Virgil

Dave and Deke Combo

The Dave and Deke Combo – Moonshine Melodies

No Hit Records – HITCD09 [1993]
Tally Ho  – I’m Just Too Lazy – Maybe Baby  – You Ain’t As Dumb As You Look  – Flipped!   – Didn’t It Rock   – Salty Boogie  – Two Guitars, No Waitin’  – Go Ahead On – Strange Woman’s Love  – Warm Lips (Big Trouble)  – Show-Me Boogie

dave and deke combo

Released in 1992, Moonshine Melodies marks the thunderous, smashing debut on long-distance of the Dave and Deke Combo. The group had previously released an eight-track cassette and a highly acclaimed EP (Hey Cuzzin’, already on No Hit Records).
The Dave and Deke Combo formed around Deke Dickerson and Dave Stuckey, joined by Lucky Martin on double bass and initially Bobby Trimble (Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Trio) on drums. The line-up stabilized when Lance Ray Soliday replaced Trimble on drums. Like their EP, this fabulous first album was recorded under the leadership of Wally Hersom, whose work on the first Big Sandy was already exemplary. At less than 28 minutes, with the longest track barely reaching three minutes, it’s a well-executed affair.
The Dave and Deke Combo plays Hillbilly with a strong Rockabilly tinge, with a few boogies (talkin’ or not) thrown in for good measure and a good dose of novelty. The combo maintains the tradition of hillbilly groups such as Rusty and Doug, Jimmie & Johnny, the Farmer Boys (of which they cover I’m Just Too Lazy), etc. Even if Stuckey or Dickerson sing solo on some tracks, the emphasis is on harmonies. Perhaps less evident on record, the Dave and Deke Combo also poses as an heir to artists such as Homer and Jethro, Lonzo and Oscar, or Cousin Jody, bringing a touch of humour to a scene which sometimes tended to take it a little too seriously. And like their illustrious predecessors, this apparent relaxation and humorous approach hides a high level from both a musical and artistic point of view. Even if the album contains a majority of covers (Sparkletones, Tommy Cassell, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jim & Rod), Stuckey and Dickerson prove that they are excellent songwriters whose original songs have no reason to be ashamed of the company of their illustrious elders. Better still, they give the impression of being period pieces because they blend in so well with the selection. We will particularly mention You AIn’t As Dumb As You Look (Dickerson) or Warm Lips (Big Trouble) (Stuckey).
Added to this are their qualities as singers, alone or in harmonies, and musicians. With this album, Dickerson established himself as the heir of the great guitarists of the fifties, Joe Maphis being an obvious inspiration. Stuckey, however, is not to be outdone, as shown in the instrumental Two Guitars No Waitin, on which we hear him strumming on the acoustic guitar opposite Dickerson. The rhythm is also impeccable. Let’s mention Soliday, whose drumming knows how to be discreet. He supports the group subtly and uses his cymbals sparingly, a quality that is too rare among drummers.
With this record, as well as albums by Ronnie Dawson, Big Sandy and the Planet Rockers, No-Hit Records was, for a brief period in music history, the best Rock’n’Roll label in the world.


The Dave and Deke Combo – Hollywood Barn Dance

Heyday Records [1996]
Let’s Flat Get On It  – Snatchin’ And Grabbin’ – Right Behind Me – Let Go Of Louie – El Cumbanchero – Cut Out That Boogie – Did Anybody Mention My Name? – No Good Woman – Hitch In My Get-A-Long – Two Timin’ Mama  – Slippin’ And Slidin’ (And Scootin’ Around) – Henpecked Peckerwood – Goin’ Steady With The Blues  – Deke’s Hot Guitar – Half Shot Boogie – Baby’s Hot Rod – Wild Woman – Chrome Dome

The Dave And Deke Combo – Hollywood Barn Dance

Three years after their remarkable debut album, the Dave & Deke Combo returns with a new double bassist (Shorty Poole) and a new album on a new label (Heyday Records, responsible for the compilation Pushin’ the Norton on which we find, in addition to Dave and Deke Combo, Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys, Jeff Bright, Russell Scott, etc.).
Tim Maag, who briefly played in the Cramps under the name Touch Hazard, came to lend a hand to Wally Hersom for the recording. The album sounds more like an extension than a companion to Moonshine Melodies. The sound is slightly cleaner (I said slightly). One can feel that the group has evolved. Artistically, Deke has progressed further (if that were even possible). This is obvious in the instrumental El Cumbachero or on Deke’s Hot Guitar, which sees him imitating the different guitarists at Stuckey’s call. But even more, his style has freed itself, and his inventive riffs are more present.
Furthermore, the group dynamic seems different. It’s almost invisible at times, but if Moonshine Melodies gave the impression of a collective effort, the differences leading the group to separate shortly after begin to appear on Hollywood Barn Dance. In other words, although the album includes moments of symbiosis like on Moonshine Melodies (Let’s Flat Get On It, Going Steady With The Blues, Deke’s Hot Guitar, or the Ray Campi cover Let Go Of Louie), the personalities of the two leaders assert themselves. Stuckey, who takes the lion’s share in terms of songwriting, tries to keep the group in a traditional line, while Dickerson leads the group towards Rock’n’roll with his guitar and some of his compositions (No God Woman) and relative modernity.
I don’t mean Hollywood Barn Dance is less good than Moonshine Melodies; it’s just partially different. If it weren’t so cliché, I would say it is more mature, and each of the two singers has found their way. The group broke up shortly after. Dickerson continued to explore a more Rock’n’roll vein, and Stuckey recorded a Western Swing album that remains to this day unmatched by any contemporary group (apart perhaps from the Lucky Stars, for whom he plays drums). Then, he formed his own traditional Jazz group. In the end, we can say that this separation will have been more than positive.


The Dave and Deke Combo – There’s Nothing Like An Old Hillbilly

Bucket Lid Records BL503
No More Cryin’ the Blues – Hey Mae Laurie Ann – Red Headed Woman – Moonshine – This Is It – Let’s Rock Tonight – Hey Baby – Alamo – Love Me – Let’s Take a Little Ride Sweet Rockin’ Mama – Lookin’ for Money – I’m Gonna Tell – Laughin’ and Jokin’ – Carryin’ On – Real Cool Rocket – The Stranger Walks – Chew Tobacco Rag – Twin Guitar Twist – Muskrat – In the Meadow

Dave and Deke Combo - There’s nothing like an old hillbilly
Dave and Deke Combo – There’s nothing like an old hillbilly

Although the Dave & Deke Combo split gave us two great solo artists (as a bonus, it also gave us a fantastic drummer), sometimes we missed the Combo, its harmonies, and its humour. So when reunion gigs were announced, everyone knew it would be one of the major events of 2005. The first gigs in Vegas and Oneida were a huge success. To celebrate this reunion, the band released a rarities CD.
Tracks 1 to 6 allow us to hear the Combo with Bobby Trimble on drums. These tunes come from their first 8 track demo. One can find the other two songs on the CD version of Hollywood Barn Dance. You’ll also find live cuts, unreleased songs from the Moonshine Melodies and Toerag studios sessions, and rare-to-find songs recorded for Roger Corman. I won’t go into more detail as the liner notes explain everything. It’s interesting to see that a lot of these songs are still in Deke Dickerson’s repertoire today, like “Red Headed Woman”, “Love Me” (not The Phantom’s One) or “Lookin’ for Money”. And the icing on the cake is that you’ve got a brand new recording by the band. Elvis’ In the Ghetto is given the Homer & Jethro treatment and renamed “In the Meadow”. It’s probably one of the best songs the Combo ever produced.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Dave Stuckey’s website

Dave Stuckey and the Dave and Deke Combo on bandcamp

Deke Dickerson’s website

The Dave and Deke Combo (Moonshine Melodies line-up)
The Dave and Deke Combo (Hollywood Barn Dance line-up)

Kyle Eldridge

Kyle Eldridge – Spooky Moon

Swelltune Records – SR45-010 [2022]
Spooky Moon / Star Struck

Kyle Eldridge

Excellent double-sider from the Wizard of the Strings: Kyle Eldridge.
Spooky Moon, a superb mid-tempo country tune with a fiddle, perfectly suits Eldridge’s nasal tone, akin to Gene O’Quin. The flip, Star Struck, is an instrumental tune in the Joe Maphis tradition: virtuosity, energy, tuneful skill and dexterity, and precision, served by a clean and crisp guitar sound.
Stunning! It’s incredible the amount of talent you can put in such a tiny piece of vinyl.

Buy it here or here.

The Hicksville Bombers

The Hicksville Bombers – What Kinda Fool

Raucous Records – Rauc 022 [1995]
What Kinda Fool / Bopper and Shakers – Get Outta My House

Hicksville bombers

The Hicksville Bombers are Dave Brown on vocals and guitar, Pete “Geordie” O’Brien on double bass and vocals, and Bryn Jones on drums and vocals. The trio formed in Lincoln, England, in 1992. They recorded this EP with Chris Cummings (Riverside Trio) at his Riverside Studios.
What Kinda Fool is a superb blues-bopper that maintains the tension throughout the song. It benefits from an excellent guitar work from Brown, mixing bopping blues with Rockabilly influences. Bopper and Shakers is a menacing Blues tune akin to On The Road Again. The boys keep it simple with powerful and effective riffs and pounding – almost tribal – drums. Get Outta My House is more on the hillbilly side of things, with the slap bass to the fore and boom-chicka-boom guitar ala Luther Perkins.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

hicksville bombers

Polecats (the)

The Polecats – Live’n’Rockin’

Link Records – LINKMLP 069 [1988]
Pink & Black – Blue Jean Bop – Rockabilly boogie – Hip hip baby – We Say Yeah – Runnin Back – Miss Bobby Sox

Polecats - live'n'rockin

It’s a way too short live album from the Polecats. One can wonder why Link didn’t release a whole show, considering the band probably had one in its archive. The sound is good without being overwhelming; the double bass, in particular, lacks a little depth, and the drums are not too present in the mix. That said, it is very well-played and very catchy too. The group overflows with youth’s exuberance, allowing certain vocal approximations to pass (for example, We Say Yeah). The group also knows how to be wild on certain songs, notably their cover of Rock-Billy Boogie by Johnny Burnette. All the songs are covers (Benny Joy, Gene Vincent, Dennis Herrold, Sonny Fisher, Cliff Richard & the Shadows) except for Runnin’ Back, which was composed by Boz Boorer and comes from Polecats Are Go.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Comet Combo (the)

Comet Combo (the) – Race With The Devil

El Dandy Records – DR-007 [2023]
I Sure Miss You – Race With the Devil / Woman In Black – Incinerator

the Comet Combo

The Comet Combo is a supergroup formed by Al Nicholls (the Big Six, the Big Town Playboys) on sax, Ricky Lee Brawn (the Big Six, the Stargazers, the Space Cadets and a whole lot more) on drums, Peter Davenport and Tim Purkess (both from the Stargazers) respectively on guitar and double bass and Cliff Edmonds. (the Avengers) on vocals. Dave Brown (Darrel Higham, Rusti Steel) guests on a few tracks. Edmonds is well-known for being a huge Gene Vincent fan and recorded (see or rather hear the album he recorded with the Virginians – including Ricky Lee Brawn -for Vampirella). The other four have played together or separately in the best Big Beat bands in the UK. This Ep is the exact combination of these two major influences. The band took three carefully chosen Gene Vincent covers (two from the Capitol years and one from the end of his career) and turned them into Bill Haley-typed songs, albeit with an unmistakable British feel, so maybe Tony Crombie, too. A fourth tune, an instrumental penned by Brawn, completes the set.
The result is perfect from start to finish and highly danceable (even for a non-dancer like me). Not only does this reappropriation work terribly well (who could have guessed?), but as you can imagine, with musicians of this pedigree, the musicianship is top-notch. From Nicholls’ sax to Davenport’s guitar, which is both Jazzy and Rock’n’Roll simultaneously, backed by the hot groove delivered by Brawn and Purkess, you can’t go wrong. This is the perfect support for Edmonds’ solid vocals. Rock’n’Roll seems to be a simple genre in appearance, which is why Bill Haley doesn’t have the recognition he deserves, in my opinion. But you need top-notch musicians to make it work (don’t forget that Haley’s Comets previously played in jazz bands, including the likes of Benny Goodman). This is what we have here: high-calibre musicians and singers playing the hottest Rock’n’roll, and the result is like a well-oiled machine or the musical equivalent of a perfectly crafted piece of marquetry where each piece fits precisely into the other.
There are two bonus tracks (from Davenport and Brawn) on the CD.

El Dandy Records

Fred ”Virgil” Turgis

Hatchetmen (the)

When the Stargazers disbanded, Ricky Lee Brawn briefly joined the Chevalier Brothers (with Ray Gelato and Anders Janes). He was then invited to join the Tempo Toppers. The Tempo Toppers consisted of Dot on guitar, Tony Hilton on double bass, both from The Lone Stars who appeared on the James Dean of the Dole Queue compilation album. Tony also played with the Rimshots, not the Rockabilly/Hillbilly Bop band that features John Lewis. Ben (Morris?) was on vocals.

They rehearsed (at least once) with Lee Thompson (Madness sax player). Brawn left after a few months, and the band changed its name to the Hatchetmen. It then featured a bloke called Roy on drums, John Wallace (ex-Stargazers) on baritone and tenor saxophone and William Gibbs on tenor.
The sextet eventually recorded a mini-lp for Big Beat Records in 1985. Vic Keary produced it. His producers credits included Big Jay McNeely and Little Willie Littlefield’s Happy Pay Day (featuring John Wallace and Tony Hilton).

Strangely, the band’s high potential and the musicians’ quality didn’t show up in the final product. The repertoire is borrowed from Chuck Higgins, Amos Milburn, Peggy Lee, Louis Jordan and Good Lewis. But the songs lack vigour and energy and don’t swing much, which is a shame for this kind of music. In addition, the singer tends to do too much, and his interpretation is not very natural.
Vick Keary’s production doesn’t help, either. This brand of music begs for a warm sound, but the sound here is very modern, close to Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive, where a juicy brand of Rhythm‘n’Blues would be needed.
Nevertheless, it contains excellent and exciting moments, particularly some beautiful saxophone parts. Keary is also a saxophonist; you can hear it in how he puts the instrument forward. Dot is, as usual perfect, but her guitar is too buried in the mix to appreciate it fully.
After the band disbanded John Wallace kept on playing with numerous bands and eventually rejoined the Stargazers. Dot and Tony joined forces with James Hunter to form Howlin’ Wilf and the Vee-Jays in January 1986. Gibbs wrote a successful saxophone method for Mel Bay and now lives in Dubaï.
We’d be more than happy to hear from you, if you have more infos about Ben and Roy.

the Hatchetmen
Discography

Choppin’ Around
Big Beat Records NED 11 [1985]
Real Gone Hound Dog – Johnson’s Rag – Right Now – Why Don’t You Do Right – Pelican Jump – Deacon Jones

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