Virgil, Auteur à the rockabilly chronicle

The Mysterons

25 October 201518 February 2017

Profiles

Country: England
Genre: Psychobilly

Gary Day: double bass / vocals
Johnny “Pug” Peet: guitar / vocals
Mark Clements: drums

The Mysterons were a psychobilly band heavily influenced by the early Meteors that lasted from mid 1986 to mid 1987.
They recorded a four track demo tape with “No One Stays“, “House Of Rockin’ Bones“, “Crazy Blood” and “Highway To Hell“. The band wasn’t really going anywhere so they decided to split. Day joined the Frantic Flintstones and was joined by Pug on their second album Rockin’ Out (Link records) that features No One Stays and House Of Rockin’ Bones.
Mark Clements joined a ska band called the Riffs.

The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns – Rockabilly Deluxe

25 October 20159 September 2024

Reviews

The Reach Around Rodeo Clown - Rockabilly Deluxe

The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns – Rockabilly Deluxe [2013]
Lanark Records
King of the Slot Car Track – Long Gone Daddy – Bowling Alley Baby – Wild Crazy and Out of Control – Paranoid Boy – I Used to Be the One – I got the Shakes – I’m Obsessed – It’s Rock & Roll – The Light So Bright
The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns approach their brand of modern rockabilly with a punkish attitude. Their motto here seems to be “Grab them by the balls, don’t let them go and keep it short!“. With ten songs all written or co-written by guitarist, label owner, producer, arranger Quentin Jones, it’s “misson completed” for the quartet. It’s a mix of powerful rock’n’roll, some with horns, classic rockabilly, a bit of 80’s neo-rockabilly and even some mariachi stuff with a bit of surf thrown in for good measure. The two highlights are “Wild Crazy and Out of Control” that sounds like an anthem and “I’m obsessed” a superb melodic rocker that could be a potential hit if the radio had enough “you know what” to play real rock’n’roll.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Bob Luman

25 October 201510 October 2019

Reissues

Bob Luman – Red Hot 1956-1957

CD+DVD
ETCDVD 10011
All Night Long (Imperial 8311) – Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache (Imperial 8311 – undubbed) – Amarillo Blues (Imperial unissued) – Wild-Eyed Woman (Imperial unissued) – Blue Days, Black Nights (Imperial unissued) – Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache (Imperial 5705 – overdubbed) – Red Hot (Imperial 8313) – Whenever You’re Ready (Let’s Fall In Love) (Imperial 8313) – Your Love (Imperial 8315 – overdubbed) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (unissued first take) – Your Love (unissued first take) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (Imperial 8315 – cool version) – Your Love (undubbed take) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (Imperial 8315 – wild version) – Stranger Than Fiction (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock 45-028) – You’re The Cause Of It All (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock 45-028) – That’s Allright (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Hello Baby (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – In The Deep Dark Jungle (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Let ‘Er Go (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Let It Happen (unissued Texas demo) – No Use In Lying (California demo)- That’s Alright (California demo) – Hello Baby (California demo) – The Shadows – The Creep (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – The Shadows – Shadow Rock (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – The Shadows – Jumping With The Shadows (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – This Is The Night (Carnival Rock soundtrack)- All Night Long (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – The Creep (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – David Houston with The Shadows – One And Only (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – David Houston with The Shadows – The Teenage Frankie And Johnnie (Carnival Rock soundtrack)
Slowly but surely and with an impeccable taste, El Toro makes its place in the world of reissues and is now a label you have to count with. After Buddy Holly, Pat Cupp and Johnny Burnette, the new legend to receive the El Toro treatment is Bob Luman. Well what can I say about Luman? If you’re on this website and read this lines I can, without making a big mistake, assume that you are a rockabilly fan. An wether you know Luman or not, this cd is a must have for you. You have the complete recordings made by Luman in 1956-57 with some of the finest rock’n’roll musicians like earl Palmer, James Burton and James Kirkland. From early demos, with one of the best rock’n’roll song of all times “Deep Dark Jungle“, to his Imperial classics (Red Hot, Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache, All Night Long), with alternate takes, dubbed and undubbed version and unissued stuff, this is the most comprehensive set about Luman available on the market if you except expensive boxsets but this one has the advantage to concentrate on his rock’n’roll/rockabilly years. And if you still hesitate (which seems impossible but…) El Toro has included the DVD of Carnival Rock, a rock’n’roll movie, starring Luman, The Platters, The Blockbusters and David Houston.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Memphis Rockabilly Band

17 October 20151 August 2022

Articles & Interviews

Bill Coover and Jeff Spencer formed the Memphis Rockabilly Band in 1978. Though the band came from the Boston area, they chose this name to leave no doubt about the music they decided to play: Rockabilly with a Sun influence. In an interview given to us in 2007, Jeff Spencer recalled “I think the first rockabilly record I heard was Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.” I bought it. If you listen to it today, it still rocks.”
Spencer came to singing around the age of 25 when he took up guitar. He named Elvis, Carl Perkins, Hank Williams, Jimmy Reed, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, the Moonglows, the Platters and Ray Charles as primary influences. Later he got into Louis Jordan, Amos Milburn, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and a lot of other blues players with Robert Jr. Lockwood being his biggest influence in term of guitar. “By 29 I was playing guitar in a blues band called “Rocket 88.” I then took over the band as the singer. (Sadly, that was the end of my being a serious guitar student, since I had to sing and manage the band.) We played Chicago blues and 50’s r&b, and a few rockabilly tunes. The band broke up and I decided to do rockabilly.”
He pursued “I was living with a great blues band called “Powerhouse,” and the guitar player was my guitar teacher: Tom Principato. One of our roommates knew Bill. Bill liked the old Elvis rockabilly tunes, and the roommate told Bill that I sang some of that stuff, so Bill and I met. I played Bill some Link Wray instrumentals the first time we met, and when I saw him next, he had them all down.”
The pair began to look for a rhythm section and after a couple of gigs with a drummer and a bass player (“Mostly we played country & western bars”.) they found Sarah Brown (bass guitar) and Terry Bingham (drums). Both previously played with Johnny Nicholas and the Rhythm Rockers who at that time broke up. “We began playing the blues bars a lot, and things happened fast after that. We became one of the top bands in Boston”.
In 1979, the quartet recorded a few songs (Draggin’, Baby let’s play house, Rumble, Lindy Rock and Don’t mess with my ducktails) and a 7” (Lindy Rock/Ducktails) was released before Big Beat a French Rockabilly label ( “My wife of French grandparents got a contact to Jacky Chalard, and we sent him a tape”) got interested and published a 10”. By the time “From Boston to Memphis” had been released Lynn Farrar had replaced Brown.

Coover, Lynn Farrar and Jeff Spencer) with Roy Orbison

The band then toured Europe and France in particular where they were hugely popular with this time Preston Hubbard (formerly of Roomful of Blues) on slap bass.
This line-up was broadcasted on national French television on a show called the Bop’n’Roll Party held by Wolfman Jack with Jack Scott, Crazy Cavan, Freddy Fingers Lee and French band les Alligators. Despite what Spencer said about not being on top form (“The “Bop ‘n Roll Party” was shot in Jan, 1982 in Paris. I had been sick for several weeks, and was just getting over it when we left for Paris. My memory of the event is personally painful, because I lost much of my voice by the end of the soundcheck. So when I hear the audio, I can hear myself struggling more & more. But that’s just my perspective. It was fun other than that.”) this is an amazing show and it’s hard to believe him. The Memphis Rockabilly Band literally steals the show. They perform songs from their records (Lindy Rock, 16 Chicks) a superb rendition of Muleskinner Blues (inspired by The Fendermen version) with powerful voice from Spencer (and crazy stage antics on Nervous Breakdown), amazing guitar licks from Coover who blends Rockabilly, Western Swing and more all together while Bingham and Hubbard provide the beat.

Memphis Rockabilly band with Preston Hubbard — Memphis Rockabilly Band circa 1982 with Preston Hubbard

Their debut lp was recorded around the same period when the band was at its top. It contains 12 covers played in their own way. As their cover of Link Wray’s Rumble previously showed, they didn’t limit strictly to Rockabilly with Ernest Tubb’s Nearly Lose your Mind that features an amazing country swing guitar solo from Bill Coover and the blues touch of The Stroll with sax and piano. It’s a shame this jewel had never been reissued. The singer remembered “”Bertha Lou” on Big Beat was our first attempt to do an album. We produced it ourselves, and I expect we would have done better with a producer who knew what they were doing. We added the older tape of “Lindy Rock,” which was my first original. I had written a few more by that time, but we didn’t record them.”
The band toured heavily appearing wth Gene Summers, Jack Scott, Jerry Lee Lewis, Link Wray and Carl Perkins who sang their praise (the best Rockabilly band I have ever seen). In the same interview Spencer evoked Mister Blue Suede Shoes “There have been many special shows, but it was Carl Perkins who stands out. We did 3 or four shows with him and he was very gracious and complimentary. Unlike Jerry Lee, Carl watched our shows. He had us onto his bus and hung out with us. I was told he put my version of “Ducktails/Lindy Rock” on his home jukebox.”
By 1984, Hubbard had left to join The Fabulous Thunderbirds and various musicians took over the bass duties including Rory McCloud, Jon Ross and Jeff Lowe. They recorded some demos that were later gathered with older stuff by Blind Pig to release “Betty Jean” in 1986. The quartet kept on playing until 1989 but decided to call it quit. From one day to another, Spencer’s life change drastically “I quit playing altogether in Jan. 1989. I sold my guitars and amplifiers. I did not sing or play a note, nor did I go into a bar for over 11 years. I got a job, had a child. Most people I knew never knew I played music. I never played a note until I got separated from my wife. I bought a Roland digital audio workstation and started fooling around. I wrote “1 Ain’t Dead” in 2000. I started jamming with people and sitting in with bands I knew.”

One thing led to another and by 2005 Bill and Jeff reformed the Memphis Rockabilly band with Paul Justice (bass player of Fat City) and Milt Sutton on drums. They went back to Europe where they were warmly received and recorded a new album for Big Beat titled “Roll, Rock and Rhythm” featuring Spencer’s original and classic covers. Some were recorded by Spencer on his Roland, other were recorded at Duke Robillard’s studio and two songs were lifted from the band performance at Vergeze the same year. The Memphis Rockabilly Band kept touring though there was, according to Spencer a huge difference between the 70’s and the 00’s: “Back then there was a healthy club scene. We would pack people into a club, and have lines down the street. Now most of the clubs are gone. If a club draws 100 people, that’s considered pretty good. There are many reasons for this, but mostly it’s that the younger people, 20’s and 30’s, and even 40 year-olds don’t go out as much, and don’t support live music, especially roots music.”
Sadly, on January 11, 2009, Jeff Spencer passed away of a heart attack. One of the best and most original voice of the Rockabilly revival became silent.
Coover decided to carry the torch with a new singer (Roy Sludge) who also doubles on keyboards but no recordings have been released yet.

Various artist – Perfect for Parties 3

16 October 20159 September 2024

Reviews

Various artist – Perfect for Parties 3

RBR5820 [2015]

1. Killswitch ! – The Rip Em Ups 2. You Gotta Go – Crystal & Runnin Wild 3. Something Wicked This Way Comes – Jittery Jack 4. When I Watch You – Twisted Rod 5. By My Side – Carolina and her Rhythm Rockets 6. Rumors – Frantic Rockers 7. Lotsa Rhythm – Gone Hepsville 8. Mary Lou – Rusty Pinto with CC Jerome 9. When Im Gone – Nico Duportal and his Rhythm Dudes 10. Schnick Schnack Boogie . Jai Malano with Nico Duportal 11. Where Can I Put The Junk – Cherry Casino and the Gamblers 12. Mutha – The Playboys 13. Johnny Rocket – The Kabooms 14. Little Baby Of Mine – Spo-Dee-O-Dee 15. Mess You Up – Hanks Jalopy Demons 16. Go Man Go – Dale Rocka and the Volcanos 17. Revenoor Man . The Shadowmen 18. Bossman – Ruby Ann 19. Stay In Bed – Rob Ryan Roadshow 20. Ice Water – Fia Sco and the Majestics 21. Mad And Blue – The Roy Kay Trio 22. That Somethin – The Margraves 23. Ride The Savage – The Sabres 24. Hot Rod Racing – Ati Edge and the Shadowbirds 25. Babyshaker – The Boners 26. Sins And Secrets – The Backseat Boogie 27. Roots Man – Levi Dexter 28. Motor Head Baby – Ezra Lee 29. Hideaway Blues – Ricky Fabian feat. Ruby Ann 30. Cant Stop Lovin You – Marc and the Wild Ones 31. Chicken – Blackberry & Mr. BooHoo

This 31 songs compilation album gives a good overview of the recent albums released by Rhythm Bomb. Every genre that fits in the rock’n’roll spectrum is well represented here: hillbilly and honky tonk with a western beat(The Shadowmen, Fia Sco), traditional rockabilly (the Roy Kay Trio, the Kabooms), rhythm’n’blues (Nico Duportal, Jai Malano, Rusty Pinto), Rock’n’roll with a jive influence (Gone Hepsville) wild (Frantic Rockers, The Rip Ems Ups, Jittery Jack) or with a 60’s feel (Ricky Fabian) and some neo-rockabilly too (Levi Dexter).
The selection is, with a few exception (Crystal and Runnin’ Wild) very good.
Besides being perfect for parties, it’s also the perfect record to discover the good work of Rhythm Bomb and it’ll sure make you want to dig deeper in their back catalog.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Mark Winchester, slap bass Rockabilly hero

15 October 20157 April 2018

Interviews

Mark Winchester

He’s slapped his doghouse bass for Emmylou Harris’s Nash Ramblers. He performed with Sonny George and Eddie Angel in the rockabilly cult favorite group, the Planet Rockers. He’s penned songs for Randy Travis, was the longtime bassist for the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and was a member of Setzer’s ’68 Comeback Special trio. He’s Mark W. Winchester, rockabilly journeyman, and he’s pretty much done it all. Although known for his ability behind the upright bass, Mark is a talented singer, as well. He provided vocals for the track “Rooster Rock” on the Brian Setzer ’68 Comeback Special album Ignition!, and recently release his first solo effort, All These Young Punks. The disc is a bit of a departure for Mark, showcasing his rich, southern-twanged voice and songwriting talents, as opposed to his bass playing capabilities.  Although no longer a member of the BSO, Mark Winchester’s ties to Brian Setzer remain strong. He performed upright bass duties on Setzer’s recent Sun Records cover album, Rockabilly Riot, Volume 1; it was around this time that I conducted the following interview with the prolific musician.
by Denise Daliege-Pierce

When did you begin playing the slap bass?
Mark Winchester I started playing upright around 1982-83. I had just started college at the University of South Carolina, and was trying to start a band with me singing and playing guitar, but we could never find an upright bass player. I volunteered to get a bass and teach myself to play it, since I had taken three or four electric bass lessons in the eighth grade. When I finally found one, it immediately felt right in my hands.

Who were your greatest musical influences?
Mark Winchester I taught myself to slap to Johnny Burnette and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio album. I had a Sun compilation tape I listened to a lot. The first music that really got me excited was the Ramones, the Clash, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson; first Police record. I found that same energy when I started investigating ‘50’s rockabilly, and fell in love with all those records, too.

What brand of bass do you play?
Mark Winchester ¾ scale blonde Kay, early ‘40’s.

How many do you own? 
Mark Winchester Just the big banana right now, the bass I played on “Jump, Jive and Wail”. At one time, I had three.

Who are some of your favorite slap bassists? 
Mark Winchester The late Dorsey Burnette, Willie Dixon and Bill Black.

How did you break into the music business?
Mark Winchester I moved to Nashville [Tennessee], sat in with a band on my upright, got invited to be in a video because I looked “rockabilly”; met Eddie Angel on that video shoot, and he said he was starting a band. I said I play doghouse. That’s how I got in on the ground floor of the Planet Rockers.

What are some of your memories of the Planet Rockers and your time with them? 
Mark Winchester Wow. This is a tough request. I remember the Planet Rockers being a great looking band onstage. We looked like a band. We sounded like a band. I didn’t realize, at the time, how rare that is. The chemistry, the vibe; that ingredient “x” that you just can’t put your finger on. We had a lot of fun.

  Many people don’t realize that you toured with Emmylou Harris for some time during the 1990s. Describe that experience.
Mark Winchester It was an incredible honor to be asked to join the Nash Ramblers. To be included in the long line of stellar musicians she had had in her hands was humbling. I got a lot better quickly. I had to. I could go on and on about how wonderful those three years were. They changed my life musically, professionally and personally. I’ll always owe Emmylou a huge debt of gratitude for hiring me. She was really cool to work for.  You’ve played with an assortment of musicians from a variety of genres.

How are you able to adapt to a certain music style so quickly? 
Mark Winchester Well, I don’t really have to do it all that quickly. I usually know beforehand what the gig I’m on calls for. You might get a curve ball on a songwriter session occasionally but, if they hired me, it’s usually pretty country/bluegrass/roots oriented.

  How did you and Brian Setzer meet? 
Mark Winchester He was scheduled to appear on Ricky Scaggs’s Monday Night Concert series that was being taped at the Ryman Auditorium [in Tennessee] for TNN. The music director called and hired me to be in the house band, so there would be a slap bass player to back Brian. That’s the first night I met him. There was a great unscheduled portion of the show where Brian, Elvis Costello, Marty Stuart and Ricky Scaggs decided to do a tribute to Sun Records. I found myself in a dressing room at the Ryman with all those guys, rehearsin’ Sun songs. Overwhelming. I’ll never forget that.

Brian Setzer's 68 Comeback Special (Brian Setzer, Mark Winchest — Brian Setzer’s 68 Comeback Special (Brian Setzer, Mark Winchester and Bernie Dresel)

You performed with the Brian Setzer Orchestra until 2001. Why did you leave the group? 
Mark Winchester During my tenure with the Orchestra, my wife and I had twins which, in addition to our two daughters, brought our total number of children to four. I had a hard time being away from them for long periods of time, so I chose to get off the road.

You’ve also performed with Setzer and fellow Stray Cats member Slim Jim Phantom on a handful of shows. Did you feel as though you would be compared to the group’s bassist, Lee Rocker? 
Mark Winchester Sure, I thought about that. When they called me about those two gigs in Japan, I was extremely honored. At first, I thought it was just gonna be us in a club situation, and that worried me; that I might be pelted by tomatoes by irate fans who wanted all the Cats there. But when I found out it was a huge festival with a bunch of bands and 10,000 people, I knew I’d be out of range of projectiles—or at least I’d see ‘em coming. Brian and Jim treated me so great. It was a wonderful experience. When we all met in the lobby of the hotel that first night to go over to the gig, Brian and Slim Jim looked so Stray Cats—hell, they were them! It hit me then, I’m going to be on stage with the Stray Cats. Couldn’t help feeling 18 again!

Tell us about reuniting with Brian Setzer for his Rockabilly Riot album. 
Mark Winchester So, so cool to be back in a studio with Brian and [BSO and ’68 Comeback Special drummer] Bernie Dresel. It was rockin’ from the downbeat of the first tune. Brian picked some great Sun songs, rare and classics. To be recording those songs with someone of Brian’s stature was a thrill; just a blast all the way around.

You’ve finally released your first solo record, All These Young Punks.
Mark Winchester I’m very proud of it. I think that everyone should rush to www.cdbaby.com/mwwinchester and buy one immediately. I played my ’61 Harmony Rocket guitar on it. No bass—probably not a clever disclosure, given I’m being interviewed about my bass playing, huh?

  Who performed with you on the album? 
Mark Winchester Larry Atamanuik, who played drums in Emmylou’s Nash Ramblers, played drums. He’s supported my excursions into solo projects since the Nash Rambler days. When I first started playing out, I somehow found out about a wonderful musician in town named Dave Francis, and from the first time he played electric bass for me, I just knew he got where I was coming from. He’s on the whole record. Jim Hoke is a genius musician living in Nashville. Many years ago, he came up after a Mark W. Winchester Trio gig and said he had a friend working at a label, and would I let him cut some sides on me to send him. Four songs on the new record are from that session. When I finally got around to finishing it, I asked Jim to help again, and play sax. We got the best engineer—in my opinion—in town, Neil Cappelino, who recorded those earlier tracks, and we finished the record in about four days. It all fell right back in place.

  What was the inspiration behind the album’s title?
Mark Winchester “All these young punks” is a line from a song on the [Crickets’s] album called Back in Style. It seemed to fit as a title, because this record is a batch of songs that reflect my British pub rock influences, more so than my rockabilly influences. It won’t be what fans of my slap bassin’ would expect, although I don’t think anyone will be disappointed or bored. It’s another side of what I do that not a lot of people are hip to…yet.  Thanks for your time, Mark.

Are there any closing comments or thoughts that you’d like to share? 
Mark Winchester Rockabilly has a special place in my heart, obviously, and I truly love to slap the bass. It’s like my “free” space on the bingo card of life, and I’m grateful to have been given the talent to do it, and the opportunity to do it with some seriously rockin’ cats over the years.

Note: Since this interview, Mark released two more solo albums, played on Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot All Originals as well as the excellent Return of the Planet Rockers the latest album of the newly reformed Planet Rockers.