Combo Always in Season

The crops may rotate, but the song remains the same at the Saturday morning Farmers’ Market in Ventura, where vegetables themselves--the actual stars of the weekly event--have been around only slightly longer than the Old Country Trio Plus One.

This quartet plays that old-time country music at probably the longest-running gig in the area, entertaining their friends and neighbors as well as all those health-conscious shoppers.

The boys in the band who have missed a lot of Saturday morning cartoons over the years include Truman Bridges on banjo, with his son, Allen, on guitar.

James Lewis plays bass guitar and Ches Willis wails on that fiddle.

The younger Bridges is the newest member, replacing original guitar player Adrian Bush, who died about two years ago.

He’s just the new guy, not the Plus One.

“We’ve been the Old Country Trio since, let’s see, ’85 or ‘86, and we’ve been playing down at the Farmers’ Market for about 15 years,” Willis said.

“We call James the Plus One because he came on board about 10 years ago, but he says he’s No. 1. The Farmers’ Market used to be down on Figueroa Street before it moved, and the group has been together all that time.”

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The Old Country Trio Plus One is easy to find--they’re the ones not selling artichokes and squash, beginning their gig at 8:30 a.m.

They play with their backs to Santa Clara Street, not far from the stop light at Palm Street that is always red, no matter which direction you come from.

They’re the four guys wearing cowboy hats strumming away under a canopy in front of a tip jar and a row of folding chairs, next to the busiest merchant at the venue, the Kettle Korn concession.

People browsing the market stop for a song or two, shop and maybe return for a few more familiar tunes.

The band’s motto is “If you came here feeling low down, you’ll leave here feeling fine.”

The band has recorded two tapes, “Songs That Take You Back,” Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

They’ve sold more than 2,000 copies, and thanks to popular demand, a CD is in the works.

“We probably have several hundred songs,” Willis said.

“It’s kind of like ties. You may have a closet full of ties but you only wear like three. On the other hand, we play to the audience. If there’s older people, then we play older songs. We play songs for people from 1 to 90.”

The Old Country Trio Plus One certainly takes requests, but asking for “Free Bird” or “Satisfaction” will only get you blank stares.

“We sure do take requests, but once in a while you hit one that you’re not familiar with. If it’s anything old, we usually can do it,” Willis said.

“We play a basic cross-section of music, but not rock ‘n’ roll. We’re not rock ‘n’ roll--we’re like old country, but we also play a lot of the old standards. I’m actually from Virginia and Truman is from Missouri, so we practically know the same gospel and country songs. We just kind of pull ‘em out of the air.”

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Willis himself demands particular attention. He won the California State Fiddle Championship in 1992, with the band backing him up.

The sponsoring group, the California State Old Time Fiddlers Assn., has around 4,000 members.

The local chapter, of which Willis is a member, meets the second and fourth Sundays of the month at the Oak View Community Center. And it’s a fiddle, not a violin.

“People ask me that all the time and I tell them, ‘With a violin, you take it around in a real nice case, but with a fiddle, you just take it around in a bag.’ ”

Even Southern California Edison can’t whine about these guys--this is an operation as organic as the majority of the produce at the market: They play acoustic music.

“We just enjoy the kind of music we do, and we practice about once a week,” Willis said.

“We’ve been together for so long that we kind of know what each other is going to do. It’s a great group and we don’t have any major problems. The market is great for us because we have people that come every week and expect you to do certain songs for them. It’s like a family reunion down there.”

DETAILS

Old Country Trio Plus One at the Farmers’ Market, Palm and Santa Clara streets, Ventura, Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-noon. COST: Free. CALL: 529-6266.

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Dr. M will be paying the rent at Nicholby’s in Ventura tonight for the monthly dance fest at the only place the group plays.

The band has been around for about six years, but this configuration has been together about half that time.

The guys on stage include front man Dave Rea, guitar player Mike Simpson and drummer Jesse Siebenberg. And, according to Rea, the Dr. M biz is booming.

“It’s still cranking--we’re coming off a really killer Thanksgiving show,” Rea said. “We’re doing pretty well there and [tonight] should be no exception. This whole year basically, we’ve been the holiday-type band there. We did St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo and then Thanksgiving.”

Both Rea and Siebenberg are also members of Loudmouth Soup, another popular band that does originals. But Dr. M is a cover band, and apparently it covers the right songs.

“Right now, we play about 25 or 30 songs. We probably know a ton more except we don’t realize that we all know them. Our most popular song right now happens to be Rick Springfield’s ‘Jesse’s Girl.’ When we do that one, I get everybody kind of riled up, and since Jesse is the drummer of our band, I say ‘Who wants to be Jesse’s girl?’ And by the start of the song, there’s 50 girls on stage. It’s cool, man; we get that stage as packed as we can.”

What more do you need to know about Dr. M? Perhaps this.

“We get a crowd of people that are almost exclusive to our night, people who come to see us on their one night out a month. The beauty of it is, we don’t practice, so it doesn’t cut into anybody’s time. If we decide to learn a new song, we’ll do it at sound check on the night of the show. This way, it doesn’t interfere with any other project.”

DETAILS

Dr. M at Nicholby’s, 404 E. Main St., Ventura, tonight at 10. COST: $7. CALL: 653-2320.

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Want to hear something a little different? Try Jimmy Legs, the hard-working veteran dance band with the vast set list that will be inspiring dancers to action tonight and Saturday night at the Holiday Inn in Ventura.

Here is a partial list of some of the eclectic group of artists they cover: Indigo Girls, Rolling Stones, U2, Sheryl Crow, Dada, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Jackie Wilson, INXS, Gin Blossoms, Meredith Brooks, Beatles, Third Eye Blind, Foghat, Allman Brothers, Sublime, Smashmouth, Roy Orbison, Everly Brothers, Pet Shop Boys, Fiona Apple, Eagles, Van Morrison, Wallflowers, Elvis Costello and a ton more.

If that’s not pretty much the history of rock ‘n’ roll, then what is? Jimmy Legs also has several originals, such as “Hold On Baby,” “Angela” and “Just Like a Little Dog.”

The fun begins at 9 p.m. each night, and there is no cover at the Breakers Lounge, located downstairs at the beachfront hotel.

DETAILS

Jimmy Legs at the Holiday Inn, 450 E. Harbor Blvd., Ventura, tonight and Satyrday, 9 p.m. COST: free. CALL: 648-7731.