Why Yes, Sir Paul, Big Sandy Will Gladly Attend

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys have a big gig coming that will give them a chance to chirp with the Crickets and meet a Beatle.

The roots-rock and western swing band from Anaheim is booked to play at Paul McCartney’s annual Buddy Holly tribute concert, Sept. 7 (which would have been Holly’s 61st birthday) at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

McCartney will attend, but it’s not certain whether he will perform at a show-closing jam session, said Paul Freundlich, publicist for the private, invitation-only event, which until now has taken place in England. The Crickets, the backing band that propelled Holly to greatness, will perform with guest singer Nanci Griffith. Bobby Vee rounds out the bill.

McCartney may have some extra incentive to try on his rock ‘n’ roll shoes: His upcoming album, “Run Devil Run,” consists mainly of covers of oldies by Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Rick Nelson and some of his other heroes of early rock ‘n’ roll.

Alan Larman, Big Sandy’s manager, said one of the show’s organizers connected to McCartney called after reading about the band several months ago in a Billboard magazine article about the resurgence of rockabilly. Larman sent off the band’s package of CDs and clippings, and the booking came through.

“Evidently [McCartney] knew who we were” before the initial inquiry was made, Larman said.

Sir Paul and whatever other guests and notables are present will hear a band in transition. Bassist Wally Hersom, who founded the band with singer Robert “Big Sandy” Williams in 1988, played his last gig July 31. Piano player Carl “Sonny” Leyland, who joined in 1997 and has emerged as a gifted soloist, has given notice he will leave at the end of September.

Williams said the resignations are a consequence of the band’s grueling touring schedule.

“I’m sad about it, but I understand how somebody could be burned out,” he said. “Things can get discouraging sometimes when you’re out there doing the work, and the payoff isn’t always in proportion to how hard they’re working. . . . In the bigger picture, things are going well.”

Jeff West of the Sun Demons is getting a tryout on bass; there are no plans to replace Leyland immediately, said Williams, whose lineup also includes longtime members Bobby Trimble on drums, Lee Jeffriess on pedal steel and Ashley Kingman on guitar.

Hersom, who married a year ago, said he wants to spend more time at home.

“If it looked like some great things were going to happen, maybe I would have stayed, but no big things looked like they were on the horizon, and the touring schedule was wearing on me,” he said from his home in Glendale. “We’ll all walk away as friends, and hopefully do something together in the future.”

Hersom plans to remain a professional musician, taking gigs in Southern California--including shows with a band fronted by Leyland--and producing and engineering records for other artists (his credits include albums by Kim Lenz and the Dave & Deke Combo).

Williams said the band had a chance to sign with a major label, Sire Records, early this year, but turned it down.

“They named a bunch of Bob Wills songs they wanted me to do. I wanted to work on my own material, and I don’t think they had enough faith in that,” he said. “We’re seeing if anything is out there for us with the majors, and I’m beginning to wonder whether that’s the way to go, anyway. When the right deal comes, I’ll know, and I wasn’t feeling that.”

Those unable to wangle an invitation to see Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys celebrate Buddy Holly’s birthday in New York City can catch them tonight playing a show to celebrate Williams’ 35th birthday, at the Dixie Belle Restaurant and Lounge, 9559 E. Imperial Highway, Downey. 9 p.m. $10. (562) 803-4943.

Benatar Bails Again

Novice concert promoter Joe Pastorelli still is waiting for Pat Benatar to hit him with her best shot.

Pastorelli is the Orange County rocker whose band, White Lies, set up a promotion company with the intriguing, if seemingly farfetched, game plan of earning $75,000 by promoting shows by name acts, then plowing it all into radio promotion for the do-it-yourself CD that will be the thirtysomething band’s last, best shot at stardom.

Pastorelli and his bandmate/partner, Ken Earnest, were all set to present Benatar in June at the Irvine Barclay Theatre (with White Lies opening) when she canceled hours before the show due to vocal strain from a previous concert.

They took a loss, having to pay the venue rental fee, Pastorelli said, but with the show rescheduled for Sunday at the much larger Freedman Forum in Anaheim, things looked bright.

But Benatar has canceled again, this time, Pastorelli said, because of a sudden change in her schedule for recording a new album.

“We had a big potential upside,” Pastorelli lamented. “This obviously pushed us back and derailed our game plan with White Lies”--and forced 500 ticket holders to get refunds for the second time.

Pastorelli said Benatar still wants to make good on the O.C. date, possibly early next year. Meanwhile, White Lies hopes to get its plan back on track by promoting a concert by Christian pop-rock band Out of the Gray on Aug. 28 at the Freedman Forum. “We’re not looking to make a whole lot of money. It’s more to jump start the whole thing.”

The idea is to reestablish the long-dormant Freedman Forum as a viable concert venue, with White Lies bringing in the talent and carrying out its master plan.

Spirit of ’76

Chelsea, a band from the original English punk-rock class of 1976, will play Monday at Club Mesa in Costa Mesa, part of its first U.S. tour since 1986. Bandleader-singer Gene October will celebrate his 42nd birthday at the gig.

“I was very apprehensive at first,” said October, who brought Chelsea back to the States for the recent Social Chaos tour featuring vintage punk acts. “I thought, ‘This is going to be abysmal. Who cares about punk in America, especially the punk from ‘77?’ But in San Bernardino [the tour’s Southern California stop], there were 5,000 punks there, 17 and 18 years old.”

October found that Orange County punk icons T.S.O.L., the Social Chaos headliner, cite Chelsea as an influence, and used to cover his band’s 1977 debut single, “Right to Work.” Information: (949) 642-6634.