Fast and Friendly

For the last few years, deejay music has been replacing live bands in many Ventura County country dance venues, a trend that has left fans of barroom aerobics in search of places that feature “the real deal.”

But there are still enough fun bands visiting the area to provide two-steppers, swing buffs and line dancers with a glimpse of pedal steel and a damp dance glow.

Currently, many country dancers in the western part of Ventura County travel up the coast to Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez while east county residents frequent clubs in Simi and the San Fernando Valley. So here’s a selective roundup of four new or interesting country bands and where they can be seen and heard between Santa Ynez and Chatsworth in coming weeks.

*

Last Call

It’s a recent Saturday night at the Galleon Room, a couples-oriented country dance club in Goleta. From behind her large rhythm guitar, Last Call’s Susan Thomson demurely announces with wry understatement: “Here’s a sappy buckle-buffer for you.” And Frank Batts launches into “Easier Said Than Done,” one of those lovely country pain ballads that makes you hide the razor blades during a full moon. Next, it’s an arresting version of “Midnight Girl in a Sunset Town,” followed by a pedal-steel instrumental tune.

Since last July, seven musicians from Carpinteria and Santa Barbara known as Last Call have scored high points among country fans with lushly woven three-part harmony vocals and a fresh mix of contemporary and older country covers.

The band makes its second Ventura County appearance Saturday at the Camarillo Community Center monthly dance. And the group will be among the featured headline entertainment Aug. 1 for a day of country music and dancing at Santa Barbara’s annual four-day bash known as “Fiesta.”

“It’s a good listening and good dancing band,” said Esther Howells, who organizes the Camarillo dances with her husband, Dave. “They play more waltzes, which we like, and have a good variety of couples and line dances.” And Thomson announces and counts down the line dances.

The nucleus of Last Call is Thomson, Batts and April Eaton. “We got together as friends for the fun of singing and basically practiced for three years until the right musicians fell in our laps,” said Thomson.

Enter veteran pedal-steel guitar player Chuck Ford, Michael Taylor (drums), Bill Kirkland (lead guitar) and John Richards (bass).

Last Call doesn’t do originals yet. But they make all of the cover songs their own by adding different harmonies or instrumentation. And they creatively adapt many songs that are gender neutral to the best-suited voice. “For instance, Susan does two Hal Ketchum songs and Frank does a Wynonna [Judd] hit, ‘Tell Me Why,’ ” said Eaton.

Batts and Thomson alternate lead vocals and pair up on duets. Kirkland sings two or three songs including “Hot Rod Lincoln.” Two classic ballads, “Mexican Wind” and the oldie, “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me,” evoke the border-town sound of Marty Robbins and the torch ballads of Nashville’s ‘50s crooners, respectively.

“It’s the best band I’ve heard around here since Vernon Snow 11 or 12 years ago,” said Bob Mallory of Santa Barbara. And people appreciate that the band is not too loud.

Despite the accolades, Thomson said, “We see ourselves as professionals, practicing twice a week. But we have day jobs and do this for fun.” And to keep their sense of humor, a cuddly stuffed sock-monkey made years ago by Taylor’s grandmother sits on the bass drum. “It’s to remind us to keep it light,” he said.

* Last Call will perform at Camarillo Community Center, 1605 E. Burnley St., 8-11 p.m. Saturday, $5 adults, $2.50 youth, 482-1996; at Paradise Store, 1 Paradise Road off San Marcos Pass, Santa Barbara, 4-8 p.m. July 27, 967-3254; at Fiesta Country Day of El Nuevo Mercado del Norte in MacKenzie Park, State Street and Las Positas Road, Santa Barbara, 4-5:30 p.m. Aug. 1, 966-7262; at the Galleon Room (inside Orchid Bowl), 5925 Calle Real, Goleta; 9 p.m. Aug. 8-9 and Aug. 23, 967-0128.

*

Harvest

On a recent Friday night grizzled rodeo veterans and robust twentysomethings in painted-on jeans mill around the pool table and dart boards beneath the hat-skimming ceiling of the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez. Under the watchful eye of an imposing, 6-foot-6 bouncer, dancers migrate between the bar and adjoining dance hall.

On stage in this converted barn, Heather Caplinger, unassuming lead female singer of Harvest, belts out Martina McBride’s hit, “Independence Day.” Next she applies her powerful pipes to Reba McEntire’s high-voltage R&B; tune, “Tell Me Why Haven’t I Heard From You.” And then Caplinger invests Trisha Yearwood’s ballad, “Down on My Knees,” with a delivery that’s more Janis Joplin than Loretta Lynn.

“I prefer Trisha Yearwood’s songs; it’s an easier range for me,” said Caplinger. She alternates lead vocals with Rick Crusan (rhythm guitar). Her father, Ron Johnson (keyboards) and David Brooks (lead guitar) each sing a few tunes, and Kim Perry plays drums.

The Lompoc-based band makes up for their casual attire with vocal power, harmonies and dance-directed energy. And they have no pretensions about doing more than providing musical motivation for East Coast Swing dancers to pop a sweat.

“The focus of Harvest is Top 40 cover music for country dancers. We call the dances and count them down,” said Johnson.

“We realized the dancers wanted the tempos just as they are on the CDs. So we started having our drummer [Kevin Simmons] work with a metronome to electronically dial it right in for live performance.”

* Harvest will perform at the Galleon Room, 9 p.m. July 25-26 and Aug. 15-16; at Cold Springs Tavern, 5995 Stagecoach Road, Santa Barbara, 5-9 p.m. Aug. 17, 967-0066.

*

Best of the West

A band is gaining popularity at the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez. Based in Orange County, Best of the West, an engaging dance band playing Top 40 country, has just started playing in the San Fernando Valley and in Santa Barbara County. So catch the band while it’s here or you’ll have to journey to the Western Connection, that huge club in San Dimas, to hear them July 22-Aug. 3.

The group, fronted by John Swisshelm (rhythm guitar) has tight vocal harmonies, uses good song transitions (without down time) and calls the dances.

Swisshelm’s rich baritone vocals are a delight. On ballads his voice resonates like John Berry. And his rendition of “This Ain’t No Thinkin’ Thing” rivals the original artist, Trace Adkins.

Other band members are Ian Francisco (keyboards), Bob Metzgar (lead and pedal-steel guitar), Wade Berry (bass) and Mark Bowman (drums).

“They played here once before and our customers asked to have them booked again right away,” said Rhonda Gore-Scott, co-owner of the Cowboy Palace in Chatsworth. “They said it was just one of the best bands they’d heard.”

* Best of the West will perform at the Maverick Saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez, 9 p.m. Aug. 8-10 and Sept. 12-14, (805) 688-5841; at Cowboy Palace, 21635 Devonshire St., Chatsworth, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 18-19, (818) 341-0166; and at the Crest, 6101 Reseda Blvd., Reseda, 9 p.m. Sept. 5-6, (818) 342-1563.

*

High Noon

High Noon lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Marino said he’s bored with the homogenous, cookie-cutter Top 40 cover tunes played in dance clubs. So the Moorpark resident makes the band “a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll” with a novel spin on the predictable set lists. But J.D. Wilson (female lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Jimmy Harris (lead vocals, bass), Jeff Taylor or Jim Klingler (drums), and occasionally Kurt Fries (keyboard) provide enough from the country canon to keep most cow folks happy.

“They’ll turn a Beatles medley into a really kick-it-up 10-step,” said Rhonda Gore-Scott of Cowboy Palace. “One time we had a complaint that they were ‘doing too much rock ‘n’ roll.’ But they are very popular.”

And in the middle of the popular line dance, Reggae Cowboy, the band might segue to a medley of ‘70s disco-pop tunes including “Love Rollercoaster,” “Brick House” and the Village People anthem, “YMCA.”

Marino also is known to improvise with the words of a song if he knows the melody--a skill developed, he said, during his country apprenticeship playing in “a Pico Rivera no-tell motel frequented by truck drivers.”

“I began flying by the seat of my pants. I had to immediately fill song requests to keep things from being thrown at me.”

Usually High Noon plays at the Cowboy Palace and on the Los Angeles-Orange County circuit. But you can catch them at two Simi Valley clubs next month.

“Country purists may balk at all the weird things we play,” said Marino, “but I think music is meant to be creative and fun. It’s just entertainment. And it’s not supposed to be taken so damned seriously.”

* High Noon will perform at the Cowboy Palace, 8:30 p.m. July 30, Aug. 7-9, Aug 13, Aug. 20 and Aug. 27; at Schooner Time, 5710 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 15 and 29. Also at Mixers, 2381 Tapo St., Simi Valley, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 23, $6, (805) 520-7787.