written by Long John Baldry
engineered by Joe Harvard on 1/2" Otari 8-track
produced by Joe and Dave Bone

The Jolly Ranchers were the invention of Dave "Bone" Pedersen, whose tenure in the bones -- his first band with Joe Harvard -- earned him his nom de guerre, as well as being the beginning of their life-long friendship. Dave was into country since the mid-70's, when he had lived in New Hampshire and played on the shitkicker circuit there. In the mid-80's Dave decided he wanted to do a rocking country outfit in the tradition of the Burrito Brothers, and do it where he was living, in Boston. He invited Joe to participate based on a shared affinity for "high and lonesome" music.

Harvard had discovered country via the Stones -- coming at Gram Parsons from the opposite end as it were -- and had written and recorded the amateurish but sincere country honk tune "No Need to Fight" in 1979, and dueted with the Bristols' Kelly Knapp on "Riverboats" in 1984. Soon after the Ranchers project Harvard was to form the Country Cousins with good friends [and second cousins] Bob and Joe Pernice, earning them a spiffy feature article in the Phoenix written by future Bill Clinton speechwriter Ted Widmer [Mente, Upper Crust] based on the night Kim Deal played hookie from a Pixies show across town to take a cab to Cambridge and play with the group at the Plough and Stars. Country Cousin bass player Joe Pernice went on to the alt-country success of Scud Mountain Boys and Subpop Records before he formed the Pernice Brothers [as well as Ashmont Records with partner Joyce Linnehan].

The Ranchers were initially formed around the band Goo, a side project involving Harvard, Greg "Skeggie" Kendall and brother Bob, with Dave Bone on bass. Former Sex Exec a Ted Pine was a frequent guest, and Sebasttian Steinberg filled in when Dave couldn't make the band's highly irregular appearances, such as NACO, the house "orchestra" at the Noise Awards Ceremonies. Dave had held the bass chair during Goo's series of shows backing Boston legend Willie "Loco" Alexander as well.

Joe had just become the sole owner of Fort Apache, so it was there that the Ranchers headed. They recorded basic tracks on the Fort's 1/2' Otari 8-track, and Dave returned to cut lead guitars and vocals, while Joe planned to re-cut his rhythm guitar [played from the control room while engineering the sessions] in the future, as well as adding guitar parts, but this never ended up happening. Some tracks like "Wheels" have holes for the solos but nothing in them. Joe suggests listeners who play an instrument take advantage of this to add their own, live solo.

While cleaning up tracks one day Harvard had a visit from Peter Halsapple, who was nice enough to test drive Joe's new Stevencaster, a mongrel Hipshot string-bender-equipped '67 Telecaster illustrated with Steven Comics figures drawn by creator Doug Allen backstage at Gurdy's Folk City on it's final night [and later stolen in Columbus, Ohio]. Peter's pedal steel imitations appear on "Life in Prison". Harvard, who had yet to begin playing the lap steel he is now well known for along the Jersey Shore, had no steel help, fake or otherwise, but does put some pretty Nashville-tuned acoustic on "Wheels", and electric 12-string to play the Steve Cropper-style 'double stops' on "Life in Prison". Dave adds some really nice Albert Lee-style bends on the songs he got to. Ted never used synth patches 'out of the box, and created a few interesting analogue instruments for the Ranchers ... including one wacky 'pedal steel' tone at the end of "Nothing Was Delivered" of which Joe says "I suspect he created specifically to annoy Dave during basics, and which Dave I'm sure would've wanted replaced later on ... but now remains a tribute to Ted's sense of humor."

The original Ranchers line-up broke up before they got too far, leaving the uncompleted album as it stands here. Dave was unhappy with the over-the-top exhuberance that Pine, Skeg and Harvard were bringing to the table, and one by one members were replaced by cats Dave knew with ample chops from the straight country circuit. Harvard was the last to go, playing a show here and there before Dave relocated to a cabin in Vermont, and then to Austin, Texas. Dave continues to play great music with Sons of Hercules, his own band the Troublemakers, and with other players out in the Lone Star.

Still a very nice alt-country statement.

Dave, Ted and Joe also appear together on Mr. Happy's record 'Love & Music: Play! Play! Play!', as well as in the vocal chorus Joe assembled for the Neats' 'Crash at Crush' LP, particularly on the song "Angel".