Who is a serious fan who likes the Beat Farmers? Or at least Country Dick Montana?

Anyway, they DID have a secret weapon -- occasionally singing drummer Country Dick Montana, big burly smarter-than-he-usually-let-on hell-raiser with a deep sing/speaking voice used to hilarious effect. Much like the Dead Milkmen, say, they ended up with a fluke novelty hit that brought them to the public eye if only in SoCal, "Happy Boy," with Montana burbling away gleefully with 'hubbahubbahubbahubba' after every line in the verse (which involved among other things dead dogs stuffed in drawers after being run over). Also known for a demolition of early Kenny Rogers' hit "Lucille," one of many such reworkings. Ended up being good pals with like-minded S.D. type Mojo Nixon, recorded a great live album with him and Dave Alvin called the Pleasure Barons, did some other collaborations along the way, wrote some fantastically funny pieces here and there. He's dead some years now -- partied without apology and with a gusto for life, but as the link above details, he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1990, fought back against that pretty damn well and lived for some years yet before passing suddenly onstage in the mid-nineties.

Dug out their live album Loud and Plowed and LIVE! for the first time in a while yesterday -- it was recorded at one of their legendary New Year's shows, which were for a time broadcast on the way-more-adventurous-than-such-a-station-had-a-right-to-be classic rock KGB, and were easily the equivalent of, say, Oingo Boingo's Halloween shows in LA/OC in terms of a yearly tradition, albeit on a much smaller scale. One year I remember hearing them do an a capella rip on Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," with the rest of the band doing the wails and approximations of the music while Montana gleefully rumbled through the ridiculous lyrics. The live album here was from the following year, I think, and I shoulda listened in for the full show -- or taped it or something -- but this is still great, and again while the sung-by-the-other-guys originals are okay enough ("God Is Here Tonight" is a secret winner), it's hearing Country Dick have his hilarious way with things -- Neil Young's "Roll Another Number," complete with cop-trashing improvisation, band original "Big Ugly Wheels," Mojo's "King of Sleaze" as a closer -- and of course, both "Happy Boy" and "Lucille" -- which makes this disc.

John Reis/Speedo has been my SD god of choice since, for very good reason, but cheers to the big guy before him. Here's hoping this thread finds googlers or somebody else who remembers.