Rockbilly HQ Blog and CD Reviews

I can still faintly recall what is was like to be a kid and be waiting all year for 3 major events to take place:

My Birthday, Christmas and Halloween

These were the major events in the kid calendar, mainly because they involved the receipt of either gifts or candy.

This week, Christmas, Halloween and my Birthday all came in the same week when I visited my PO Box to find something I have been anticipating since late January this year when I was fortunate enough to be involved in a benefit gig in San Francisco.

It was overall an amazing evening, featuring some great (and a coupe of not-so-great) bands, but everyone was giving their time and talents free of charge and for a very worth-while cause, which made it all the more admirable what those guys were doing up on stage.

About halfway through the evening a four-piece band took to the stage featuring, what has to be said, was the most attractive singer of the proceedings. As luck would have it, she could sing too! And how!!!

Suddenly, people put down their beers and paused their conversations and actually started listening to what was going on on stage. The reason was quite plain; these guys ROCKED!

From about 2 bars into their first song, I was hooked and was asking everyone about them. Did they have a CD out? Do they have a website? Where are they playing next?

I got the answers I wanted, except to my first question to which I got the old “It’s in the pipeline.”

It’s been a long 7 months for me, but I can tell you it was worth every second of the wait.

Motels, Gas and Beer ranks in my top two CDs out this year (The other, in case you’re interested is Kim Lenz’s Its All True, but then I may be a little biased there)

What we have here are 12 self-penned tracks of sheer joy. There is not a single down point to the whole album. As a reviewer of many, many CDs I am here to tell you that that is as rare as an honest politician.

Justin Barr, Todd Jenkins and Gary Daly have managed to craft some awesome, modern Rockabilly songs which not only harken back to the golden age of Rock ‘n’ Roll, but also manage to sound fresh and modern.

Of course they are lucky enough to have one of, in my opinion, the best female voices anywhere in the Rockabilly world in Nettie Hammar. Her voice sounds like it’s been sculpted by Michael-Angelo then dipped in chocolate.

So, in short, to go back to my Kid Calendar analogy, it’s like waiting all year for Christmas, then finding a new bike, a GI Joe, the Constructor set and a Go-Kart under the tree.

In case you missed it…I really liked this CD.

You can find out more information about Quarter Mile Combo by visiting their MySpace page

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

The Flattrakkers - Speedcar Demon

When I moved across the Atlantic a huge realization struck me: Countries only export what they don’t want to keep themselves.

Case in point, beer and music.

While living in England my only exposure to American beers were Budweiser and Coors. Two beers affectionately known as “Making love in a canoe” as they are f*cking close to water. Having moved to this great land I discovered a whole new world of great beers and wines that the Americans were selfishly keeping to themselves.

The same could be said of Australia and their singers. Our beloved cousins downunder have cruelly inflicted Kylie Minogue, Rolf Harris and Natalie Umbruglia upon us, while keeping The Flattrakkers quietly to themselves.

It should also be pointed out at this stage that they do the same with beer, Fosters and XXXX being the culprits.

In order to redress the balance, The Flattrakkers exported two CDs to me; High Octane and Speedcar Demon.

I have no idea in which order they were released, though High Octane contained a couple of bonus tracks from “Their Second CD – Speedcar Demon” which means that either High Octane is their third CD or they have some sort of time machine in which they traveled back to their first recording session and added the two tracks from their second CD.

I myself lean toward the time machine theory. The reason being that The Flattrakkers seem to have captured a sound and feeling that comes straight from the Golden Age of Neobilly. That moment in the early 80s when the Big Bang happened when The Stray Cats crashed into Dave Edmunds and a whole new Rockabilly Universe was born.

The Flattrakkers have taken that early, raw sound, loaded it up into their time machine and transported it, lock, stock & two smoking tail-pipes into the 21st century.

As one who was lucky enough to be in the UK at the time of the Big Bang and witnessed first hand the energy, enthusiasm and unbridled talent that had exploded into the scene, I can honestly say that these guys have captured it all and delivered it in CD form for your enjoyment.

Hopefully Australia will not be so selfish with it’s natural resources in future.

For more information visit the guys’ MySpace page

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

There’s a saying that goes “No peace for the wicked.” If that’s the case I have been extremely wicked lately.

It seems like each say I go to the PO Box there’s another little surprise waiting for me to listen to. Most of the time it makes for a pleasant drive to the studio, which is about 30 minutes away from the PO Box.

As it happens, this is almost exactly the length of the CD I was sent by Canadian rockers, Matchless.

Most of the time, I listen to the first minute or so of each song, so that I can get a feel for them and will relisten the CD when I get to the studio and revisit any songs I found particularly interesting or worthy of replaying.

This album got a thorough play-through both all the way to the studio and once I got there, the reprise was even better than my first listening.

The album kicks off superbly with the opening track Legacy of Bitterness, which is a quirky little number, loaded with irony and sung with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

There’s a great mix of songs on here with something for everyone.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and was left wanting more. As with all these EP/Mini LP CDs, I can never understand why it is that bands go to all the expense of producing and manufacturing CDs with artwork etc.. and then only put 6 tracks on them. Maybe they only saved up enough money for 30 minutes in the studio.

For more information on Matchless visit their MySpace page

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

This week I am killing two birds with one stone. I know that’s cheating, but you can blame the Honeybees for sending me two CDs in one package.

Let’s start out by letting you know who the Honeybees are, in case you aren’t familiar with them.

They are:

Michael Hogeorges – Bass

Theresa Drda – Drums

Manny Guevara – Guitars

Barbara Clifford – Vocals

Mark Braun – Steel Guitar

Rachel Decker – Vocals

The two albums I was sent were The Bee Sides and Hive Jive. Both of which I enjoyed immensely.

Both CDs are chocked full of Rockabilly goodness.  The Bee Sides was their first album, released in 2004 and contains some awesome rockabilly tracks with some very cool close harmony vocals. The highlight on this particular album was the last track, Hip Shakin’ Baby, which closed the album very strongly.

I’m glad I didn’t get the album 5 years ago and have to wait so long for the sequel.

Hive Jive shows how the band have managed to tighten up on their short-comings in the first album and accentuate their strengths. If anything Hive Jive manages to demonstrate just how much they have improved while still retaining their unique sound.

To find out more, visit their website

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

What can you say about Kim Lenz that’s not already been said?

She’s a modern day Wanda Jackson? – No, that’s been said many, many, many times.

She’s hotter than Death Valley in July? – Too obvious.

Rockin’ Flame-Haired Beauty? – About a million times.

I shall attempt to steer clear of well-worn cliches and stick to the facts.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Wanda Jackson for my radio show a while back and asked her if there was anyone around today that she thought had “it” (“it” being something that musicians used to have back in the day, when people could play instruments, sang songs that were actually good and politicians were honest. Well, the first two anyway). Without hesitation she said Kim Lenz.

Is it possible to get sick of being compared to a living legend? Personally I’ve never been compared to anyone even vaguely talented (in fact, quite the opposite), but I would imagine that when you’re trying to forge your own identity in an industry full of cookie-cutter, someone-wanna-bes, that it would begin to get a little old. Perhaps it doesn’t, perhaps having yourself juxtaposed with one of the greatest musical talents that has ever lived isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Ms Lenz’s latest offering, Its All True has hit the market and it’s hotter than De…..oh crap, used that one. OK, it’s fan-effin’-tastic!

Kim wrote most of the tracks on the new CD and is joined, as always by her amazing backing band, The Jaguars:

Nick Curran, Scotty Tecce and Jake Erwin.

Kim’s joined on a couple of tracks by some heavy hitters too (No pun intended) Big Sandy, Sage Guyton and the Fabulous Harmonaires help out on tracks and add their own flair to the songs but take nothing away from Kim’s individual style.

I’ve got to say that I’ve not enjoyed a new album as much as this one in a very long time.

She get’s you hooked right from the get-go with the tantalizing Touch Me and your toes continue to tap all the way through to the very last beat of Shined Up And Ready To Shout. Kim’s raunchy vocals combine with the retro-rockabilly, or roots rockabilly if you prefer, driving style that is so delicious.

If I were in the habit of giving out stars for performances, this would rate as a 4.5 out of 5.

Find out more information on Kim’s website

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

It’s funny how things in life come along in batches. Bad things happen in 3s (Except Presidential terms, luckily), hot dogs come in packs of 6 and hot dog buns in packs of 8 (for some unexplained reason)..that sort of thing.

However, sometimes good things come along in batches too.

Last week I was delighted to receive my first Western Swing/Vintage Country CD to review from the lovely Karling Abbeygate (See previous reviews for details). Then to my surprise, what should appear in the Rockabilly HQ mail box but an EP from the B*Stars – Western Hits.

Remember EPs? They were a cross between an LP and a 7 inch single. The Toyota Prius of the record world, so to speak.

Today we are spoiled for choice when it comes to delivery of our media. If you want to buy music you have the choice of CD, Tape, occasionally Vinyl and the less tangible, though more popular MP3. The B*Stars have gone a long way to produce their own Toyota Prius in that their CD is designed to look like a vintage, vinyl EP. The design of the CD is not where the retro feel ends. Their music too harkens back to the early to mid fifties when the likes of  Bob Wills, Buck Owens and Hank Williams were what was playing on the radio.

The guys formed in 2006 in San Francisco and say of themselves “We make it our undisputed duty to warm up your favorite juke joint with a good ol’ dose of vintage country and hillbilly swing that really gets the joint a-jumpin’. With original tunes that reckon back to the days of 78 and 45 RPM records, we will do our best to keep your toes tappin’ and the boot heels clickin’. Support your local honky tonk!”

If I had one criticism it’s that if you’re going to go to the expense of producing a CD, designing the cover artwork and the disk itself and marketing and distributing it, why not just go ahead and do a whole album, instead of an EP? This left me hungry for more. I’m more the “all you can eat buffet”, rather than the “nouvelle cuisine” kind of guy. More is definitely more.

There are only 6 tracks on the CD, all of which are very good, though for me Lost in Bakersfield is the star of the show, or B*Star of the show, if you will.

For more information visit the guys’ website

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

In this job you get sent a lot of CDs. They come from all over the world and are of varying degrees of quality and many different genres.

Just recently I’ve been getting a lot of Psychobilly, which is fine, as I totally love that particular style of foot down, relentless hammering. However, occasionally you get something completely different. Today is one of those days.

The package I received from Karling Abbeygate contained something very special and very rare.

On this CD Karling rekindles the love-affair we once had with the likes of Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee and a young Wanda Jackson.  In fact, if you’d like to know exactly what she sounds like here’s what you do. Take all those singers and put them in a blender with Dolly Parton and a hint of Jodie Foshter. Hit frappe and pour into a tall glass and add an umbrella and a cherry on a stick, voila!

There is something about a certain singer that makes you “believe” them. Case in point  Ray Charles’ version of You Don’t Know Me. If you listen to his version and then compare it to others, like Elvis’,  you can hear the difference. Ray means what he’s singing about and you actually believe that he’s been through it. Whereas Elvis is a nice, white boy, that sings a song very well. Karling falls into the Ray Charles mold. When you listen to her songs, you know she’s been there and bought the Tee shirt. That may stem from the fact that she wrote a lot of the material on the album and maybe drew from personal experince.

Sometimes a CD so full of downbeat songs can get a little maudlin, but in this case, you actually find yourself tapping your toes along with such sad songs as Someone Can Steal Him From You, despite the melacholy lyrics.

For me the highlights of the Album are the aforementioned Someone Can Steal Him From You and Just Love Me One More Time. The latter is the only respite from the slow tempo’d, love lost love songs and is actually a little bit Rockabilly in it’s execution. You’ll also love Many Happy Hangovers, which could be the anthem of the LP.

Karling definitely recaptures the evocative feeling of a mid-50s country album without wallowing in nostalgia.

The most shocking thing about Karling is that despite her deep south accent with her cute little Jodie Foster pronunciation of “Eshes”, she’s British! Speaking as another UK transplant, I say “The more the merrier!” The more Brits we get over here in the States, the more we can finally take the country back and start re-educating the masses, teaching them to spell “colour” and “honour” properly and pronoucing the word “herb” with the H that it quite obviously starts with. God save the Queen! (Queen Karling, that is)

The CD is released on Dionysus Records and you can find out more about Karling on her website.

Al E. Cat

The Hot Rods were formed in 2005 and have now established themselves as one of the best live bands in Atlanta.

Their unique brand of Rock/Punk/Psychobilly combined with their ebullient performances have cemented their reputation as Atlanta’s premier perming band..

They are:
Mug – Vocals

Vegas Dave – “These” Guitars

Ready Freddy – “Those” Guitars

Turbo – Bass

Clutch – Drums

The story goes that Jonny Hibbert (the man behind REM) discovered them and decided to produce their new CD.

The CD starts out with an absolutely brilliant track, Sucker. It sets up the CD and get’s your blood pumping right from the outset.

The production is, as you would expect, superb. Jonny knows exactly how to keep your interest up and leave you salivating for the next track.

There’s plenty for everyone with some great, thumping tracks that keep your toes tapping and even singing along. The guitars are absolutely amazing and complement Mug’s throaty vocals perfectly.

Mug is known for his on (and off) stage antics, most notably jumping off stage and singing in the face of the audience, giving them a close up and personal performance and involving them in the performance in a unique way.

The guys somehow manage to convey the energy and ambiance of a live performance on a studio recording, a very difficult feat to pull off.

For me the high points are Sucker, Chains of Hell and I’m a Rebel.

The whole CD has your pulse racing and if you add their obvious musical ability with the live performance, you’re in for a hell of a ride!

Check out their website here.

The guys are currently on tour with the delicious Pretty Things Peep Show burlesque and you can check out their dates here.

You can also check out a video of the guys here.

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

This is the third in my Straight Razor Records Trillogy. The first two being No Dice and The Strikers.

This time the good folks at Straight Razor Records sent me a compilation CD called The Rebels of Rock ‘n’ Roll to review.

I am a huge fan of compilation CDs. I mean, what’s not to like? First, you get more tracks than there would normally be on a CD, 24 in this case. Second you get to hear a wide variety of bands, from tradition Rockabilly, Psychobilly and even a bit of Irish Rock on it (Which they call Shamrockabilly, which is brilliant, but more on that later.) Third, you only get the best songs from each of the artists, who, lets face it, do sometime pad their CD with what is called “Filler” in the music biz.

I won’t explore the first point too much, as what can you say about 24 tracks, except Awesome!?

As far as point 2, the variety is concerned I will go into some detail. This CD is a veritable smorgasbord of delights. You have traditional Rockabilly from The Chop Tops and The RevTones (two of my favorite bands) as well as a great track from The Sugar Daddys. There’s a plethora of Psychobilly from Three Bad Jacks, Koffin Jacks and many others.

The highlight of the entire CD was, for me, a bit of Shamrockabilly from Craig Haus and The Gobshytes. If the track Bottom of a Guiness doesn’t have you singing along, I’d check your wrist for a pulse.

The whole CD is put together brilliantly and cleverly switches from one genre to another effortlessly without making any one track seem out of place.

For more information you can visit the Straight Razor Records MySpace page.

Al E. Cat

Rockabilly HQ

If you read my review of No Dice’s latest CD, Heaven Sent, Hell Bent, you’ll be aware of how I came by The Strikers’ new CD No Return. If not please go away and read that first so I don’t have to repeat myself.

OK, homework assignment complete now? Good.

I normally start my reviews by telling you who and what the artist in question is. With The Strikers I find this very hard. Well the who part is easy so here goes:

The Strikers are a 3 piece band from San Diego, California. They are Joey on Guitar and Vocals, Rob on upright bass and vocals and Donovan on drums. That was the easy bit, now I’m going to have to describe them and their music.

My Mother always said that the best way to perform a hard task is to break it into smaller, more manageable pieces, so here goes: Rob and Donovan are traditional Rockabilly/Psychobilly musicians. They look Rockabilly, they sound Rockabilly. Right, that was easy enough. Let’s turn to Joey….Joey doesn’t. Joey breaks all the Rockabilly rules. In fact, he takes the Rockabilly rule book, burns it, scatters the ashes on the ground, urinates on them and then laughs and points at them.

Remember when Lemme from Motorhead teamed up with Danny B. Harvey and Lee Rocker? Yeah, that’s it!!

It’s a marriage made in hell, but hey, sometimes it’s the turbulent marriages that work. Sometimes the screaming, abuse and friction make the most passionate and lasting relationships that work for years and years. What it boils down to is chemistry. The Strikers have more chemistry than a teacher in a tweed jacket with leatherette elbow pads, smoking a pipe.

I am here to tell you that it shouldn’t work, but it does. Joey’s metal vocals and thrashing guitar combined with Rob’s Rockabilly upright and Donovan’s Psychobilly bashing are nothing short of amazing. You’re left after each track shouting “Hell Yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!!” or perhaps that was just me, as I did get quite a few strange looks at the stop light.

This is the kind of CD you want to play in your car with the volume turned right up, the windows down, as you pull into the parking lot of the venue you’re about to go and see a really hot Psychobilly/Punk/Metal/Rockabilly band at. Watch the heads turn. Please don’t do it in a Prius though, or the looks will be followed by howling laughter, as it was in my case. Hey!! I get 60 miles to the gallon, losers!!

No Return is available from CD baby in CD or MP3 format.

Also, check out the guys’MySpace page

Al E. Cat