Chris Hillman

If country and rock had never met, there never would have been all this brouhaha about country being the boom music of the '90s. A good deal of the most popular stuff emanating from Nashville today, including the likes of Garth Brooks and Kathy Mattea, springs from the polished, harmony-rich Southern California rock sound of the early- to mid-'70s that was epitomized by the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Poco.

The Desert Rose Band couldn't have picked a more appropriate site for launching a brief reunion tour than Buck Owens Crystal Palace in the capital of California country music. The group, formed by Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers founding member Chris Hillman, arrived in the mid-'80s as the latest in his long string of distinguished Southland ensembles in which he and abundantly talented cohorts proudly pushed, poked and prodded at the boundaries that often, unnecessarily, separated rock, folk and country music.

Some people take perverse pleasure in feeling aggrieved. If Chris Hillman were one of them, he could be among the most satisfied sourpusses in the music business. Hillman lost his career as a high-profile touring musician in 1994, after his classy Desert Rose Band got purged from country radio.

Just a week after several of the highest-profile members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gathered in New York for the hall's 25th anniversary blowout concerts at Madison Square Garden, another member of that elite pack was setting up in a very different environment. Without an ounce of hoopla, Chris Hillman, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1991 as a founding member of the Byrds, slipped the strap for his mandolin over his shoulder Saturday night, stepped up to a makeshift stage for a church benefit concert.

Chris Hillman's previous groups, including the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, saw members come and go so often that they should have invested in turnstiles as well as amps. So in one sense, when two members of Hillman's Desert Rose Band were replaced recently, it was nothing new. "We're all friends. It's OK, it's not a bad scene or anything. I've done this so much, I don't have time to get into those (personal) kind of things. So many bands and changes over the years.

Not many bands merely three albums into their career issue greatest-hits packages, but that's what the Desert Rose Band is doing in January, with a set called "A Dozen Roses." Though together only five years, and with its first album issued in 1987, the group--vocalist/guitarists Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, Orange County-bred guitarist/vocalist John Jorgenson, steel guitarist Jay Dee Maness, bassist Bill Bryson, and drummer Steve Duncan--has a body of songs deserving of enshrinement.

One minute Chris Hillman was lifting weights in the garage he has converted into a gymnasium at his home in Ventura. The next minute he held a pencil and paper and was scribbling the words to a song about the suffering and persecution endured by illegal aliens. Then there was the day that Hillman, whose Desert Rose Band is the latest venture in one of the most noteworthy careers in folk-rock and country-rock, went out for a ride on his bicycle.

Just a week after several of the highest-profile members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gathered in New York for the hall's 25th anniversary blowout concerts at Madison Square Garden, another member of that elite pack was setting up in a very different environment. Without an ounce of hoopla, Chris Hillman, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1991 as a founding member of the Byrds, slipped the strap for his mandolin over his shoulder Saturday night, stepped up to a makeshift stage for a church benefit concert.

Villa Park center Alan Verzani and guard Chris Hillman have decided where they are going to college, Coach Kevin Reynolds said. Verzani, who averaged 19.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and led the county in field-goal percentage (.627) to earn Century League player of the year and Times all-county honors, will attend UC Riverside. Hillman, who averaged 10 points and seven assists, will attend Chapman.

I find it sad and disturbing that Calendar can devote column after column to reviews of every two-bit rapper, punk has-been, metal never-was and even country wannabe but can't find room for a paragraph or two to review a special show at the Malibu Performing Arts Center featuring local legends Chris Hillman (the Byrds, Desert Rose Band) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Poco). Couldn't you send someone to cover this event?

Now we know why O.J. Simpson was involved in a slow-speed pursuit by police. Among the vehicles involved in the current Firestone tire recall are 1994 Ford Broncos. MR. SUBSTITUTION MAN: A last-minute change in the cast for a live performance can be bad news for the audience. But that wasn't the case outside Bunker Hill's California Plaza, where a bluegrass band called the Laurel Canyon Ramblers was supposed to give a free noontime concert.

Villa Park center Alan Verzani and guard Chris Hillman have decided where they are going to college, Coach Kevin Reynolds said. Verzani, who averaged 19.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and led the county in field-goal percentage (.627) to earn Century League player of the year and Times all-county honors, will attend UC Riverside. Hillman, who averaged 10 points and seven assists, will attend Chapman.

Former Byrd and Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman has stood quietly in the long shadows cast by Roger McGuinn and cult hero Gram Parsons. In discussions about the significance of these '60s-era bands, which virtually defined the genres of folk- and country-rock, Hillman often remains a mere footnote, despite his recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How bewildering. Hillman not only made vital contributions to those groundbreaking bands but continued to soar creatively.

Some people take perverse pleasure in feeling aggrieved. If Chris Hillman were one of them, he could be among the most satisfied sourpusses in the music business. Hillman lost his career as a high-profile touring musician in 1994, after his classy Desert Rose Band got purged from country radio.

Along with a couple of his musical pals, local Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chris Hillman will play selections from his vast body of work Tuesday night at the cozy Cafe Voltaire in Ventura. Hillman, who first played locally with the Byrds at Santa Barbara High School in 1964, has lived in the area for nearly 20 years, and accepts the occasional gig close to his Ojai home.

I find it sad and disturbing that Calendar can devote column after column to reviews of every two-bit rapper, punk has-been, metal never-was and even country wannabe but can't find room for a paragraph or two to review a special show at the Malibu Performing Arts Center featuring local legends Chris Hillman (the Byrds, Desert Rose Band) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Poco). Couldn't you send someone to cover this event?

H.L. Mencken once noted, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people." And it is possible no one ever will, if the libraries continue to close their doors due to lack of funding. Ironically, the Ventura County Library Services Agency is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Unfortunately the birthday cake may be delivered to a hearse idling in the parking lot of the mortuary: The system's $10.