Herb Pedersen

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.

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.

but He's Not Jiggling Say what you will about Chick Hearn, but Paul Sunderland is doing a great job filling in. It's not easy at the last minute to sub for somebody who has been at it as long as Chick has. Nice job, Paul. I'm sure Stu Lantz appreciates your professionalism too. Herb Pedersen Valley Village

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.

There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o! Country music's legendary Merle Haggard singing "Bingo" on a children's record is about as incongruous as Bob Dylan's rendition of "This Old Man" on last year's pop all-star album "For the Children," from Walt Disney Records. Sing it Haggard does--smooth and sweet--on Disney's latest all-star effort, "Country Music for Kids," this one a for-profit venture, unlike "For the Children," which benefited the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

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.

Ex-Byrds member Chris Hillman wasted no time laying to rest any nostalgic speculation about a Byrds reunion growing out of the double bill he's sharing with the group's former leader Roger McGuinn tonight at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. "This is not another version of the Byrds," Hillman, 43, said by phone this week from his Ventura residence. "Roger will do a solo acoustic set and then we'll play.

How did a guy from Berkeley ever get into this kind of music? That question is put frequently to Herb Pedersen, the banjo- and guitar-pickin', sweet-voiced tenor of the Laurel Canyon Ramblers. Kentucky, Virginia or maybe the Carolinas are where you'd look for his kind of folk-country music. However, before student demonstrations thrust UC Berkeley into the national news in the mid-60s, it was the site of an annual folk festival.

The Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival has been the meeting place for countless bluegrass and country musicians since it started in 1961. This year's lineup includes the Laurel Canyon Ramblers, the Iron Mountain String Band, folk singers Cathy Barton & Dave Para, Fred Sokolow singing Hank Williams' tunes, plus hundreds of individual banjo, fiddle and guitar players vying for cash awards and prizes at the daylong event.

Los Lobos, "Good Morning Aztlan," Mammoth. Los Lobos returns to their role as an earthy, live band, gathering all their strength and spirit to resist the drag of a heavy heart. Also: Arlo, "Stab the Unstoppable Hero," Sub Pop Danzig, "777: I Luciferi," Spitfire Dirty Vegas, "Dirty Vegas," Capitol DJ Irene, "Phonosynthesis," Surge DJ Quick, "Under tha Influence," Bungalo DJ Shadow, "The Private Press," MCA Doves, "The Last Broadcast," Capitol Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen, "Way Out West," Back Porch Lil' Romeo, "Game Time," Universal Meshell Ndegeocello, "Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape," Maverick Speedealer, "Second Sight," Palm Pictures Tift Merritt, "Bramble Rose," Lost Highway The Young Dubliners, "Absolutely," Omtown/Higher Octave Various artists, "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Scooby-Doo," Lava/Atlantic

but He's Not Jiggling Say what you will about Chick Hearn, but Paul Sunderland is doing a great job filling in. It's not easy at the last minute to sub for somebody who has been at it as long as Chick has. Nice job, Paul. I'm sure Stu Lantz appreciates your professionalism too. Herb Pedersen Valley Village

The Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival has been the meeting place for countless bluegrass and country musicians since it started in 1961. This year's lineup includes the Laurel Canyon Ramblers, the Iron Mountain String Band, folk singers Cathy Barton & Dave Para, Fred Sokolow singing Hank Williams' tunes, plus hundreds of individual banjo, fiddle and guitar players vying for cash awards and prizes at the daylong event.

How did a guy from Berkeley ever get into this kind of music? That question is put frequently to Herb Pedersen, the banjo- and guitar-pickin', sweet-voiced tenor of the Laurel Canyon Ramblers. Kentucky, Virginia or maybe the Carolinas are where you'd look for his kind of folk-country music. However, before student demonstrations thrust UC Berkeley into the national news in the mid-60s, it was the site of an annual folk festival.

There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o! Country music's legendary Merle Haggard singing "Bingo" on a children's record is about as incongruous as Bob Dylan's rendition of "This Old Man" on last year's pop all-star album "For the Children," from Walt Disney Records. Sing it Haggard does--smooth and sweet--on Disney's latest all-star effort, "Country Music for Kids," this one a for-profit venture, unlike "For the Children," which benefited the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Ex-Byrds member Chris Hillman wasted no time laying to rest any nostalgic speculation about a Byrds reunion growing out of the double bill he's sharing with the group's former leader Roger McGuinn tonight at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. "This is not another version of the Byrds," Hillman, 43, said by phone this week from his Ventura residence. "Roger will do a solo acoustic set and then we'll play.

Old dogs might not learn new tricks, but Buck Owens proved his old tricks are still fresh enough to keep the younger pups yapping at his heels. The 61-year-old legend upset the country-music status quo more than 30 years ago with his hard-driving Bakersfield sound.

When was the last time you heard baroque cello at a country music concert? Well, that's just what Lyle Lovett employed as a lead-in to his very traditional-sounding country song "Cowboy Man" at the Roxy on Tuesday. Opening for Chris Hillman's Desert Rose Band, the long, lean Texan for the most part stood somewhere between those two styles: an urbane cowboy with a sound that's generally more uptown than down-home.