All photos copyright Diana Price unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No use without permission. (All blog images can be clicked to open pop up of full size image.)
I'm going to try to start putting more previously unposted photos up here from shows, and this is one of locals Creepsville 666 when they opened for the Nekromantix here in Phoenix Dec 16 at The Clubhouse.
When I first saw this band about a year and a half ago, they had a very different line-up, with a different bass player and one less guitarist. But Dez Cadaver left the Grave Slaves and joined the band, and they've been sort of clawing their way up the ladder since.
One of the most interesting things I've discovered in the psychobilly scene is how many people grew up with the same records I did. When I first went to Geno's myspace (pictured above) I was quite shocked that his profile song for that particular day was Marty Robbins' "El Paso." I grew up on Marty Robbins, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash...all the old country stars. And Elvis, of course. (Can't forget my mother's Sun label Elvis singles.)
I can't always hear those influences in most psychobilly, but I guess they are sort of an underlying framework for the music for many people I run into these days. Shortly after discovering Geno is a huge Marty Robbins fan, The Chop Tops were playing here in Phoenix for the Mad Sin show, and Sinner mentioned Marty Robbins, too. Small world. Who woulda thought?
What is even weirder to me is how much I "hated" my mother's music then, and how much I love it now. It's a shame she's not here to share it, because maybe we would have finally found some common ground.
The Fed-Ups were one of the first local punk bands I started coming out to see, and they remain a favorite, even though I haven't seen them for a while (something I must remedy soon.) Jen is their drummer, and they now advertise themselves as "3 dicks and a chick." A chick that can beat the shit out of those drums, I might add.
This was shot at Jugheads the night of Labor Party's cd release. This is a classic, punk dive bar.
NOTE: I was trying to think of more cool weekly features to put up, and knew I wanted to have something helping people discover obscure music they should have heard of, but probably haven't. And my choice for that was obvious -- I know of no one with more breadth and depth knowledge of music, across all genres, than Nick Feratu of The Limit Club. So here is the first of a weekly column on "must-haves" for your music collection.
The Rockats – Make That Move
Rating = (4.5 out of 5 stars)
The mid-eighties were a scattered period for the musical underground. The young, loud and snotty punk bands of the late seventies had almost all completely lost their inertia and were either clinging to life (The Clash), experimenting with other sounds (David Johansen/Buster Poindexter) or had broken up and moved on completely (Sex Pistols, etc). The next wave of music to ooze out of the schlock and droll underground was not a single, coherent “wave” at all. It was a menagerie of styles, all still rooted in the free-thinking expressionism of punk rock but further tainted with traces of synthesizers, organs, saxophones and various other “non-punk” instruments. People had grown bored and impatient with the standard “guitar-bass-drum” format of straight-forward punk rock and began searching for alternative sounds. Very few of the bands to emerge from this period in rock and roll were built to last. Most of them were far too individualistic and experimental flirting with darker, more dance-oriented sounds that would come to be known as Neo-Rockabilly, New Wave and Death-Rock. All of these genres carried some flawless albums and some true stink-bombs.
I’m not a Rockats expert. I know that the original Rockats preceded most of the original Rockabilly-Revival bands like Stray Cats, Polecats, Robert Gordon, etc, but that they lacked some of the polish and commercial drive that those bands had. I know that they started out with Levi Dexter doing lead vocals and they lost him somewhere along the way, causing guitarist Dibbs Preston to take over lead vocals and freeing up the band creatively, allowing them to try out new sounds.
A friend of mine recommended the song "Make That Move" by The Rockats a few months ago, so I looked it up on Youtube and gave it a listen. The song was good! It wasn’t your standard Rockabilly fare, but you could definitely still hear some hip twang and bopping reverb soaked guitar in the mix amongst the throbbing bass. I liked what I heard, so I picked up the Rockats album that the song was on which was also titled "Make That Move". From where I'm standing it sounds like a wonderful blending of all things new wave and neo-billy. It blurs the line between the two genres almost completely.
This short but solid album starts out with a catchy tune titled “Burning”, which seeped into my subconscious and caused me to sing along on the choruses without even realizing it. The next track, “One More Heartache” is a slow dirge that pulsates along with organs and background chants throughout. The next song, "That's The Way" which is one of my favorites, has a super synth driven sound which permeates and carries the song along with sexually suggestive lyrics and vocals. Track four, a cover of “Go Cat Wild” is passable (it’s not as good as the Buzz and the Flyers version, in my opinion) but it’s still worth a listen or two. The "Whoa-oh-oh" choruses on "Never So Clever" (and scattered throughout the rest of the album) are used creatively and never once become overwhelming or predictable. Their cover of “Be Bop A Lula” sounds good and was in good taste, but I find myself skipping over it most of the time. And filling out the album, we have a catchy, new wave sounding track called “Woman’s Wise” which is thoroughly enjoyable and would fit in perfectly at 80s Dance Night.
While listening to this album, I can hear traces of the sound that the Stray Cats (Cross of Love, Storm the Embassy), Polecats (Polecats Are Go) and the Quakes (New Generation) all flirted with at one time. I realize that the New-Wave-a-billy thing probably isn't for everyone. But damnit... if it's wrong to love some good, catchy, pop-infused rockabilly... then I don't want to be right!
Tracklist: 1. Burning 2. One More Heartache 3. That’s The Way 4. Go Cat Wild 5. Never So Clever 6. Make That Move 7. Be Bop A Lula 8. Woman’s Wise
Similar sounds: The Quakes – New Generation The Polecats – Polecats are Go! Buzz and the Flyers - Buzz and the Flyers Stray Cats – Choo Choo Hot Fish
When I first started shooting rockabilly and psychobilly, I was enthralled with the new tricks I saw. I would say to people, "Hey, the guy was standing on his bass!" and people would be like, "Oh yeah, they all do that." Or I'd say "Hey, the bass and guitarists switched instruments!" And of course, the response was, "They all do that."
Well, dammit, they don't all set the bass on fire. So there you go. I had to stifle the urge to yell "Great White!" What can I say, I'm a sick fucker.
Three Bad Jacks at the Clubhouse. Brett has since moved on, and this is no longer part of the show, but I'm hoping it will come back...
This shot tickles me to no end. The funny thing is, in this crowd, these guys were looking at me like I was from another planet, being a conservative looking middle-aged woman. Everything is relative, as they say.
The venue was the defunct Cypress Lounge, and this was the same night as the Glass Heroes and Vibrators show.
It only seems natural to follow a POTD of Calabrese with Zombeast. They almost always play together locally, and are pretty much linked up in both sets of fans minds. Actually both groups are pretty much one and the same.
This was Halloween 2006, and I'm happy to say this blood was fake. I mean, jesus, we're talking Helter Skelter here, you know? I also want to point out that one of my favorite things about this photo is that Ashley is in the lower right corner, and she is hands down their number one fan. Getting a shot of her rocking out is mandatory at any Zombeast show. This was one of those photos that I knew was winner as soon as I saw it on my camera review screen.
And btw, the similarities you may be noticing to Danzig are not coincidental. They make no bones about their love of and homage to the Man.
This was the first show I had shot in a small venue and the first of Calabrese. It was almost the last.
I wanted to leave the venue before the show even started. I felt old, self-conscious -- I was old enough to be the mother of about everyone there. A fact confirmed by the owner of the venue, working the door. He thought I was one of the mothers for The Limit Club, also playing that night.
I can laugh about it now, but then...yikes.
But I forced myself to stay, and when The Limit Club was playing, quickly realized in this small venue, I would have to use flash. Not so bad during the Limit Club set, as I was able to still stand back. But when Zombeast came out, the crowd moved in, and I had no choice but to get right in front, with my flash a-firing right in their faces (and drawing far more attention to me than I could handle.) So I slinked to the back of the venue.
I saw Bobby Calabrese watching, and got up the nerve to say hello (I had been on the band's message board, but had never met any of them in person.) I told him I probably wouldn't be shooting that night, because of the flash, and he was like, "No, go for it."
So I did. And so began this long strange trip I've been on.
The photo is Jim Calabrese's classic "bad ass" look. I was afraid of him at first, because I only saw him when he was playing, and he pretty much always looked like this. It wasn't till later that I discovered how far this look is from Jim's real personality.
But that is a story -- and photo -- for another day.
Terrestrial radio doesn't have to pay performance fees to play music, but that could change under new bills introduced in both the House and the Senate.
I sorta got a thing for red. Okay, more than sorta. If it was up to me, I'd shoot everyone on red.
This was one of my first promos, done in my tiny little former apartment, with barely enough room for this backdrop. I would have to completely rearrange the place (translation: tear it apart) to clear the living room for a shoot.
I like Sharon's expression in this one, as well as most of the shots from the session. A sort of cool indifference.
The first time I saw this band was at the Stray Cat Bar and Grill, and it was a somewhat...mellower set. And when you hear their recorded work, it's a totally different feel than what I learned was their typical live set -- I got to see that at their CD release party. That girl has some pipes, let me tell you. A much rawer sound live than what you expect. And much louder.
Another prime example of why you have to come out and hear bands live. It just ain't the same on a little silver disc.
