Back in the 60’s and 70’s, the northeast corner of LA county, the San Gabriel Valley, was the gateway to LA’s weekend getaway urge. From there, a short drive east and you faced a choice. Make a right and you were quickly in Palm Springs, where the Rat Pack ruled and mainstream America dreamed of living. Make a left, though, and you climbed into the high desert and Joshua Tree. From Graham Parsons to Jim Morrison to even John Lennon, this beautifully harsh country was the inspiration for many of society’s musical explorations. Arguably, those misfits ended up having the greater influence on popular culture. You can certainly hear that inspiration in the latest album from LA’s Old Californio, entitled Old Californio Country.
The record leaps out of the gate with Because. The Lennon/McCartney masterpiece becomes bluegrass Beatles in a way I’ve never heard, despite the many bluegrass covers of Beatles songs out there. There is some really nice guitar work on Lonesome Fugitive, a Merle Haggard tune that’s as much folk as country in this rendition. Lotta Love puts a 60’s pop sound on the Neil Young composition made famous by Nicollet Larson. It also features the beautiful harmonies so prevalent across the whole album. So does Maybe It’s Time, a Jason Isbell-penned number.
The most country song on the project, Shorten Your List, is one of three originals here. It’s all about setting priorities when it reminds you, “if you’re too stubborn to give in, and you’re too proud to quit, you better learn to shorten your give-a-shit list.” Harmonica layers a new kind of lonely on top of a classic country version of the truck driver’s lament, Willin‘. Perhaps just to prove that not everything benefits from a makeover, John Prine’s The Speed Of the Sound Of Loneliness is done in the style of, well, John Prine.
Led by San Gabriel-raised Woody Aplanalp and Rich Dembowski, Old Californio is a somewhat varying collection of musicians with a keen sense of Bakersfield country roots and LA canyon harmonies. While this record is mostly covers, there’s a continuity of sound that stretches across the set list and belies that every song had a different recording origin story. So what emerges is a musical journey that’s both old and new and is unmistakable California. As a denizen of Twangville, you owe it to yourself to go out and experience the fabulous Old Californio Country.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.