rockabilly can be dance music - 'boppers' 'rockers' & so forth
And sugar can be food, but I'm not gonna put it on steak.
Anybody who knows me knows that I'm a huge rockabilly fan.
And I also have a pretty hefty stash of old soul and funk.
But would I intrude on my soul night at the Hideout with some rockabilly? Fuck that.
Diversity is cool, but there's a REASON why most people don't pour Louisiana hot sauce all over their ice cream - 'cause it'd probably taste like homemade shit! So as a fan of both soul and rockabilly, I don't rightly see what point Keb is trying to prove.
but playing it might work more seamlessly in a R&B / mod context - rather than a funk one
Hell, give rockabilly its' OWN context, rather than hitch a ride on some other trend.
funk attracts a bunch of beathead types who are into a later sound - it's a social phenomenon really.
Go to the big rockabilly festival in Green Bay, WI next month; rockabilly can be a social phenomenon too.
rockabilly can be dance music - 'boppers' 'rockers' & so forth
And sugar can be food, but I'm not gonna put it on steak.
Anybody who knows me knows that I'm a huge rockabilly fan.
And I also have a pretty hefty stash of old soul and funk.
But would I intrude on my soul night at the Hideout with some rockabilly? Fuck that.
Diversity is cool, but there's a REASON why most people don't pour Louisiana hot sauce all over their ice cream - 'cause it'd probably taste like homemade shit! So as a fan of both soul and rockabilly, I don't rightly see what point Keb is trying to prove.
but playing it might work more seamlessly in a R&B / mod context - rather than a funk one
Hell, give rockabilly its' OWN context, rather than hitch a ride on some other trend.
funk attracts a bunch of beathead types who are into a later sound - it's a social phenomenon really.
Go to the big rockabilly festival in Green Bay, WI next month; rockabilly can be a social phenomenon too.
I can easily picture a dj mixing some rockabilly w/ r&b - it would have to be R&B from say 57-61 though - pre-soul R&B essentially.
And that's barely soul at all. At least not as we know it.
Most rockabilly deejays I've heard play some fifties R&B in the same set, anyway. But when you start trying to play Groovey Joe Poovey (rockabilly) next to, say, Brother To Brother (70's funk), damn straight it's gonna sound funny.
I can easily picture a dj mixing some rockabilly w/ r&b - it would have to be R&B from say 57-61 though - pre-soul R&B essentially.
And that's barely soul at all. At least not as we know it.
Most rockabilly deejays I've heard play some fifties R&B in the same set, anyway. But when you start trying to play Groovey Joe Poovey (rockabilly) next to, say, Brother To Brother (70's funk), damn straight it's gonna sound funny.
yeah, but if you mash some 50s stuff of ANY genre( be it rockabilly, R&B, jump blues whatever) against 70s funk - it'll sound OFF. However rockabilly's country element may cause funk beatheads to riot.
Keb Darge has always played some rockabilly though right? - Golden Toadstools - that's basically rockabilly innnit?
I thought rockabilly raers were an 80s social phenomenon. That's when the Stray Cats (who don't suck) hit big, and a whole lot of lesser known bands started unearthing the rare rockabilly 45s.
nah, I see these rockabilly 45 digger guys around all the time.
they'll have greased hair & maybe be wearing a black t-shirt with a sun records label or something.
from talking to these diggers( US, european & japanese guys) it seem the rockabilly scene is expanding in the direction of 50s R&B ("black rockers") & unearthing previously unoticed "country boppers" & that stuff has been selling real well on ebay it looks like.
He's been collecting rockabilly since the late 80's - it's what he listens to at home. He started playing some 'billy a few years back as the last few tunes at Deep Funk - summat he could end the night with and maybe himself have a dance.
He now runs a Saturday night at joJo's too with Andy Smith (ex-Portishead) where he plays a load more 'billy and a wider variety of music.
He plays it cos he likes it......and whilst he gets booked to play worldwide, I'm sure he'll continue playing some 'billy in his sets. So I'm not so sure if Keb is the disconnected one here...
nah, I see these rockabilly 45 digger guys around all the time.
I know quite a few people who adopted a rockabilly lifestyle, although not all of them are deep cratediggers.
from talking to these diggers( US, european & japanese guys) it seem the rockabilly scene is expanding in the direction of 50s R&B ("black rockers")
This isn't new...I've noticed off-and-on neo-rockabilly interest in "black rock & roll" since the eighties, when I used to see Barrence Whitfield & the Savages live and the room would be six deep with rockabilly people from one end of the room to the other. There were also compilation albums revolving around the genre back then.
(BTW, to the uninitiated, when rockabilly fans refer to "black rock & roll," they're referring to performers like Esquerita, Ray Sharpe, Chuck Berry, Kid Thomas, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Don & Dewey and others, who were a lot more twangy and uptempo than the typical rhythm & blues act of the time..."black rock & roll" means exactly what it says, pre-Hendrix rock from black artists. It's not just a synonym for R&B.)
& unearthing previously unoticed "country boppers" & that stuff has been selling real well on ebay it looks like.
There's a monthly rockabilly open mic here in Chicago, and going from the bands that have been performing there in recent years, hillbilly bop seems to be the going thing amongst current neo-rockabillies.
Nah, I ain't buying it. I love the Golden Toadstools too, but that record is way too soulish to be heard as a rockabilly record. Besides, you can't swing dance to it.
I thought rockabilly raers were an 80s social phenomenon. That's when the Stray Cats (who don't suck) hit big, and a whole lot of lesser known bands started unearthing the rare rockabilly 45s.
It's still going strong, it's just not in the limelight like it was during the Stray Cats' moment.
And, about those Stray Cats...never got it with those guys. A little too squeaky-clean and one-dimensional compared to the far superior Blasters.
anyway i tried to make a flyer out of old dudes mug and getting it set up for black and white print made 'ol charlie looked like a zombie monster...so I rolled with an old pic
I thought rockabilly raers were an 80s social phenomenon. That's when the Stray Cats (who don't suck) hit big, and a whole lot of lesser known bands started unearthing the rare rockabilly 45s.
It's still going strong, it's just not in the limelight like it was during the Stray Cats' moment.
And, about those Stray Cats...never got it with those guys. A little too squeaky-clean and one-dimensional compared to the far superior Blasters.
Apples and Oranges, my friend...The Blasters (even without Dave Alvin) KILL it live, true indeed, but the Stray Cats are on a stripped-down trio vibe that is magical in it's power and economy, mainly due to the fact that Brian Setzer is one of the greatest players to ever strap on the instrument. That guy is simply gifted. I am not one for their records, but seeing them live on of their reunion tours in the mid 90s was quite a revelation.
I thought rockabilly raers were an 80s social phenomenon. That's when the Stray Cats (who don't suck) hit big, and a whole lot of lesser known bands started unearthing the rare rockabilly 45s.
It's still going strong, it's just not in the limelight like it was during the Stray Cats' moment.
And, about those Stray Cats...never got it with those guys. A little too squeaky-clean and one-dimensional compared to the far superior Blasters.
Apples and Oranges, my friend...
I brought up the Blasters because both bands were in their heyday around the same time...although the Cats were bigger, the Blasters were just prominent enough that the two bands were always compared to each other.
The Blasters (even without Dave Alvin) KILL it live
They kill it on record too.
the Stray Cats are on a stripped-down trio vibe that is magical in it's power and economy, mainly due to the fact that Brian Setzer is one of the greatest players to ever strap on the instrument.
Great musicianship does not always = great songs. And as far as trios (I'm talkin' the post-80's guys, not the originators), I'll go with the Paladins (although their Alligator albums were mediocre) or the Leroi Brothers (who actually fluctuated between 3-5 members, but the trio edition were mighty powerful).
since the eighties, when I used to see Barrence Whitfield & the Savages live and the room would be six deep with rockabilly people from one end of the room to the other.
Where was this? Were you living in Boston?
Barrence is the Man. He works at the best record store in MA and is always friendly and dropping knowledge.
I was into the rockabilly "scene" for awhile around here - I've always liked the music but wanted to date a girl with a Bettie Page haircut, so I rocked the style for a minute ... in fact, if I hadn't put on around 40 lbs in the past 5 years, I would probably still be rocking the style ... my old flat-collar shirts just don't fit me anymore ... I miss Sundays at Brendan Behan's pub with Little Frankie & the Cranktones, too. The only thing I don't like about the 'billy scene is that for most of them, it's all or nothing. You have to dress like an extra from Hot Rod Riot everyday, or you aren't keeping it real ...
I thought rockabilly raers were an 80s social phenomenon. That's when the Stray Cats (who don't suck) hit big, and a whole lot of lesser known bands started unearthing the rare rockabilly 45s.
It's still going strong, it's just not in the limelight like it was during the Stray Cats' moment.
And, about those Stray Cats...never got it with those guys. A little too squeaky-clean and one-dimensional compared to the far superior Blasters.
Apples and Oranges, my friend...
I brought up the Blasters because both bands were in their heyday around the same time...although the Cats were bigger, the Blasters were just prominent enough that the two bands were always compared to each other.
The Blasters (even without Dave Alvin) KILL it live
They kill it on record too.
the Stray Cats are on a stripped-down trio vibe that is magical in it's power and economy, mainly due to the fact that Brian Setzer is one of the greatest players to ever strap on the instrument.
Great musicianship does not always = great songs. And as far as trios (I'm talkin' the post-80's guys, not the originators), I'll go with the Paladins (although their Alligator albums were mediocre) or the Leroi Brothers (who actually fluctuated between 3-5 members, but the trio edition were mighty powerful).
Yes, I love the Blasters records too and still play them regularly. Phil Alvin's solo record is one of the unsung gems of the era, a totally out-there collab with Sun Ra's Arkestra and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band among others, highly recommended but NOT 'Rockabilly'. Tecnically, I wouldn't call the Blasters 'Rockabilly', just good old fashioned rock and roll, maybe 'Americana' if you are of the NPR-snooty variety type of listener.
As for the Palladins, sorry, they are OK, but combined couldn't carry Setzer's guitar case in either the realm of musicianship or strong songwriting, IMO. While not a deep catalog, Setzer has penned some real bonifide hits and classic material. Not a lot, but way more distinguished than anything I have ever heard of the Palladins.
I thought rockabilly raers were an 80s social phenomenon. That's when the Stray Cats (who don't suck) hit big, and a whole lot of lesser known bands started unearthing the rare rockabilly 45s.
It's still going strong, it's just not in the limelight like it was during the Stray Cats' moment.
And, about those Stray Cats...never got it with those guys. A little too squeaky-clean and one-dimensional compared to the far superior Blasters.
I'm just having fun with this thread. Keb can play what ever he wants. He's an artist. Why don't you wankers just get a jukebox?
The big rockabilly revival was the 80s, but for collectors it started back when Buddy Holly died I guess. It's good music, but I agree that some cats over do the hicup thing and become a parody of the music. I'm not talking revivalists here, originators over did that hicup.
Stray cats were great. I was a jitterbugger back in those days and that was great stuff to swing out to. Brian was a very original guitar player, and Stray Cat Strut and Rock This Town are good songs. That was the first lp, the second record sucked.
My favorite from the 80s was that first Los Lobos ep A Time To Dance. They would double the accordian and sax, great sound. Today I like this band called the Knitters for rockingcountryrevivalists. I think the do a Louvin Bros song or 2.
since the eighties, when I used to see Barrence Whitfield & the Savages live and the room would be six deep with rockabilly people from one end of the room to the other.
Where was this? Were you living in Boston?
Nope, Chicago. In the late eighties and early nineties, Whitfield was touring like nobody's business and came through often. I was friends with him briefly - I still have this mix tape he made for me back in 1992 that had everything from vintage country to lost garage nuggets to the extended album version of the Honey Cone's "Want Ads" to some unknown bar band in 1979 playing "Yakety Yak." Insanely nice guy, wouldn't mind reigniting the friendship.
I still see used copies of his first three albums floating around. The rockabilly crowd loved the hell out of him back then.
Comments
And sugar can be food, but I'm not gonna put it on steak.
Anybody who knows me knows that I'm a huge rockabilly fan.
And I also have a pretty hefty stash of old soul and funk.
But would I intrude on my soul night at the Hideout with some rockabilly? Fuck that.
Diversity is cool, but there's a REASON why most people don't pour Louisiana hot sauce all over their ice cream - 'cause it'd probably taste like homemade shit! So as a fan of both soul and rockabilly, I don't rightly see what point Keb is trying to prove.
Hell, give rockabilly its' OWN context, rather than hitch a ride on some other trend.
Go to the big rockabilly festival in Green Bay, WI next month; rockabilly can be a social phenomenon too.
ummmmm, isn't that what we were talking about?
duh, rockabilly has a full fledged 'scene' - it just doesn't share many members in common with the funk one( such as it is)
I disagree anyway, I can easily picture a dj mixing some rockabilly w/ r&b - it would have to be R&B from say 57-61 though - pre-soul R&B essentially.
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I've got one by another KD... Kenny Dope.
Seriously, that pretty much sums it up.
And that's barely soul at all. At least not as we know it.
Most rockabilly deejays I've heard play some fifties R&B in the same set, anyway. But when you start trying to play Groovey Joe Poovey (rockabilly) next to, say, Brother To Brother (70's funk), damn straight it's gonna sound funny.
yeah, but if you mash some 50s stuff of ANY genre( be it rockabilly, R&B, jump blues whatever) against 70s funk - it'll sound OFF. However rockabilly's country element may cause funk beatheads to riot.
Keb Darge has always played some rockabilly though right? - Golden Toadstools - that's basically rockabilly innnit?
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I think Keb might be
nah, I see these rockabilly 45 digger guys around all the time.
they'll have greased hair & maybe be wearing a black t-shirt with a sun records label or something.
from talking to these diggers( US, european & japanese guys) it seem the rockabilly scene is expanding in the direction of 50s R&B ("black rockers") & unearthing previously unoticed "country boppers" & that stuff has been selling real well on ebay it looks like.
---
He's been collecting rockabilly since the late 80's - it's what he listens to at home. He started playing some 'billy a few years back as the last few tunes at Deep Funk - summat he could end the night with and maybe himself have a dance.
He now runs a Saturday night at joJo's too with Andy Smith (ex-Portishead) where he plays a load more 'billy and a wider variety of music.
He plays it cos he likes it......and whilst he gets booked to play worldwide, I'm sure he'll continue playing some 'billy in his sets. So I'm not so sure if Keb is the disconnected one here...
speaking of which, if any of y'all are in the Memphis area this Friday..come on out!
Not a current photo.
HELL NAW!
Why would you think that? Because it's got a white guy with a southern accent talking in rhyme like the Hombres ("Let It All Hang Out")?
(And no, the Hombres weren't rockabilly either.)
'close enough for government work' as they say.
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I know quite a few people who adopted a rockabilly lifestyle, although not all of them are deep cratediggers.
This isn't new...I've noticed off-and-on neo-rockabilly interest in "black rock & roll" since the eighties, when I used to see Barrence Whitfield & the Savages live and the room would be six deep with rockabilly people from one end of the room to the other. There were also compilation albums revolving around the genre back then.
(BTW, to the uninitiated, when rockabilly fans refer to "black rock & roll," they're referring to performers like Esquerita, Ray Sharpe, Chuck Berry, Kid Thomas, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Don & Dewey and others, who were a lot more twangy and uptempo than the typical rhythm & blues act of the time..."black rock & roll" means exactly what it says, pre-Hendrix rock from black artists. It's not just a synonym for R&B.)
There's a monthly rockabilly open mic here in Chicago, and going from the bands that have been performing there in recent years, hillbilly bop seems to be the going thing amongst current neo-rockabillies.
Nah, I ain't buying it. I love the Golden Toadstools too, but that record is way too soulish to be heard as a rockabilly record. Besides, you can't swing dance to it.
It's still going strong, it's just not in the limelight like it was during the Stray Cats' moment.
And, about those Stray Cats...never got it with those guys. A little too squeaky-clean and one-dimensional compared to the far superior Blasters.
yeah, no shit....
anyway i tried to make a flyer out of old dudes mug and getting it set up for black and white print made 'ol charlie looked like a zombie monster...so I rolled with an old pic
Apples and Oranges, my friend...The Blasters (even without Dave Alvin) KILL it live, true indeed, but the Stray Cats are on a stripped-down trio vibe that is magical in it's power and economy, mainly due to the fact that Brian Setzer is one of the greatest players to ever strap on the instrument. That guy is simply gifted. I am not one for their records, but seeing them live on of their reunion tours in the mid 90s was quite a revelation.
I have no idea what Keb Darge plays or calls "Rockabilly", but this is what I call "Rockabilly"
Ronnie Dawson's 'Rockin' Bones'
I brought up the Blasters because both bands were in their heyday around the same time...although the Cats were bigger, the Blasters were just prominent enough that the two bands were always compared to each other.
They kill it on record too.
Great musicianship does not always = great songs. And as far as trios (I'm talkin' the post-80's guys, not the originators), I'll go with the Paladins (although their Alligator albums were mediocre) or the Leroi Brothers (who actually fluctuated between 3-5 members, but the trio edition were mighty powerful).
Where was this? Were you living in Boston?
Barrence is the Man. He works at the best record store
in MA and is always friendly and dropping knowledge.
I was into the rockabilly "scene" for awhile around
here - I've always liked the music but wanted to date
a girl with a Bettie Page haircut, so I rocked the
style for a minute ... in fact, if I hadn't put on
around 40 lbs in the past 5 years, I would probably
still be rocking the style ... my old flat-collar shirts
just don't fit me anymore ... I miss Sundays at Brendan
Behan's pub with Little Frankie & the Cranktones, too.
The only thing I don't like about the 'billy scene is that
for most of them, it's all or nothing. You have to dress like
an extra from Hot Rod Riot everyday, or you aren't
keeping it real ...
Yes, I love the Blasters records too and still play them regularly. Phil Alvin's solo record is one of the unsung gems of the era, a totally out-there collab with Sun Ra's Arkestra and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band among others, highly recommended but NOT 'Rockabilly'. Tecnically, I wouldn't call the Blasters 'Rockabilly', just good old fashioned rock and roll, maybe 'Americana' if you are of the NPR-snooty variety type of listener.
As for the Palladins, sorry, they are OK, but combined couldn't carry Setzer's guitar case in either the realm of musicianship or strong songwriting, IMO. While not a deep catalog, Setzer has penned some real bonifide hits and classic material. Not a lot, but way more distinguished than anything I have ever heard of the Palladins.
can't speak on the LeRoi Bros.
Please elaborate.
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I'm just having fun with this thread. Keb can play what ever he wants. He's an artist. Why don't you wankers just get a jukebox?
The big rockabilly revival was the 80s, but for collectors it started back when Buddy Holly died I guess. It's good music, but I agree that some cats over do the hicup thing and become a parody of the music. I'm not talking revivalists here, originators over did that hicup.
Stray cats were great. I was a jitterbugger back in those days and that was great stuff to swing out to. Brian was a very original guitar player, and Stray Cat Strut and Rock This Town are good songs. That was the first lp, the second record sucked.
My favorite from the 80s was that first Los Lobos ep A Time To Dance. They would double the accordian and sax, great sound. Today I like this band called the Knitters for rockingcountryrevivalists. I think the do a Louvin Bros song or 2.
Every night is bowling night! And don't forget to store your smokes in yer t-shirt
Nope, Chicago. In the late eighties and early nineties, Whitfield was touring like nobody's business and came through often. I was friends with him briefly - I still have this mix tape he made for me back in 1992 that had everything from vintage country to lost garage nuggets to the extended album version of the Honey Cone's "Want Ads" to some unknown bar band in 1979 playing "Yakety Yak." Insanely nice guy, wouldn't mind reigniting the friendship.
I still see used copies of his first three albums floating around. The rockabilly crowd loved the hell out of him back then.