Heartsfield, the two year old Chicago band whose music, management philosophy and audience relationship have more parallels with the Grateful Dead than you can count, arrived in Atlanta for their first Southern foreay, and ZW contributing editor, Tom Dupree, was there.

The group has six musicians on stage, but their producer personally mixes each concert and is considered a seventh menber of the band. Their road manager plays percussion. They play acoustic instruments as well as amplified ones. They have an avid following that has almost solely been built up on live concert appearances of which their first Mercury album was a pale imitation. Of their new second LP, "The Wonder Of It All", J.C. Hartsfield (the band's name is a combination of J.C.'s and that of Liquid Heart, an aggregation which contributed half the current personnel) says "We knew better how we wanted to sound, and we have figured out how to encourage people to trust our judgement."

"It's going to sound funny, but we don't really consider ourselves as performers first -- we are songwriters." Everybody in Heartsfield writes, and everybody sings on stage, and the main thing which makes people take notice in concert is the power of the band's material -- the melodies are instantly acceptable, and the band can move from acoustic rhythm sections to powerful electric solos so subtly that those who aren't familiar with the material don't realize it's happened.

The band got together in the Chicago area, which is still the nucleus of their following. There are four guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, and J.C. says that one of the reasons Heartsfield's guitar front four sounds special is that the four musicians are playing from different vantage points -- their experience, individually, is in rock, folk, country and jazz. "Then when we all play together on a tune, it comes out different." J.C. and acoustic man Perry Jordan are both from the South originally (Lafayette County, Mississippi and Savannah, Georgia) but did most of their growing up in the midwest area, like the rest of the band. The music that comes out can't really be tied to any geographical location or point of view, but all of it affirms life, love and music itself. It is as unassuming and exciting as the musicians themselves. J.C. says, "I don't really consider myself a good guitar player, or a singer really. I'm a writer, and most of us put that emphasis on what we do too. But these guys make me sound good. We sound good together and we like what we're doing. Some people are starting to dig us. What more is there?"

Aside from the growth of the Eagles, most of the groups who helped to popularize country-rock in the early seventies have, it seems, stagnated artistically. Recent performances by Roger McGuinn (and his several Byrd-mutations), Souther, Hillman & Furay and the Burritos, among others, have lacked the soul and inspiration that once prompted rockers with a country sensitivity to emerge from their closets. So it's uplifting to welcome a new entry into a tired country-rock field that has the potential to provide some much-needed rejuvenation.

The band is Heartsfield, a six member group whose unpretentiousness and overriding commitment to playing "good-time music" reminds one of a period of innocence not long ago when the Eagles sang of a "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and warned us to "Take It Easy." J.C. Hartsfield, the group's founder, explains: "We believe that country music is really the music of the people but that rock is the music to move, to excite; put the two together, you should have something that most people can relate to and, most importantly, have a good time with. We try hard to keep that balance."

While most country-rock bands are identified with either the Southern California or Texas music scenes, Heartsfield formed and then based itself in Chicago, touring the Midwest extensively for two years. After gathering a sizable Cornbelt following, and earning designations like "Chicago's Grateful Dead," the band migrated to San Francisco early this year.

"We've come full circle" comments J.C. "In '71 my group, J.C. & Company, was gigging around Chicago a lot. There we met what would become the other half of Heartsfield, three guys in a Frisco group called Liquid Heart." "We started playing together, giving songs to each other, having a good time creating. What a change! Until then, my main concern had been survival -- for one thing, I had to kick a drug habit -- but now, I began caring only about the music, and doing what came naturally, which was country-styled music." "Anyway, when the group formed, we could've decided either way: San Francisco or Chicago, but since the Midwest seemed more receptive to country-rock, and J.C. & Company had a stronger foundation than Liquid Heart, we stayed on.

After two albums, though, we felt it best to go west -- we settled in Marin County -- primarily because we needed new exposure. We recorded "Foolish Pleasures," our third LP, in San Francisco, and we think it's an advancement over the first two, especially technically."

Although it's paramount that Heartsfield gain commercial acceptance in Los Angeles, a recent Troubadour engagement revealed musicians oblivious to their Hollywood trappings, intent on establishing themselves as a virtuso ensemble that relies on unselfish teamwork -- gliding vocal harmonies and skillful instrumental interplay -- to manifest and elicit good geeling. Innocence has returned.

Nearly blind with drink and completely infected with foot-sufflin' energy, the capacity second-show crowd at Second Chance Monday night let Heartsfield coax then shove them out of tranquility and into hysteria. Using their full-bodied vocals and arsenal of guitars and drums, Heartsfield proved it doesn't need a studio to sound smooth and tight. They played songs from all four of their albums, but the band's seven years together has bred a familiarity within the band that allows for extended, improvisational endings, and run-away leads from any one of the band's seven members. Sometimes the band coos under soft blue lights, but with no warning and little provocation, Heartsfield turns up the performance and concentrates on the basics of rock 'n roll. Still they make it a point not to ignore the other aspects of contemporary music. Heartsfield began their second show of the night with "The Wonder Of It All," the smooth, lyrical song that was one of their early successes. "The Only Time I'm Sober's When You're Gone" had some refreshing steel guitar work and was one of the crowd's favorite sing-alongs, and was followed by "Racin' The Sun," one of their biggest hits to date. The most diverse song of the evening was probably "Michigan," written for their quiet winter retreat in South Haven where they do a lot of practicing and writing. The song is an out-and-out foot-stomper, beginning with J.C.Hartsfield sawin' the fiddle and some guitar pickin' from Phil Lucafo. Eventually the entire band takes a solo run, but before Dobbs can wrap up the song with his banjo, everybody sings. "Comin' Home," another of Heartsfield's hits, was highlighted by quick guitar licks and vocal harmonies not too different from a barbershop quartet's. By this time, the crowd was stomping and shouting warming up for its demand of an encore.

Heartsfield has been working a lot lately. With lots of local exposure, now is perhaps an appropriate time to find out exactly what's going on with the best country rock band in Chicago. In talking to bassist Greg Biela recently after an appearance at Chicagofest, we learned that Heartsfield has been together seven years, six with their current line-up. In that time, they've gone a different route; one that a growing number of performers have chosen; they're doing it all on their own.

No Management, the band itself books all the dates it plays. They've been doing so for over a year already and have been playing constantly with hardly a night off. But, they are talking with a few record companies, and as soon as a new contract is signed, they're off to the studio. "It's been hard," says Greg, "but it's been a lot of fun!" Heartsfield consists of four guitars, bass, drums, and percussion, with members doubling on fiddle, piano, and steel guitar, all of which give the band an incredible amount of flexibility. The night of the show, the band got the small but greatly enthusiastic audience on its collective feet with good "down-home" music with some rock and a slight touch of jazz.

They played all their classics beginning with "Come Inside," "Hushabye," "All For Nothing," a great country tune, the incredible "The Only Time I'm Sober's When You're Gone," "With These Tools," and encored with "King Bee" and "The One After 909," two songs they just decided to jam on. Well, it's a rough road, but hopefully Heartsfield will get over the potholes and become a nationally acclaimed act. They truly deserve it!