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Deuces Wild

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deuces_wildDeuces Wild – Brutal Purity

Vampirette VAMPCD106 [1989]
Just Alright ~ Diamonds At Her Feet ~ What Colour Is The Sky ~ Make That Date ~ Never Came Back ~ Decisions On Love ~ Am I Wrong ~ Look That Looks Good ~ Sweet Love From You ~ Deuces Wild ~ Blues So Bad ~ Brutal Purity ~ Radiation Ranch ~ Deuces Wild ~ City Bound
This album was first issued on Fury in 1989 and until now was only available on vinyl, so that’s a good idea from Vampirette to reissue it, especially with 3 bonus tracks. The Deuces Wild were a british neo rockabilly trio. The majority of the songs are rockers influenced by Cochran, Restless (Deuces Wilds #2) and of course Brian Setzer, the excellent and frantic “Brutal Purity” sounds like a mix of Stray Cats “Wicked Whiskey” and Restless’ “Crack Up And Fall To Pieces” (you could find worst references for a neo band) and included in the bonus tracks is a good rendition of “Radiation Ranch” from Setzer’s solo album The Knife Feels Like Justice. Pete Hague’s voice is not that far from Paul Roman (The Quakes) at places and talking about The Quakes if you dig their “Voice Of America” album, you sure wont be disappointed with the stuff contained herein. But their originality comes from the blues elements you can find on some songs (It’s Alright, Am I Wrong), close to the recordings made by The Nervous Fellas around the same period. They try to escape the clichés (and succeed) with some tunes you’re not used to find on “80’s neo rockabilly-slap bass led” albums like the jazzy blues “Blues So Bad” or the acoustic skifflebilly “Diamonds At Her Feet”. Sure this album won’t change your life, but this is a more than pleasant reissue if you dig “Gonna Ball” by The Stray Cats and that typical 80’s rockabilly sound like I do.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Deuces Wild - Johnny Rider
Deuces Wild – Johnny Rider

Deuces Wild – Johnny Rider

Raucous Records RAUC004
Completely Sweet – Cadillac Rust – Shook Shake – Out On My Own – Tear It Up – No Time For That – Johnny Rider – I’ll Be Right Here – Bitter Tears – Sugar In My Coffee – Lodi

 

 

 

 

Deuces Wild - Cadillac Rust
Deuces Wild – Cadillac Rust

Deuces Wild – Cadillac Rust

Raucous Records RAUC15
Completely Sweet – Cadillac Rust – Johnny Rider – I’ll Be Right Here

Roy Williams – Nervous records

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Nervous records second logo
Nervous records second logo
Nervous records second logo

Nervous Records – the Roy Williams interview

-Hey, I’ve just bought the debut album of a psychobilly combo called the Frantic Flintstones.
-Is that any good?
-Of course, it’s on Nervous Records!

That’s the kind of dialog that my psychobilly pals and I used to have. Nervous was for us – and I’m sure we weren’t alone – a reference. Nervous records always had the best stuff coming with nice sleeves too. Judge by yourself: the Polecats, The Sharks, Frenzy, the Ricochets, the Coffin Nails, the Caravans, the Nitros, Restless, the Blue Cats, Buzz & the Flyers, Torment, Skitzo, Nekromantix, Batmobile, the Quakes, the Rattlers… Impressive isn’t it. Reading Nervous records’ back catalog is like reading a Who’s Who of Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly.

Of course, there was some exceptions:
-Look that’s the latest Nervous records lp.
-What’s the name of the band?
-Spook & the Ghouls.
– …

Anyway Nervous records is indissociable from the whole genre, and we had to talk to Roy Williams. Now put your favorite Nervous album on the platter or in the player if it’s a cd and read the following interview..

by Fred “Virgil” Turgis

When and how did you discover rockabilly music?
I was collecting old rock’n’roll records in the early 60’s and I came across a listing of SUN 45’s for sales from someone called Breathless Dan Coffey (Breathless Dan Coffey is a well known record collector in Europe and he’s also the brother of Mike Coffey, guitar player for Crazy Cavan – ed.). Before that, the only time I’d heard of rockabilly was from a Guy Mitchell song! In truth, I’d been buying rockabilly records for some time, but never really knew the word in relation the records I had. We used to call it ‘the empty sound’ because of the slap-back echo!
The ‘division’ of rock’n’roll and rockabilly can be subtle and there’s a lot of ‘crossover’. I think of it this way
All rockabilly is rock’n’roll
All rock’n’roll is not rockabilly
or
All ants are insects
All insects are not ants
You can say that we have an interesting linguistic discussion here between etymology and entymology =;-)

Was Rock’n’roll the kind of music played at home when you were a kid?
Oh no! My mother used to sing songs to me when I was very young. These were songs from the 1940’s. The only music my father liked on the radio was religious music. He used to complain that there was too much ‘boogie woogie’…. He used to tell me that our radio couldn’t get Radio Luxembourg (where all the good stuff was). I used to go and watch TV in the village pub with my friend whose parents owned the pub. I saw ‘6-5 Special’ on a small black and white TV, one of only two in the village. Then we moved back to Wales and lived in a village with no electricity for a while, so I missed a lot of 1950’s TV. Then, one day in 1958, I got on my bicycle and rode into the town (Aberystwyth) and walked into the pier. There was the smell of the candy floss and lots of flashing lights and a big jukebox pounding out rock’n’roll. I was lost……
Then we moved closer to the town and had electricity again and my parents bought a new radio and gave me the old one. I spent all my time on this radio listening to radio stations from other countries searching for rock’n’roll.

As a DJ you helped to promote Hank Mizzell’s Jungle Rock, you managed young bands. How did you decide to create your own label?
I saw a bit about how the music business worked from ‘Jungle Rock’ and I thought that I could create another hit with a young good looking British band. At about the same time, I saw that Ronnie Weiser has started his own label and there were lots of new labels in England because of punk. I thought that I could do this, too. I also thought that it was time that I established better financial security for my family because DJ work was not so reliable! I actually started in music publishing and the label came after.

Nervous records first logo
Nervous records first logo

Looking back at the Nervous records back catalog, one thing struck me. Like Sam Phillips who always said he didn’t need two Elvis, it seems that you were always looking for bands that sounded different…
The lesson that I learnt from Rollin’ Rock was NOT to go for a ‘house label sound’. There was a time that everything on Rollin’ Rock was hot, and then suddenly it wasn’t because it all had the same ‘house sound’ and the whole catalogue was out of style. I didn’t want to have this happen to Nervous records, so I deliberately tried to be more ‘diverse’.

You have worked with many of the best psychobilly bands, but strangely you never worked with the originators of the genre, the Meteors. Do you regret it?
Not really. they seemed very shambolic to begin with and after their first EP and LP, I didn’t find them so interesting. The first LP was REALLY good, though and hugely influential.
In the end, when I bought out the Alligator label, I became the owner of the earliest Meteors’ recordings [three songs were released on Homegrown Rockabilly – ed.]

Today I suppose things have changed radically with the mp3’s. But in the heydays of neo-rockabilly / psychobilly what was the average pressing for a Nervous record?
I always remember that when we released the Buzz And The Flyers LP, we pressed 3,000 copies and delivered 2,000 to various customers in the first week! Those days are long gone.

How do you / did you involve in the recording process as a producer? Do you suggest songs to cover, different ways to approach songs, select songs with the artists etc.?
I make all sorts of suggestions. Some bands have all of their ideas ready, and some need more ‘guidance’. Sometimes I give the project to a producer. I can’t force bands to record what they don’t want to. I feel awkward sometimes because I can’t play an instrument and it’s often difficult because of that.

Is there a release in which you had strong hope that failed to sell?
Quite a few! Often because the bands split up just after the recording!

Some of Nervous records releases - photo by: Mitutaka Namie
Some of Nervous records releases – photo by: Mitutaka Namie

Which Nervous records releases are you particularly proud of?
The first Restless album and The Blue Cats ‘The Tunnel’.

And is there one that retrospectively you think “I shouldn’t have released this one”?
That’s too political!

Beside Nervous records, I believe that you were involved with the organisation of the Big Rumble. What memories do you keep from it?
A lot of work, and a lot of fun. I really enjoyed going round the caravans in the morning with a video camera, and finding people in the ‘wrong’ beds! I also had some funny experiences at the reception of the camp. Del used to put me there because I could manage some words in various languages. It was always difficult explaining to French people about the meters for the electricity!

I have the sad feeling that today the rockin’ scene is more and more divided in sub-scenes like neo-rockabilly, modern rockabilly, authentic rockabilly, old school psychobilly, gothabilly, trashbilly (and so on), with much importance given to the clothes rather than anything else. What do you think of the evolution of the scene?
I agree with you. It’s become fragmented and this is BAD news.

You were one of the first to bet on the cd’s then on the mp3’s. How did the internet change the way of selling music?
It’s broken down the national barriers. Really there is only one marketplace now, and everyone is equal in it. This is good. Music is no longer qualified by its rarity. It’s qualified by it’s standard. When I was DJ-ing, there were some people who would not dance to a record if it wasn’t an original 45. This is BOLLOCKS!
The ‘downside’ of all this is that there needs to be a lot more ‘back-office’ computer work to make it all work properly. Most small labels are hopeless at the paperwork side of things and this leaves the ownership of copyright in a bit of a mess. I’ve actually written my own computer program to handle this stuff.

The last word is for you…
I’m more interested in the future of rock’n’roll/rockabilly than the past.


Website: http://www.nervous.co.uk/

Clint Bradley

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Clint Bradley
Clint Bradley

Do Clint Bradley and the Blue Cats really need to be introduced? Well… for the younger ones, the Blue Cats formed in the mid 70’s with Carlo Esdwards on guitar his brother Stef on drums with Dave Phillips on vocals and bass and later guest Clive Osborne on sax. They released their debut album heavily influenced by Gene Vincent on Rockhouse. But all was not well between Philips and the rest of the band and he left in 1980 to be replaced by Clint Bradley who also brought with him Mitch Caws on doube bass (both played tohgether in Little Tony and the Tennessee Rebels). This proved to be a good choice, Bradley was not only a very good singer but a solid songwriter with new ideas that waited the perfect vehicle to shape up. Together they quickly took the band to another level.

With the release of Fight Back in 1981 this new line-up changed the face of modern rockabilly influencing a brand new generation of musicians, most notably on the burgeoning psychobilly scene. Sadly, if they gained new fans, the attitude of the rockabilly purists took its toll on the band. They decided to leave the scene and reinvent themselves completely. They released another highly influential ep under the G-Men moniker and then, with Beltane Fire explored brand new musical territories (more about that on the band’s website). They finally came back as the Blue Cats in the early 90’s, this time with Paul Diffin on bass and released The Tunnel another benchmark on the rockabilly scene. They continued to play together a couple of years and then pursued their respective projects. It could have been the end of the Blue Cats but in 2008 they reunited for a one-off gig in Hemsby followed three years later by a new album (Best Dawn Yet) this time with Steve Whitehouse (Frenzy, Sharks, Restless) on bass.

by Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Twenty years have passed since the Tunnel. Why, and how, did you decide to get together again? How did you feel when you started playing together again?
It was electric; a real buzz, like we’d stepped out of the room for a cup of tea, and stepped back in 16 years later. We had not seen or spoken to each other for 16 years or so, when the opportunity arose to play The Hemsby festival. A good deal of soul searching took place on my part before that gig took place, but it happened and was a great success. We’d only really intended to do the one gig, have a laugh and rebuild bridges, but we enjoyed it so much that we decided to try writing together again and look at the possibility of maybe doing some more gigs. The creative spark was very much alive between us again. I’d been off doing my own thing with my solo career and my soundtrack business, and Carlo and Stef had been doing theirs. So we’d quite forgotten how much of a spark there was when we played together. But it has to be for real, for a reason. It’s no good us just getting up there for a gig or two, we have to race to win or it just won’t work.

You also have a new double bassist, namely Steve Whitehouse of Frenzy, the Sharks and Restless fame. How did you get in touch with him?
We had a logistical problem in that Paul Diffin now lives full time in Atlanta USA with his family; I was also still travelling backwards and forwards to the States working on various projects . With the air fare being the thick end of £1000 a time, it sort of left us with a problem. It was decided by all of us that it couldn’t work and that another UK bass player would have to be found. Though Paul and I continue to work together on my solo projects. This was a very amicable decision. I’d seen Steve around over the years and had always been very impressed with his playing and his sound. Also I really liked what he’d done with Frenzy, and the fact that he like me, didn’t cave in to the pressure to toe the line if he believed in something. I remembered seeing him at Beltane Fire gigs and also saw him play in Germany during the 90’s. Playing With the Blue Cats is quite demanding musically, you need to have a firm understanding of the musicality of stuff as well as the strength and power, Steve has both which is perfect for us. The first song we played together in the rehearsal studio was Gotta Go, and what can I say, it was musical Nirvana, A PERFECT UNION! He fits in to the band a treat socially as well; he really is part of it now. Steve really carries his weight and is a total professional to work with, in short it’s a match made in heaven

Steve seems to be a natural choice. He used to cover Wild Night and Gotta Go with Frenzy. The Long Tall texans also covered Gotta Go and recently Paul Roman of the Quakes wrote Seven Seas Alone quoting Beltane Fire’s Captain Blood as one of his inspiration behind it. Were you aware that the Blue Cats but also the G-Men and Beltane Fire stuff were so popular on the Psychobilly scene?
Yeah kind of, it makes sense when you think about it. We’ve always been at home with a more progressive audience which is what you tend to get on the Psychobilly/Neo Rockabilly scene. It was bloody hard work for us in the very early days before that scene existed, I mean let’s not beat around the bush here, the traditionalists didn’t like what we were doing and still don’t. I am extremely proud of the G-Men & Beltane Fire, with those incarnations we took it to another level, if we’d had a label that understood what we were trying to do with Beltane, we could have taken the whole thing to another level. Beltane Fire was years ahead of its time, but there are those that understood it from the beginning, Steve for one.

It also takes us back to Fight Back when “traditionnal” rockabillies started to drift away because of the new songs. How did you feel about that?
I’ve been reminded recently why I wrote ‘Fight Back’ in the first place and the emotions behind it. Those who were there in the beginning will remember what it was like. We had to take our own road and head down it no matter what, even when we had to deal with the music fascists within the scene, we knew what we were doing was right. Rockabilly is about excitement and energy, a moment of blissful impulse, The Elvis Sun Sessions, Johnny Burnette’ Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, etc. Those recordings are meant to taken and savoured, the energy and soul is there because they are spontaneous moments of creative genius. They are not meant to be played over and over again note for note until you’ve worn out the vibe that was there in the first place. I always felt that if you took that spirit and influence of that and combined it with your own contemporary surroundings both musically and geographically something magical would happen. Instead of playing the same songs over and over again why not take the influence and carry it forward. Which is what we did when we first got together, we combined the spirit of Rockabilly with the attitude and feel of all our other influences, and what came out was just us. I was also becoming really conscious of the fact that I wanted to write and play my own songs, about my own culture and the things going on around me. I mean I loved rockabilly music, but I couldn’t relate to the lyrics of a lot of the songs, because they were about another youth culture from another country and time. It was people like Joe Strummer who were writing about things I understood and could see around me. We are a band of different colours, a group of musicians who love their craft and always give their best. Our audience is as diverse as we are; you have to leave all your prejudices behind when you come to a Blue Cats gig.

Early 80's, with Clive Osborne on sax and Mitch Caws on bass.
Early 80’s, Clint Bradley, Stef Edwards (drums), Carlo Edwards (guitar), Clive Osborne (sax) and Mitch Caws (double bass)

Still on Fight Back, when I listen to it, I have the feeling that there are two albums in one. One half reflects what the Blue Cats were doing at that time by pushing the boundaries with original songs like Wild Night, Fight Back etc. while the other half sounds more like the label keeping in mind the fans of the Blue Cat Trio with more traditional covers…
A very good and observation and I’m glad I can get the chance to answer that question at last. The main reason for the contrast of that record was the fact that we held a lot of new songs back because we didn’t want Rockhouse to have them, we ‘d had enough of that label by then, they’d ripped us off and had us in a corner. Songs like Gotta Go and others were already on the burner, but we didn’t want them to get hold of them. Also Rockhouse were pretty scared of our New Wave sound and kept trying to tone it down, what makes me laugh is that within a couple of years they were all at it.

Let’s come back to your latest release “Best Dawn Yet”. Beside the music that doesn’t try to fit any genre nor category, the lyrics are also very different from your usual rockabilly band, whether it’s the sea subject like Captain Blood and Billy Ruffian or Baden Hill. Tell us more about that please…
I tend to write about subjects and things I know or enjoy, I love English history and folklore and am forever fascinated by the things I uncover that are right under your nose. ‘Billy Ruffians’ came from the story of HMS Bellerophon that was a ship in Nelson’s fleet at the battle of Trafalgar. But most of the sailors in the fleet could not pronounce ‘Bellerophon’ so they gave it the name ‘The Billy Ruffian’ The story of the crew, ‘The Billy Ruffians’ has always fascinated me, they were a total mix of Nationalities, (there were 25 different nationalities in the fleet) but they all fought together under one flag, the real incentive to win the battle was the prize fund, that they would receive if they captured an enemy ship. I’d read their story many times, and one day it struck me that it was not unlike the worldwide ‘Rockabilly’ scene, so many different nationalities, all into the various different forms of the genre, Neo–Rockabilly, Psychobilly, etc. etc. yet all united in their on-going passion for that one thing ‘Great Music’ it really is like a worldwide brotherhood, people outside it never really understand it, even members of your own family, and yet when you get a group of Billy’s together in one place they are united in that one passion, the Music!
‘Badon Hill’ was the last of the 12, great Arthurian battles against the Saxons. They rode out together one last time to face what came, ‘All these years we’ve been together…’ It’s a song that is as much about our relationship with the fans as us in the band, the fans that have stuck by us all these years and championed us against all the odds. We wanted to give it that kind of ‘Johnny Cash’ feel, which I think is really synonymous with being a maverick. ‘The Blue Cats’ have always been Mavericks…

You also seemed, Carlo maybe even more, to have a lot of fun re-creating the Burnette sound on Burnette like you did with Cliff Gallup on Gallupin’ Man…
Yes with ‘Burnette’ We wanted to write and play something that acknowledged the great influence that ‘Johnny Burnette’, and ‘Grady Martins’ guitar playing had on us when we were kids, especially Carlo. The same as we did for ‘Cliff Gallup’ on ‘The Tunnel’. We recorded this song in a totally different way, to try and create that wonderful sharp and ambient sound that you find on the classic recordings that Johnny Burnette did with Owen Bradley producing.

There are also two cowboy ballads. One that comes from the Son of the Pioneers and the other, an original called Lonesome Desperado that sounds like an unissued Marty Robbins song. I assume you’re a big fan of Robbins. Tell us about your other influences.
Yes indeed my first and foremost influence was without doubt’ Marty Robbins’. I was fortunate in that my dad and my uncle were both into western music so I had a fairly good record collection to rifle through when I was a kid. I can still remember the first time I heard Marty singing Big Iron, and it still affects me in the same way today, a hair on the back of the neck job. It was a seminal moment for me, and that’s what I sat in my bedroom trying to learn to play along to with my first acoustic guitar, I was probably around 7-8 years old at the time. Also Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash, and ‘The Sons of the Pioneers’ I thought Cash was the coolest looking bloke I’d ever seen. Then came the Clash and the Elvis sun sessions for the first time. Then it was Johnny Burnette and the Vincent Capitol stuff, the CBS rare rockabillies albums, and I was well and truly away. I also really loved that British sound, things like Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Billy Fury, The whole Joe Meek sound and the Shadows and stuff. But At the same time there was The Jam, Generation x, the skids, Buzzcocks, the whole Ska thing with the Specials and Maddness and of course Joe Strummer and the Clash. For me it all went hand in hand, it was all about energy, working class kids giving it some, the only separation was the Atlantic Ocean, culture and time.

That leads me to your solo solo stuff. Do you have plans to re-release This Hour?
There is a very strong possibility that ‘This Hour’ will be re-released. It never had a chance the first time round because the label folded before it was properly released; even so the CD’s that were pressed sold out very quickly. ‘Guilty Heart’ has received a lot of airplay in Germany and really kept the album alive. It’s an album that I really put my guts into, the songs are very personal, and though it’s very much a ballad orientated album, I’m very very proud of it. I was lucky to get to work with 3 members of Ian Durys Blockheads on that project, and I firmly believe it’s a timeless record that will one day see the light of day properly.

How do you feel about seeing it changing hands for huge amount of money on ebay?
It’s ridiculous that people have to pay stupid money for it on ebay and Amazon etc. It’s a collection of songs that I wrote for people to listen to and think about. I tried myself to re-release some time back, but gave up after threats from the publisher, I mean they’re my bloody songs, what’s the point in them just sitting there in a vault because some greedy bugger wants his pound of flesh. Negotiations are going on at present that will hopefully get it sorted once and for all. I’m also really pleased with the way ‘Cross a Soul with Silver’ turned out, that’s a real journey through my influences and the styles that have inspired me over the years, I just let then songs go where they wanted on that one.

What about your songwriting process. Do you write with the Blue Cats or your solo stuff in mind or do you choose once the song is written where it’s going to end?
That’s a good question! I sometimes have an idea and think straight away, yeah that’s a Blue Cats song, even in the years we weren’t working together; I would often think man that would have really worked with the lads. Then some songs are just so personal or off the wall, I think it will work better on one of my solo albums. The thing is I’m writing continuously, it’s my life blood and where I exist, I am always buzzing about something, my problem is not always having the outlet for the materiel. Here in the realm of middle age I have to let the song go where it wants, whatever style that may be.

The Blue Cats now: Steve Whitehouse (double bass), Stef Edwards (drums), CLint Bradley, Carlo Edwards (guitar)
The Blue Cats with Steve Whitehouse

You also have plans for a neo-rockabilly album in the near future…
Yeah I have a collection of songs that I’ve been working on for some time now which are all very much progressive New wave Neo Rockabilly, probably more so than any I’ve done previously. What I would like to do is record that album of songs with some guest players and make it a real event.

Did a band or an album, rockabilly or not, impressed you recently?
I have to say that I’m very impressed with ‘Hank III’ I think that bloke is a major Talent and is doing something of real worth. Also it’s just the kind of kick up the ass that Nashville needs, I mean how one town could do so much to destroy such a great genre and replace with the nauseating crap that is modern Nashville is a mystery. Hank 3 does it for real in a totally unique and original way; he’s raw and powerful, full of soul and stands alone against the music Nazis out there.

The last word is for you…
Thank you to everyone for your continued support, and I promise you there are some momentous projects ahead before the guitar is finally hung above the fireplace.

The Rock’A’Dees – Stomp

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rock-a-dees1

Self released
Rock ‘a’ Dee’s Stomp – Baby Blue Eyes – Something Else – Frames – Black Cat Woman – Flying Saucer Rock And Roll – Lonesome Tears In My Eyes – High Heel Creepers – I’m On Fire  – I Don’t Like You No More – Train Kept A Rolling – Memphis Town  – Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie – Your True Love – Won’t Take Me Alive – C’mon Everybody  – Gonna See My Baby Tonight – Memphis Tennessee  – Please Don’t Touch  – Luck Of The Devil  – Real Wild Child

The rock-A-Dees are a neo-rockabilly trio from Melbourne, Australia. On can hear in their brand of high-octane Rockabilly the influences of the old masters like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and most ofall the Stray Cats.
“Stomp” contains 21 tracks (good value for money!) with roughly 2/3 covers and 1/3 originals. If the covers are mostly well known classics, some borrowing the arrangement the Stray Cats made of those songs (C’mon Everybody), they are well played and enjoyable. Their own songs are more interesting. Rock’a’Dee’s Stomp has some elements of Gene Vincent’s Dance to the Bop in it mixed with Cochran’s 20 Flight Rock and must be a hit when played on stage. Black Cat Woman reminds of Stray Cat Strut (or is it Blank Generation?). High Heel Creepers is excellent with a s superb intro and a solo in the style of Cliff Gallup. Memphis Town is a tribute to Sun records, Won’t Take Me Alive is a Psychobilly track that could easily be on a Quakes album and Luck of the Devil is more on the Hillbilly side.

More infos at www.rockadees.com

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

‘I Fought the Law’

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(Sonny Curtis)

Original by The Crickets

Sonny Curtis was the guitar player for the Crickets. After “Rock Around With Ollie Vee” for Buddy Holly (also covered by the Stray Cats) he wrote this rebel anthem in 1960. In 1966, Bobby Fuller made a hit with this song and the Clash covered it on their debut album. It’s probably this version more than any others that inspired the Stray Cats.
They recorded it first in 1988 during the Blast Off sessions. It didn’t make it on the album but appeared as a b-side for Bring It Back Again.
In early 1993, they then recorded a second, and slicker, version at Virgin Convent Studios in Los Angeles for the band’s final album “Original Cool”.
The 1988 version though lesser known  is far superior.
The song was first played on stage on September 12, 1988 in Santa Clara, California and was regularly played on stage.
(see Bring It Back Again for releases).

Quakes (the)

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The Quakes - Chris Van Cleve, Paul Roman and Rob Peltier
The Quakes – Chris Van Cleve, Paul Roman and Rob Peltier

The Quakes are one of the first (if not the first) american psychobilly band. Like their compatriot the Stray Cats they crossed the sea to find fame in Europe where by the time the psychobilly scene was growing bigger and bigger. Roy williams and Nervous record quickly signed them and released their first album, which soon became a raw psychobilly classic. Their second record “Voice Of America” was more neo-rockabilly, and stands for me as their best. They then find a big audience in Japan with sold out shows and albums like Quiff Rock and New Generation where they mixed the usual rockabilly and psychobilly stuff to Billy Idol and Adam & the ants influences.
This interview with Paul Roman took place in 2005 for the release of  “Psyops”. More infos abot their recent albums on their website www.thequakes.com .

by Fred “Virgil” Turgis

How did you become interested in music?
I was always interested in music as a kid.When I was 9 or 10 I started buying records. I was a big fan of The Beatles- The Rolling Stones- The Kinks- Monkees. I had older brothers and sisters who left those records behind when they moved out.

In what kind of musical background did you grow?
My parents always had music on in the house. My dad was from Poland and he liked polka music and my mom would listen to big band stuff. My oldest brother had a band and I used to watch them practice in the garage.

When did you start playing guitar ?
When I was 15 or 16, Dave “the ace” Hoy got an acoustic guitar for Christmas and we went out in the garage to jam. I was playing drums on garbage pails because I used to have a snare drum and cymbal when I was 12 but I sold it cause I never played it. Anyway, we switched instruments and found that Dave was a better drummer and I was a better guitar player- that’s how the whole band thing started.

Did someone influence you to choose that instrument?
YES! Absolutely- It was Brian Setzer- When I saw the Stray Cats on MTV I knew what I want to do! I had the snare drum like I said and that went no where and then I bought a keyboard because I was into New wave bands like the B-52’s and Devo etc. but I lost interest in that to -but when I saw the Stray Cats it was like I found my thing.

I assume you play bass too…
Yes- I bought an upright bass when I was 17 cause we couldn’t find anyone to play it so I decided to get one and learn how to play then I could teach someone. (Ed. Paul plays bass on some of the Quakes’ recent cd’s)

In your bio, you’re talking about the Quiffs. Were you in other bands before?
Yes but they were all with Dave and me- there was The Runaway Boys-The Teenage Rebels- Rockin Wildkats

What was the style of the Quiffs,? Was it a pre-Quakes kind of band?
We played obscure rockabilly and modern covers and originals- it was kinda pre Quakes again with Dave Hoy playing bass and Chris Van Cleve on drums. We recorded some stuff in a studio but its terrible. We were not very good in those days but we had fun.

When you start playing with the Quakes, were you aware of the European psychobilly scene?
Well… yes and no- I went to London to try to start a band in the summer of 1985 and at that time I had heard some psychobilly and I hated it- to me it sounded like punk rockers trying to cash in on the rockabilly scene- I didn’t understand it. I was a real ROCKABILLY GUY. Then in 1986 I went to London again to try to start a band and I was staying right down the street from the Klubfoot- but I wasn’t gonna go there…My friend had just bought the first Guana Batz album and I remember I liked the song “Down on the line” but I didn’t like the rest of it- I didn’t get it. I was hanging out at all the rockin clubs in London listening to Curtis Gordon etc.When I went back home- I put the Quakes together but we were trying to be a modern band like the Stray cats-Rockats-Polecats etc.The things that lead us to psychobilly were 1) we couldn’t play our instruments like the bands we wanted to be like (frustration) and 2) no one was paying any attention to us around town(more frustration) So I started writing these songs like “You’re Dead” and others because I was pissed off at everything-we changed our look also at that time. After that the hardcore kids would all come to see us and we started getting more gigs. Hardcore music was real popular in Buffalo at that time so we tried to incorporate some of those ideas into our stuff. “Psychobilly Jekyll & Mr Hyde” is an example of the slow part- fast part thing from the Hardcore scene-a perfect example would be “institutionalized” by Suicidal Tendencies which was a big song at that time. I think all those “HEY”s in our music came from the Ramones which I always liked.

Is this what led you to move to London?
We moved to London because after realizing that there was this big scene over there, we wanted to be a part of it. We had sent a couple of demo tapes to Nervous and Roy said we were too slow, so naturally we thought the secret to success is just play fast so that’s what we did. We knew that the Stray cats had sold all their stuff and moved to London so we were kinda going the same thing. I was 20, Rob was 18 and Dave was 16.

How was the American scene at that time?
Ha ha there was no scene at all, people laughed at us?! That’s another reason we wanted to move to London.

Your first album was a graphic reference to the first Stray Cats album…
We did what they did by coming to London and getting a record deal. I thought it was a good Idea- I had seen pictures of the Bluecats album that references the Gene Vincent album and some Polecats pictures that were like the Beatles album cover standing over the railing. It was a cool idea and it worked for us.

Didn’t that deserve you, due to the fact of stupid people who classified you as Stray cats followers?
Well the sad reality is…if I COULD have sounded like Brian Setzer, I probably would have. We had no choice in the fact that we had our own sound-it was that way because we sucked ha ha.

Did you have reaction from the Stray Cats about this homage?
Yes- they saw it when they came over for the BLAST OFF tour in 1990 and I got to go to two shows and meet them backstage. Slim Jim says he still has it on the wall at his house!

During the first “split” of the Quakes you played with Demented Are Go. How did it happen?
I was in London working on a solo album (never happened) and I was living in a squat. I saw Ant Thomas in the laundry mat by my house-it turns out that he lived in the same neighborhood. He said that Lex had quit and they had a bunch of shows lined up that they were going to have to cancel so I said I would do it. It was a lot of fun but I wanted to do my own thing.

Even if each album has its own sound, the change between the first one and Voice of America was radical. How do you explain this evolution?
Well first and foremost we didn’t have Dave Hoy anymore, he was killed in an auto accident in Buffalo. Any time you get a new guy in the band, the sound is going to change.We also could play our instruments a lot better at that point. After that first record there was no place else to go- I mean..what would we do ? Try to make a faster record?? We did the monster- graveyard- thing and I could see that- that was no where and I didn’t want to be one of “those” bands.
I think the stuff on Voice Of America is more of what we sounded like BEFORE we did the first record.

You started to be quite known in Japan, even had a deal with a major. Did they try to change your sound?
No they didn’t?! In fact they didn’t care about the music at all… For them it was about the packaging?! We argued with them for months about what the cd booklet was going to look like.They wanted to use all this cliché’ stuff like switchblades and dice etc. etc. They also wanted us on the cover with our instruments- we were very against this. We were trying to cross over into a new audience and we didn’t want any obvious references on the cover. The rockabilly/psycho crowd already knew who we were so it was pointless to put all that stuff on the cover for them. That record was only meant for Japan- then Nervous licensed it but I knew our fans would not like it- some did- When we put out the Nervous one we did the cover ourselves and we are still getting crap from people who don’t understand what we were..or ARE about. I think its funny that people said we look GAY on the cover because we are wearing leather pants and make -up. You know to us, we thought all those cds covers with silly cartoons were very stupid- We always wanted to be taken serious- I believe that psychobilly is a valid style of music. Too many people who write for rock magazines see psychobilly as something silly and stupid. We were trying to break that stereo type. Its not a cartoon-its great MUSIC and it doesn’t have to be about graveyards and stupid shit.

Don’t you consider the psychobilly label too limited for a band like the Quakes? On a record like New Generation there are more than just rockabilly and psychobilly influences.
Yes for sure but we sort of fit into this scene- we still play psychobilly- we do all those old songs in our set-we are definitely not rockabilly. Im not interested in those labels-To me its all about the sound of the Slap bass and twang guitar.

You created your own label, is this because you had problems with records labels (you said you didn’t touch anything on the Nervous release of Live In Tokyo)
Ya- we signed a lot of bad contracts- we were kids and we wanted to be on a record. We didn’t bother to have lawyers look at those contracts etc.The “Live in Tokyo” story is a whole story in itself but we got screwed by a Japanese label on that one and now we don’t receive any royalties on that.

Will there be other artist on this label?
I don’t think so- I don’t want to be “the guy” at the record label- in other words I don’t want to be “the asshole” Its a lot of work just to put out the Quakes cds.

So, what about this new Quakes album?
Im working on it and I hope it will be out by May or June (this interview took place in april 2005 ).There is a lot of songs and Im going to have to leave a lot out.The new record will be different than the rest but its still me writing the songs so if you are a fan you will like the new one. Its gonna be what I call “Quiff Rock” rockabilly+psychobilly+hillbilly=Quiff Rock

A last word?
Stick to your guns?!

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