CHAPTER 22: The Forks head south venturing close to LA via Santa Barbara and Moorpark, then, a taste of the Bakersfield sound at the Merle Haggard Museum.

As a prelude to the gang’s sweep through sunny Southern California (SoCal), Buck Wellstone dialed his all-access music smorgasbord to classic Bakersfield jams…Buck Owens…Merle Haggard…Dwight Yokem…the works. He knew they’d be on this road for a while. After all, California posts higher annual gross domestic product than major powers such as the UK, Japan, and France. There is much to discover and SoCal is no slouch for quality of living, despite stratospheric costs.

For example, Santa Barbara…sometimes referred to as The American Riviera: though evidence of human habitation of the area begins at least 13,000 years ago, it finally joined the Union in the mid-19th Century. During the Gold Rush years and following, the town became a haven for bandits and gamblers…it was a dangerous and lawless place…now a veritable paradise on the West Coast.

The gang didn’t have focus group interviews scheduled in Santa Barbara, but it (Santa Barbara) was on the road to Moorpark, a fairly newish LA-area enclave and home of Moorpark College, known for high rates of degree completion. Moorpark is also known for a unique program, The Teaching Zoo. One can imagine an inevitable mishap where people learning the exotic animal ropes lose control of their prickly critters. In this case, a Siberian tiger escaped a local resident’s confines.

Tuffy the Tiger met with an untimely demise as authorities were not privy to the animal’s history (Tuffy was declawed). Other reports indicate authorities couldn’t get a favorable angle for tranquilizer dart effectiveness, so they opted for deadly force…no more Tuffy…and the incident caused a bit of an uproar as the cat was on the loose for weeks. Escaped tigers not withstanding, Moorpark is said to have the lowest crime rates in Ventura County.

Anyway, the gang HAD to do some exploring in Santa Barbara. An area boasting a climate often described as Mediterranean with a strikingly beautiful view. The hillside community just north of downtown enjoys a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Ynez Mountains. With Mediterranean-style white stucco buildings topped with red-tile roofs reflecting the city’s Spanish colonial heritage. Billie was aware that she was missing most of the spectacle due to keeping her eyes on the road. But Buck was taking note, and when they finally got to stretch their legs and do some exploring provided guidance on where to go.

Movie buff, Professor T recalled his time in a class exploring the history of electronic media. He knew that Santa Barbara housed the world’s largest movie studio during the era of silent film. Flying A Studios and others produced over a thousand films during their tenure in Santa Barbara. While the massive American Film Company lot (which once dominated a full city block) was mostly torn down in the 1940s, a few key pieces remain: The Main Surviving Building…a one-story, Revival–style office located on Mission Street is still standing and meticulously preserved. It was once the actors’ green room, dressing rooms, and lounge, and now operates as the office for an architecture firm. When the Forks got there, they saw the original Flying A logo on the front of the building, the prominent arched windows, and the vintage entry light sconce…Mork Thompson was pleased. And once Professor T’s curiosity was satisfied, the gang trudged up the hill to Belmond El Encanto Dining Room in the Mission Canyon foothills, a gourmet lunch with incredible views.

***

Fed and edified in Santa Barbara’s alternate universe, the Forks made their way back to the Chool Bus and embarked for Moorpark…a couple days for focus group interviews at Moorpark College before pushing on to Bakersfield, a geological engineer’s dream museum right there in the same plot with Merle Haggard and the Bakersfield Sound Museum. Buck Wellstone wallowed in the detailed oilfield exploration and drilling exhibits, and the Hard Rock Cafe for country music fans, not to mention Mr Haggard’s boyhood home, fashioned from a vintage railroad caboose.

The flashy Nudie Suits, the back page stories of Bakersfield sound luminaries, the towering palm trees. It was all a bit dizzying for Buck…and he LOVED it.

Bakersfield is often considered to be the birthplace of the different, down-to-earth sound, sort of a rebellious response to Nashville’s highly produced, slick releases. The Bakersfield scene inspired many country artists, such as Dwight Yoakam and The Strangers. Yoakam, alongside Buck Owens, paid tribute to Owens by covering his 1973 recording of Streets of Bakersfield. The cover reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1988.

And Bakersfield’s premier luminary, Merle Haggard, was born and raised in Oildale. In the early 1960s, Haggard completed his first single, Skid Row, on Bakersfield’s Tally label. He went on to sign with Capitol Records a few years later. Most of Haggard’s early songs reflect his time spent in prison, farming, and working blue-collar jobs in Southern California, including Bakersfield. But he was more than just a unique interpreter of those lonesome country songs, he could also do amazing impressions of other country stars of the day. You could say he was the Jimmy Fallon of his era.

NEXT WEEK:
The Forks take a few days detour South to San Diego, then across the border to Ensenada before the next round of focus group interviews in Las Vegas.

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