Nightclub packed with friends and fans of McLain

by Howard Owens (this is available via WWW and reprinted w/o permission)

Friends, fans and family gathered at Winston's East in Santee on Monday
evening to pay tribute to Country Dick Montana, Beat Farmers drummer and
singer, who died Nov. 8 while performing in Canada.

A capacity crowd of 230 people filled Winston's, many dressed in black.
They greeted each other most often with hugs and tears, but there were also
a few laughs during the evening as people recalled the antics of Country
Dick, 40, known to many friends by the name his parents gave him, Dan
McLain.

"I've been in large crowds before, but this is weird," said Beat Farmer
guitarist Jerry Raney. "I've never been among such a large crowd of so many
people I knew."

Many described the evening as a class reunion.

While there were many fans, there were also a number of local celebrities
and one-time musical performers.

Former Penatrators -- one of McLain's early bands -- Gary Heffern and Chris
Davies were on hand.  Another pre-Beat Farmers bandmate, Steelbone, from
the Snugglebunnies, was also present. Also present were local stars Mojo
Nixon and Candy Cane. Longtime DJ Jim McInnis, who loaned the Penatrators
$500 to record their first record, was also among the attendees.

Dave Alvin, Blasters front man, electrified the audience near the end of
the evening with his performance of roots rock and blues.  He was joined
stage by several local musicians, but the performers who gained the most
attention were Beat Farmers Raney and Joey Harris.

Raney, Harris, Rolle Dexter Love and Buddy Blue gathered against a chain
link fence behind Winston's about midway through the evening for a photo
op.  Raney quipped later that they were all of the "former Beat Farmers."

The Beat Farmers will not continue without McLain, Raney said.

In many ways, the Beat Farmers, while gaining a wider local, national and
international audience, remained an East County band.  McLain  grew up in
El Cajon, graduated from Grossmont High School in 1973, lived in La Mesa
for a time and was a resident of Spring Valley at the time of his death.
Raney also kept his home in El Cajon.

The band's career, which included eight albums, several national and world
tours, an appearance on David Letterman, and a song featured on a Budweiser
commercial, began at the Spring Valley Inn.  The Beat Farmers played their
manic country and roots rock music for the bar regulars, local punks,
cowboys, bikers and longhairs for $50 a night and all the booze they could
drink.

They were an instant success and signed to Rhino Records before they even
graduated to a larger venue.

Monday night's wake was the last in several similar events honoring McLain.
On Sunday a group of McLain's high school buddies gathered at a local
residence.  Close friends, bandmates and family held a memorial service for
McLain on Monday afternoon at a local church.

One fan mentioned to Raney that it was eerie how he felt compelled last
Wednesday to finish a painting of the Beat Farmers he had started several
years earlier.  He worked on the painting, which he hadn't touched in more
than a year, for four hours.  It wasn't until the next morning that he
learned Country Dick Montana had died.

The story prompted Raney to note that before the show in Whistler, British
Columbia, some man approached the band and said, "I thought Country Dick
wasn't on this tour."  The comment seemed odd at the time, Raney said, but
it seemed even stranger recalling it after McLain's death.

Raney also said that when the band arrived in town they received a copy of
the local paper with an article about the band's performance.  The article
described McLain as a man "already with one foot in the grave."


KEN (kdrew@nd.edu)
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