‘Bakersfield 2’ Hopes to Rope More Rockers

Country music isn’t just for good ol’ boys anymore. There’s a rough-edged movement going on that is, according to record producer Pete Anderson, “drawing the youth back into country.” Suddenly, musicians who would have normally found their way into a rock ‘n’ roll band, are finding their niche in the soulful tunes of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline.

But these twangers and crooners aren’t merely reviving the past, they’re reinventing it. “They’re providing an alternative to what you hear on mainstream commercial radio, which is pretty bleak these days,” Anderson said. “Most country stations have a 24-song play list and play the same disgusting songs over and over again. No kid in town would turn on that kind of station.”

And the kids aren’t counting on Nashville to produce the kind of music they want to hear either. L.A. is where you come to hear the cutting edge of country music.

“Nashville is a hard place for outsiders to break in,” Anderson said. “There’s all the bureaucracy of the established record companies and there’s no strong club scene for playing live in Nashville.”

There is in Los Angeles, though. The San Fernando Valley is full of honky-tonk joints where young up-and-comers can get exposure, and even Hollywood has its share of rock clubs willing to book some of the best country acts.

“What’s missing here,” Anderson said, “is the final outlet--a record label.”

That’s why the 1985 album “A Town South of Bakersfield” and the just-released follow-up album have become so important to the local scene. Anderson and executive producer Dan Fredman ferreted out the best of the local scene and made a compilation record. Major label executives were most appreciative; after the 1985 release of the first “South of Bakersfield” album, former unknowns Rosie Flores, Dwight Yoakam and George Highfill signed major-label record contracts. Most of the other participants went on to make their own solo albums on independent labels.

“We didn’t sell a lot of copies but we made a lot of noise worldwide,” Anderson said. “There was an especially big impact in Scandinavia. When I was in Norway, people came up to me and said, ‘When we speak about country music we speak of before Bakersfield and after Bakersfield.’ ”

Anderson even managed to find a Norwegian songwriter who wrote so much like an American that Anderson used one of the songwriter’s songs on the new album. Ten new acts are showcased on the “Bakersfield 2” album.

“Jim Lauderdale reminds me a lot of Buck Owens,” executive producer Fredman said. “But there’s a freshness to it.”

Candye Kane reminds a lot of people of Patsy Cline. “But she draws a lot of rock ‘n’ rollers to her show, too,” Fredman said.

Lucinda Williams is another hot talent who many are predicting will soon be snapped up by a major label, the producer says.

All of the album’s participants will appear at the Palomino Tuesday night for a record release party. Each will perform a short set.

“A Town South of Bakersfield 2” record release party is Tuesday, April 12, 8 p.m. at the Palomino, 6907 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Call (818) 764-4010 for more information.