Pop Music : Harman Tries Again to Crack Toughest Market

James Harman is still trying to break into his hardest market. The Rhino Records rhythm and blues man, along with his James Harman Band, often referred to as “Those Dangerous Gentlemens,” will play their roots-rock originals at Rio’s tonight.

A local group, The Forbidden Pigs, will open the show at the Point Loma club at 9 p.m.

Harman, who has been making records since the 1960s, said San Diego has not been receptive to his music and doesn’t acknowledge local musicians.

“My records don’t sell well there, and the clubs just seem to want Top 40 and cover bands,” said Harman, 41, of Los Angeles. “The radio stations in San Diego are conservative in their programming, so we rarely get air play. It seems all San Diegans want to hear is Madonna, Stevie Wonder and U2.

“We’ve done great at the Belly Up, but that’s in North County. It does seem that Rio’s is really attempting to get some touring bands to come to San Diego.”

While promoting their new album, “Those Dangerous Gentlemens,” Harman and his band have toured extensively in the Midwest and the South. Their single “My Baby’s Gone” charted in the Top 20 on radio stations in such cities as Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver and Sacramento, Harman said.

Although the group has received critical acclaim and is selling records, it has had a hard time reaching a mass audience, he said.

“We’re in a funny spot right now,” said the Alabama-born musician. “We have a confusing commodity. We’re too commercial for college radio and are considered too bluesy for regular radio.”

The band, which was on Enigma Records in 1984, signed with Rhino because it felt the distribution of its previous album, “Thank You Baby,” was too small and that the band hadn’t been properly promoted, Harman said.

“The only way to get a hit on the radio these days is with the right promotion,” he said. “I’ve never had the right combination of promotion and air play. This is my fifth time up to bat in the United States. In Europe, our records sell for $45. We’re a real commodity there.”

The James Harman Band, an original blend of rhythm and blues and early Motown pop, features Kid Ramos on guitar, Stephen Hodges on drums, Willie J. Campbell on bass, and Harman on harmonica and vocals. Harman said they’ll be playing tunes off the album as well as some cuts off the band’s straight blues LP, “Extra Napkins,” due out next month on a small, independent label called Rivera Records.

Although San Diegans may be indifferent to The James Harman Band’s music, Harman said the group won’t stop playing here.

“We’re a Southern California band,” he said. “It would be ridiculous to bypass San Diego when we play L.A., Santa Barbara and Orange County. The people in San Diego have to open their minds a little and make the club owners and radio station programmers give them something different than what they’re used to.”