Chris Hillman makes it clear that when he plays select dates — including two at a local venue — it isn’t because he clings to the past.
If you go
Desert Rose Band — Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, JayDee Maness, Bill Bryson and Steve Dunham with opener Kim Cameron
Where: The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Info: $39.50; ticketmaster.com
If he did, though, no one would blame him. Hillman is a members of rock ‘n’ roll royalty having played in the Byrds, co-founding the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons and later finding success with the Desert Rose Band. “This is not a career move,” Hillman, who often reiterates that in interviews about the tour, said. “Playing music, it’s what I do and I always try to do it better. I don’t take it for granted like I used to 30 years ago.”
It was in the 1960s when Hillman was kicking around the Southern California bluegrass circuit that he was recruited to play bass — an instrument about which he had no knowledge — for what became one of the most influential rock bands in history, the Byrds, which had a lineup that included David Crosby and Roger McGuinn.
The Byrds rapidly became America’s answer to the Beatles changing the direction of rock with such hits as “Mr. Tambourine Man.”
When lineup changes shook the band, it was Hillman who aimed the Byrds’ musical flight path toward country rock.
It’s no secret that Hillman’s love of country-influenced sounds goes back to traditional greats including Buck Owens.
“The Byrds wouldn’t have existed without Buck Owens,” Hillman said. “He was so innovative. He played this great snappy sound he created. He was a brilliant man, influenced by Ray Price who had started the presentation of the shuffle beat.”
Although Hillman has more than made his mark in contemporary music, he considers his work with the Desert Rose Band perhaps his best to date.
“For me, it was a culmination of a long apprenticeship in all the other bands I was in,” he said. “The Desert Rose Band was where I learned to sing. It’s also where I went from first mate to captain with the help of an amazing bunch of guys.”
Again, though, Hillman’s goals at this point of his musical career are modest.
“We did our thing back in the 1980s and had chart singles. …This [tour] is not a career move. We’re not desperately seeking to regain our footing anywhere. … We were in our heyday 15 or 18 years ago. Now, this sounds trite, but it really is a labor of love.”
