A Rockin' Good Read...Or Not? - Part 2

Bo Diddley was wrong. Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. This one looks shit and surprise...it is shit. Of course the intentions of the artist were only the best, but the result is not. If you wonder what this book has to do with music, that my friends is a legitimate question judging by the cover. It actually is a photo book about the Psychobilly scene. Or let me say, that is what the book was supposed to be. A partly blurry picture of a human skull can symbolize all kind of things but Psychobilly isn't one of them I'd say. Unless of course that skull has a silly haircut. To call the book 'Das Zeiko Bilderbuch'(The Zeiko Picture Book) doesn't help understanding that it's about Psychobilly and not about swiss watches and the title includes a typo. I mean, it can be funny for a second, or two, because many Germans pronounce Psycho Zeiko, but hey come on. Latest another minute later anyone with a little sense of what ever left would have realized that it's probably the most stupid name for a  Psychobilly picture book. The subtitle says 'Die Bands und ihre Fans. Erinnerungen an eine wilde Zeit'(The bands and their fans. Memories of a wild time). This sounds more dramatic and nostalgic than it is. Not many bands are featured and the Meteors are missing at all. But photographer and publisher Michael Overbeck (he released this book, 32 numbered full color pages, by himself 2003 in an edition of 500 copies) included a few live pictures of budget-rock kings the Mummies taken at a Psychobilly festival they played in Bielefeld, Germany in the early 90s. On the book's first page Overbeck writes 'Ein Ausflug in die Psychobilly Szene'(A visit/trip to the Psychobilly scene), so maybe that explains why the book has so few pages and not many bands are featured. You'd think that someone who has been in the scene for a longer time would come up with more and better pictures. The book features photos of Mad Sin, Nekromantix, Klingonz, DAG, Batmobile, Broncats, a few fans AND the backstage girls. They actually get an own chapter. But hardly any of them looks Psychobilly or underground or counter-cultural at all. So why they are included is a mystery to me, just like the purpose of the book itself. But if you think you'd want a copy for yourself have a look at Ebay Germany. That's where I got my copy just a few weeks ago. As the cover of the book is so unbelievable ugly I need to end this post with something much much better looking, otherwise I'd feel bad. Enjoy the beauty of the King:   

Fin-A-Billy Part 2: Happotedit

When I said that Cast Iron Arms are Finland's best Teddyboy band at the moment I actually wasn't telling the truth. The best finnish Teddyboy band of course is Happotedit. I had simply forgotten about them because they hardly ever play. The whole band is more like a project anyway. All members but the singer play in other bands and the line-up can vary from show to show, depending on who shows up, who's passed out and other reasons. Just like those great Teddyboy bands from Germany, the Badland Slingers and Mess Of Booze, Happotedit sing in their native language. That is definitely part of the charm and it makes you pay less attention to the fact that singer Hogman can't sing. But as they sound like a Rockabilly washing machine from hell anyway, as it states on their MySpace site, that's fair enough. If you wonder what 'Happotedit' means: 'Acid Teds'. The band's songs are classic Rockabilly tunes and Teddyboy anthems done with, as I was told, amusing finnish lyrics. As the selection of songs they play is nothing but hits and everyone in the audience knows these songs inside out a great party is guaranteed when and where ever Happotedit enters the stage. I hope they will do so a lot in 2010. To get a taste of Suomi Teddyboy Madness click here TEDS

2010

I'm wishing you, my 4 registered readers, and everyone who accidentally ends up here a great new year! Gig wise it looks promising so far for us here in the north-east of Europe. Bands that are already confirmed to play Finland are Crazy Cavan, Flying Saucers, Astro Zombies, Mad Sin, Nekromantix, Trashmen, Ricochets, Eddie Angel, Surf Rats, Uk Subs, Vibrators, Sureshots, Ruby Ann, Cherry Casino and the POLECATS! 

A Rockin' Good Read...Or Not? - Part 1

Not many books are available that deal with the post 50s Rockabilly and Psychobilly scenes. There doesn't seem to be much interest from publishing companies and writers/journalists. If you have a look at the music section of probably any book store anywhere in the world you will always find a handful of books on Punk and Punk bands. But Rockabilly? Forget it. The lack of interest from publishing companies and decent writers might be one reason why most of the few -billy books available are rather shit, a waste of money and reading them a waste of time. Often it seems that some fan felt the urge to write about his fave music but lacked everything, especially talent and experience in writing, or someone with a huuuge ego just wanted to see his or her name on a book to have something to jerk off to. This sounds harsh but seriously, has anyone of you ever read a GOOD book about modern Rockabilly or Psychobilly? It seems the people who would have something interesting to say, and those who know how to write and research, just can't be bothered to do so about the billies.

Some posts below I talked about a book on Psychobilly in Russia. I have no idea about its quality but I hope it's better than most of the books I have read about Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly so far. The German book 'Rockabillies - Rock'n'Roller - Psychobilles - Portrait einer Subkultur' (Portrait of a subculture) by social psychologist Susanne El-Nawab concentrates on the people that are in the scene and not on the music but any book where Restless is called a 'real' Psychobilly band needs to be returned to the shop where it was purchased right away and the money needs to be refunded. But I really wanted to puke all over it when I read her description on Psychobillies. That must be one of the worst and most stupid things written in the history of mankind. I can't be bothered to translate all that crap but believe me, it IS crap. So maybe somehow it's a blessing that the chapter on Psychobillies is very short anyway. Two East-German Psychos and East band Tazmanian Devils are featured with interviews. Hardly enough to paint a representative picture on what P-billy is and who are the people but never mind. She made more effort to portray the Rockabilly scene and actually found out that there are scenes within the scene. She talks about Rockabillies and 'Leatherjacket-Rockabillies', those that prefer the 'tough leatherjacket style'. Why she doesn't call them Teds I don't know. Or did I miss something the last 30 years and you can only be a Ted these days if you wear a Drape? Ah well... To sum it up, the book is bull most of the time. Sometimes imo information is missing. She mentions something but doesn't explain it, like the reason why Little Richard stopped playing Rock'n'Roll 1957. There are also discrepancies in her writing when she for example talks about Carl Perkins or plain false information is published. She writes the Johnny Burnette Rock'n'Roll Trio was formed after January 1956. It also seems that she can't make up her mind if she wants to write her book in some pseudo-intellectual lingo or use a more simple sounding every day style. The only time the book is entertaining is when some of the smarter interviewed Whateverbillies tell anecdotes from their old days. But that's by far not enough to make this book a must have.

More awesome book reviews will follow soon!

Fin-A-Billy Part 1: Cast Iron Arms

Going through my 2009 gig pictures I noticed that the band I saw live most times was Finnish Teddyboy band Cast Iron Arms. That's not so surprising as I a) live in Finland b) in Finland are many Rockabilly gigs c) I like Teddyboy Rock'n'Roll (or Revival Rock or British Rockabilly or how ever you wanna call it). Still I thought it is worth mentioning here. Especially because I didn't get bored seeing them a couple of times. Each time it felt new and fresh. But then again that could also be because of intoxication at the previous gig. Anyways, I think they are Finland's best Teddyboy band at the moment, followed probably by the Beetle Crushers, and if you haven't heard them yet, give them a listen. Especially their newer recordings are top. I have their first CD and that's a bit lame. I will spare you all the details on band history and line-up changes, in what bands the guys used to play and in what others they play beside CIA. You can figure that out yourself with some web-research. Start here, at their MySpace site CAST IRON ARMS and go and see them live if they play a town near you.

Sophisticated Boppin' in Berlin

The year is almost over and I am still behind with posting the 2009 gig pictures over at my Sophisticated Bop MySpace site. Today I took the time to upload some from our trip to Berlin in September where we saw U.S. Psychobillies the Tabaltix, the Peacocks, Slim Jim Phantom with Frenzy's Steve Whitehouse on bass and Mark Harman from Restless on guitar, Batmobile and a bunch of other bands. There are no pictures of the other bands but have a look anyway if you like: cool blurry pictures, please enjoy

Rock In Peace, Lord Ulli!

The Lords were Germanys most popular band in the 60s. Maybe not the best, but for sure the best known one. The crown for best German 60s song probably goes to the Phantom Brothers 'Chicago', a song penned by Rattles singer Achim Reichel. But neither The Phantom Brothers nor the Rattles, nor any other German band in the 60s was as popular as the Lords were. Some say that the Rattles were Germany's best Beat band. Possible. Maybe they were better at what they were doing, closer to the English Beat and at the same time harder and more original, but I believe that the Lords at the end of the day had more success.

Founded 1959 in Berlin as the 'Skiffle-Lords' they changed their name to 'Lords' at new years eve 1962. In 1964 at the Star Club, Hamburg, they were voted best German 'Beat-Formation' and got the title of 'The German Beatles'. Between 1965 and 1969 twelve singles released by the band made it into the German charts. Between 1971 and '76 the band took a break(they split up), but since '76 they have been constantly touring, recording and appearing on TV. When I was growing up in the 70s and 80s I knew the band. I had seen them on TV and knew that they were a bunch of funny looking older men making boring music and their singer had the silly nickname 'Lord Ulli'. My whole opinion of them changed when I watched a re-run of 'Beat-Club' on German TV. 'Beat Club' was Germany's first TV show for teenagers, broadcasted between 1965 to 1972, and the bands would usually play live in the studio. A concept the station would sometimes use on the follow up show 'Musikladen', which lead to some legendary live TV performances, for example by Johnny Cash or the Ramones. That show I saw had the Lords performing a couple of songs live in the studio and I was blown away. I never liked Blues but the Lords version of John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom' was incredible I though.  Poor quality clip here Same goes for 'Greensleeves'. What a killer song! Move over Beatles! As usual the actual recordings of these songs are not as wild and rough, but it can't hurt to have them in your 60s collection.

10 years and 2 months ago Lord Ulli died. During a show in Postdam on the 9th of October, as part of their 40 Years Anniversary Tour, he collapsed on stage due to heart rhythm disturbances. He suffered a skull fracture with cerebral hemorrhage from the fall and died 4 days later in hospital. In an interview he once had said: 'When I die, I'd like to drop dead from stage'. The band is still active today.

Rockin' Dolls

Christmas is coming up and you don't have a present for your 50s loving boy- or girlfriend? How about the 'Rock and Roll Legends of the 1950s Paper Dolls'? Why? "The heart and soul of America's most popular performers live on with this nostalgic collection of paper dolls celebrating the very best of an unforgettable musical genre. Realistic figures of beloved 1950s legends are paired with ready-to-perform wardrobes the artists would have been proud to wear on stage." There. The text on the back cover says it all.
Elvis gets the most attention in the book. You can dress him up with his famous '50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong' gold suit, the 'Jailhouse Rock' outfit or his 68-Comeback leather suit. All other singers (Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Fats Domino, Wanda Jackson etc.) come with one extra outfit only.  There are not many Rockabillies included (Sure, Presley, Holly and Jackson recorded some great Rockabilly songs  when they started but they soon changed to Rock'n'Roll), but at least they gave a page to Carl Perkins and his blue suede shoes. Why artist Tom Tierney made him hold one of them in his hand and show it to the viewer as if he was saying 'Here, take a sniff. I don't have smelly feet. Must be someone else that stinks.' is unknown to me, but it sure is odd. Then again, the whole book is.
Another favorite page of mine in this little oddity is the one for J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson. Why the hell was he drawn with his fist up, ready to throw a jab? Is this how Tierney imagined Richardson would welcome Waylon Jennings in Rock'n'Roll Heaven, after he had died in February 2002, 'thanking' him for giving his seat on the plane  that crashed 43 years earlier to the Big Bopper? Maybe. And then there is the Big Bopper's flying Cowboy hat. What is that about? Is it a ghost hat? 
But beside creating mysteries and making you ask silly questions the book also uncovers unknown secrets of Rock'n'Roll. Look at the faces of Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Who would have guessed that they are twins! At least in the world of Tom Tierney.
This book is no must have but it sure is a funny, little addition to everyone's 50's collection. I will probably never look at it again, but before it gets dusty and will fall into oblivion on some shelf I wanted to share it with the world and give it its 5 minutes of fame.

Psychobilly Behind The Iron Curtain

Not that the iron curtain still exists but Russia is still some kind of mystery. You still need a Visa to go there and there is no way in hell or on earth to figure out what their writing means. Of course some things have changed significantly since the USSR collapsed. Nowadays you see quite a lot of Russians on festivals in the West and more West bands play Russia and the other way round. But how big Psychobilly is in the East we can only guess (and my guess is that it's not very big) but in 2007 they published a book about it in Russia. As I mentioned, there is no way to figure out what anything written with Russian letters means, but judging by the photos and flyers published the book definitely covers the Russian bands Meantraitors, Swindlers, Scary B.O.O.M, Bombers and some others I have never heard of before. There are also special chapters on the Quakes, Reverend Horton Heat and the Horror Pops. Okay, I get why the Quakes are in the book, but the other two? The only other pictures by West bands are from Batmobile and Klingonz so I guess that the history of Psychobilly isn't covered. Fair enough. For that we have the incredible bad 'Hell's Bent On Rockin' book from Cherry Red Books, hahaha.

In case you can read Russian and want to know more about Russian Psychobilly or if you are a die hard collector of everything that says Psychobilly, go to www.amphora.ru. They published the book.

No Boss Night - The Sonics in Helsinki

Last Sunday was the big day. The Sonics played Finland. And we had tickets. When we arrived there was a long cue at the door but we got in much faster than I thought. The guys at the doors just checked the ticket and took the 'service' fee. There was no security check for possible weapons or small bottles of booze you tried to hide in the pockets of your jeans. I wish I had known that earlier. The beer from the tab was 'just' 5,- Euros but as usual in Finland it didn't taste very good. I wonder why some countries just can't produce decent tasting beers. The place was if not sold out for sure very packed and like predicted there was a lot of long hair. But also quiffs and baldies. The average age was way over 30, possibly even over 40.  But this time no one was constantly stepping on my shoes or bumping into me. That made the evening much more enjoyable.

When we entered the hall the Flamin' Sideburns were playing already and it was a disappointment. No one of them had sideburns. Sometimes my girlfriend calls music I listen to 'Adult Rock'. Of course I don't agree with her but what the Sideburns delivered I'd like to call just that. Adult Rock. There wasn't the slightest sign of Garage. IMO. I never was a fan of them anyway, I always found them to be pretty boring. After seeing them live for the second time now this  didn't change. I like their cover of 'Out Of Our Tree' but that's pretty much it. Which reminds me of one of the great mysteries in Finnish Rock history. This country never had one decent Garage band. They have and had great Rockabilly, Punk-Rock, Surf and Hardcore bands, but when it comes to Garage there is none. Yet. I play guitar, anyone plays Farfisa?
Then it was time for the Sonics. It was ok. Not as boring as the Roky Erickson and the Explosions show two years ago but also not the exciting, wild, bursting with energy gig I had been hoping for. Maybe they are just too old to tour and kick ass a few days in a row. Credits go out to Rosalie for drinking beer on stage and to their mad drummer. He was the only one that seemed to be really enjoying himself, followed by the always smiling bass-player. Which is sad in a way as they are the two non original members of the band. I mean, yeah it was nice to hear those Garage classics 'The Witch', 'Boss Hoss', 'Cinderella' etc. played live by the original band but let's face it, 2009 is not 1966. They are no longer hormone driven, pimple faced wild young men with an unsatisfiable lust for adventures of any kind and an uncontrollable urge to drink, fight, fuck. They are old dudes with probably more than one prostate problem amongst them. And you could hear that. Not the prostate problem. The age. I for my part am done with paying a lot of money to see grandfathers who made a few good recordings in the 60s and just came back to make some extra cash. It's just not worth it. Legends or not.