Many musicians have had lengthy careers in San Diego, but few could match the collective accomplishments of The Farmers, who appear at Humphrey\u2019s Backstage Lounge tonight, Aug. 25. One of the most beloved bands in San Diego music history, the quartet\u2019s mix of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, blues and R&B makes it the ultimate roadhouse band, with a slew of original hits and a lineup of great covers. Though the band\u2019s members had known each other for years and had played in various combinations since the 1970s, The Farmers first got together in 2002. An indirect offshoot of The Beat Farmers, who played the world\u2019s stages between 1983 and 1996, The Farmers released “Loaded” in 2005 with a lineup that included the original band\u2019s Jerry Raney and Buddy Blue on guitar, as well as Rolle Love on bass and latter-day drummer Joel Kmak. Blue\u2019s\u00a0death in 2006 and Love\u2019s exit not long after found a revamped lineup comprised of Raney and Kmak, bassist Chris Sullivan and singer Corbin Turner. This lineup\u2019s members have been part of some of Southern California\u2019s most inspiring bands of the last four decades, including Glory (Raney), The Penetrators (Sullivan) and the Hitmakers (Kmak). The Farmers\u2019 most recent album is 2009\u2019s “Fulmination,” with studio work on a followup beginning this fall. Kmak said the appeal of the band is in its presence as a high-energy bar band, with a restless nature. Anything can happen at a Farmers\u2019 show, including recasting of old favorite songs and medleys that can top 10 minutes \u2014 all while keeping the dance floor packed. “Every gig is different,” he said. “The songs change. There is freedom and trust between us as musicians, so the band is open enough to follow where ever Jerry might lead us.” He said one of the band\u2019s most popular songs, “Aw Man, C\u2019mon!” started as a jam session, while a Yardbirds\/Animals medley can be expanded or contracted at will. He said that during the band\u2019s five-year run with this lineup, it has gotten even tighter. Having played together for so long, the quartet practically has interband telepathy, even honing its older original material. “It\u2019s not like we record songs and think, \u2018That\u2019s it, we can never do them different,\u2019” Kmak said. “Our last album came out about a year and a half ago. As good as it is, the songs are still evolving. I wish we could go back and record them now. Of course, when you\u2019ve played a song for a couple of years, they\u2019re going to get better.” While the band is known for its high-voltage performances, it can also sneak in a slow blues song or a quieter moment in the set. “We\u2019re not a ballad-heavy band, but when we do something like that, people dig it because Jerry can nail that stuff too,” Kmak said. While The Beat Farmers were a globetrotting band with a major label, landing appearances on “Letterman” and generating fodder for movie soundtracks, The Farmers have been more low key, with just a pair of tours through the Pacific Northwest and Canada to their credit so far. However, the band has a diehard group of fans that follows them from show to show. Kmak considers this to be a direct result of the band\u2019s own excitement during performances. “We just love playing,” he said. “I\u2019m 54 and I look forward to every second of every gig. And I think everybody in the band feels the same way.” Kmak noted that although time off from the band is rare, even when it comes, it\u2019s often wasted. “When we have a weekend off, we all call each other and ask, \u2018What are you gonna do?\u2019 It\u2019s a curse to our loved ones,” he joked. The Farmers<\/b> perform at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Sal\u00f3n tras bambalinas de Humphrey,<\/b> 2241 Shelter Island Drive. $12. For more information, visit www.humphreysbackstagelive.com.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many musicians have had lengthy careers in San Diego, but few could match the collective accomplishments of The Farmers, who appear at Humphrey\u2019s Backstage Lounge tonight, Aug. 25. One of the most beloved bands in San Diego music history, the quartet\u2019s mix of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, blues and R&B makes it the ultimate roadhouse band, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":274704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11561","_seopress_titles_title":"Ratcheting it up a notch with The Farmers","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11561],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-peninsula-beacon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}