POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Ash Grove Picks ‘em Up and Lays ‘em Down

“We hope you like traditional bluegrass,” fiddle great Byron Berline said early in Ash Grove’s 16-song set Saturday night at Montana & Lace, “because if you don’t you’re in the wrong place.”

Obviously, the folks who packed into the tiny Huntington Beach vintage instruments shop were in exactly the right place. For bluegrass fans, Ash Grove, an informal group started for fun in the San Fernando Valley living rooms of its five musicians, was nothing short of a California bluegrass super group, a dream team of the Southland’s acoustic music gurus.

Watching the obvious enjoyment with which this million dollars’ worth of musical talent played traditional bluegrass Saturday, it was easy to form the suspicion that the reason bluegrass has remained country’s least-commercial branch is because the musicians like playing it so much that they want to keep it just for fun.

Ash Grove’s first number, “Durham’s Reel,” set the high-spirited tone of the evening. With smiles on their faces and lightning in their fingers, the five pickers attacked the traditional instrumental piece with an undisguised sense of pure fun.

Berline--a perennial national fiddle champion who has done sessions work with the Rolling Stones and Flying Burrito Brothers, among others--added an element of danger as he proceeded full bore with his stylish fiddle-playing even though the band was wedged so tightly onto the tiny stage that at any moment he looked as though he were going to jam the elbow of his bow arm into the wall. Meanwhile, guitarist Billy Ray Latham dazzled the crowd with his furious flat picking while Kenny Blackwell and Herb Pedersen kept up the breakneck pace on mandolin and banjo, respectively. Bill Bryson contributed a humorous touch as he slapped his big acoustic bass.

The group’s name, Ash Grove, is derived from the Southern California folk club of the ‘60s where each of the musicians played at one time. The relationships among these pickers goes back to that seminal Southern California folk scene and is as tangled and complicated as the love lives of the characters on “Melrose Place.”

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For example, Latham replaced Pedersen as banjo player in the Dillards, one of the most important groups in the development of California country. Berline, Pedersen and Bryson were all at one time in another influential California bluegrass group, Country Gazette. More recently, Pedersen and Bryson played together in the Desert Rose Band, which brought a California influence to contemporary mainstream country. Also, all of the musicians have been important session players throughout the past three decades of California country.

Most of Ash Grove’s 65-minute early set was devoted to traditional bluegrass material. The group performed Flatt and Scruggs’ “Your Love Is Like a Flower” as well as the banjo workout “Earl’s Breakdown,” Red Allen’s “Somebody Loves You Darlin’,’ ” the Osborne Brothers’ “This Heart of Mine Can Never Say Goodbye” and a fast and furious version of the traditional “Shady Grove.” The group also did the Jim Croce song “Age,” which has become something of a bluegrass staple.

Bryson, Latham (an original member of the influential Kentucky Colonels) and Blackwell took turns on lead vocals. Latham’s high bluegrass tenor added spine-tingling authenticity to the singing. Surprisingly, Pedersen, well known for his singing ability, took no lead vocals but contributed to the harmonies. The harmony singing of Pedersen, Latham, Bryson and Blackwell was one of the high points of the evening.

The quartet was particularly inspired on several gospel numbers, including “Get a Line Brother,” “If I Be Lifted Up,” “Over in the Glory Land” and “Jordan.”

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Opening the show was Eddie Montana, owner of Montana & Lace. He delivered a six-song set that showed his diversity with traditional instruments and a variety of folk styles.

Joined by Shirley Jean on electric bass and Rob Kirby on guitar, Montana in his brief set managed to touch on country, bluegrass, Western swing, cowboy songs and Cajun music. He played guitar, mandolin, fiddle and banjo, all of which he grabbed from the shop’s walls.