Oceanside singer seeking place in world of country music

By JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 6, 2008 3:55 PM PDT ∞

While California has produced its share of country-western artists, when one thinks of country-western in the Golden State, Bakersfield is far more likely to come to mind than Oceanside.

And yet Rob Carona, a lifelong resident of Oceanside, is trying to establish himself in the world of country-western music, releasing his first CD with a show at the Belly Up on Wednesday.

While San Diego County has a small country-western scene compared with, say, the rock, acoustic or hip-hop communities, the region does support two country radio stations. One of them, New Country 95.7, held a battle of the bands competition earlier this year, a contest that rewarded the winner with the opening slot at Kenny Chesney's concert in May.

Which is how Carona found himself standing in front of several thousand fans at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista on May 29.

Originally, he had been given a 12-minute set ---- the audience was, after all, there to see Chesney and the second act, LeAnn Rimes, two huge names in the world of country music.

But when Carona and his band arrived, they were told that Rimes was ill and unable to perform, and the promoters would need Carona to perform a 40-minute set instead, and would need to push the start time back.

So instead of playing for a few hundred early arrivers, Carona and his band found themselves playing before a full house.

"The crowd response was just amazing during our set," Carona recalled by phone from his home in Oceanside.

What contributed to the challenge is that Carona had assembled the band only after winning the radio contest. Like many aspiring singers, he'd been a solo act ---- accompanying himself on guitar.

But for the Chesney show, Carona realized he needed a full band.

"I grabbed some guys I had kind of been playing with and pretty much threw them together at the last minute," he said. "I had only been practicing with them for a couple weeks."

And they'd only been practicing for a 12-minute set ---- three or four songs at most.

"I had some songs I had been playing, so I did a song on my own," Carona said. "And then we threw in 'Sweet Home Alabama,' which got the crowd going."

Carona said the experience was so successful, "they're now my regular band because it worked out so well."

As to how a kid from a beach town got turned on to country ---- well, let Carona explain his first interest in popular music:

"You're going to laugh ---- it was Yanni," he said, laughing himself. "That was the one that got me interested in performing. My mom had it in her car CD player and I took it out, and she never got it back.

"After that, my sisters were really into country. That's all I listened to and heard. Garth Brooks, Randy Travis."

But before his current stint as a country performer, Carona found himself signed to a small soul and R&B label, taking his first foray into the recording studio as a blue-eyed soul singer.

While the business side of that experience was a souring experience for Carona, and the results of those sessions were never released, he said the experience of singing soul made him a better musician.

"I had started doing country, been listening to country. I found it a little boring vocally, but I liked the writing," Carona said about his earliest efforts as a singer.

He said singing soul music appealed to him from a technical standpoint as a singer.

"It was more challenging vocally, but that wasn't really me, either.

"I came back, and on this album, it takes the country writing ---- the stories and the rock vibe ---- but keeps that soul edge to it."

He produced his new album himself, and is releasing it on his own as well.

"My music isn't really that country; it's just country enough. It can be played on pop and country stations alike."

His musical plans for the future are based around performing more locally, now that he has the album to sell at shows.

"I want to get a real strong base here in San Diego since this is where I'm from, and start pushing outward from there.

"If I have to eventually go to Nashville, I'd like to do that someday."

Rob Carona, with Laura Roppe and the Clay Colton Band

When: 8 p.m. Aug. 13

Where: Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach

Admission: $8

Info: (858) 481-8140 or bellyup.com

Web: myspace.com/robcarona

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.