Spin That 45 - Part 6: Roland Heinrich & Gunter Gabriel

They always say the world gets smaller because of the internet, news spread much faster than they used to and more people than ever have access to all kinds of information. Oh yeah? If that was true, why did it take me almost three years to find out about this 45?

If you're not German you probably don't know any of the two musicians who recorded this 45 together. If you are German you should at least know Gunter Gabriel. It's okay not to know who is Roland Heinrich unless you have an interest in German Psychobilly, Rockin' Blues and Roots-Music. Gabriel, now in his late 60s, started his career in the early 70s with a German version of Bob Dylan's 'Wanted Man'. He was a successful singer/songwriter in the 70s and early 80s, being some kind of German version of a Folk- and Country-singer. He recorded a fair share of Cash songs in his life, all with German lyrics that usually captured the spirit of the original very well. It's said that he was friends with the Man In Black and in 2003 he actually recorded a whole album of songs written or done by Cash in German at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, TN. There would be much more to tell about Gabriel but that's not the subject of this post.

Roland Heinrich started his musical journey in the mid 80s being singer and bass-player for Psychobilly band The Swamp Dogs(7" & Mini-LP). When the band split up he formed the traditional Rockabilly outfit The Little Green Men(2 songs on a compilation). They didn't last long as he changed the name back to Swamp Dogs, but this time the music was very different to the original Dogs(Listen to the 'Jump For Joy' Split-LP on Rundell Records). In 1990 he formed Rockin' Blues trio The Cracker Jacks(Two 45s, a 12", one CD, some compilations) who split up at the end of the 90s. In 2004 he released the first record under his birth-name and on his 2005 Bear Family release he changed from singing in English to German. Style wise he plays Roots music today, others might call it Americana or Alternative Country. I think traditional Country would fit as well. Also about Roland more could be said, but not now, not today.

In 2007 these two musicians got together and recorded two Country classics in German. Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues' and the 1949 song 'Riders In The Sky'. Gabriel had recorded a German version of 'Folsom' already in 2003, the German 'Riders' lyrics originate from 1949. That year East-German record company Amiga released the first German 'Riders' version sung by Rita Paul and the Cornell Trio. A West-German version followed the same year sung by Gerhard Wendland. Over the last 60 years many German entertainers and bands recorded the song, the most popular probably being the '62 version by Bruce Low and my favorite one being the one sung by Ronnie.
Both artists share vocals on the songs but Gabriel, being the living legend that he is in Germany,  is still the leading singer. Both voices differ a lot which is nice. Gabriel sounds more rough and low, while Roland's voice in contrast is much higher. It makes me think of 40s Country singers. As Roland was in charge of the recording and production the sound is authentic/old-school/traditional (pick the term you like best), just like I would expect it from him.
Personally I'm not 100% happy with the outcome of the recordings, I think some things should have been done different, but the 45 is one of those 'must haves' anyway. Only 500 copies were pressed, the sleeve looks great and it is a nice oddity. I bet just like me Roland had seen Gabriel on TV when he was a kid and 30 years later he did a record with him.

Buy the record here: CASH

Back From Outer Space

Reunion-Fever! Here is the third reunion to announce for this year and it's not even a month old. That's promising for the other 11 months to come.

Man... Or Astroman?, probably the best band ever to come from Alabama, U.S.A., will start gigging again in March. So far only shows in their home state and Texas are announced but I'm sure world tours and new records will follow soon. Man... Or Astroman? was without a doubt the dominating Instro-Band of the 90s, putting out quality record after quality record and having a stage show no other Instro band could compete with. All I will say is: Burning TV set!

Check what's happening and listen to sounds here earthling!
There's a small interview about the reunion over at Rock Is Dead. Click HERE.

Fin-A-Billy Part 5: Mary Celeste

 

This Neo-Rockabilly Trio from Rauma, named after the legendary ghost ship and the great Polecats song, was around in the 90s(1993 - 1999) and released a 7" single, a CD single and a CD Mini album. For most of their existence they played as Marie but changed that to Mary on their last release. Their records are hard to get these days, even in Finland, and again this is a band the Japanese like to pay a lot of money for. But this time it's fine with me as the band plays decent Neo-Rockabilly, very pop-sounding(not unusual for Finnish bands, think Death Row or Nine Lives) heavily inspired by the Blue Cats(rather Fight Back than the first album and rather The Tunnel than Fight Back). You just have to get used to the singer's heavy Finnish accent. After the split of the band said singer Kristian Juva founded Pop/Rock outfit K.Juva & Haavekuva who released an album 2001. And that was it it seems. No other releases by any of the bands, no shows, no nothing. Let's hope the boys will come back to play some shows, like so many bands. In the meantime listen to Mary Celeste here: Rockin' and Rollin'

Spin That 45 - Part 5: Hasil Adkins/Crazy Amy

I stumbled across this Hasil Adkins 45 by accident when I was searching Ebay for rare Hasil releases from the 60s and 70s.  I had been totally unaware of its existence as I never noticed it in any mailorder list or saw it for sale at any shop. Being a fan of the Hunching Sound since the mid 80s and having had the privilege of releasing a record by the Boone County Wild Man myself I bought it right away. Of course.

The story behind the record is that it is a split release between Hasil and his fiancée Crazy Amy, both singing songs about each other. It was released 2005, the year of Hasil's death, on the couple's new founded label Blink Records, the cataloge number being BL0429, the birthday of Hasil, April 29th. First it was planed to reactivate Hasil's old label A.R.C. Records again, but then they decided to start a brand new one, Blink Records. Hasil's song about Crazy Amy is a live recording, probably done at some house party. The song has a unusual sound to it, as someone is accompanying the Haze on harp. It's a fast Rock'n'Roll number on the edge to Rockin' Blues. Crazy Amy's tune sounds like a  4-track home recording done with drum machine.

This sure isn't the greatest Rock'n'Roll record of all times, but it's a nice oddity, Hasil's last official release and his song really rocks imo. HUNCH THAT THING!

Slap That Bass

German slap-bass players are popular lately. After Grischa(Demented Are Go) and Simon(Meteors) the next one to slap the ole doghouse for a UK Psychobilly band is Puck(Boozehounds/Sewer Rats) who is joining Mad Dog Cole. Old bassman Choppy will leave the band after he has played 3 more Europe shows. Already gone is old MDC drummer Lee Barnett who got replaced by original (Psychobilly) Krewmen Dominic Parr. It's good to see him back from retirement as his style was a main part of the distinctive Krewmen sound we all like so much.

But that's not all. Together with fellow German Mad Man Markus(Astro Zombies) Puck forms the rhythm section of The Killer Trio, a brand new outfit lead by Jim Jeffries(Rancho Deluxe, Mad Dog Cole and a million other bands and projects). The band is currently recording a bunch of songs Jim wrote, gigs are not announced yet. On their MySpace site they put 2 video clips so people can get an idea about the band. According to Puck the songs are a mix of Punkabilly, Psychobilly and dark Rockabilly and their 'In The Pines' cover(video on the site) the song that has the biggest Rockabilly influence. As it doesn't sound Rockabilly at all to me I'm curious to hear the other stuff.

2 Sauerkrauts and 1 Kanisterkopp

Pizza and PBR

New York City's latest Garage sensation 'The Othermen' have just returned from the studio where they recorded 11 tracks they hope to put out as 10" soon. Next month they will be back in the studio to record two more songs that will be released on a 45 by New York label Puta! Records. In fall the 4 young Garageheads with a history in Psychobilly will come over to play a couple of shows in Europe. It seems as if they will do a one week tour of Russia and gigs in Germany, Spain and Sweden. I hope that they will make the effort to come and play Finland as well, cause once in Russia and Sweden, they are in the neighborhood already. This land needs Garage!

The band has a bunch of live recordings on their MySpace site, audio and video. Go n check them out! Every band that states the Tall Boys as influence deserves attention!

OTHERMEN
Picture by Alan Betts

Spin That 45 - Part 4: The Wylde Mammoths

Here is another 80s Neo-60s gem but this time it's no re-release I want to point your attention to. This is an original pressing and unplayed copies can still be found at various Mailorders.

The Wylde Mammoths rose from the ashes of Swedish Garage band The Crimson Shadows and were the first modern band to be signed by Crypt Records. The label released two LPs and one 45 by the band. Depending on the source this 45 is either called 'Help That Girl' or '7 Inches Of Please'. Judging by the sleeve I'd say 'Help That Girl' is correct. What's strange is that many Internet sources say the record came out in 1987. It clearly states 1988 as year of production on the label and the recording dates for the four songs were in November 1987. But that's nerd talk. 'Help That Girl' was Crypt's 3rd 45, following releases of Ralph Nielson's 'Scream' and a live 45 by DMZ, recorded 1978.

Musicwise I'd call the Mammoths a 60s R&B band, similar to for example the Tell Tale Hearts. So on this 45 you can hear early Stones or Them influences  but no Sonics, Standells or Seeds.

Get your copy  HERE.

Spin That 45 - Part 3: The Gruesomes

This 45 actually plays on 33 but never mind. The Gruesomes were Canada's best Teen-Punk/60's Punk/60's Garage/Neo-Garage/How ever you wanna call it-band in the 80s and now Greek label Fuzz Overdose Records has re-released the band's debut 45 'Jack The Ripper'. The original was released in 1986 by Primitive Records, the same label that published the band's only other 45 'Unchained' a year later. To find copies of these records today is pretty much a mission impossible so hooray to our Greek friends at Fuzz Overdose for making the band's first EP available again, in original artwork! Side A features two songs about Jack the Ripper. It starts with the Link Wray tune 'Jack The Ripper' and ends with the same titled Screaming Lord Sutch song. On the flip the band provides 2 own compositions. The rather slow 'Things She Does To Me' and the  fast Garage stomper 'No More Lies'. This Canadian Garage classic is available now in an edition of 800 hand-numbered copies. On this EP the Gruesomes aren't as outstanding sounding as they would on later recordings but it is a solid debut that should be included in every serious Neo-60s collection.

Attack Of The Pussy Eaters

I've got the pleasure to announce another long time overdue comeback: The mighty, non-pc to the core, porno-garage-punk legends the Spider Babies are back!

Mastermind Kevin who's now in charge of the band's Myspace site announced a Europe tour and a new record for this year. The record will be released by Black Lung Records and the band is currently taking offers for the European tour. The Spider Babies 2010 are Kevin on guitar and vocals, original bass-player Jim Evans and drummer Metal-Mike. The picture above is the line-up that recorded the band's legendary first LP 'All Fucked Up'. If you are unfamiliar with the band but curious go and check out the MySpace site for discography, sound-samples and more info on the band's history: GONNA GET REAL HURT

A Rockin' Good Read...Or Not? - Part 4

Before Scotsman Craig Brackenridge published his book on Psychobilly(Hell's Bent On Rockin') he gave the world 'Let's Wreck' and 'Vinyl Dementia: The Psychobilly & Trash Record Guide. Part 1: 1981-87'.

'Let's Wreck' is a fast read. It covers the author's relationship with Psychobilly from 1983 till around 2003 but as he was drunk and/or stoned most of the times when he was in the company of other Psychos he doesn't remember much and so doesn't really has a lot of interesting things to say. But he sure has a way with words which makes the book a good read nevertheless. There are even a few interesting insights the book has to offer, like the connection between Psychobilly and the Scooter scene, as that was something we didn't have going on in Germany but were aware was happening in the UK. Brackenridge comes from a place in Scotland no one has ever heard of, I am sure, and played in some small bands. So he tells about the early days of Psychobilly in Scotland and about his bands, the Rednecks(EP on Fury Records) being the most 'popular' one. These bits are partly interesting too but I could do without his chapter on important records of the 80s. First because the way he did it it doesn't fit into the concept of the book and second because there are mistakes that shouldn't be published in a book. What ever happened to proof reading and research? He says the Guana Batz had only the 'The Cave' 45 out before their debut LP was released. We all know that's not true.  

For 'Vinyl Dementia' Brackenridge states that he included the 20 records released between 1981 and 1987 that 'infected' him the most. That must be the reason why really important non-island releases are missing. And with island I don't mean the record label. Seriously, you include 'Hell's Bent On Rockin' but can't be bothered to mention 'Psycho Attack Over Europe'? Yes, 'Hell's Bent' is a great album but 'Psycho Attack' was much more important. 'Vinyl Dementia' has about 30 A5 pages and I don't really know who benefits from it beside the author's ego. Many parts from VD were used in 'Let's Wreck' or vice versa, but at least he corrected his mistake about the Guana Batz 45s available before the band's debut LP. But therefor VD has other mistakes to offer. He writes 'Ghost Train' was on the Sharks debut album and seems to think that 'Migraine' and 'Witchcraft' from the Ricochets were part of their 'Made In The Shade' album and not bonus tracks on the CD release. Boy oh boy...how can something like that happen? It makes the author look as if he never owned the LPs he claims were so important to him.

I believe that Brackenridge really enjoyed his teens as Psychobilly and loved and loves the music but why he wrote these two pieces is beyond my understanding. Unless the motivation was a minor midlife-crisis. Getting bald, having a family, not much excitement going on anymore, all new bands suck. What better to do than recall the times when you were crazy and wild. I do that sometimes, too. Glorify the 80s and its music. And it's okay because Psychobilly just was better in the 80s. You don't get the same feeling from listening to the new Banane Metallic record that you got when listening to the Meteors for the first time as a teenager in the mid 80s. That opened the door to a new world. The Wannabilly bands of today make you wanna close that door, lock it and throw away the key.  

Back From The Graveyard

Another one is back from grave, another 80s Psychobilly band. This time it's famous screamers Skitzo. Not too long ago they posted on the band's MySpace site that there wouldn't be a comeback with just one original member and some session musicans but now they are doing it, they are coming back. With original singer Phil Connor. Actually with 3/4 of the band's original line-up. Just the bass-player is new. Good. I mean, I saw a strange Skitzo line-up with a different singer ages ago at one of the early Big Rumbles, I think the 2nd, and liked it. 'Terminal Damage'(the band's 2nd album) guitar-player Pete Davis was on vocals and it actually was, to my surprise, good. But of course Connor is the voice of Skitzo. As it's not the first return for Skitzo they probably know what they are doing. Actually everything they ever said about comebacks, the past and the future sounded as if they knew what they were doing. Read what the band has to say now about the future here: SKITZO MANIA

As cheap as the band's debut album sounds, it is a Psychobilly classic and I like its rough charm. Yes, you have to get used to Phil Connor's almost constant screaming, but once you did the album will grow on you(if it hasn't already the last 20 something years). The LP actually features some of the most melodic and best Psychobilly songs not written by Fenech: 'Witching Hour' and the awesome 'Under Pressure'.

Old Skitzo drummer Strut(Terminal Damage) is also active again. For ages he's been living in Sweden and with fellow countryman and guitar player Lee Tea of The Branded(a great Swedish Garage band) he formed Thee Gravemen, a Horror Rock'n'Roll Duo, where he calls himself Daz Trash. They have two awesome 45s out.

Spin That 45 - Part 2: 25 Years Goofin' Records

Autumn 2009 finnish label Goofin' Records had its 25 years anniversary. To celebrate this owner Pete Hakonen organized a Rockabilly festival in Helsinki, headlined by Deke Dickerson, at the end of October. As a special treat for his customers and especially for the record collectors amongst them he released a set of five singles, all limited to 300 copies, only available at the show. As 50 copies each went to the bands, the math is easy: Only 250 people would be able to buy the complete set. I wasn't going to be at the show and accepted my destiny of not owning these Fin-A-Billy 45s. But luck was on my side. Not all sets were sold, some people reserved copies but didn't pick them up in the weeks to come, so Pete offered the remaining ones via E-Mail. I hadn't checked my mailbox for some days, so the E-Mail wasn't fresh anymore when I finally read it but I was still able to purchase a complete set of singles before some crazy Japanese could buy them all.

All five singles come in the same company sleeve, specially printed. On the front it has the Goofin' logo and on the back the list of the five 45s. The first single is by the Hal Peters Trio. These guys have been around for centuries and played Authentic Rockabilly ages before it was called Authentic Rockabilly. They do two cover-versions in best Sun-Rockabilly tradition. Solid! Mystery Train is an old finnish Rockabilly band that originally started in the late 70s, in the mid 80s took a long break and now is back on Suomi's Rockabilly stages up and down the country.  They do an original and a cover-version of the obscure 50s song 'Rockin' Ghosts', originally by Little Gerhard from Sweden. Maybe more about him in this blog later. 45 number 3 is the only disapointment of the set.  The Cast Iron Arms back Finland's Rockabilly legend Teddy Tiger of Teddy and the Tigers, who these days looks like the beardless brother of Johnny Legend, and the result isn't exciting. Two live recordings were chosen for the single. The rather unknown Buddy Holly song 'Learning The Game' and 'Nothin' For Me' by I don't know who, but it sounds like a 60s song. The undisputed winner 45 is the return of another Finland Rockabilly veteran, Buck Jones, who is backed by his band the Billyhowgs. Both songs are originals, sound great and rock. Side A 'Long Lonesome Highway' is a Western-Rockabilly song with lyrics I'd like to know more about while the flip 'Can You Feel Me Comin' is a fast Saxophone Rock'n'Roll number on the edge to Rhythm'n'Blues. Very nice, even when the song title is a bit creepy. The last single is by the relatively new band B. Cupp and the Strapless Trio whom I like much better than B. Cupp with the Fill-Ups. They also provide two decent sounding 50s Rockabilly numbers, both covers, and Side A is the winner. A fast version of Sid King's 'Shake This Shack Tonight'. Their version of the Glen Glenn classic 'I'm Glad My Baby's Gone Away' on side B on the other hand is a bit lame.

Just today when surfing the net I saw copies of these 45s available for reasonable prices, so go record hunting now! You might regret it one day if you don't!

 

Fin-A-Billy Part 4: Huey, Louie & Dewey

Huey, Louie & Dewey were a Neo-Rockabilly trio from the  small town of Mikkeli. Now as the biggest city in Finland is Helsinki with about 500.000 people pretty much every town in this country is small, but Mikkeli has just about 34,000 residents. I have never been there but I know a few Mikkeli Psychobillies(and one Skinhead) and can say that they are among the finest young men I have had the pleasure to meet while in Finland. H,L & D played their Neo-Rockabilly between 1990 and 1998 and then gave it a try again in 2007. I think they didn't try very hard because the last time they signed in to their MySpace site was Febuary 2008. In 1993 the band recorded their only album 'A Date With...' that was release in 1994 by Rockhouse Records. I remember thinking 'The band name is so stupid, the record must be shit.' And so I didn't buy it and never listened to it. After I had moved to Finland I started to hear good things about the band and their album so I tried to track down the LP but had no success. No surprise as I found out now. It seems it was released on CD only. But thanks to certain blogs where you can get download links for long time OOP records, I finally got the album and I'm happy I didn't spend any money on it because I think it is boring and bad. No doubt, the guys were heavily influenced by the Neo-Rockabilly style of Restless but like most other bands who tried before to recreate that style they failed. The guitar playing is light-years behind the virtuosity of Harman, it sometimes even sounds as if the guitar was out of tune, and when, for a change, a song has some nice traditional Rockabilly guitar-picking it gets ruined by the bad voice of the singer. The 90s were terrible boring years for Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly and this album is proof to that. But I wouldn't be surprised if it's a cult-classic in Japan. They adore bands there nobody in Europe cares about.

Slap That Bass

Dutch Neo-Rockabilly band Bang Bang Bazooka has a new bass-player. Their old doghouse-bass slapper Karel, who had replaced original slapper Bart(of Peter Pan Speedrock fame) moves to Sweden(Hello neighbour!) and is replaced by Eric Hammers from Batmobile, who already in the past played for BBB when they were in need for a bass-player. The band will start recording a new album soon.

Original Mad Sin member and bass-player Holly is more busy than ever it seems. After playing the bass on both Bela B. solo-albums (Bela B. is drummer/vocalist of Die Ärzte, a band VERY popular in Germany for many many years, and did some backing vocals on the Mad Sin album 'Sweet & Innocent') he will finally tour with the band. Something he didn't do after the first Bela B. solo-album was out. But that ain't all. Good ole Holly plays in a bunch of other bands at the moment: 1) 'The Wasted'. It's a 3-piece Punk band with his brother Dusty Gray on vocals and guitar (Yes, THE Dusty Gray of authentic Rockabilly band Dusty Gray and the Rough Riding Ramblers.) 2) 'Dr. Kinski', an AC/DC Cover-band. 3) 'Monokel', self claimed Power-Blues band with German lyrics that exists over 30 years already. 4) 'Firerazor', a Hard-Rock band that sounds as if they'd listen to Motörhead a lot. So not much -billy for Holly at the moment it seems. 

Nigel Lewis, original Meteor, has returned to playing the bass in the latest line-up of Nigel Lewis & The Zorchmen. Doyley is on guitar and Ginger on drums. The band will release their new album(CD) in April at the Satanic Stomp and a limited vinyl EP will be available on the German Migraine Label, run by Wildcat Björn and Madhouse Jump Olaf. Nice!

A Rockin' Good Read...Or Not? - Part 3

Hell Yeah! This finally is a rockin' good read. 'Rock Revival'(5 issues) is for the fan of Revival Rock aka Teddyboy Rock'n'Roll aka British Rockabilly what 'Now Dig This', 'Rockin' 50s' and who knows what other magazines are for the fan and collector of 50s Rock'n'Roll. Okay, the quality is not the best(it is photocopied), the layout isn't fancy, it is hard to get(each issue had a rather limited edition and was published years ago) and most of it is in German but still. This is a must have for every serious fan and collector of Teddyboy bands. Publisher Ernie, who also runs Hot Wax Records (Chevrolet, Bonneville, Black Cat, Town Rebels etc.) must have an incredible collection of old promo-photos, newspaper articles and records. Let alone the promo and live pictures of the legendary Ted-bands are worth tracking down this ace zine, but the best thing are imo the extensive discographies. Of course it can be frustrating to see how many records one is till missing and sometimes didn't even know existed, but it's also good to know that they are out there. I seriously recommend 'Rock Revival' to every Rocker, Ted and Greaser! And everyone else of course with a serious interest in this great music.

Spin That 45 - Part 1: White Lightning

If you are a die hard collector of Teddyboy and 80s Neo-Rockabilly records you probably have heard of Kees 'Spider' Dekker. He was in dutch bands Wild Cats, Rocky Road and Del Rios. And in White Lightning. It wasn't until November last year that I stumbled across the band's 'The End Of The Hunt' 7"EP on the German Hellskitchen label. It is in fact the label's first release, dating back to 1999. Let me tell you, this is one fine piece of vinyl. It is one of the best contemporary Rockabilly records I have listened to in a long time, and yes, 11 years ago still counts as contemporary to me. The dutch 4-piece plays straight 50s Rockabilly and opposite to many of the so-called authentic bands(whose albums are often available on CD only. Wow, how authentic is THAT!?) their record sounds good, and not by purpose cheap or trashy. Songwriter credits are missing so I can't say if they do any originals or covers only but I recognize the Marlon Grisham classic 'Ain't That A Dilly'. I couldn't find any info on the band on the net nor a MySpace site so you just have to trust me on this one. There also is no download link. I can't rip vinyl. Just order this nice 7"(that actually plays on 33) from your fave Rock'n'Roll mailorder, put in on the player, put the needle in the groove and enjoy!

Fin-A-Billy Part 3: The Beetle Crushers

Finland has been a Rockabilly country since the 70s and even when the heydays with Rockabilly chewing gum and Crazy Cavan Jeans are over, you can still find tons of bands all over the country, from the South up to Lapland, from the Russian border to the West coast, playing that crazy beat, no matter if Authentic, Neo or Teddyboy style. So it's not surprising that even one of Finland's most ugly places(no, not Vantaa) has a Rockabilly band. I'm talking about the small town of Kouvola, I'm talking about the Beetle Crushers. But to be precise, the Crushers are actually more Teddyboy Rock'n'Roll than Teddyboy Rockabilly. They say it themselves and you also hear it on their records, they are heavily influenced by British 60s Rock'n'Roll. They only do a handful of pure Rockabilly songs. Formed already back in 1998 the band's output is rather small. Two 7-Inches and 2 albums(both on Goofin' Records) is all the devoted fan can purchase, whereas the first EP from 2001 is rather hard to find these days but it is included as bonus on the CD version of their 1st LP. I have seen the band numerous times and enjoyed it every time, just as I enjoy their records. It's all killers, no fillers: BEETLE CRUSHERS