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Quakes (the)

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The Quakes – The Quakes

Nervous Records NERD037 [1988]
Pack Our Bags And Go – You’re Dead – Other Side Of The Tracks – Where Did It Go? – You Are The Scene – Psycho Attack – Show Me – Nine Lives – The Deal – Psychobilly Jekyll And Mr. Hyde – Hangman’s Noose – Satan On My Side

Despite its cover, a nod to the Stray Cats, the Quakes debut album has little, or nothing, to do with the Long Island trio.
The music they play on this album is a mix between hard-hitting Psychobilly and hardcore. The songs are powerful, the rhythms are basic, and the distorted guitar plays short and straightforward solos.
The album contains a couple of classics like Pack Our Bags and Go, Psychobilly Jekyll, You’re Dead and Where Did It Go. Certains songs also show a deliberate choice to avoid the usual Psychobilly clichés like ghouls, zombies, and cemeteries.

The Quakes – Voice of America

Nervous Records NERD058 [1990]
Puttin’ Out The Flame – One Of A Kind – Nuthin’ Goin Down – Paint It Black – U.S.A. – Chick Hunt – Stick To Your Guns – All Messed Up – Far Away – What Will They Say About Me? – Ice Cold Baby – I Gotta Go

After the release of their debut album, the Quakes were deported back to the U.S.A. due to visa problems. Paul Roman stayed in London and briefly played with Nick Peck in Paul Roman and the Prowlers. In the meantime, Dave Hoy, the band’s drummer died in an accident. Roman returned to Buffalo and, still with Peltier on bass, reformed the band with Brian Doran on drums. This new line-up recorded Voice of America for Nervous. Gone was the hardcore influenced Psychobilly of their debut album. On this one, the Quakes added a good dose of Neo-rockabilly and, like the Rockats, they also included echoes of New-wave too.
The result is a superb and absolute killer album and the perfect balance between energy and melody. It’s also very well produced and recorded (listen to the slap bass on Stick to your Gun.)
Once again, Paul Roman shows he can write lyrics that are different from the usual run of the mill Psychobilly lyrics.
It’s nearly impossible to find a weak track on this platter.

The Quakes – Live in Tokyo

Planet Records PCD009 [1992]
Lonely Boy – You’re Dead – Puttin’ Out The Flame – One Of A Kind – Paint It Black – Strike Out King – Stick To Your Guns – All Messed Up – Psycho Attack – Fishnet Stockings – Hangman’s Noose – Shook Shake – Shake Your Moneymaker

This live album was recorded on February 1992, in Tokyo, Japan (hence the title) where the Quakes, and the Psychobilly and Rockabilly genres, were hugely popular. This popularity would later see the band sign with Sony Japan and release “New Generation.”
After an enthusiastic introduction by Roy Williams of Nervous Records, ‘Live In Tokyo’ kicks off with a breathtaking rollercoaster of Psychobilly and hard-hitting neo-rockabilly. The setlist draws songs from the Quakes’ first two albums with a couple of covers added for good measure. Among those songs, you’ll find the Stray Cats’ Fishnet Stockings, Elmore James’ Shake Your Money Maker and Wigsville Spliffs’ Lonely Boy.
The sound is excellent, and the band with Chris Van Cleeve their new drummer is tight. It benefits the songs taken from their debut album that takes here a brand new dimension.

Quakes (the) – New Generation

quakes new generationSony Records – SRCS6640 [1993]
Nervous Records – NERCD 073 [1993]
New Generation – How Brave You Are – Stranded In The Streets – Anonymous – Suburbia – Dateless Night – Wonderin – Behind The Wheel – It’s Gone – Your Castle – Gothic Girl – Now I Wanna – Lover’s Curse (Nervous version only)

In 1992, the Quakes signed a deal with Sony Japan. Thus, in October, Roman, Peltier and Van Cleve went to Trackmaster Studio, Buffalo, to record New Generation. Working for a major label was new for the band, but asked if Sony tried to interfere with the music, Roman answered, “No they didn’t?! In fact they didn’t care about the music at all… For them it was about the packaging?! »
After Voice of America, the sound of New Generation surprised the listener. But they shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, the name of the album was New Generation. The album’s core is a solid and well-balanced mix of rockin’ music, pop songs and new wave. Though there’s some variety: It’s Gone is almost pure Rockabilly, Stranded in the Streets is in the vein of their previous effort, while Now I Wanna sounds like a Ramones meet Psychobilly tune.
Paul Roman produced the album under his alias of Vince Orrexx except for two songs (the title track and Gothic Girl) produced by Tim Worman of the Polecats. Gothic Girl is excellent and is not that far from what Worman recorded on his Virtual Rockabilly album the following year. I suspect that the use of a drum machine probably shocked the purists.
Three covers complete the set: Cordell Jackson’s Dateless Night, Bracey Everett’s Lover’s Curse and a slap-bass propelled version of Depeche Mode’s Behind The Wheel. All in all, New Generation is an excellent album, and if the narrow-minded listeners could see beyond the look of the band that doesn’t conform to their vision of Psychobilly, they’d be rewarded ten times!

The Quakes - Planet Obscure
The Quakes – Planet Obscure

The Quakes – Planet Obscure

ORREXX – REXX005 [2012]
Dark shadows – Die too young – Promise – It’s a curse – Streets are so lonely – Don’t follow me – This night – Wildcat – You’re a joke – Anti social girl – Festa do estica e puxa – All about you

After 25 years or so of existence, The Quakes still led by the inexhaustible Paul Roman release their 7th studio album and they don’t seem to run out of inspiration. Very few bands can claim that. Roman’s song writing is still sparkling, full of creativity with a superb ability to write complex songs with strong melodies. “Planet Obscure” is in the very same vein as their previous album (the excellent Negative Charge) with some nods to earlier material. Thus “It’s A Curse” sounds a bit like an updated version of “you’re Dead”. Talking about their debut album, there’s a tribute to the band’s first drummer, Dave Hoy, tragically killed in an accident. The lyrics are well crafted too, avoiding the endless clichés of bats, zombies, graveyards and so on, a thing the Quakes never really did.
Most of all, Roman doesn’t seem to care about tags, in that he’s similar to Alan Wilson of the Sharks. Rockabilly, Psychobilly, New Wave, Hillbilly, Brazilian pop… if it’s good to his ears, he incorporates it to create that great Quakes sound that is instantly recognizable. This is all that, and more, that you’ll find on Planet Obscure.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Official page: http://www.thequakes.com/

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

Elektraws (the)

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Elektraws – Shock Rock

Nervous records NERCD083 [1996]

Lost In A Time Vortex – Raving Mad – Elektones – Heartless Man – Fist Fight – Mad Man – Get Tattooed – I`m Gone – Let`s Cry Out – Delirious – Hell`s Bent On Rockin’ – Gallows Birds – Thurdering Love – Shock Rock – Lost In A Time Vortex (#2)

French Psychobilly band the Elektraws first started as a Rockabilly band under the name of the Bobkatz in 1991. They recorded some demos with covers of 50’s classics like Something Else, Rockhouse, Long Blond Hair but also tunes like Gary Glitter’s Rock On which was also recorded by the Happy Drivers on War.
Around 1993/1994 they decided to change their sound and morphed into a psychobilly band called the Elektraws. From the beginning, the line-up remained steady: Nicolas Hervier on double bass and vocals, his brother François on drums and Georges Defretiere on guitar.
The Elektraws first appeared on the compilation album “Banana Juice Kongpilation.” They then sent a demo tape to Roy Williams of Nervous records and the result was not only an appearance at the Big Rumble but also a record deal with Nervous. In October 1995 they recorded their debut album “Shock Rock” with Alan Wilson (of Sharks fame) engineering and producing.
In a period (the mid-nineties) when more and more bands were adding metal elements to their psychobilly (Nekromantix, Krewmen…) the sound of the Elektraws was quite refreshing. One could hear the influence of Frenzy (both versions of Lost in a Time Vortex could easily figure on Hall of Mirrors), early Meteors, Sharks and they Ricochets (both bands cover Jimy Wages Mad Man.) On Elektones, an instrumental tune, one could also hear a bit of surf. But the most obvious influence of all, both musically and vocally, is the one of Batmobile.
Of course, the album is not flawless. The main problem being the drums that are not always in place. But it’s only on a couple of songs and the whole album remains a very enjoying experience.
In 1996 they recorded songs for a possible second album with a more agressive sound but split soon after. These recordings can be heard on “Alive” on Klub 333 label.
Nicolas went on to join the Hellbats. Sadly in 2006, he was shot in the street after a fight and died.

The Radioactive Kid

Mean Cat Daddies (the)

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Mean Cat Daddies
Mean Cat Daddies
Mean Cat Daddies

The Mean Cat Daddies – Ghost of your Love

Nervous Records NERDCD 079 [1994]

Sally-Ann – Sign Of The Times – (She’s) Just A Memory – Why Do I Cry? – Drivin’ All Night – I Can Tell – Decision Time – Tell Me – Am I The One? – Ghost Of Your Love – Midnight Cruise – Losing Game – Waitin’ For You – This Is The End

The Mean Cat Daddies were a Rockabilly quartet from the North West of England; They took their name from Harold Jackson’s song of the same name.

They released their one album titled “Ghost of your love” on Nervous Records in 1994. The Mean Cat Daddies were Tony Huyton on vocals and acoustic guitar, Andy Bolton on lead guitar, Gary Maguire on double bass and Johnny Gribbin on drums.

The opening track is a solid modern Rockabilly tune. The next song shows a strong Buddy Holly influence to it complete with the appropriate drum pattern and a bit of Joe Meek production. “Sign of the Time” is a very interesting number, being a Rockabilly number with a social comment about the difficulty of finding a job in Great Britain. “Why Do I Cry” is another highly melodic song with strong double bass and a bit of country and western influence. “I Can Tell,” the sole cover of the album is pretty good. Andy Bolton sings both “Decision Time” a very modern song, and “Am I the One” that brings a touch of blues with slide guitar.

They sure know how to write melodic tunes as prove “Tell Me.” In a similar vein, you’ll find and the title track. It’s described by Roy Williams of Nervous Records as a song that “would have worked well in a French art-sex film of the mid-Sixties.” Why not, Roy? They’re also more than able to rock, with the hard-hitting Rockabilly of “Midnight Cruise.”
“Losing Game” is more classic Rockabilly with powerful slap bass while “Waitin’ for You” is another highlight sounding like Johnny Cash meets Chris Isaak.
It’s too bad that the Mean Cat Daddies only released this one album. They knew how to craft highly melodic songs and were very originals.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Mean Cat Daddies
Mean Cat Daddies

Nervous Fellas (the)

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Nervous Fellas - Born to be Wild - Nervous
Nervous Fellas – Born to be Wild – Nervous

The Nervous Fellas – Born to be Wild!

Nervous Records NERD056 [1990]
Real Gone Lover – Finally Met My Baby – Jealous Heart – I’ll Be Sorry – Get Outta this Town – Until You Came Home – Mon-Eyed – Born To Be Wild – Gimme Somethin’ Strong – Dateless Night – Evil Ways – Don’t Bug Me

This Vancouver quartet born out of the ashes of the Rockin’ Edsels and once featuring Ronnie Hayward on double bass released this album on Nervous records in 1990. The line-up at this time was Shaun Butch Murphy on Vocals, Mark Weldon on guitar, Pete Turland on doghouse bass and John Decan on drums. This is a very good and varied album, comparable in style to the Paladins, mixing powerful rockabilly (Real Gone Lover, Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild), Jumpin’ Rockabilly (Get Outta This Town, Jealous Heart, Until You Come Home, Dateless Night), heavy Blues (Finally Met My Baby, I’ll Be Sorry with tons of slide guitar), and some country tinged stuff (Evil Ways).
Though it’s never been reissued on cd, it’s possible to download it legally on musical platforms via Nervous.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Nervous Fellas

Three Blue Teardrops

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Three Blue Teardrops – Ballin’ Jack/Morbid Teenage Love Song

Three Blue Teardrops

Swelltune Records SR45-004 [2018]

At last some new music by Three Blue Teardrops!

Dave Sisson, Randy Sabo and Rick Uppling are back with a brand new single recorded at Hi-Style studios.

Side A is a hot jiver that benefits of the addition of a saxophone and features a mean and superb solo.

B-side is even better. Imagine a sad rockabilly ballad with female backing vocals produced by Shadow Morton. I was almost expecting to hear car crash sound effects in the middle of the song.

Buy it at Swelltune records.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Three Blue Teardrops - Rustbelt Trio
Three Blue Teardrops – Rustbelt Trio

Three Blue Teardrops – Rustbelt Trio


A-OK – Shocked – Lincoln ’59 – Alone At Last – Headin’ For Disaster – American Way – Hard-Boiled – Little Lovely – Lord Send Me An Angel – Damage Control – The Dead Know Nothing – I still Dream Of You – I’m Still Standin’ Here
The fourth album relased by Three Blue Teardrops, more than 10 years after their debut release ‘One Part Fist” on the legendary British label Nervous Records. I’m a huge fan of Alan Wilson’s work as a musician (The Sharks) or as a producer (Frantic Flintstones, Gazmen, Colbert Hamilton…) but I was a little disappointed by his production on “One Part Fist”. I think he tried to give some kind of English psychobilly sound to a 100% American band which didn’t really fit them. The two following albums are now very hard to find but are more reflective of what their true sound is. So is “Rustbelt Trio” produced and released by the band. Here you have a real wild rocking and stomping modern rockabilly album made of 13 songs (all band’s originals, half written by guitarist Dave Sisson and the other half by upright bassist Rick Uppling). One of their best quality is to be able to mix genres, adding traditional vocals harmonies on heavy rockers, or enhance what could be a classic hot rod song (Lincoln 49) with a fine and swing drumbeat. Harmonies and superb brushed snare can also be found on “Alone At Last”, a teenagers’ song with a modern edge. The sound hardens a bit on “Headin’ For Disaster”, which talks about alcoholism and self destruct (Stayin’ out late at the beer joints, poppin’ pills and livin’ hard / Drivin’ too fast on the highway, slow at work and feelin’ tired / You’re lookin’ older everyday you spend gettin’ bent / But pretty soon this gift you got is going to be spent). “American Way” is a true heavy rockabilly or psychobilly (call it whatever you want) song which shouldn’t be out of place in The Quakes repertory. Nice! Changing the mood a bit, “Lord Send Me An Angel” is what you can expect with a title like that, a fine ballad with just the guitar and a very light snare, and once again traditional harmonies on the chorus. And right after this calm and peaceful moment they rush into the wild “Damage Control”. Another change of tempo comes with “The Dead Know Nothing” a western ballad with Mexican trumpets, gunshots and percussions ala Ennio Morricone. An Everly Brothers influence can be heard on “I Still Dream Of You”, and the album ends with “I’m Standin’ Here”, dedicated to Stiff Little Fingers’ Jake Burns, but the message is clear and can apply to Dave, Rick and Randy. It’s very good to see the band back in action, with a all-killer/no-filler album. With the new interest toward psychobilly in the USA, it would be more than justice to find them, who were among the first with The Quakes to play that music in America, achieving the same level of success The Reverend Horton Heat did.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Nitros (neo-rockabilly)

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Nitros

nitros_480The Nitros

Early Years

The Nitros story begins in 1984 when Mark Swain (double bass) and his cousin Jon Attril (drums) recruit John O’Malley “I met the band when I answered an advert in Melody Maker. Mark & Jon had advertised for a Rockabilly guitarist so I went along to the audition. It was at Mark’s house in Tottenham, North London. I’d been in bands since about the age of 12 but this was my first Rockabilly band with a proper stand up bass, I was about 15 at the time”.
O’Malley gets the place and the band begins to rehearse with its singer Gary Pudney. For the first time on stage together, they open for The Guana Batz but after a few gigs Pudney quits the band. He’ll resurface in The Griswalds, still as a lead singer. “I didn’t think he was right for the sound we were trying to get. He probably suited more of the Psychobilly sound when we wanted to be like Restless or the Blue Cats.” remembers O’Malley.
The remaining trio doesn’t look for a new singer and decides to carry on with O’Malley taking over the vocals duties. They record “Destruction Road” for Fury Records and “Taxi Cab” and “Echoes Of Love” for Katz Keep Rocking. In 1988 the band releases “Nightshades” their debut mini-lp on Link in the “Chuck Flintstone presents” collection. Mixing fast rockabilly tunes with O’Malley’s inventive and jazzy riffs and a bit of blues, this album is a true masterpiece. The ability of each of them to write originals gives this 8 songs lp plenty of diversity to please the listener like the bluesy “Well Now Baby”, the darker “Misery” and of course plenty of neo-rockabilly, all wrapped up with O’Malley’s inventive and impressive riffs, this album is a true masterpiece.
Sadly this line up doesn’t last long and this first incarnation of the Nitros splits in the late 80’s. “Jon wanted to leave as he had a few personal problems and Mark was losing interest so things just went down hill.” explains the singer “It was good while it lasted and we did quite few good gigs and released Nightshades so it wasn’t all in vain.” Mark will later form the pornabilly (sic) band “The Shocking Truth where he can still be found today.

Second line-up

That doesn’t stop O’Malley who keeps the name and the band going, this time with Gary “Gaz” Day on double bass formerly of The Mysterons and The Frantic Flintstones. They tried two or three drummers that didn’t fit the band, so Gaz called Rich Taylor “It went well so I got the job” . “When I got together with Gary and Rich it was like a whole fresh approach to what we were doing, they were more into the scene and the atmosphere in the band was better, it was more fun. Gary was and still is a great bass player and very enthusiastic towards what we were doing so the sound just got better” recalls O’Malley. The new Nitros secured a contract with the Sun records of modern Rockabilly, Roy Williams’ Nervous Records and go to the studio to record their second album, “Stompin’ Beat”, in 1990. This one features some great moments like “Devil’s Ship” or “Swingsville” a jazzy instrumental that shows O’Malley’s rich influences “I’ve always liked Brian Setzer, he’s great. I started off liking all the usual rock’n’roll guitarist like Cliff Gallup, Franny Beecher, Danny Cedrone and Scotty Moore, they still sound good today. As I’ve gotten older my tastes have widened and yes, I listen to a lot of Django , Oscar Moore and Danny Gatton to try to take some of there style. But my all time hero is Jimmy Bryant, he was so fast and clean, absolutely amazing without a doubt.” In his capable hands this mix is… well, explosive.
The choice of the covers is also particularly judicious with songs from The Polecats, The Beatles and Queen. And if “Stompin’ Beat” doesn’t have the freshness and the exuberance of “Nightshades” it benefits from a tighter rhythm section. But to achieve such a great result hasn’t been easy “Stomping Beat was especially a bit of a nightmare, the engineer was always stoned and couldn’t get anything done, in the end we had to get Pete Gage to take over and mix it, he kind of saved it.” Taylor completes “He was always looking for drugs, so we ended up trying to mix the L.p ourselves. Roy was not happy and we got Pete Gage to mix it.”
Around the end of 1991, John O’Malley was also a member of “Rabbit Action” featuring Phil Connor from the psychobilly band Skitzo on vocals, Mickey Wigfall on bass, and Paul Moxon on drums. “I’d known Phil from the early days of the Nitros, we used to be on the same bill together a lot and we became good friends. Phil is a great guy and I’d love to run into him again.” The band stayed together for a short while “but it just fizzled out”. In 1990 Gary went back to The Frantic Flintstones and brought Rich with him. Together they played on “Cuttin A Fine Line” (Rumble Records) and later “Jamboree” (Anagram). During this sessions, produced by Alan Wilson, Day suggested to reform The Sharks. He was drafted in on bass and recorded “Recreationnal Killer” in 1993. He also debuted his partnership with famous popstar Morrissey.

Colbert Hamilton

Still in 1993 the Nitros released its third LP on Day’s short lived label Rockout : “Something’s Gotta Give”. Another very good one, with Boz Boorer (Polecats and many others) in the producer’s seat. Mostly self written with the exception of Wayne Walker’s All I Can Do Is Cry and Bobby Roberts’Big Sandy this one goes from wild rockabilly to the jazzy “Midnight Special”. A guest singer is also present on four songs “Chris Harvey was with the band for about six months. A great singer but didn’t seem to fit in with our sense of humour. I haven’t seen him since he left the band, maybe he went back to Scotland.”.
The same year they backed Colbert Hamilton, the Black Elvis, on “Still Taggin’ Along”. “We met Colbert when he used to work in Kensington market. We had seen him perform before and thought he was great. We approached him and found out he wasn’t with any band at the time so we got him in and it went from there. Colbert is an amazing singer and front man, he really knows how to put on a show. The two CDs we did together were cool, he had a load of his old songs he’d never recorded and I’d written a bunch of songs so we put them all together and out came the 2 CDs”. O’Malley has very fond memories of the Japan tour backing Hamilton “It was great and we were treated really well, the crowds were just so into what we were doing, I remember me and Rich walking down the town and young Rockabilly kids stopping us to sign pictures and take our photo… Cool.”
In 1994, the band and Hamilton returned to Nervous to release Hamilton’s third lp “Wild At Heart” produced by Alan Wilson (The Sharks) and featuring covers of The Reverend Horton Heat and Thin Lizzy.(Hamilton collaborated with Phil Lynott). For Taylor and O’Malley “Wild at heart is the best one, I wouldn’t change a thing about that one”

The Nitros never officially disbanded but each of them got involved in other projects. Taylor played with Paul Ansell’s N°9,  The Caravans, The Playboys and The Crazy Crocodiles. He also had a project with Dibbs Preston (The Rockats) called The Leopardmen. Day was busy with his own band The Gazmen, The Caravans and of course as bassist with Morrissey.
O’Malley joined the heavy touring band “Good Rockin’ Tonight”. They released numerous albums and his sparkling guitar can still be heard with them today. He also formed The Poker Dots in Spring 2002 with Zac Zdravkovic and Spencer Lingwood, a band inspired by The Platters, The Crew Cuts with a bit of Nat King Cole here and there.
When he thinks about his days in The Nitros, O’Malley says : “It was good fun and I’m glad I was a part of it. ” 

“Something Gotta Give” is now out of print (sadly) but Nigthshades and Stompin’ Beat have been released on the same cd in 2009 by Cherry Red /Anagram. With three bonus tracks and a booklet full of rare photos, this is a must have.
If mp3’s are more your thing, Stompin’ Beat, Wild At Heart (with Colbert Halmiton) and the songs from Outrage vol 1 and 2 are available.

The Nitros
The Nitros (John O’Malley, Rich Taylor and Gary Day)

  • Albums
    Nightshades – Link MLP 062
    Stompin’ Beat – Nervous Nerd049
    Something’s Gotta Give – Rockout Nit001
    Nightshades/Stompin’ Beat CDM Psycho 78
  • with Colbert Hamilton
    Cadillac Baby– Vinyl Japan JRT02
    Still Taggin’ Along – Vinyl Japan JRCD05
    Wild At Heart– Nervous Nerd076
  • Compilation albums
    One track (Destruction Road) on I Love My Car – Fury Records
    One track (Echoes Of Love) on Katz Keep Rocking Vol.1– Link
    One track (Taxi Cab) on Katz Keep Rocking Vol.2– Link
    One track (Big Sandy) on Twenty Blasters From Blighty– NV Comp1
    One track (Running Out Of Time) on Outrage Vol.1– Rage 104
    Two tracks (Midnight Special, All I Can Do Is Cry) on Outrage Vol.2– Rage 105
    Three tracks (I’ll Get Mine, Teenager’s Mother, Something’s Gotta Give) on Five Inches Of Pleasure–

© Fred “Virgil” Turgis
Thanks to John O’Malley and Rich Taylor.

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