My Tribute to the Desert Rose Band - Ask Zac 138

On October 2nd, 2022, the Desert Rose Band played their final show at the Country Music Hall of Fame as the finale to the opening of the new exhibit, Western Edge: The Roots & Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock. At this final show, Chris Hillman introduced guitarist John Jorgenson as the architect of the Desert Rose Band. This a true statement, as it was John that had the vision to see Hillman's material that was being performed by a small acoustic combo in the early 1980s, as full band California Country Rock, with dashes of Bluegrass, Bakersfield, and Byrds for good measure. But despite John's sizeable contributions, the group was a true sum of its parts; a father of Country Rock, the finest harmony singer on the planet, a wunderkind guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, a legendary steeler, and a veteran bassist and drummer of the highest order. Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Jay Dee Maness, Bill Bryson, and Steve Duncan were the finest band to hit both the road and the airwaves since Emmylou's Hot Band, Buck Owen's Buckaroos or Merle Haggard's Strangers. Although their stint with the original lineup only existed from 1985-1991, they made an indelible impact on Country Music. Studio guitarists in Nashville pointed to Jorgenson's tones and began using real amps, electric 12-strings, and six-string basses, and being more adventurous with effects. Songwriters were encouraged to create honest material that focused on sometimes difficult subjects, and road bands everywhere rehearsed more, and still shuddered at the thought of following the Californians, with great songs, amazing harmonies, and top-drawer instrumentalists. The irony of their blowing the doors open in so many avenues was that the Desert Rose Band was soon overtaken in popularity by the "New Country" of the 1990s, which they helped lay the groundwork for.

This is my tribute to a band that has given me innumerable hours of enjoyment, challenged me, and is also the chief reason that I bonded with Brad Paisley during our University years. Later, during my time as Paisley's guitar tech, he would routinely tell me if we could not have a soundcheck to "Just make my guitar sound like "Hello Trouble.""

Thank you, Chris, Herb, John, Jay Dee, Steve, and the late Bill Bryson for the music that meant so much to me.

Jorgenson's gear notes
https://www.askzac.com/post/the-deser...

Their "Greatest Hits"
https://open.spotify.com/album/6HMY1K...

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