columbia (about one hour out of Vancouver- a BFer strong hold!) the unthinkable happened. Country Dick was struck down by a heart attack during the third song of their show.

The indestructible, fun loving, deep voiced, friendly, extremely humorous giant is now gone. There are no words that can describe how any BFer fan feels. Dan McLain AKA Country Dick Montana was a talent that can never be equaled. Sure he wasn't well known but anyone who ever saw a BFer live show could tell you that Dick was at his best- on stage. His presence will never be replaced and I know that the remaining BFers do not want to replace him. Whatever shape the BFers take, it will never be the same without Country Dick Montana. As of 11/11/95, the BFers are no more.