TEMECULA -- "Let me see if he's at his desk." The click.

And then the country-western twang of a Restless Heart song.

This particular tune, "Big Dreams in a Small Town," was piped into the city's phone system on a recent Friday to entertain people who were put on hold.

While it might seem random or inconsequential, the city consciously picked the country station that played this song to provide its hold music.

Country made the cut, city officials said, because Temecula -- while it has become more of a wine-and-cheese town of late -- has country-western roots.

And, among Temecula residents, it's a popular choice.

"I probably get a call once a month. 'Where do you get that music?,'" said Tim Thorson, the city's information systems director.

The answer to that question is Sirius XM, which offers a commercial-free modern country station.

Thorson said that's the same station that provides the music that plays on the city's public access television channel and the Old Town Temecula sound system.

"I guess we could use jazz. We've got jazz in the wineries, jazz in the (Old Town Temecula Community Theater) but country … it's in our roots," he said.

While country works for Temecula, neighboring cities, area companies and Southwest County public agencies have picked different types of music.

In Lake Elsinore, the city has recently flipped the switch on its hold music and it is broadcasting 94.7 FM, The Wave, for its callers.

A Wildomar staffer said his city had recently moved its offices to the second floor of its City Hall building and he thought that might be why the city didn't have any hold music playing on a recent Friday.

For more information, he recommended talking to the city clerk.

Silence on the line waiting for the city clerk to pick up call.

When she picked up, she noted that some cities get hold music -- generic, inoffensive-to-most smooth jazz -- as part of their bundled phone service package, but she said she didn't know if Wildomar's system featured that service and, if it did, how to go about turning it on.

"I'm not a technical person as far as phone systems go," she said.

Reached on his cell phone that same day, Wildomar Mayor Scott Farnam said the city would have some sort of hold music in the future, music that reinforces the city's branding efforts.

Making good on his pledge, the city recently started to offer hold music, a mix of pop tunes.

On a recent afternoon, the song was Jackson Browne's "The Hold Out/Stay," the meandering, piano-heavy track Browne plays when he closes out a concert.

As for what that says about Wildomar … well, it's one of Browne's most popular songs and it ends with what could be considered a pro-tourism refrain: "Oh, won't you stay, just a little bit longer?"

A call to Southwest County's other new city, Menifee, was answered by a cheery City Hall staffer who seemed delighted to put a caller on hold.

The music that greeted the caller was a sort of smooth jazz that featured plinking pianos and mellow strings.

Embedded into the smooth jazz was a calming female voice: "Thank you for holding, we'll be right with you."

As promised by the calming voice, the staffer popped back on the line, but she wasn't sure why that particular jazz and soothing voice combo had been programmed into the phone system.

Dana Kilpatrick, Murrieta's information technology specialist, said the smooth jazz that calmed callers to her city on a recent Friday is just one of a slate of music packages the city has at its disposal.

In addition to the smooth jazz mix, the city has different types of hold music that it can plug in and a collection of public domain songs, Kilpatrick said. The smooth jazz mix replaced the old hold music, which Kilpatrick said was more of a "folk-style thing with guitars."

"I think my thought processes went down the line of … What would be soothing to listen to and would not be irritating or grating if someone were to be left on hold for awhile? … which never happens of course!" Kilpatrick said in an e-mail to The Californian.

Over at the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District's offices, the hold music was light pop.

Breaking from the smooth jazz pack, someone at the district decided to plug in a radio station that featured the likes of Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews and the Dixie Chicks.

The Elsinore district's southern counterpart, the Rancho California Water District, normally has a recording of conservation tips and info on how to fix leaks playing for people on hold.

On a recent Friday, however, the hold music was some sort of new age tune that featured haphazardly-spaced synthesizer bloops and the warble of an electric guitar.

The district staffer who fielded the call seemed perplexed as to how that new age song had infiltrated the district's phone system, which was upgraded a month or so ago.

"I guess people will be uninformed now," she said.

In what might come as a surprise to many, people calling the Pechanga Resort & Casino are not entertained while on hold by a repeating loop of the techno pop ditty that is the audio centerpiece of Pechanga's television campaign.

Instead of the Natasha Bedingfield song, callers can listen to Pechanga house advertisements, including a pitch to visit the Pechanga spa for a manicure.

"Experience a completely new way to chill out," cooed a female voice.

Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at 951-676-4315, ext. 2624.

HOLD MUSIC MIX TAPE

Temecula -- Country

Murrieta -- Smooth jazz

Menifee -- Smooth jazz

Wildomar -- Pop

Lake Elsinore -- 94.7 FM, "The Wave"

Riverside County Sheriff's Department -- Smooth jazz

Rancho California Water District -- New age

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District -- Lite pop

Pechanga Resort & Casino -- House advertisements