A Rosie Future : Singer and Songwriter Flores Returns With New Sound to San Diego

A 1990 episode of the television melodrama “Divorce Court” centered on Willow Wheat, a would-be country singer named as the “other woman” in a love triangle. The case came down to a courtroom singing performance, in which Wheat was especially convincing.

That’s because her character was played by Rosie Flores, a former San Diegan who, in real life, is a singer-songwriter of some renown. Flores returns home tonight to perform at Sound FX as part of a troupe of recording artists touring under the banner, “A Bunch of Songwriters Sitting Around Singing.” The other notables include Midge Ure, Darden Smith, Chip Taylor and Don Henry.

The show’s semi-casual format, the brainchild of New York agent Marty Diamond, is somewhat unusual. The five musicians sit side by side, with an emcee occupying the sixth chair. For about 2 1/2 hours, they take turns singing songs, answering the emcee’s questions and sharing anecdotes about themselves and their music. The tour began in New Jersey March 22 and will end April 24 in Nashville. It has been so well-received that there is talk of making it part of a series.

“We’re sort of the guinea pigs,” Flores said earlier this week from her hotel room in San Francisco. “I’ve heard that the next group might include Marshall Crenshaw and Jules Shear, which would be great. But I’m lovin’ this; I’m used to being the only girl in the band, so I understand their brand of insult humor, and they get mine. It’s a good thing they’re real witty, ‘cause we travel in the same van. I’m constantly entertained!”

Flores’ contribution to the program includes tunes from her recently released, second solo album, “After the Farm.” The opus could be a significant step toward establishing her in the public’s mind as a performer of the first order. The album features an equally gritty and sophisticated composite of rockabilly, pop, country and blues that Flores calls “Western Beat,” and it showcases her keen instinct for shaping intelligent, poignant, and playful odes about life, love, and loss.

That creativity is matched by a distinctive voice whose slightly serrated edge snags the heart and holds on. Some of the material on “After the Farm” was co-written with Flores’ brother Roger, who, in the ‘60s, played guitar in the Fly People, a San Diego band whose combination of Yardbirds-ish rock and theatricality was far ahead of its time.

As proud as she is of the new album, however, Flores took momentary delight in recounting her moonlighting as an actress. She is understandably proud of her work in “The Running Kind,” a film starring Oscar-nominee Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear”) and Ambrosia guitarist David Pack, and recently seen on HBO. But talk of the “Divorce Court” role elicited a girlish laugh.

“That was pretty funny,” she allowed. “But it did make me think about playing the part of a singer as opposed to actually being one. At a couple of points in my career, I’ve had to remind myself of why I was put on this earth.”

Not that Flores has had doubts about her calling; it’s just that she occasionally has gotten sidetracked in the process of forming a coherent, self-sustaining whole from the disparate pieces of her musical life. If anything, Flores’ profession was preordained. Her attraction to rootsy, country-ish music was already established at age 12, when Flores’ family moved to San Diego from San Antonio, Tex. Four years later, she formed the all-girl band, Daybreak, and the die was cast.

“Daybreak won a talent show at Madison High, and my dad was so into it, he went out and signed for a loan for a whole equipment setup--drums, amps, PA system, everything,” Flores recalled, laughing. “At 16, it was my job to go out and play music so I could pay off this loan. I’ve been doing this ever since.”

After graduation, Flores sang in a succession of local groups, including the country-folk duo, Sweet Fire, with Richard Bowen (1973-1976), and the popular country-rock band Rosie and the Screamers (1976-1978), which featured former members of the notorious O.D. Corral. In 1978, Flores moved to Los Angeles, where the popularity of new-wave rock prompted her to remodel her band along rockabilly lines. A year later, they returned to play the Spirit and other area clubs as Rosie and the Reboppin’ Screamers.

Flores devoted the early ‘80s to the pursuit of a solo career. She opened shows for the likes of David Lindley, Bo Diddley, the Blasters and Joe Ely. She wrote and performed with such artists as guitarist Albert Lee and forged professional friendships with some of the biggest names in the business. In the process, Flores attracted a following with her talents as a singer, songwriter and guitarist.

When she hit a temporary burn-out point in her quest for solo success, Flores joined the Screaming Sirens, an outlandish, all-female “cowpunk” band that specialized in gaudy costumes and raucous, rock ‘n’ roll fun. In 1984, the Sirens released a much-lauded album, “Fiesta,” that contained several Flores originals. The band broke up a year later, but the experience remains a source of amusement for Flores.

“I’ve always felt really comfortable playing with women,” she explained. “When we put Daybreak together, there were no other girl bands around, so it was a unique idea. And, because I was just learning to be a lead guitarist, I would have been really intimidated if I hadn’t felt a real supportive sisterhood and camaraderie. Later, I joined the Sirens as a reaction to being tired of what I was doing at the time. But it was a lot of fun being in an all-girl band again.”

Flores’ next stab at a record deal paid off handsomely. In 1985, a four-song demo tape perked up some ears at the huge Warner Brothers/Reprise label, and two years later Flores was touring with a band in support of her self-titled debut. “Rosie Flores”--which was produced by Dwight Yoakam’s producer, guitarist Pete Anderson--earned glowing reviews in the national press for its fresh take on the neo-traditional country sound.

People magazine even compared her favorably to country legends Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells. But Flores looks back at that album as being a somewhat self-conscious effort that didn’t show all her colors.

“I tried hard to make my first album real country and I put my rock influences on the back burner,” she said. “I wanted to fit the format that would get me played on country radio. On the new album, I just concentrated on recording good songs that have something to say, and used a variety of rhythms and tempos to prevent the listener from getting bored. I plan to stay with this sound until it catches on with a wider audience.”

Stylistic considerations notwithstanding, Flores never has had trouble stirring crowds. In 1989, a year after she had moved to Austin, she brought down the house there with a performance at the well-known South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. Later, she toured Europe with country legends Waylon Jennings, Tammy Wynette and Buck Owens as part of the International Festival of Country Music. But she returned to L.A. in 1990 with a new perspective and renewed motivation to sell her “Western Beat” to old fans. It wasn’t an easy sell.

“One of the reasons I came back to L.A. was to rejoin (guitarist) Greg Leisz and (drummer) Donald Lindley, who played with me years earlier,” Flores said. “They were really a part of the new sound I’d been working on. We started playing clubs, and people would yell, ‘Play some country!’ They just didn’t get it at first, and our following started to dwindle. But now we’re getting them back again.”

A year ago, Flores negotiated a record deal with a small Swiss label, Red Moon Records, which gave her total creative freedom on “After the Farm,” which was recorded in the studio of the band’s bassist, Dusty Wakeman. Because the musicians were already familiar with each other and with the material, the album was completed in two weeks. “After the Farm” was released in Europe to little fanfare and recently re-released in the States on the Hightone label. Sales have been solid enough to warrant a tour of her own when Flores finishes her stint with the songwriters tour.

“We’re going to tour Europe later this year, then return to States and put together a tour after doing a little research to find out where our strongest markets are,” she said. “Right now, the new material is getting great response all over the country. I had no idea there were so many people who were waiting for me to release another album. That’s a great feeling.”

* “A Bunch of Songwriters Sitting Around Singing”--featuring Midge Ure, Darden Smith, Chip Taylor, Rosie Flores and Don Henry--will be presented at at 8:30 tonight at Sound FX, 8022 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Tickets are $12.50 and can be purchased through TicketMaster (278-TIXS).