'Your Mama Don't Dance': 3 chances to see music legend Jim Messina

Musician Jim Messina likes to say: “Luck is being prepared when opportunity happens.” Throughout his long and varied musical career, Messina said he always loved the preparation and that’s one reason why his shows encompass an array of styles. Messina has never stopped exploring new sounds. Over his career, he worked with Buffalo Springfield, was a founder of the country-rock band Poco and the musical partner of a young songwriter in Loggins & Messina. He's also delved into Latin genres.

Messina comes through Massachusetts this weekend with three shows. Friday night he’s headlining The Narrows Center in Fall River, on Saturday he and his band perform at the Cape Cinema in Dennis, and then Sunday night he’ll be playing at City Winery in Boston.

Messina’s time with Buffalo Springfield is where it all started, and it’s also a memorable story of opportunity knocking. A lifelong music lover, Messina had been honing his skills as a recording engineer, in addition to his guitar playing ability. He got along so well with Buffalo Springfield ‒ which included Neil Young and Stephen Stills ‒ that the band suggested their hip young recording engineer be elevated to producer for their third album.

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“I grew up in Colton, California, and we were very poor, so I was determined I was not going back there,” Messina, 74, said from a Connecticut tour stop last week. “Ahmet Ertegun called me one night and asked if I’d consider producing Buffalo Springfield. He said they trusted my judgment after working with me in the studio. I was shocked but I said ‘sure.’ Then, once we started, Bruce Palmer, their bass player, liked to play around with herbs. He called the police one night, complaining about his neighbor’s music being too loud. When the cops came, they talked to Bruce and noticed a bag of herbs on his table, so they ended up busting him.

"Since he was Canadian, he was also deported ‒ sent back to Canada. Buffalo Springfield had a cattle call for a new bassist, and I was the last one to play, but I made the gig. I had only learned the bass a little while before that, when I was building a studio with Joe Osborne, and I had bought one for $125. But I knew all the Springfield’s bass parts from working in the studio with them, so being prepared on bass led to me becoming part of that band.”

As it turned out, Buffalo Springfield broke apart after that aptly titled “Last Time Around” album. But Messina and multi-instrumentalist Richie Furay decided to start a new kind of rock band, Poco. From the Byrds’ swerving away from their folk-rock to the “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” album to Gram Parsons pursuing his own cosmic cowboy sound, country music was being explored by rockers and Messina and Furay had their own vision.

All these years later, with Americana one of the most popular genres and bands like The Eagles having sold millions of albums, does Poco get enough credit for its role?

“The truth is Poco got a lot of credit for being at the beginning of all that,” said Messina. “It’s also undeniable that the Eagles had great songs that people were drawn to. Poco just didn’t have that big commercial success in those times. Leaving Buffalo Springfield, I thought of maybe pursuing country-rock, instead of folk-rock, kind of in the vein of (Buffalo Springfield song) ‘Kind Woman.’ But radio felt we were too country for rock, and too rock for country. We lucked out with ‘Better Think Twice,’ and then Rusty (Young) had ‘Crazy Love’ for us, but the record company was always pushing us to be more rock."

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By 1970, Messina had retired from the road after three Poco albums. His intention was to devote himself to producing records and settling into a more stable lifestyle. Messina was offered a chance to produce an Andy Williams record and then asked about Olivia Newton-John.

“I loved both of them, but felt like they needed someone else,” said Messina. “Olivia was more easy listening. I was more interested in singer-songwriters, in the Dave Mason ilk. Then Kenny came to me and caught my eye.”

Kenny Loggins was an unknown songwriter without much performing background and a very soft folk sound. But Messina heard something special. Their first album was billed as "Kenny Loggins, with Jim Messina Sitting In,” but the second one was simply Loggins and Messina, and they were on their way to selling more than 20 million records.

“I knew he needed a lot of work, but Kenny loved to sing,” said Messina. “I saw an opportunity to develop him in at least two different genres. He could do folk with a country feel and then some songs were more blue-eyed soul and then some more country-gospel. I always felt people wanted to hear more diverse music and that album ended up being on the charts for 400 weeks.”

The duo owned the charts in the 1970s before splitting up. In ’79, Messina embarked on a solo career that tended more toward Latin tinges to his music. There was a Poco reunion of all the original members in 1989, and the “Legacy” album that came out of that hit No. 18 on the album charts.

Loggins and Messina did reunion tours in 2005, 2009, and this year for their 50th anniversary. Throughout, Messina has continued making his own music too, including the fascinating 2009 CD “Under a Mojito Moon,” where his flamenco guitar playing is spotlighted.

Messina has also developed his Songwriters Performance Workshop, which gathers musicians and songwriters for six-day intensive sessions where he guides them toward achieving their goals. Messina has studied psychology and Gestalt therapy and that also colors his songwriting workshops.

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“I found I really enjoyed the process of helping people,” he said. “The songwriters sessions are pretty magical. We help them structure their thoughts and develop an awareness of behavioral patterns and decide what they want to say. When you help others, you end up helping yourself.”

Joe and Alice

Last Friday, South Shore musician Joe Merrick posted an intriguing note on his Facebook page. An Alice Cooper fan from an early age, Merrick had recorded a version of Cooper’s 1971 “Desperado,” from the “Killer” album, in his Guilty Dog Studio in Marshfield. Merrick sang and played all the instruments on the track and then produced a video of it, where his disembodied face weaves in and out of a series of surreal scenes, many from the American West, as he interpreted the tune to be about a bounty hunter. He also felt there was a subtle nod to The Doors' Jim Morrison in the song, and incorporated that too.

Merrick decided to try to send the video to Cooper via the Cameo platform, but he’d never met or known the rocker. Before long, Merrick received a video reply from Cooper, in which the singer noted that the video “took a pretty dramatic turn,” and said he felt “always complimented when people cover my songs.” Cooper went on to explain that Morrison was indeed a partial inspiration for the tune, although his main model had been the Robert Vaughn character in the original “The Magnificent Seven” movie. Cooper closed with best wishes for Merrick’s two girls, who are already joining their dad in enjoying Cooper’s music. You can hear Merrick’s version on YouTube.

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THURSDAY: Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes conclude their two nights at City Winery. ... The War and Treaty with stellar harmonies at The Sinclair. ... Boston hip-hop with STL GLD at The Paradise. ... Norwell’s Sam Luke Chase sings at The Spire Center. ... California punk-pop with AFI at Royale. ... Manchester (in the U.K.) sends the Courteeners to heat up Brighton Music Hall.

FRIDAY: Lez Zeppelin, the all-female band that reprises the Zepp, at Soundcheck Studios. ,,, Walk the Moon’s 10th anniversary at The Paradise. ... Super indie-pop/Americana with Trampled by Turtles at The House of Blues, and Amigo the Devil opens. ... The Revivalists rock MGM Music Hall. ... The Last Waltz, with Warren Haynes leading an all-star group to salute The Band’s finale, at The Orpheum Theatre. ... Bluesman Larry McCray at The Spire Center. ... Mojomama grooves at The C-Note. ... The nonpareil Victor Wooten leads a band called Bass Extremes at City Winery.

SATURDAY: Often called the first couple of Americana, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams grace The Spire Center. ... Chartbusters Carbon Leaf rock The Sinclair. ... Disco Biscuits get down at MGM Music Hall. ... Breakers ‒ a Tom Petty tribute ‒ at The Narrows Center. ... The Best of Foo ‒ a tribute to Dave Grohl and company ‒ at Soundcheck Studios. ... Toronto female foursome Beaches light up Brighton Music Hall. ... Pop-punk with Senses Fail at the Crystal Ballroom. ... A two-fer at City Winery: Jeffrey Gaines’ soul upstairs, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band downstairs. ... Emo with Oso Oso at The Paradise. Workman Song’s rock and soul warms up The C-Note.

SUNDAY: The annual Songs of Michael Troy show at The Narrows Center, saluting the late songsmith with an all-star cast of New England players at 1 p.m. ... Sunday night, the 20-year old pop sensation Chloe Moriondo sings at The Paradise.

See Jim Messina

8 p.m. Nov. 11 at The Narrows Center with Danielle Miraglia opening; $58 in advance or $63 the day of show; 508-324-1926 or narrowscenter.org

7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Cape Cinema, 35 Hope Lane, Dennis; $35-$75, 508-385-2503 or capecinema.com

8 p.m. Nov. 13 at City Winery, 80 Beverly St., Boston; $45-$75, 617-933-8047 or citywinery.com/boston

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'Your Mama Don't Dance': 3 chances to see legend Jim Messina in MA