Barry "The Fish" Melton, Biography

Barry "The Fish" Melton Hello, my name is Barry Melton.

Welcome to my website, where you will find a number of links related to my past, my present, my friends and my interests.

In 1965, I co-founded the musical group Country Joe and the Fish, and began my career as a guitarist and singer, recording and touring with "Country Joe" McDonald as a duo and with various bands, with my own bands and as a solo artist under the name Barry "The Fish" Melton.

In 1982, I was admitted to practice law before all courts of the State of California and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. I have subsequently been admitted to practice before most other U.S. District Courts in California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. I am certified as a specialist in criminal law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. I've served as a Deputy State Public Defender with the Office of the State Public Defender for the State of California, and I recently retired as Public Defender of Yolo County, California. I am a past President of the California Public Defenders Association [CPDA]. If you like, check out the Sacramento Bee story on my retirement. I will continue to work part-time at the Yolo County Public Defender's Office for our new Public Defender, Tracie Olson, during a transition period that will likely carry through the end of 2009 and a bit into 2010 as well.

barry-the-fish-melton-biography I have continued to play music during the course of my legal career, including a long stint with Dinosaurs, a band of 60s veterans that has at various times included Peter Albin and David Getz ( Big Brother and the Holding Company), John Cipollina and Greg Elmore (Quicksilver Messenger Service), Papa John Creech (Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship), Spencer Dryden (Jefferson Airplane and New Riders of the Purple Sage), Robert Hunter (Grateful Dead lyricist), David LaFlamme (It's a Beautiful Day), Jerry Miller (Moby Grape) and the incomparable Merl Saunders on keyboards.

Barry and Barbara Melton I just recently moved to West Sacramento, California, with my wife, Barbara Langer, who is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). Our youngest son, Kyle, is living in the Bay Area and plays banjo and guitar. Our oldest son, Kingsley, lives nearby. After graduating U.C. Davis, Kingsley also worked near Colima, Mexico with Rotary Project Amigo. There was a serious earthquake there in January 2003 and Project Amigo could use your help for Earthquake Relief. You can also check out Kingsley's website.

If you'd like to read a more objective view of what I'm done in more recent years, check out this article that was printed in the Sacramento Bee, or check out this interview by Rip Rense in the Rip Post.