Full circle with the founding frontman of trendsetting country rockers the Dillards

Former Elektra Records artist Rodney Dillard leaves no stone unturned as he dissects the mid-’60s Los Angeles music scene, covering Bob Dylan, the Beatles’ innovative spirit, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band multi-instrumentalist John McEuen’s documentary, the day the Dillards suddenly walked out of a Capitol Records meeting after refusing to cut a horrible tune, the impact of the Internet and how listeners may someday receive music, and whatever happened to his former comrades in arms. In the accompanying still Dillard is really concentrating on an acoustic guitar lick at the annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival in Waycross, Georgia, on September 23, 2011. Photography by Jeremy Roberts

The Dillards was arguably the best bluegrass band of the ’60s. Featuring mandolin extraordinaire Dean Webb, emcee-doghouse bassist Mitch Jayne, banjoist Doug Dillard, and baby brother Rodney Dillard supplying lead vocals, guitar, and production expertise, the band confounded listeners when they stepped on Golden State soil in November 1962.

Proudly wearing Ozark Mountain influences on their sleeve, audiences assumed they were encountering outlandish hillbillies without an ounce of high society culture. But after witnessing one of their legendary shows at the Troubadour in West Hollywood or listening to debut album Back Porch Bluegrass, it became pretty clear these guys were seriously devoted to their craft.

Jayne was also a talented songwriter and novelist who rescued a number of the Dillards’ earliest shows in front of indifferent audiences utilizing sharp comic timing. Jayne co-wrote the majority of the band’s essential songs — “Dooley”, “Old Home Place,” “There Is a Time,” “The Whole World Round,” “Nobody Knows,” “The Biggest Whatever, “Listen to the Sound,” “Ebo Walker” — and remained a staunch outdoorsman until his death in 2010.

Webb’s harmony vocals and unheralded arranging skills were the envy of fellow up and coming L.A. bands. He walked into…