Guitar Player magazine, October 2002
Way Out West
Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen played together in the Desert Rose Band, while the former, of course, was a key figure in the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Here, the two country-rock pioneers explore the back roads of American folk with a collection of songs that reflect the depth and vitality of their skills. Beneath the backdrop of soaring vocal harmonies (Pedersen's tenor has graced albums by Vince Gill, Johnny Rivers and Linda Rondstadt), instrumental sides of the two players emerge. Hillman's excellent guitar and mandolin stylings blend beautifully with the hillbilly flavors provided by Pedersen's fiery banjo picking as the two roam through everything from honky-tonk shuffles and dance-hall waltzes to slammin' road house grooves that sound like the Burrito Bros. 2002. Backed by killer band that includes Larry Park and Jay Dee Maness respectively on lead and pedal-steel guitars, the Hillman/Pedersen team take us on a journey of the coolest vistas in country music. A modern album that has "classic" written all over it!
Backporch.- Art Thompson

ChrisHillman.com

Hillman and Pedersen met in 1963 at the Troubadour, the legendary L.A. club, when they were aspiring 18- year-old folk and bluegrass musicians. Hillman became a founding member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers and went on to join Stephen Stills in Manassas..    After 40 years together, their harmony is so tight that it's almost as if they were singing in one clear, tenor voice.
-Paul Liberatore, Marin Independent Journal

Chris & Herb @ John Anson Ford Theatre 8/17/03 - By Alan Rockman
Chris & Herb @ Coffee Gallery, 2/14/03 - By Alan Rockman
Chris & Herb @ McCabes, 1/10/03 - By Alan Rockman
CALIFORNIA COUNTRY - By Paul Liberatore, Marin Independent Journal, Nov. 29, 2002
"Way Out West "- Billboard Magazine Review, June 2002

Bill Bryson - Bluegrass Etc
Gabe Witcher

Bassist/vocalist Bill Bryson is, like founder Herb Pederson, an alumnus of the Desert Rose Band and also did stints with Country Gazette and the Bluegrass Cardinals. Guitarist/vocalist Roger Reed played with Byron Berline, and mandolin player/vocalist Kenny Blackwell and fiddler/vocalist Gabe Witcher are both noted West Coast bluegrass players and session men.

The Desert Rose Band formed in 1985 with primary songwriter Hillman on lead vocals, guitar, and mandolin. Other members...included banjoist/guitarist Herb Pedersen, guitarist John Jorgenson, steel guitarist Jay Dee Maness, bassist Bill Bryson, and drummer Steve Duncan. Their first single was a 1986 cover of Johnnie & Jack's "Ashes of Love," which climbed into the country Top 30. Their self-titled debut album followed in 1987 and spawned a number one hit in "He's Back and I'm Blue," plus two more Top Tens in "Love Reunited" and "One Step Forward." 1988's Running produced the number one smash "I Still Believe in You," the number two "Summer Wind," and the number three "She Don't Love Nobody." 1990's Pages of Life brought their final Top Ten hits in "Story of Love" and "Start All Over Again." Major personnel turnover followed; Maness was replaced by steel guitarist Tom Brumley, Jorgenson by guitarist Jeff Ross, and Duncan by drummer Tim Grogan. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Chris Hillman's site
John Jorgenson's site
A site with some Desert Rose Band history
Desert Rose Band - Under Your Spell Again 2.6MB live 1987

Herb Pederson, former Vern & Ray bandmember: "Vern & Ray's music and style effected everybody on the West Coast who still plays bluegrass. I know personally, every time I sing certain lead lines, it's because of Ray's phrasing, and when I sing tenor, I think of how Vern might attack it. I was 20 when I started with them back in '64, and they're still teaching me things almost 40 years later."

Vern Williams, Ray Park, Herb Pedersen (on the right)
San Francisco State Folk Festival 1964

The whole Vern and Ray story here

THE PINE VALLEY BOYS, featuring recent high school graduates and good buddies Herb Pedersen and Butch Waller, plus David Nelson, were formed in 1963. David's other band, The Wildwood Boys (with Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter), won the band contest at the Monterey Folk Festival the same year.

One of the first bluegrass bands in the San Francisco Bay Area, The Pine Valley Boys later relocated to the Los Angeles. The most tangible benefits of living in SoCal was Butch's finding a Lloyd Loar mandolin and fiddler Richard Greene joining the band. They did tour extensively (even playing once at Carnegie Hall), but never recorded, and disbanded in early 1966.

...more here...