in Bloomington, IN, late-70s
Produced at Ribbon Rail Studio, Bloomington Indiana, by Mark Litz and John Byers.
In the late 70s, Bloomington, Indiana was abuzz (in more ways than one). The emerging country-rock movement was in full swing, with the Eagles, Poco, Pure Prairie League, The Flying Burrito Brothers and many other bands ripping up the airwaves. What had Bloomington crowding the bars and whooping it up was a homegrown band of local talents with a unique concept – to celebrate the farmer within.
Frank Haney and the Farmers, featuring frontman Frank Haney (later to become an Emmy-winning videographer) on guitar, Lisa Germano on fiddle and mandolin (who would go on to play fiddle for John Mellencamp and later become a popular solo artist in her own right), John Germano, Lisa’s golden-voiced brother on guitar and fiddle, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Foster on guitars, banjo, mandola and fiddle, Phil Starkey on bass and Keith Cronin on drums, were dubbed Indiana’s best chance at mining the country-rock motherlode for the Hoosier state. With three songwriters in the band, beautiful three and four-part harmonies, and impressive instrumental prowess to propel them, the Farmers were riding high in the saddle in those days.
John Germano’s infectious tune, Ruby, was chosen as one of the tunes to grace WFBQ-95’s first Homegrown Album Project, and the band played festivals and high-profile gigs throughout Indiana. Noted for Frank’s humorous antics and onstage ad-libs, the band was entertaining as well as musically satisfying. Their ride ended in 1979 when internal tensions manifested, derailing what could (and should) have been a steady rise. Few remnants remain of those halcyon days, but here’s a few tracks that have survived the ravages of time.
Ruby (J. Germano)
Ruby (J. Germano)
Lost In Hindsight (F. Haney)
Lost In Hindsight (F. Haney)
January Maiden (J. Germano)
January Maiden (J. Germano)
Was It For Love (F. Haney)
Was It For Love (F. Haney)
Chasing Those Blues Away (J. Germano)
Chasing Those Blues Away (J. Germano)
Keep On Trying (J. Germano)
Keep On Trying (J. Germano)
Here’s a rare video of the Farmers in action… were we ever so young?