Hells Fire Sinners Confessions of the Damned I don’t even remember how we stumbled across these guys, but finding the HFS was the equivalent of finding a pristine, vintage beer cooler stuffed with porn DVDs, liquor and cigarettes packed securely with $100 bills. This band of degenerates hail from Columbus, OH and bring with them a deadly cocktail of almost indescribable mix of hellbilly and honky tonk.  When the first fiery lick of Ninety Nine hits, singer/guitaritst Alan Dude’s unique twang flows into the track after a nitro-fueled jumpstart where drummer Josh Hewitt and bassist Andy Neff join him in crafting this deadly song together.  The suicidal death ride that is Ninety Nine is a pounding prayer to death on the road.  One of the things I love most about the HFS is their ability to shift gears in the middle of the road and reel in the hellbilly and turn it into honky tonk with the strum of a guitar.  A Little Gone A Little Crazy, is toe-tapping self-awareness track paying tribute to drinking & partying and not making excuse to those who look down on you.
The album’s favorite track for me (and everyone else soon enough) is Piss On You.  This honky tonk revival is a punch in the face about being proud of whom you are.  “I use the lord’s name in vain, I ain’t never been a saint, and motherfuckers, neither have you,” Dude exclaims in a southern drawl that encompasses the good ol’ time lifestyle.  This song has become a sing-a-long in my house and a sold out concert in my mind as I recite the ultra funny lyrics driving (too fast) down the road. Almighty Dollar rings up as an upbeat, boot-tapping and very catchy song about living they way you should not.  “If you don’t like the way I am, step aside and get the fuck out the way,” Dude threatens.  Damn Our Souls cries in next as the albums namesake (of sorts).  This downtrodden, give-up give-in look at life is also a fav of mine.  Dude’s antique twang makes this song sound like an old gospel prayer as much as it does a verse out of the satanic bible.  This is a kick ass song that makes you sing along, yet makes you feel bad for singing along. It’s been a long time since a band’s album has moved me and made it into rotation of my favorite bands.  This is one of those albums.  We loved it so much that we invited them to play the Rockabilly BBQ on June 6th, 2009. The Thick Of It picks in bringing up the pace once again.  “I’m in the thick of it, I’m in the thick of all this shit,” Dude yells as the rhythm boys hammer down the lid of another kick-ass track about being mixed up in all the bullshit that is life. The last two tracks sadly come into play as Real Men pays tribute to all the bad-asses we avoid, again with the classic county twang on methamphetamines chased with downers and liquor, while Zombie Killer does the same, only they are undead and less downers. You HAVE to get this CD!  This band kicks ass like one we have needed for a long time.  Pick up a copy of Confessions of the Damned at www.myspace.com/hfsinners.  AND DO NOT MISS THEM AT THIS YEAR’S BBQ! Mark 2/2/08
Tommy Ray and the Rayguns Jezebel's Jukebox I don’t know where the hell these guys came from, but boy are they turning some heads.  We first caught a glimpse of Tommy Ray and the Rayguns at Elvisfest.  Not many bands get our attention these days, especially since everybody and his brother is jumping on the rockabilly bandwagon and the kustom culture in general.   It was nice to find a new, enthusiastic band that actually has rockabilly in mind and knows that you can’t put billy on the end of the word suck and make it work. We were so happy with their sound and performance, we invited them to play the Rockabilly BBQ.  Hell, judging from the crowd response, we made a good decision.  I was even happier to get my hands on their debut CD, Jezebel’s Jukebox. So here goes. Jezebel’s Jukebox kicks off with an anthem that sticks with all of us called Rockabilly Girl.  Based on a true story, this loveabilly, upbeat thumper gives homage to the fact that you can love her, but you just can’t keep her.  “Rockabilly girl loves me all night long.  When I wake up in the morning she’s rockabilly gone,”
singer Tommy Ray declares.  Devil By Your Side is a creeper that crawls into you soul by pointing out the reasons why not to run with the devil. From here, Jezebel’s Jukebox kicks up the pace with Women and Alcohol.  This gasoline-fueled drinker puts the emphasis on why what happens happens when you are dealing with chicks and liquor, as the super-talented Scotty Gates drives this ditty home, riding his Gretsch all the way. The rest of this up-and-coming, kick ass band is rounded out by rhythm guitarist Chris Gillikin, Badger on the doghouse and Rusty Cloninger pounding out aggressions on the skins.  It’s been a long time since Charlotte has had a new band chocked full of passionate musicians and that passion shows in Jezebel’s Jukebox. 4th and Vine is a morbid, surfabilly psycho-rage about loving someone so much that you cut out her heart and set that bitch in the corner.   The rhythm boys really keep this gravedigger within the trenches as the guitar duo hammers the nails in the coffin.  Original Sin grabs a hold of us as an upbeat and treacherous killer as Tommy Ray states, “ I’ve seen the face of Satan and you look a lot like him” as he ponders the beauty and behavior of a beautiful woman. Jezebel’s Jukebox rounds out with a fantastic cover of Ring Of Fire done more like Social Distortion’s cover of Johnny Cash’s version.  Whatever the case, this version rocks!  And so does this band!  But just like that, the CD was over and it was Rockabilly Gone.  Pick up your copy of Jezebel’s Jukebox at http://www.myspace.com/tommyraytherayguns. Mark 7/2/08
Lords of the Highway Rarities Lords of the Highway from Cleveland, Ohio have been tearin' up asphalt since 1992, bringing you hillbilly punk rock that knocks ya flat, runs ya over, and doesn't look back. The Lords have hauled along the highway from NYC's CBGB's to honky tonk dives in the hills, playing with the likes of Reverend Horton Heat, Southern Culture on the Skids, Hank III, The Legendary Shack Shakers, Dick Dale, Nekromantix, Tiger Army, El Vez, Hasil Adkins, Lee Rocker, Ray Condo, and many others - not to mention countless of kick ass punk bands. I was more than happy to get my hands on their latest release, Rarities, a compilation of songs that never made it to the Lord’s CD.  Some of these songs were used for movie soundtracks, others didn’t fit the mojo of the current album, but are damn good tunes that deserved to be heard.
The CD kicks off with Johnny Nemeth’s Lounge.  This upbeat rockapunkabilly ass-kicker is a tribute to good times with good friends.  Next up the Lord’s take the Dave Dudley classic 6 Days on the Road and drive spikes into it.  This little ditty has never had so much energy injected into it.  The CD continues with hard driving truckstop detours like the humorous 40 Acres. Although the CD chews up and regurgitates the 50’s lifestyle, it still maintains the retro charm in it’s recording and delivery.  Songs like Claudette Rock and Montana Joe are ghostly reminders of bad ass mofos that are presented on a vintage platter. Rarities kicks into 6th gear with Ready to Rock.  This shaker drags you down the highway like a muffler hanging out from under a beat up pick-up truck; sparks ensue.  This collection of oddities and favorites rounds out with Rebel Yell.  Billy only wishes he could have hammered out such a version. I have been a big fan of Lords of the Highway for years, so I was very excited to get the CD and book them at this year’s Rockabilly BBQ!  Pick up your copy of Rarities and a crapload of kick ass Lords of the Highway CDs at LordOfTheHighway.com and whatever you do, don’t miss this national act at this year’s Rockabilly BBQ. Mark 04/13/08
Straight 8s Never Return To Me The 8s finally return to us and give us a new CD.  And what an album they crafted!  The Straight 8s outdid themselves with this evil concoction.  On Never Return To Me, the 8’s draw the curtains and dim the lights and climb out of the darkness like we have never experienced. Don’t get me wrong; it’s still straight up rockabilly, still straight up good music and still straight up Straight 8’s.  This time it’s just darker. Never Return To Me comes alive with On Your Knees, the first sign that things are different this go around.  This upbeat, browbeating track lays the rules down to what kind of relationship this really is.  As singer/guitarist Robert Striegler explains, “It’s not as complicated as I anticipated”,
and that sums up the just of this love song.  Never Return kicks into I Wanna Know.  This percussion driven hate song confesses the evils of love and the victory of knowing that you don’t need the drama and find yourself asking. “I wanna know that you still hate me,” Striegler angrily asks as King of all Drummers, Bernie Fox, pounds out the aggressions of love on his stripped-down, stand-up kit.  Bassist Pat McGraw wrecks the house, pound for pound, right beside Fox. The Straight 8’s have commanded the East Coast rockabilly scene for a reason.  Their style, energy and abilities are unmatched and Never Return To Me drives the point home.  A darker side of the 8 moves in with King of Fools.  Anger, emotion and drive make this (my favorite track) the cornerstone of the 8s new sound.  “I wish for everything, but what remains”, Striegler denounces.  If you have been a lover of the 8’s, this new sickboy attitude will only make things better.  Damn, what an album! Along with the shade, comes the sun and the good ol’ 8’s attitude.  With songs like Rockhouse & Go-Go Juice, they leave no rocks unturned as they shove the one’s from the 50’s into the fire.  Misunderstood, is a future classic as the 8’s hammer the beat into your face.  Damn, what an album! As the album closes with the above-mentioned Go-Go Juice, I just started the damn thing over, sent them an email to invite them to the Rockabilly BBQ, kicked back and listened again.   Pick up your copy of Never Return To Me at www.Straight8s.com and don’t miss them at the Rockabilly BBQ June, 7th 2008!
The Bo-Stevens A Little More Road The greatest voice in honky tonk is back with his band of outlaws for a kick ass new album, A Little More Road.  With this disc Richard Boyd and the Bo-Stevens break the 2nd album curse, where # 2 is usually never quite as good as the 1st.  Road kicks off Honky Tonk Saturday Night, a twanger, a dancer and an up-beat ditty about honky tonkin’ with your girl.  This kick-off song is just a slight introduction to the updated and more professional Bo-Stevens sound. I Need A Drink is a classic country song about drinking and heartache that puts you in the mind of listening to country music in the 1970’s while riding in the car with your dad on a Saturday morning.  It is heart felt, damned good music. One More Town, the albums mantra, is a long distant drive towards home and honey.  “One more town between me and you dear. A little more road, baby, I’ll be through,” Boyd serenades.

The Bo-Stevens unique sound is a formula due to their unique blend of musicians.  Stage right stands Greg Bell on the HulaCaster.  Greg’s unique twangy riffs are part of the Bo-Stevens supersound.  Mark Peurifoy plays timekeeper with the beautiful and talented Billie Feather as she gracefully hammers out the bass in yo’ face.  The uber-talented Jeff Shu on pedal steel and mandolin rounds out the group.

A Little More Road continues with Happy Faces, a song I would swear was taken from my autobiography and I may sue for copyright infringements, but I doubt it.  Happy Faces is a fast strumming insight into a man that is has been wearing a mask for years.  “I just can’t smile no more, my heart is aching.  My spirit is gone and I’m tired of faking,” Boyd sighs.  This album is packed with emotions and will make the skeletons in your closet get up and dance.  The honky tonk ensues with more classic tracks hell bent on hell raising and paying for those sins.

Then comes the suckerpunch of the album when track 12 hits the air.  Beautiful Ms. Billie takes center stage as she strides across her doghouse, which is bigger than she is, in Honky Tonk Woman.  Her ghostly, angelic twang explains to us why this little honky tonk woman needs a rock and roll man.  “No CEO will ever hold my hand, you see I’m a honky tonk woman who only takes a rock and roll man, “ Billie explains.  After years of Mr. Boyd swooning all the women at the Bo-Steven’s live shows; this is the time when all the men get their revenge as we all stand still, mouths agape, staring in awe at Ms. Billie.  That’s what he gets.

The masterpiece of the CD is Lace, a grisly tale of love and murder where vengeance is had from beyond the grave.  I stand and yell “BRAVO” as the Bo-Stevens reach a whole new level of musicianship with this gravely crawler.

A Little More Road spins to an end with Satisfied.  Satisfied has on old school country feel with a driving guitar sound.  It gives you a toe-tapping, head-nodding feeling that you just bought the best country album of 2008.

The killing continues as Hot Rod Man comes into the rearview as I fight to get out of its way.  Addison & Turbo tear past me as the tempo builds into a punk classic-style drive train.  “Now call the law and tell them what you saw,” Mug declares.  Speed Demon piles on with its hardcore guitar crunch and a fast-tempo kiss-my-ass pledge, while Big V-8 is the CD’s premier track that hands you a fistful of guitar-laden, stop & go slut-mobile tribulations.

My favorite track, Slant Six, takes over the road with over-bearing power and heavy ass punch.  The sexual innuendos fly as Slant Six takes on a whole new meaning.  The CD rounds off with Continental Ghost and it leaves me wanting more.

Fortunately, we landed the Hot Rods for the Queen City Meltdown on Oct. 20^th at the World Famous Milestone Club in Charlotte.  This way you can see this outrageous band of hellions for yourself.  In the mean time, pick up you copy of Super Sport at Myspace.com/thehotrodsband.

The Droptops
The Droptops

  You know what is great?  True rockabilly.  You know what’s even better?  To finally get your hands on a traditional rockabilly album from a kick-ass band.  After so many garage bands tag their style as some sort of billy just to get attention, I was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of the self-entitled album from Maryland’s The Droptops.

  The Droptops kick off their stunning album with, Where There’s Smoke.  This upbeat thumper takes you on a pleasure ride into the pick-up scene were you are making eyes with the bettie from across the room and then some.   From there the upbeat pace continues with Rock! Rock! Rock!.  The driving bass and drums on Rock! Rock! Rock! keep your hips shakin’ and toes tappin’ as The Droptops throw you around like a rag doll.

  The thing that makes The Droptops so unique is that they are comprised of 66.3% females.  Lead singer & bass killer, Johnny Bozarth has a true vintage style in his sound, both vocally and slapping.  His crooning is very retro, but his intentions are very right here, right now.  Elizabeth takes her Gretsch and shows you that chicks do indeed rock.  Where and how she came up with such a unique sound, all the while maintaining the traditional rockabilly feel, is a mystery to me.  Finally we get to Christine, the backbone of this rockabilly trio.  Nice, clean and pristine.  She pops and snaps The Droptops into their retro style.

  The album spins on with more of the 50’s vibe, bouncing from song to song ranging from love sickness to love meanness.  She’s My Baby rattles in with as fast-paced love song, while Back With My Baby is more of a mid-tempo honky tonk-ish road rash ditty.  The Droptops are all over the road, yet keep it right inside the lines and keep their style true to the music.

  By the time When You Go comes around, I’m getting sad because the CD is almost over.  I won’t drone on and on about The Droptop’s unique sound or keep letting their secrets out.  But I will say we saw this band 2 years ago at the MobTown Greaseball and we were super-excited that they wanted to play the BBQ 07.  Lucky you, you get to see them in all their glory!  Before the BBQ, pick up a copy of The Droptops at www.thedroptops.com.  This is a swinging band and Charlotte loves to swing.  Get ready!

The Tremors
Invasion of the Saucermen

Something fell out of the sky today and it wasn’t part of a dilapidated space station.  It wasn’t some object from a rickety old plane.  It was truly a UFO. That is what I thought until I ripped it open.  There I was holding an object with hints of the past, yet laden with futuristic visions.  Yep, it was the new Tremors CD, Invasion of the Saucermen.

  The Tremors have stepped up to the microphone and taken their upbeat, grownup punkabilly mixed with retro-horror rockabilly to a new level.  Saucermen kicks off with World War III Boogie.  In traditional Tremors style, Slim, Jimmy and Stretch reintroduce themselves to the masses with this hopped-up instrumental.

  The self-entitled track invades the airwaves next.  Invasion of the Saucermen is a doghouse driven, fear for you life, ass-kicking testament to the little men in the sky.  Somatose makes it’s way through the cosmos knocking you out of your chair.  This drug-laden ditty pays tribute to all the things, legal and illegal, that make us all feel good and giddy about life.  This is just one of many songs that really make this CD a must-have!

Let me introduce you to the infamous Tremors.  Slim Perkins is one of the Southeast’s most notorious and notable doghouse destroyers.  Stretch Armstrong stands tall and strong as one of the best drummers on the circuit.  Rounding off this cult of personalities is the mastermind of this futuristic, 1950’s crowd-eating band, Jimmy Tremor.  Jimmy’s unmistakable, frantic voice and manic style make this band a powerhouse of subhuman proportions.  Catch them live and you’ll know what I mean.

  Slim takes control of the situation with, Atomic Jesus.  This double-time anthem plays tribute to a nuclear savior destroying and saving lives at the same time.  Slim does an excellent job for his debut behind the mike and the boys pile in for the joyride.  (I Ain’t No) Two Timin’ Man spins by as very upbeat explanation of the touring lifestyle and the devotion to keeping the little man in your pants when you have a little Bettie at home.  “We keep blasting out our crazy rockin’ songs, I’m having fun but just can’t wait to bring myself back home”, Jimmy clarifies.  This is one of the standout tunes on this saucer.

This gang of degenerates brings it down a notch with the rockabilly ditty, Treat Me Right. Treat Me Right captures the rhythm and stylin’ that the Tremors bring to the scene and the superb songmanship that goes on at their planet.  Shaken’ From Seizures is one of my faves as Jimmy and the boys get into the groove of the music and gives you the album’s toe-tapping icing on the cake.

I’m not going to ruin the rest of this CD for you.  I will say that it is a rare occasion that a band can top their debut CD.  But the Tremors pull it off, keeping it real and in that same loveable Tremor’s fashion, all the way down to the 3-D artwork on the album.  Somewhere, Hank, Elvis and Joey are all standing around nodding to the rocking sounds of Tremors.

Hearts and Daggers
A Home For My Lonely Tears

My first glimpse of Hearts and Daggers was at the Honky Tonk Hoedown.  It was their first time in Charlotte and I didn’t know what to expect.  What I got was a lesson in a good ol’ fashion outlaw country ass whuping.  Their upbeat, yet downtrodden honky tonk stole the show, but I didn’t really get the full tilt until they handed me a CD.

A Home For My Lonely Tears kicks off with Desperado’s Lullabye.  It was this song that sold me on singer, Kevin Wolfe’s unique voice.  If I have to put it into words, think honky tonk Violent Femmes.  His nasal, sometimes purposely off-key vocal stylings bring a whole new twist to the old honky tonk game; a very welcomed change. Desperado’s Lullabye has an old west guitar crawl, complements of Jason Bulter, where a desperate soul accepts death as opposed to living in hell with a woman that brings dark and lonely thoughts.   This hate anthem is in all of our darkest thoughts.

From there, What It Means To Cry takes a turn to the bottom of heartbreak.  “I’ll take the truck and my worn out luck and just get to gettin’ gone,” Wolfe proclaims.  What It Means To Cry is laced with the angelic honky tonk, back-up voice of Christy Smith from Nola Band fame, and is Wolfe’s Bonnie to his Clyde.  Their lonely duo about loss and love is a mid-tempo, slow-tempo, up-tempo farewell to love.  This is by far my favorite track on the EP.

The Daggers could not pull off their hard-driving honky tonk sound without the excellent backbone hammerings of Steve Judge on the catfish bass and Marshall Miller on drums.  This duo keeps this Raleigh supergroup headstrong.

Black Smoke fills the room as the CD continues on.  More of Butler’s guitar sounds drive this movin’-on song as the Wolfe/Smith team continues their honky tonk farewells in unison.  “Let the devil take my mind before I see you again,” Wolfe proclaims.  This dancer keeps the rhythm up and the mind-state down.  It is a train journey to nowhere.

Waltz #7 comes around the bend slow and steady with more angelic harmonies via a drunken night leaving sorrow and pain behind and finding happiness in dreams.  The musicianship in the Daggers really shines out on this track.  Their ability to reach another level of outlaw honky tonk is proven in Waltz #7.

Sadly, the EP comes to an end with John Harper’s Heartbreak.  This tribute song to outlaw John Harper and his heists, his journey to Mexico, and leaving his family behind only further proves that Hearts and Daggers versatility is something to behold.  Their own brand of honky tonk is long overdue and well needed.  I’ve listened to this album over and over again, and I can’t think of a reason to stop.  Someone make it stop!

Pick up your copy of A Home For My Lonely Tears at www.HeartsAndDaggers.com. They’ll be back!

The Flat Tires
Gettin’ Nowhere Fast

  I remember being stunned.  I was off balance and confused.  Did that really just happen or had I dreamed it up?  Had I just lived through a brush with death, or did I just stumble away from a Flat Tires show?  That is the way I felt 22 seconds after the Flat Tires bid farewell the night of the Rockabilly BBQ pre party in June.  I have never heard a band capture true southern punk-a-billy like the Flat Tires have. 

I grew up with honky tonk and punk rock, but as I got older I moved to more of the traditional rockabilly sound.  So I am a bit jaded with what some folks call punk or honky tonk or rockabilly, for that matter.  Most of the time the bands just don’t get what all this is about.  Not these Tires.  They never went flat, not once. So when singer, Clint Harrison, gave me a copy of the CD, I couldn’t wait to hit the keyboard.

With the introduction of Pretty Lady, the Flat Tires hammer the coffin nail of hardcore dating with conclusion of “I got one more load and it’s rarin’ to go”.  No hardcore Bettie or New South Southern belle could possibly keep up with Clint’s demands.  With his hopped up, honky tonk voice, Clint had me hooked.

Getting’ Nowhere Fast moved into guy territory with Five Finger Date and the ideology that a five-finger date is way the hell cheaper than wasting your money on a high class sponge.  Grab a remote control, a video tape and call it a date.  Been there, done that. 

Since the Flat Tires played the BBQ, this thing has been in rotation every day.  The CD quickly moves into Rag On.  Rag On is a tribute to, well, you know.  The Tires explain their understanding of the monthly hell cycle and the events that take place therein.

With Two of Three Things, the Flat Tires lets us all know that 2 of 3 things will be happening tonight – getting drunk, getting laid or getting in a fight.  “Two of thing of three things are happening now, are happening tonight with me,” Harrison demands.  His lowbrow threats and nothing to lose attitude causes this song to reek of testosterone.

I can’t keep commenting on every song, but all these songs are great.  With Lee Osborne on guitar, Phil Keller on drums and Scott Cline slapping the bass, it’s hard to deny that I was handed the best punk-a-billy CD of 2006.  Knowing my background, I would have never thought that this band of rouges would pull off a CD that would get my undying attention. 

On with the menace, Sugar Shack plows into the speakers with a stripper’s worse nightmare, a band of hellbillies on a spending spree.  Meanwhile, Monday describes the day after such a night.  This fast-paced downtrodden song of despairs about having to show up to work after a hell-bent weekend of partying drives the point home.

I hated to end the CD as much as I hate to end this review, but all good things come to an end.  The difference between my words and this CD is I can start the CD over again and get different meaning out of it each time.

Get your copy of Getting’ Nowhere Fast @ The Flat Tire's MySpace site.

Mark
7/11/06

Cheesecake Anyone? 
Interview with photographer Joe Bemis

Nearly everyone has seen the infamous pin up of Betty Grable in her white bathing suit, million dollar legs and that sweet, yet devilish look.  This picture adorned many a G.I.’s locker during WWII.   It was during this era that cheesecake photography moved into the public arena.  Cheesecake/pin up photography has been around since there were cameras, but it wasn’t until the 40s and 50s that it became a new form of marketable art.  Once Playboy published their first issue featuring the famous “Golden Dreams” series of photographs featuring Norma Jean Baker it became obvious that this style of photography wasn’t going away any time soon. 

As photography became more sophisticated, the cheesecake style began to fade.  It wasn’t until recently that interest began to peak again.  With wars, skyrocketing national debt and the constant threat of terrorism, the world yearned for a more wholesome time.  That time was the 1950s.  Thus, the renewed interest in cheesecake photography.  Here we are interviewing a modern day cheesecake photographer, Joe Bemis. Born and raised in Charlotte, NC, Joe now resides in Greensboro, NC. At age 27 Joe is already gaining national recognition and we just had to find out a little more about him.

Q. How did you get started in photography?
A. I started when I was about 14. At the time, my brother was taking photography classes at UNCC and he really got me into it by showing me what he had learned in class. Just like that, I was hooked.

Q. What drew you to the pin-up/cheesecake style of photography?
A. Well, I've always loved pin up art. Not only was the art beautiful and compelling, it was also a reminder. A reminder of a time long gone. A time when things were more personable.

Q.  How long does it take to create a good photo?
A. I can tell you that it takes about 4 hours to complete one photo and that's not counting me going back time after time tweaking it.

Q. What are some of your latest projects?
A. Let’s see, I just finished some new pin up work where I made my girls look like WWII nose art (you know like on planes and bombers). My current project is a shoot I’m doing for The American Red Cross, which I’m really excited about. 

Q. What do you consider to be your biggest achievement?
A. Just to be where I am right now.

Q. Tell us something no one knows about Joe.
A. Sorry I don't kiss and tell.

Q. How do you find your models? 
A. Here and there. I find them through friends, myspace (I know, but it works) and sometimes I just see someone on the street or at a show and ask if they would be interested in working with me.

  Q. What is in your CD player right now?
A. Buddy Holly’s Greatest Hits

Q. The fat Elvis or the skinny Elvis?
A. ELVIS will always be ELVIS no matter how much weight he gained or lost. TCB baby!!!!!

Q. Is it true that the photographer gets the girls?
A. Maybe for some, but as for me I don't cross that line. As some would say, "I don't shit where I eat." And I don't think my girlfriend would like that very much.

Q. How can people see/buy your work?
A. Right now I only have some stuff up on myspace, but I'm working on a web site. If by chance you do see some of my work that you dig you can e-mail me at joe@opusphoto.com and we can talk

Q. Do you do shoots for individuals?
A. I do. Just drop me a line at joe@opusphoto.com and we'll set something up.

Q. Where's your favorite place to vacation?
A. Man, I haven't had a vacation in years.

Q. What do you do in your free time?
A. I go to a show from time to time or hang out down at the local pub. But no matter what I'm doing, I'm always thinking of what I'm shooting next.

02/06

J.P. McDermott and Western Bop
Last Fool Here

Last Fool Here takes off with blinding force using My Damn Baby as the runway.  My Damn Baby is an upbeat, fast-paced rockabilly thumper and only the beginning force of this monstrous album.  Red hot rockabilly and vintage honky tonk is not enough of a definition to describe J.P. McDermott and Western Bop.  Sure they are all of the above, but they do it in such a professional and classic way, that my ears were like a virgin.  I’m going to steal a paragraph from their website to help me sum up what is one of the best neo-vintage rockabilly albums I’ve ever heard.  

“Back before they called it rock and roll they called it Western Bop.  In '55, the first time anyone called Elvis a King, they were calling him The King of Western Bop.  Buddy Holly's first business card advertised "Western & Bop".  Western Bop is where it all comes together -- Rockabilly, Classic Country, and Vintage Honky Tonk.  Western Bop is a flattop acoustic beating time like a big eight-wheeler comin' down the track. It's a bass fiddle getting slapped like there's no tomorrow. Throw in a stinging lead guitar, and you know you've found the right place”. Nothing sums up J.P. McDermott and Western Bop like that paragraph.  The roster goes as follows: drummer Tom Bowes, doghouse-ist Louie Newmyer, guitarist Bob Newscaster, plus the thunderous voice and acoustic hammerings of J.P. McDermott.  
 
On with the show, Johnny Cash is smiling in sheer adulation over their cover of Cry, Cry, Cry.   The acoustic sound added in with McDermott’s steady, relaxing voice is a Grammy winner.  Coulda Shoulda Woulda picks up the pace as a rockabilly standard about missing out on what could have been.  Bob Newscaster’s exhibition on lead guitar drives the Bop’s retro, rockabilly sound.  The pace drops to a slow swinging tempo as Not Enough of You takes over the airwaves.  “I’ve had enough of loneliness, but not enough of you,” McDermott describes in a honky tonk, heart broken wail.

There are several covers including Blue Days, Black Nights and Sixteen Chicks that are done in the utmost way.  J.P. McDermott and Western Bop have a way of presenting even the songs you know and love with a breath of fresh air.  This especially holds true as Sixteen Chicks pounds though the speakers.  I’ve heard this song several times by several bands, but never has it hit like a ton of lead like this version does.
 
My favorite track Go Cat Go!, written by guitarist Newscaster, also holds my favorite line, “Parking lot full of kustom cars, tattooed chicks dressed like movie stars”.  This song sums up the Kuston Kulture.  Go Cat Go! is a definite rockabilly staple driven by the fill-in upright sounds of Bryan Smith and fill-in drummer Jeff Lodson.  It has the backbone and balls of a 10-foot greaser.  That Ain’t Nothing But Right keeps the vintage upbeat rockabilly alive in a song about nothing that feels so good could be wrong.

All good things must come to an end.  This retro-ride winds down with Last Fool Here.  This downtrodden tribute to loneliness brings the empty feelings that we’ve all had in a night spent sulking in our favorite honky tonk.  “I know all the bar maids and the jukebox songs by heart, I’ve been down on that floor, I’ve been thrown out that door,” McDermott cries.
I’ve been moved by only a few albums and this is one of them.  I was so moved that we talked them in to doing Rockabilly Night on January 14^th @ Puckett’s.
Do yourself a favor and pick up your copy of Last Fool Here at J.P. McDermott and Western Bop’s website and don’t miss them live! - Mark

12/27

Wailin’ Elroys
Route 33

Shit-kicking their way out of Athens, Ohio, the Wailin’ Elroys (my new favorite band) bring a fresh breath of twang to the honky tonk thang.  From the first nasally breath of Scaredy Blues, the Wailin’ Elroys take the Hank/Hankcock bull by the horns and make Route 33 a low-key, well produced masterpiece with a hidden punk spine.

Hot Rod Road is a gentle warning about being somewhere you don’t belong.  The guitar picking styling of the “Preacher” Zeb Dewar, could not be a better fit for the very retro Wailin’ Elroys sound.  “Your girls’ waiting for you back at the bar – Don’t go it’s not a hot rod car,” flattop guitarist and prodigy singer Bram Riddlebarger moans in a faux-female voice.  Route 33, the Tom Sawyer signature song for the Elroys, is an upbeat hillbilly salute to the other route, Route 33.  The tight, toe-tapping, non-pedal steel guitar sounds of Johnny Borchard give this song the ghostly train journey sound that has made vintage honky tonk just that, honky tonk.  Meanwhile the backbone of doghouse-er Justin Rayner gives this hit song the thump and bump it needs to sound so true.

The tempo slows a bit for Keep My Feet on the Ground, a honky tonk whiner dedicated to finding a honky tonk girl.  The pace holds as Pacific Rails rolls past the station as a homesick blues train ride.

Further on down the track, up goes the tempo again with Because of You.  Another reason to drink proves itself true as this traditional, vintage country song say’s, “Because of you, well I’m drinking again.  Because of you, I’m lost in sin,” Riddlebarger explains.  Drip Drip Drip, my favorite track, because it makes me hold my mouth funny when I sing the chorus, is a bass laden ditty that ain’t about whisky or beer or driving or gears, it’s a song about tears.  This mid-tempo crybaby pulls at the strings of a good ol’ fashion broken heart.  The coolest track on the album is the hidden #15; Real Gone Daddy is a fast paced driving song.  “I got a $10 dollar bill and quart of beer, just sit back honey let me steer,” Riddlebarger’s graveled voice demands.

I have listened to Route 33 more than 200 times, on my way to work, on my way home, on my way to clubs, on beer runs and any other reason I can get on the road.  Then when I get home it’s shuffling in the CD player.  I have Route 33 MP3s on my computer and I’ve learned to make my voice wail like an official Elroy.  My suggestion to you would be that if you buy any CD in 2006, buy the Wailin’ Elroy’s Route 33.  It’s worth every cent to own one of the best neo-honky tonk albums to date.  You can pick up your copy of Route 33 at WailinElroys.com

The Crevulators
The Crevulators

Caught in the trenches of a musical crux, The Crevulators step to the top of the muddy hole, guns blazing with their self-entitled debut.  The Crevulators can be labeled as several types of music, but the thump of Anything You Want, portrays their rockabilly stylings.  As a song about continuing the coolness process, only with guidelines, this band proves how they’ve fought to the top of the heap.  The bass sounds of Greg Hillje drive this retro thumper, while drummer Ross Jacobs gloriously hammers away at his stripped down kit.
Singer/guitarist, Mike Cobb declares, “I get drunk, I get stoned I’ll do anything I can just to move myself along,” in You’d Come Back, as an anti-salute to an empty relationship.  This Supersucker-ish heartbreaker is a slamming homage to good ol’ guitar rock.
Hung Over, my favorite track, puts me in a psuedo-Violent Femme state of mind. Swearing off never drinking again is commonplace in the rockabilly lifestyle, but The Crevulators help put one of the reasons why we fall off the wagon into perspective.
State Of Mine is a hillbilly stomper complete with a fucking mouth harp!  I don’t think any rockabilly song has ever been pulled of with one before.  State Of Mine guides us through the theory of self-medicating.  Creativity has never had it so good.   “And when I’m flying high, don’t you know I’m feeling fine and it’s mine all mine”, Cobb explains.
Gamblers Anonymous would have a field day making Gambler’s Blues their theme song.  This hard-hitting, wallet-busting ode to gambling hits home in many ways.  The disheveled anarchy of Gambler’s Blues along makes this CD worth buying!  From punk to rockabilly, when Cobb describes losing money at a fancy casino and then realizing he should be at a lower stakes joint, we all get the humor.
This is one hell of a 5-song demo and is one to own.  Pick up your copy of The Crevulators at their website www.Crevulators.com. - Mark
12/01

The Young Werewolves
The Young Werewolves

The Young Werewolves kick off their nightmarish, surf-punk, self-entitled disc with Evil Soul.  Evil Soul is a jangle-punk sing-a-long geared towards the underbelly of the rock and roll lifestyle.  Zombie Car Chase crashes through as a white-line-hugging, white-knuckle drag race between the Cadillacs and Chevys.  This death drag race puts The Young Werewolves into perspective as singer/guitarist Wolfman Nick howls in his punkish slur, while bassist, Shewolf Dana and drummer, Jonny Wolf pull the backbone clean out of this band. 
The Young Werewolves bring about the feeling of a modern day Misfits, with a punked-up Dick Dale in the shape of a crucifix, shoved though their heart.  Blackjack & Roulette is a catchy salute to the moon and being wrapped up in high stakes.  The nightmare continues as this band of rogues heads towards Graceland in my favorite track, The Night The Phantom Went To Graceland.  This slow-dragging killer follows a ghoulish figure as he sets out on a journey to find the King.  Wolfabilly Boogie is the one song that shows that The Young Werewolves, while appear to be sans rockabilly, do have rockabilly soul.
The Young Werewolves have a super-fat thumping backbone that shows their punk edges as songs like Curse of the Cocaine Mummies and Who Am I bite through the flesh.  The back-up lyrics and harmonies are to die for and the surf-punk mix has never had such justice done to it.  If I were Ebert, they’d get 2 severed thumbs up!
The music these undead wolves play is very hard to capture in words.  But if you would, imagine a monster like this: the B-52s with their heads cut off, the heart of Joey Ramone, the spine of Danzig (Misfit years), the head of Greg Graffin and the soul of Elvis (with surf fingers) and that might close the casket.  As Werewolf Fever kicks in, it describes the above completely.
After that The Young Werewolves bleed through 14 hidden tracks to nowhere, ending on # 27, a big fat cover of White Wedding done only the way Billy wishes he could have done it.
With that said, The Young Werewolves is a definite for any punk, surf, rockabilly music lover.  As for this copy, it’s going into my CD changer.  Pick up your copy of The Young Werewolves at their website www.TheYoungWerewolves.com. - Mark
11/15

The Ultra Kings
Streamlined Deluxe

The Ultra Kings from Bethlehem, PA, aren’t your usual garage-a-billy band.  They don’t pretend that the music that they play can be simply tied to rockabilly by sticking the affix on it.  They are seasoned musicians with a 13-song release on Barnburner Music.  Their 50’s influenced, honky tonk-rockabilly mix is so true to the era that you can’t decide if they are old or new.
Streamlined Deluxe kicks off with I Like Rockabilly, a mid-tempo salute to the greatest pastime ever.  Singer/guitarist, Rick Kuebler, uses this ditty to poke holes in the blues, country and every other genre that thinks they have it going on.  From cars to girls, Kuebler points out why rockabilly rules.  Streamlined Deluxe rolls into the title track, a slow dragging, and hard-hitting driver about the feeling about being behind the wheel of such a monster.
The Itch is a upbeat swinger powerhouse held together by the backbone of upright bassist Zoot Szmigiel and drummer Carl Von Ehst, with special guest Dave Smith on the flaming sax.  Together this band makes The Itch sound like a 50’s Hollywood soundtrack.  Ol’ Bobcat is a humorous insight to all the cool cats and how hard it is dealing with being on the bottom.  “I’m an ol’ bobcat and I don’t get no tail,” Kuebler confides.  The rockabilly goes up and up as Streamlined Deluxe spins on and on.  Uh Oh, pulls out all the stops as a duet featuring Uncle Hank Fauerbach and Jessie Lee Miller.  Uh Oh is a therapeutic discussion on a challenging relationship while channeling old influences.  The duel voices come through as angelic and dysfunctional.
So Many Pretty Women is a hot-boxing, mid-tempo thumper about picking up the girls.  Diggy Doggy Daddy is about a dog.  A hot dog.  A real dog.  The rockabilly groove is in full effect and Diggy Doggy Daddy displays the greatness of the Ultra King’s ability to drive it home.  Rounding out Streamlined Deluxe is a song about the wrong girl and the right time.  Abba on the Stereo provides you a story of classified ad hook-ups and what a hot girl with long blond hair can have that you don’t want.
The Ultra Kings were and are such an impressive act that we had to get them to next year’s Rockabilly BBQ.  You can pick up a copy of Streamlined Deluxe on Barnburner Records at The Ultra Kings website. - Mark
11/01

Turbo 350
Get Lucky

Out of the gate, after the obligatory instrumental, Turbo 350 hits the ground running   It’s like a baseball game in hell where AC/DC is pitching to the Reverend Horton Heat while the Supersuckers are calling the shots behind the plate.  It is good mix of all of our favorite genres.  Get Lucky kicks off with Drink to Fall Down.  Drink is a hard driving tune about drinking to excess like a professional.  The Elvis-style Saturday Drag is a straight-up traditional rockabilly instruction manual into the art of picking up Betties and dragging the town. 
High Roller rolls in to describe all of us gamblers who are born to lose in every aspect of life.  Turbo 350’s music is high-paced and intense, yet they manage to keep the rockabilly edge.  Vocalist, Adam, uses his intense voice to get the point across, while doghouse-ist, Aaron and drummer Joseph, engineer the steady rhythm train. 
Chicks with Guitars is a punk-geared tune that leaves a trail of money well spent while checking out the girls in the band.  My favorite track, Nothing Good to Say, rolls into play as a slow-burning, honky tonk view of a hate/hate relationship.  “I guess I got the message when you burned my old guitar and you cut me out of your pictures while I was at the bar,” Adam moans.
D.D. is an abbreviation for Designated Driver, but in Turbo 350 terms, it means Drunk Driver.  And not surprisingly this hard hitter is exactly the song to do it to.  In the end of it all, out come the clowns for a super funny, slow picking tribute to Bob Barker.  To wrap up the song a fitting ending quote goes as said, “Help control the pet population, have your pets spade or neutered”.
Turbo 350 is a must for your rockabilly CD collection.  Pick up you copy of Get Lucky at www.Turbo350.com. - Mark
10/01/05

The Marauders
Midnight Rhythm

Right out of the gate The Marauders newest CD Midnight Rhythm thumps alive with Last Call, a fast-paced thumper paying homage to our favorite pasttime – drinking.  “The clock is ticking, baby gotta drink my cash.  I’m just a deadbeat loser with a long gone taste for trash,” vocalist/guitarist Ben Dumm explains in an Elvis-vesent style.
Visualize with me the perfect backdrop for this music.  Its dusk and you’re walking down the backstreet of Anytown, USA.  Tumbleweeds of trash crash into the curb and blow away into oblivion.  You don’t see any sign of life for blocks and if not for overturned trashcans and abandoned newspaper boxes, it would be just you, the buildings and the street.  The only sound you hear is your wallet chain slapping against your leg, your shoes scrapping along the pavement and the Marauders playing in the distance as you head towards the neon sun hovering above your favorite paradise.
It’s not everyday that you come across a thinking man’s rockabilly band, one that spends as much time on the music as it does the lyrics.  In a way, some of The Marauders’ sound pays tribute to the late 80’s California punk band TSOL.  The distant, haunting guitar and the deep-seeded, lonely lyrics are what make this rockabilly band stand out.  In Dead Of Night, you feel the emptiness of life, but in an upbeat song. 
Lonely Road displays the doghouse wrecking style of Chris Lawson as a bye-bye baby dis to a love gone bad.  The tempo picks right back up with She Put A Curse On Me, a fun sing-along where the one you want to get away from reminds you that you can never really ever get away.  Tow The Line drives by as another punk-fueled thinker.  “You know the thoughts are blowing through the streets of a worn out town.  There’s a rusted mill where that once stood before the mills all got shut down.”  This band exudes passion in every song as the realness of life unstoppably forces its way through the speakers. 
Hammering in, Refuge is a Clash-ish rocker where drummer Abe Weber mans the ship on this punked up song about seeking refuge wherever you shouldn’t be seeking refuge.  The title track, Midnight Rhythm begins with an acoustic crawl that ends in a mid-tempo rockabilly anthem. 
Midnight Rhythm ends with a traditional billy ass-kicker called Satisfied.  “I’m like a kid with a quarter in a candy store.  I done tried it once, now I gotta get more.”  Satisfied is a tribute to rockabilly girl, and what a tribute it is.
Pick up your copy of Midnight Rhythm at Rock and Roll Purgatory.com or visit The Marauders.and pick a copy up at their site.  - Mark
8/15

Lords of the Highway
Degreaser

Let me start out by apologizing to Rock and Roll Purgatory for the delay in reviewing the albums they sent us.  We have been inundated with great rockabilly CDs to review and we simply go in order.  Perhaps if I had listened to the Lords of the Highway a little closer, I would have thrown them to the top of the heap.
It’s not like they are new to me.  As a matter of fact, I’ve seen them several times.  It’s just that where I see them every year is a bit overwhelming to the senses.  That’s good for the crowd, but not good for the bands.  I’ve always noticed Sugar, her signature red cowboy hat and the way she rides her doghouse all over the stage.  She is an undeniable talent and a looker.
But, it was not until I hit play that the talent of LOTH came to light.  Degreaser kicks off with Legend of 369, a fast-paced rockabilly thumper fronted by the above-mentioned Sugar. Her ability to sing, play and move is quite the eye/ear stopper.  From there 4 Barrel Carb Duel Exhaust P.O.S. slams in paying homage to your favorite hotrod even though it is a piece of shit.  “It’s a hopped up death trap”, singer Dennis A. Bell describes.  Get Lost rolls into play as a slow crawling FU sing-a-long.  This beat-driven rumbler is steered by Pete Yorko on his stripped down set.  Songs like this and the upcoming $100 Hangover really gives you insight to Lords of the Highway, their influences and their sense of humor.
If I could describe this wonderful rockabilly trio, it would be a four-way collision between Prince Brian Setzer, Sonic Youth, Southern Culture on the Skids and an unknown punk band from the 80’s.  The evidence of their upbringing shines out in an excellent Misfits cover, Die Die My Darling.  Listing to this punk song served up ala Elvis puts you in a tender spot of reflection of combat boots, sweat and a busted nose.  It’s a subtle reminder that rockabilly is just grown up punk.  Then the guy behind me blew his horn and told me to “fucking go!”.  
Snapping back, Degreaser moves along to Phantom of Cool, a traditional billy song about everyone involved in the scene one way or the other.  Damn, we’re cool.  Funeral for Santo is a lounge-ish slow kicker made for drinking and romance, even though I’m sure it pays tribute to someone.  Rock and Roll Bitch is another fast-paced ditty about a dirty Bettie and her dirty ways.  It’s songs like this that point out to me what I missed during so many of those live shows.  These guys drive the talent train.  What a kick-ass album Degreaser is.  Now I’m ashamed for what I didn’t know.
Don’t be dick like me, get you copy of Degreaser at the Lord's website or  www.RockNRollPurgatory.com as fast as you can. - Mark
07/25

The Defilers The Defilers

Hailing from beautiful Charleston, SC, the Defilers pave the alt. country highway with cans of beers, cigarettes and dead naked chicks on their debut, self-entitled album, The Defilers.
The Defilers kicks off with the pseudo-rockabilly thumper The Further I get from Texas  (The Less I Think Of You).  This punk edged kicker is an excellent ‘getting over her’ song. This road trip is worth the journey.
You’re Gonna Put Me In My Grave is a slow driving, hard time relationship bender full of coffin nail scenarios and dead-end keepsakes. 
The Defilers recorded this album, “Over one weekend in a warehouse in Cainhoy, SC.  It was recorded live to capture the raw live energy of the Defilers, the way rock and roll should be”.  I was gonna say that, but they did it for me.  There is nothing like a band that can pull off a live recording and make sound like a studio album.  This band has the drive, commitment and talent to go a long way.  Speaking of talent, this 3-piece wonder is made up of the lanky Arleigh Hertzler on vocals/guitar/harmonica, Duck Reynolds, drums/vocals and Michael Dumas on bass/vocals.
From there, the Defilers take you on a sing-a-long, redneck journey called Come Out Katie.  Paging their favorite bettie to come out for a good time, the Defilers promise her a night of drinking, smoking, dancing and other good ol’ new-South fun.   Sangre y Sangria fills the air with the sweet sounds of instrumental blends from surf to rockabilly.
Open Box Car provides us with a classic honky tonk train ride across this great nations, while Talk of the Town somehow channels a classic Who song while mutating it into a custom kulture motto song.
From here, the confusion kicks in.  At the end of the CD I find 13 hidden tracks.  They’re not really hidden as 8 through 20 clicks off on my CD player, but they get no props on the album.  That’s a shame because the Defilers are just getting started.  Half of the hidden tracks are the sounds of radio station tuning which puts you in the mind of a set of the covers coming your way. Hammering into a great version of Folsom Prison Blues, the Defilers show off their true country stylings on this and the many covers to come.  

After along delay, here we go again with some kick-ass rockabilly reviews! I’ll start this verbal led sled off with the self-entitled album from Billy and the Bullets.
Hailing from the northern tip of the south, Ohio, Billy and the Bullets bring you an eclectic rockabilly mix of rock, jump, boogie and bop.  Billy and the Bullets kicks off with Sweet Young Thing, a rockabilly standard with the much-loved thump and shake geared at one special hottie. 
The Bullets are comprised of Billy Capuano, guitar and vocals, Tennessee Kurt England on the doghouse, Theresa “T” Capuano singing and pounding the piano; plus Bobby Capuano, drums.  The Bullets keep it mostly in the family and the old saying that blood is thicker than water, holds true.
Jump, Boogie and Bop pops through the speakers as dance-a-long ditty for the swingers. T wails in a way that would make Wanda Jackson take notice.  The Carl Perkins classic, Honey Don’t, flies by your head without missing a beat.  Shifting Gears does exactly that, shifting down to a slow-dancer about a heartbreak in a lonesome town.  Very hepcat-ish.  This is a cool song that makes you want to drink and smoke just one more.
I’m not a big fan of putting the word “billy” after another word to describe a band, but I’m going to.  I don’t know how the Bullets got this formula, but somehow they took 50’s inspired rockabilly and blended it with a seedy lounge act and invented Lounge-a-billy.  It’s as if Frank grabbed Ella Fitzgerald and hooked up with Elvis in a roadside dive for one helluva smoking, drinking, and music binge.
Sitting on the Outside is a great instrumental with all of the above elements.  You can picture yourself navigating through a smoky bar, drink held high over head, making your way to the bettie that has been making eyes at you all night, with this ditty playing in the background.  Again, very hepcat-ish.   Smoke That Cigarette is another great one from the Bullets.  Making St. Peter wait at heaven’s gate while you smoke one more is classic.  Done in classic Johnny Cash rap, Smoke That Cigarette, walks you through all the rockabilly pastimes; girls, cars, dancing, drinking and smoking.
Billy and the Bullets end this shotgun ride with the Star Spangled Banner a la rockabilly style.  Once again, a hepcat dream.
You can pick up your copy of Billy and the Bullets at www.Billyandthebullets.com.  

06/05

The Tremors Uranium Rock EP

Imagine, if you will, Frankenstein.  Vision that bigheaded freak with a pompadour and a tattoo-sleeved arm.  Got that?  Now picture yourself riding shotgun in a 1952 hearse with him.  You’re traveling at light speed down a dark road.   He slowly takes a CD from its case.  With those oversized, hotdog-like fingers he crams it into the player and then, WHAM!  Out of nowhere Frankie backhands you, full force, over the seat into the death compartment.  That is the feeling you have when the first track from the new Tremors EP Uranium Rock kicks in.
The rockabilly classic, Uranium Rock, is the first rattling track.  In the signature Tremors style, it is flipped-over and frazzled.  I’ve heard this Warren Smith classic done by many bands, but even the original is left to rot with this punked up version.  Also available, the glow-in-the-dark vinyl EP is more than a novelty. It’s a haunting piece of throwback Americana and features a great photo pictorial of the band.
In true professional style, The Tremors released this EP (with bonus tracks) about one and a half years after their debut CD, Scourge of the South.  That CD has remained on our top shelf CD rack in the Rockabilly Babe headquarters since it was delivered to us.  Now we have to make a bigger top shelf.  Without a doubt, Scourge of the South is one of the best rockabilly CDs ever made (see the review), but Uranium Rock has taken on a whole afterlife of it’s own.  I’m glad to see some of the best songs off SOTS originate and made it to this EP, like Uranium Rock and the alternate take of Pill Popper.
Back to the death ride.  The funky, feel-good Make With The Shake creams through the speakers as one of the catchiest songs in the underworld; a song about being scared about meeting your maker.  The unmistakable, fragmented voice of Jimmy Tremor is at his all-time tops as he grooves you to new heights.  How one man can channel Joey and Elvis at the same time is a mystery to me.  The doghouse wrecking Slim Perkins with his hypnotic hip shaking is another one of the three masterminds to this extravaganza.  The third key to this dynamic trio is the towering Stretch Armstrong.  His signature skin-pounding demolition is a site to behold.  This band is unreal. 
Lovin’ On My Mind, another Tremor’s original track, is a hard-driving punkabilly love song.  The ride backslides to the above-mentioned Pill Popper.  “Mountain justice for Klonopin Jim”, Jimmy Tremor wails about a pill-popping junkie meeting his fate.  This song is one of the shining glories on either album, but the alternate take on Uranium Rock is worth the high.  
The ride ends with Her Love Rubbed Off.  This song is about uh…… loving and uh….. rubbing and uh…. I think some things are better left unsaid.
You can pick up a copy of this godforsaken joyride CD or vinyl, called Uranium Rock at www.TremorsRockabilly.com.
The Tremors have become such a staple, if not the staple, of the NC rockabilly scene that there was no way we could not invite them back to the Rockabilly BBQ on June 18^th, 2005.  See them or die! - Mark

5/05

D. Martini and the Highballs
Nitro-Burnin’ Blower-Bangin’ Low-Fi, Loudmouth 
Goddamn Rock and Roll!!

Before I could get started, I went to the closet, blew the dust off my Docs and laced them all the way to the top.  My shin high Dickies had seen better days and my Ramones t-shirt was held together by duct tape and screen print.  With wallet chain in tact, I climbed atop the sofa and dove headfirst into the stereo.
My aging punk body was not prepared for the beating it would receive when Nitro-Burnin’ Blower-Bangin’ Low-Fi, Loudmouth Goddamn Rock and Roll hit the airwaves.  I figure any band that can channel the Supersuckers the way these fuckers do is worth a listen and a review.
NBBBLFLMGDR&R kicks off with Take It Outside.  A classic ass kicking, drink-a-long tale about, well, drinking and ass kicking your way on some dude that is hitting on your wife.  How Low is one of my favorites.  This derogatory song pulls you into the depths of lowness.  How low can you go?  D. Martini replies, “I can go pretty low”.  He is doing his part by saving you a spot in hell.
One Drink is a toned-downed crawling love song about a hangover.  Promising yourself that you’ll never drink again is one line we’ve all repeated to ourselves on more than one occasion.  As NBBBLFLMGDR&R presses on you begin to appreciate your roots once again.  As a fellow rockabilly, I know where we all started and how nice it is to know that the bridge we crossed is still standing strong.  The dysfunctional D. Martini and the Highballs are made up of Demon Martini on vocals & guitar, Jeffery Nelson on the doghouse/back-up vocals and Dan Stahl (aka: Harvey Wallbanger) on the skins. 
DMHB isn’t all punkabilly, they offer a flexible mix of 50's, modern rockabilly.  The dance floor will need a new coat of wax when the night is over.  If you’ve ever seen these guys live, then you know what I mean.
Cryin’ is a slow paced heartbreaker complete with humor and alcohol references.   Comparing a burned out relationship to an empty bottle of beer is the premium reference.  “You’ve got to understand, a man has needs.  You were just so cool and I was so thirsty.  Before I knew it, you were just an empty bottle and I was all alone.  But I’ve been here before and I know what to do, I order one more drink and go on without you.”   The more I drink during this review, I realized that this is a love song about drinking – the bastards tricked me!
The punkabilly ensues with several more hard-hitters, when out of the blue D. Martini and the Highball’s Tom Sawyer song comes into play.  Mr. Motherfucker.  The holy grail of assholes and dickheads surfaces via this song.  Here we have a song written to an ex-love on how you deserve to be addressed.  “I might be an asshole, a son-of-a-bitch and a dirty rotten bastard too, but it’s Mr. Motherfucker to you”.  Demon explains in his fed-up growl.  The best line of this award-winning ditty is, “Did you really need to hit me so hard to throw my whole drink on the ground”.  What else can be said?
Last Call Brawl and Highball have me bouncing around the room, pogo-ing off the walls in an ancient 90’s dance.  I guess the alcohol content got the best of me because I lost count- those should be the last songs, but there are two more.  Whoa is me, hidden tracks will be the death of me.  Two more Highballs leave me with BO and a bloody nose.  As I gather my senses I type these last lines. 
Pick up your copy of Nitro-Burnin’ Blower-Bangin’ Low-Fi, Loudmouth Goddamn Rock and Roll!! at www.rockandrollcocktail.com. 
We loved the guys so much we invited them to the Rockabilly BBQ, June 18, 2005.  They have agreed to tune down a bit and to do their 50’s set at the BBQ and I can’t f-ing wait to see them! - Mark
4/15/05

Jem Crossland and the Hypertonics Arsonist

Cracking open the newest CD, Arsonist, from Charlotte’s favorite rockabilly sons, Jem Crossland and the Hypertoics, was as exciting as sitting behind the wheel of a ’57 Chevy and hitting the switch.  Hearing the purr of well-engineered album from a talented rockabilly band is one helluva feeling.
Arsonist rumbles to a start with the self-titled track.  The song is deep burning epic to the King and his impression left on a child and how that impression grew into a man.  “A fire so intense – it consumed my very soul,” Crossland wails in his trans-Atlantic snarl.
The framework of their newest release is true to the Hypertonic’s style, energetic, experimental and fun.  Everytime Summer Comes Around is a feel-good, upbeat standard about the feeling of summer being right around the corner.  This 50’s driven song displays one of the many faces of the Hypertonics.  Rockabilly Man surfaces next as a traditional rockabilly song paying tribute to the great rockabillies of the past.   Speaking of great rockabillies, now would be the perfect time to introduce the rest of the Hypertonics.  The rhythm kings of this talented outfit would be no other than the multi-talented Chip Baker on the doghouse and sax and John Marlow who pounds the skins in his signature heavy, yet clean-cut retro style. 
Let’s Cruise breezes through by paying homage to the greatest rockabilly pastime ever and is the laid back rumbler of the CD.  Slow-paced and rocking, Let’s Cruise covers 100% of your rockabilly cravings. The course strays off track a bit for my favorite track, Jazzabilly Boogie.  This song is a swing-jump-blues ditty where Mr. Baker breaks out his sax and makes this swinger a sheer dance-o-rama.  Seeing a load of swing dancers crowding the stage and throwing each other around in well-orchestrated mosh pit has always been a great part of the Hypertonics energetic, live shows. 
Track #10 takes a turn down the dark roads of our past with a great cover of Love Hurts.  Done only in the most tasteful way, Love Hurts is sure to be a new Hypertonics classic.  The fires of Arsonist winds down in a last blast of flash with Fast Car.  Fast Car is tribute to Jem’s musical journey across the pond to find America, the home of rockabilly.  “To escape the rain I got on a plane and I found this whole new world instead,” Crossland explains. 
If you love rockabilly and love influences from the golden years mixed in with wonderful, modern day talent, then Arsonist is a must-have for your collection.  You can pick up your copy of Arsonist at www.jemandtonics.com. 
Don’t miss Jem Crossland and the Hypertonics this summer as they headline the Rockabilly BBQ. - Mark
03/05  

The Straight 8s Casualties of Cool

On Christmas morning there is nothing more exciting than ripping into a new gift. But, there is no bigger let down than it being a pair of socks. Same goes for new CDs; could be socks, but could  be a Playstaion 2. Today I ripped into the rockabilly equivalent of a Playstation 2, the newest release from the Straight 8s, Casualties of Cool.
I hit the play button and was immediately floored by Train Wreck, a hard driving example of intense rockabilly with an introduction of just how talented the Straight 8s are. In the blink of the eye, Rocket Ship Rock flew into the picture as a traditional bopper geared at the swingabilly side of the 8s. From there Casualties of Cool jumped into Hotrod Queen, a retro infatuation with one of the beloved Betties out there. “If you want to play with gasoline, you can be my little hotrod queen”.
Casualties of Cool is chocked full of post and pre-50’s styled rockabilly. Being recorded mainly on a vintage, tube amplified 4-track explains how they pulled off this ghost from the past. It has a true, warm rockabilly feel that is mixed to perfection. As one of central North Carolina’s favorite and best nontraditional yet very traditional rockabilly bands, The Straight 8s credits read as follows: Robert Striegler on guitar and vocals, Pat McGraw on the doghouse and Bernie Fox on drums
As the tracks jumped from one to the next, Gypsy spooks its way into the airwaves as a ditty about an evil girl doing evil things. If you’ve ever had that tingly feeling down your spine, “Like someone’s walking on my grave” and your Betty is steppin’ out on you, then you’ll relate. Then the bullets really began to fly as Mean Go Getter; a crime-riddled diary of a bad boy, unfolds. Striegler howls in a post-cigarette/whiskey war voice, “I picked up her dress and I took me a bite.”
The game ends with the up-tempo Rockabilly Zombie, a kustom kulture killer aimed at a bad a relationship where you just want nothing more than her beating heart in your hands and the misery to end – something many cats and kittens are experiencing right now. “I’ve been dead so long that I can’t beg or choose,” is the winning quote.
I will say, without hesitation, that this is one of the best, true rockabilly CDs in my collection and one that I recommend you add to yours. You can pick up a copy of Casualties of Cool at www.straight8s.com. - Mark
2/05

The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show - Dreamland

Usually we reserve the Rockabilly Babe Music Review for rockabilly bands.  Now that is obscure in reference as we as rockabilly fans know that there are lots of types of music that fit into that category. Rockabilly can come in many forms such as psychobilly, punkabilly, garageabilly, hillbilly, honky tonk and straight up, good ol’ rockabilly.  We have also set a category aside for suckabilly (self-explanatory).  But there may very well be a new category, grassabilly.
The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show blends several of the above genres, mainly bluegrass, hillbilly and honky tonk.  We first saw the Drovers Old Time Medicine Show at Bubbapalooza in the capital of the dirty south, Atlanta.  We were blown away at the musicianship alone.  Add in the heavy lyrics and the hillbilly grime and we were hooked.  So, we were quite please when the Drovers asked us to review their 5th album Dreamland.
Dreamland kicks off with ’69 Plymouth Road Runner, a high-paced grassabilly ditty about speeding and drinking moonshine down back county roads with Winona Ryder riding shotgun.  Again, the lyrics are more than worth their weight in overalls.
Next A Woman Named Loneliness comes screeching around the bend in a mid-tempo heartbreak about loneliness. Dreamland gears down a hair for Never Die Easy, an instrumental that displays the Christ-like talent these guys have.  Here is a call to the Drovers line-up; Grandpa, on guitar and lead vocals and the main seller of this Old Time Medicine Show.  Dalvin on the doghouse, Uncle Carl on the banjo, which stands out to no end, Homer on the Mandolin, Uncle Salty on the fiddle (another BIG standout) and Cousin Ray who throws down on the fiddle, too.  Cousin Ray is just as talented as Uncle Salty as they alternate songs on Dreamland.  Any bluegrass/hillbilly fan has never seen or heard a mix of more talented musicians. I guarantee it.
The Johnny Unitas Song comes sliding around the curve midway through Dreamland.  Unitas is about Grandpa’s dream of being Johnny Unitas and is a portal to the great one’s life, “Flattop hair and hightop cleats.”  Good stuff!
Dreamland makes a pit stop to eat in Country Ham and Red-Eye Gravy, another grassabilly song about good ol’ southern food and southern living.  Dreamland rolls to a dusty, clouded stop with We’re still the Drovers.  We’re Still the Drovers is an unbelievable insight to some of society’s stupidity.  Here is a winning quote, “If Andy Griffith were filmed today, they’d have an intervention puttin’ Otis in AA”.  I wasn’t even a bluegrass fan, but when I heard Dreamland well, like I said, “Christ-like”.
You can pick up a copy of the Drovers Old Time Medicine Show’s latest Dreamland at http://thedroversotms.com.  - Mark
01/05

Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys - It's Time

If you are a Big Sandy fan, then you'll catch on really quick.  If you haven't been blessed with the sounds of Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys, then you should stop here and buy his collection of possibly the best rockabilly-swing-blues music in the world.
Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys are right on track as they kick off their newest venture, It's Time with Chalk It Up To The Blues.  This Buddy Holly-ish ditty bops with the upbeat and happy times that rockabilly is all about; an upbeat love song about not rockin’ because of the blues.From there Sandy introduces you to Bayou Blue, a rocking tune about a true Cajun queen.  Then he moves onto such love songs like How Do You Love Someone Like Me a mid-tempo rockabilly song that is self-explanatory, and Her Hair is a Mess, a true honky-tonk gem about an unruly love. The title track, It’s Time, is about….well just that, time.  It’s time to do that something you’ve been waiting for time to do.  It’s Time picks up the pace with I Hate Loving You.  This love/hate song brings out old memories in us all as Big Sandy’s angelic voice carries you to a place of heavenly hatred.Too Much To Me shifts back into honky tonk gear as an anti-love/love song about not falling for the one that means too much.What a wonderful thing the Fly-Rite Boys bring to Big Sandy and his retro sound.  The guys have put blood, sweat and tears into It’s Time to bring you one of the greatest rockabilly albums to date.  Allow me to introduce the Fly-Rite Boys: Bobby Trimble on drums, Jeff West – bass and vocals, Ashley Kingman on electric guitar and Jimmy Roy at steel guitar.  These guys are some of the most talented musicians you’ll find this side of the Earth. The album keeps spinning with great honky tonk & rockabilly tunes in the Big Sandy vintage style.  The good thing about It’s Time is that there are no disappointments.  Sandy continues to outdo himself with every album.  The CD spins to an end with The Night Is For Dreamers, a low and slow tempo doo-wop song.This is one of Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys’ best accomplishments and worth every penny of it.  It’s Time is available on Yep Rock Records and can be found at Big Sandy’s website. - Mark
12/04

The Carburetors - Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here

If I can’t say anything else about The Carburetors I can at least say they are the nicest, coolest band on the planet.  But, that is not the only thing there is to say.
The Carburetors are a honkabilly-bluegrass outfit that hails from Flat Rock, NC. Their debut CD Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here is one of the finest mixes of southern backwoods influence mixed with the greatest sounds of honky-tonk I have every heard.  The guys are super-talented musicians, work a crowd like a hillbilly David Lee Roth and can back it all up with funny, insightful lyrics.
Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here kicks off with Huntsville, a rockabilly-tonk ditty diving headfirst into the crime underworld of doing “Business that ain’t your style”.  From there it takes you to the drinking honky-tonk anthem Vodka Says…, which holds the best line, “If you can’t hold your liquor – then you better switch to beer”.
From there, Mama shifts into the downbeat and artsy August 13. 1903.  Based on a song by singer Jay Goree about the Asheville railroads of Saluda Grade.
The Carburetors are, like I said, a super-talented group led by the above singer/acoustic guitarist Jay, plus the multitalented Mark Warwick on guitar, the always-smiling bassist Duke Domigue and the straight shooting drummer Bill Munoz.
From there, Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here starts to gain speed again with songs about gambling, drinking and other fun.  Then it runs into a funny bone called, Good-Sized Girl by bassist Duke.  This is a great blue-grassy song about loving a girl that can share your clothes and how much you love a girl with some meat on her bones.  The lyrics will have you in busted stitches.
Bad Time With My Good Time is the signature song for all of us drinkers on how much fun it really isn’t.  While Women or Guns proves the point that you’ve got to be a man to play with women or guns.
The CD spins to an end with the title track, Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here that sums up The Carburetors sound with a honky-tonk-bluegrass-rockabilly song about drinking and chasing women.
If I were Ebert or Roper, I would give Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here two thumbs up.  But since I’m not, I give them a two-fisted-hands-in-the-air-drinking salute!
Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here is on Chicken Fried Music.  You can pick up a copy of Ya’ll Don’t Tell Mama I Was Here at www.theCarburetors.net.  - Mark
11/04

Bob’s Country Bunker – Wellwater

I guess a good way to sum up Bob’s Country Bunker would be a surfy-honky-punk replica band.  They don’t really hit on one genre but are all over all of them.  Stomping around what many hold dear and coming up with a wonderful mixed-up, muddy mess of their own.
Wellwater kicks off with the Dick Dale-ish instrumental Spaghetti West, a high speed, guitar oriented overload. 
Spaghetti West is followed by my favorite ditty, 207 Miles.  It’s not often you get to hear the phrase, ”What’s your fucking problem” in a honky-tonk song. 207 Miles is a journey home to a home you really don’t want to go home to.
Not only does Wellwater give you the feeling of Hank being rolled over in his grave, it also gives you the feeling that the spirit of Joey Ramone was helping to roll him over, while Paul Westerberg strokes his hair.  Songs like Days Press On and Pretty Darlin’ have the punk edge of the Supersuckers, the alternative edge of the Replacements, but all the while somehow channeling the Stones and perhaps Black Sabbath on ludes.  It’s quite an eclectic mix, one I would usually hate, but these guys pull off the impossible and they do it well.
The lyrics are taken from every day sorrows and joys and are quite intriguing. Some of my favorites lyrics are  “While I lay here just breathing and dying”, from the downplaying, Down to the River and  “The girl came into my life in the arms of one of my friends”, from Sweet Brown-Eyed Girl.     If you haven't experienced either of these feelings, just wait because you just might yet.
Even after visiting their website, I’m still a bit confused on who is who but I do know that Joe is the singer/songwriter behind this masterpiece and I do know that Wellwater fucking rocks!  Bob’s Country Bunker is a well put-together, purposely sloppy, but refined piece of work.  They are best described in their own words, “hillbillyrockinsurfcountrydeathpunk” band.
If you like your music an amalgam of genres, then Wellwater is the drink for you.  You can pick up a copy of Wellwater from Bob’s Country Bunker at www.BobsCountryBunker.net . - Mark
10/04

Two Dollar Pistols – Hands Up!

Where to start?  If you know the Pistols and know their work, then you can probably skip this review.  Hands Up! continues the Two Dollar saga.  If you haven’t heard the Two Dollar Pistols, singer John Howie Jr. sums up their sound, “I like to think the Pistols are everything to do with honky-tonk, everything to do with R&B, everything to do with rock, and everything to do with rockabilly, but nothing to do with country”.  I couldn’t have put it better myself.  My parents loved honky-tonk, and that gave me a reason to hate it.  Nothing your parents like could possibly be cool, right?  Boy was I wrong.  I went full circle from honky-tonk to punk, right back into the neon-lighted, hard-wooded, smoke-filled arms of honky-tonk.
After the phenomenal You Ruined Everything, I thought I would find the new album somewhat lackluster.  But Hands Up!, while being the most commercial effort from the Pistols, is still a hands down, true honky-tonk album and it roars through you like a steam engine from days gone by. 
Too Bad That Your Gone is a musical heartbreak ready for radio play.  It’s very polished and packaged nicely for an alt. country frat boy.  “It’s too bad that you’re gone.  I could have used your help last night.  Never felt that alone, I didn’t even try to fight it”.  It’s these kind of lyrics that tug at your spine; heartbreak of the worst kind.
The album truly picks up steam with the 4^th song, Without Goodbye.  This is the anthem of the downtrodden.  A balled of regrets and thankful goodbyes, Without Goodbye drives you to the corners of your mind, where you have been there, done that.  It almost makes you wish you were as miserable just so you feel justified in killing a 12-pack by the lonely lamp of despair in the corner of your living room.  
This freight train of heartbreak tops out with Lonely All Alone.  This upbeat dancer steers you towards the bar for a good time of drinkin’ alone, where you sit and realize just how alone one can be.  It’s this song that makes you understand what a talented unit the Pistols have assembled.  The quirky Scott McCall on lead guitar is co-responsible for a lot of songs on Hands Up! and that energy prevails.  The rather hyper bass sounds of Mark O’Brien and the strait shootin’, new drummer, Matt Brown are obviously the driving force behind this masterpiece.  After all, timing is everything.
The Hands Up! locomotive keeps climbing from here.  How’s Life comes roaring around the bend like a bad memory of lost love and lost friendships.  After giving up your favorite girl to you best friend, one finds himself somewhat lost.  
By the time the last song, It’s All Fun and Games (Til Someone Breaks a Heart), rolls through, it’s then I realize that this could be the best Pistols album ever.  It had me wishing I could take back the Frat Boy statement I made earlier.  This is true honky-tonk from the get-go.
As an added bonus we got to see the Two Dollar Pistols up-close and personal at the Garage in Winston-Salem.  The energy was incredible as well as being crowd friendly.  They were well received and well loved by all of us who had our Hands Up!
Hands Up! is available on Yep Roc Records.  You can get you’re self a heaping helping of the Two Dollar Pistols at TwoDollarPistols.com  - Mark
09/04

The Tremors – Scourge of the South

      Like many folks who fancy themselves rockabilly fans, it has been a long, strange journey through the turntables of time to find yourself almost full circle upon where you started.  Most rockabilly fans start out with punk.  Then our tastes grow and we begin to retrace the roots of where our music started and somehow, we end up at Hank Williams.  T o quote Eddie Spaghetti, “Honest. Pure. Simple”.  That is the only way to describe how honky tonk and punk are one in the same;  melting together in the middle is this wonderful, utopia called rockabilly.  Sure, Elvis is the king. But if Elvis is the King, then Hank is the holy ghost.
    The Tremors take the above formula and make it something all their own.  Don’t get me wrong, they are straight up rockabilly.  But, one cannot deny the purposely disheveled punk backbone.  Any true fan of Elvis, Hank or the Ramones will love Scourge of the South, the first full length from the Tremors.  
    On the first ditty, 100 Proof Blues Boogie, the Tremors take a drinking anthem and drive it straight to your local liquor house.  “I took myself a swallow and it warmed my insides up and then I took another swallow and it gave me lots of guts”, singer Jimmy Tremor, from the infamous Ubangi Stomp, wails.  It’s this type of good times/bad times that sums up Scourge throughout the album.  From the scream along My Kitten Is Up A Tree, based on Jimmy’s own personal kitten that ran off, to the killing fields of Danny Blade, this is a helluva joy ride!
   One of my personal favs is Pill Popper.  It has the upbeat thump of heart attack and fast paced lyrics of a speed addict.  Speaking of upbeat thumps, it will be hard to find anyone that can thump a doghouse better than Mr. Slim Perkins.  He is the madman behind the driving force of the Tremors sound, and the monstrous sounds of Stretch Armstong on the drums only makes matters better. 
   Song after song, you’ll find yourself toe tappin’ to the beats and singing along to Jimmy Tremor’s unmistakable, frazzled voice.  By the time Tremors Bop finally hits at the classic #13 slot, you will find yourself breathless and reaching for the repeat button. 
   As an added bonus, I have to give it to Tremors for the artwork on Scourge, drawn and arranged by Jimmy Tremor.  The cover depicts a 50’s era comic, where zombies are descending on a couple parked in lovers lane.  It is very B-movie-ish.  Hell, the artwork alone is worth the buying the album.
   Scourge of the South is on Brain Drain Records.  You can get your own copy of it by visiting www.TremorsRockabilly.com. - Mark
08/04