Now, filmmaker Tim Forrest wants to pay Holland due credit with a planned documentary film. He’s set up the The Father of the Drums Kickstarter campaign to fund the project. I just learned about this campaign and at this point it’s not looking good for them to make their goal. There are only 15 days left in the campaign.

So, follow the link and check it out. If it’s something you think’s worth supporting and you can help out with some funding, they could really use a big push at the end!

Here’s Fluke telling a little bit of his story and then kicking into some hot drumming. Now, normally drum solos ’bout drive me crazy, but it’s cool to see the legend in action.

Turns out the song is slow, and moody, and has a three-piece rockabilly instrumentation along with rockabilly vocal style. So, maybe it answers the question…but then again, maybe it doesn’t. It definitely sounds like a ’50s ballad, but then doesn’t that by definition make it something other than a rockabilly song? I don’t know and no one’s really been able to answer the question for me. Is it possible for a rockabilly slow song to exist? Or are there only slow songs done by rockabilly artists?

I still don’t have an answer for you and I’m curious for your opinions. In the meantime, check out “Moonlit Night” by the Tombstone Revival Society. And thanks for sharing, Steve!

If you’re looking for a blog that has a more European focus than mine does (or can), you might want to check out Tim’s Rockabilly Styles blog. I’ve linked you to the English version, but you can also read it in Tim’s native German. He’s got some stuff up there that’s focused on musical gear for rockabilly musicians, so if you’re into that, you should definitely check it out.

So, welcome to the rockabilly blogging scene, Tim. I wish you the best of luck. Thanks for helping keep rockabilly music and the rockabilly scene alive–the more the merrier as far as I’m concerned!

The Noisy Boys, “Out of Gas?”

It’s been a while since I’ve written a music review, so when a large package arrived in my box turned out to hold a whole bunch of new music from Crazy Times Records out of France, I was excited to get to listening. The question was, how would I choose which one to listen to first? I usually listen to one CD exclusively as I’m getting ready to review it and I didn’t want to listen to all of these at once because I didn’t want them getting mixed up in my (admittedly somewhat low-capacity) brain. I don’t know how I finally settled upon Out Of Gas? from the Noisy Boys, but it turned out to be a great choice! Out Of Gas? offers 18 hard rockin’ cuts that sound wonderfully authentic through and through.

Kicking things off with the record’s title cut, the Noisy Boys proceed to take the listener on a journey through a great mix of very convincing original tunes, vintage songs redone in Noisy Boys style, and a few modern cuts by other writers. The band ties all of this together with solid playing and a great vintage sound.

But these guys aren’t just a knock off of original rockabilly acts. They pull from their influences and then stretch into a bunch of different directions. The basis of their sound is more of the aggressive urban style that I associate with the Burnette Brothers and their Rock and Roll Trio than it is the back-in-the-sticks hillbilly style of many rockabilly artists (which, of course, I also love!)

The influence of that very same Rock and Roll Trio is unmistakably present in this band. The record’s third cut, “Tax Payin’ Blues,” which was written by lead guitarist Laurent Soriano and vocalist Walt Steiner, could easily have been a Burnette Brothers song and it borrows heavily from the trio in writing, presentation, and instrumentation. Throughout the record, I hear shades of both Paul Burlison and Grady Martin in Sorianos’s lead guitar playing.

But the band reaches beyond just one influence and, in fact, reaches beyond straight-up rockabilly in a couple of different directions on this record. There are several instrumental tunes on the CD, and a few of them would have to be classified more as surf instrumental than rockabilly.

Another song which at first seems to reach beyond ‘50s rockabilly and fairly deep into the ‘60s is “Whatcha Gonna Do.” The song uses the same rhythm guitar riff as Del Shannon’s epic “Runaway” and then breaks into a chorus based on the same chord progression used in The Ventures’ “Walk Don’t Run.” But the song is actually a remake of Hayden Thompson’s original which I think was released in 1961 and used both of those riffs before the songs we most know them from. And the Noisy Boys do a really fine version of this fantastic song. They keep it pretty true to the original recording and it sounds great.

All of these different influences make for a really interesting album, but lest you think that this all sounds a little to “unrockabilly” for your tastes, you’ve got nothing to worry about! This is a great rockabilly record that will make even the most diehard rockabilly fanatic happy.

Along with Soriano’s completely authentic lead guitar playing—which is always interesting and fun to listen to—vocalist/rhythm guitarist Walt Steiner has a great voice for rockabilly. His is not the Elvisish deep-throated hiccup style voice, but has more the character of someone like Billy Lee Riley who just lays it out there and sounds like he sounds instead of sounding like he’s trying to sound like someone else—if that sentence makes any sense!

With Roberto Hernandez on double bass and Alex Wullschleger on drums holding down the rhythm section, the band is solid all the way through. Another thing that makes this band’s sound a bit unusual is the interplay between these two guys. Hernandez has a great slap technique and his bass slaps feature prominently on the recording. But those slaps don’t replace Wullschleger’s hi-hat cymbals the way other rockabilly recordings often do. Instead, the two players work together to weave both cymbals and bass slaps into the rhythm section and it works really well throughout.

Finally, the production on this CD is very authentic sounding. While Soriano sometimes uses more distortion on his guitar than you would probably find on older recordings, it’s not overdone and most of the time his sound is really authentic. Overall, the record sounds for all the world like it could have been recorded in 1956. The sessions were recorded “mostly live” over three days at Electrophonic Recording Studio in Lyon, France and the live feel definitely lends authenticity to the project.

I’ve really been enjoying Out of Gas? and its somewhat eclectic mix of rockabilly, surf instrumental, R&B, and other styles. It holds together exceptionally well and will easily fit in with any rockabilly party that needs a rockin’ soundtrack.

My recommendation: Add this one to your collection!

I haven’t had the chance to listen to it yet, but judging from the last effort I told you about, it’s going to be great, and I’m anxious to give it a listen. So, here it is for you to enjoy. And why not drop him a comment over at YouTube and let him know that we appreciate his efforts and his support of not only Rockabilly Romp, but of the rockabilly community in general!

Mike Page is another artist I can’t find much information about. Either it doesn’t exist, or I’m just lazy (I know which one my Dad would pick), but my quick searches didn’t turn up much. The record was released on the Royce Records label out of Kentucky in 1960 backed by “Wishing Well.” I can’t seem to find any other recordings by Mike Page. I do know that back in 2008 a pristine copy of the 45 seems to have sold for over $550, so if you have one, you have something special!

And rightfully so; this is a “specially” good song! If you know anything about Mike Page, please share!

The Atomic Hi-Tones work out of Melbourne and they’ve been around for several years, although I don’t really find a complete history on them. They appear to be big on the Kustom Kulture circuit, but they don’t really have a website that I can find other than Facebook and myspace. I sure wouldn’t mind knowing more about these guys because this song sounds great and it looks like they put on a fun show.

“Plenty of energy and grunt to keep bodies moving and bring an event to life,” they tell us, and I believe it. Do you know more about these guys? Fill us in. If you know them and they have music you think should be reviewed here on Rockabilly Romp, tell them to contact me!

Each one of these records and acts is completely new to me, so it’s like Christmas in May! Stay tuned for reviews of each of these coming over the next several weeks.

And thanks for all the music Pierre! Your support of Rockabilly Romp is very much appreciated. Good luck to you and all of your bands!

In 1951, Hall–along with His Cohutta Mountain Boys–released “Dirty Boogie” on Fortune records. When you listen to that (also a really good song), you can definitely hear the future of rockabilly in it’s relentless boogie-woogie style and no-holds-barred call-and-response vocals. And you can hear a big jump from 1950′s “Mule Boogie” which is much more of a hillbilly boogie tune.

And between 1950 and this record from 1956, you can hear a really interesting progression toward the rockin’ style. He recorded a great version of “All By Myself” in 1955, which, while not as frenetic as the version by the Rock and Roll Trio, is another great rockabilly tune.

Hall was a great boogie-woogie piano player and backed up several country legends of the early ’50s. He also owned a club called the Musician’s Hideaway where in 1954 he fired a young singer after just one night’s work. Hall had said the boy, “just weren’t  no damned good.” Thankfully Sam Phillips didn’t agree with his assessment and thankfully the young singer didn’t give up after that harsh rejection. But then, young Elvis didn’t give up on himself too easily in those days!

He also co-wrote the song “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” but never had much success with it. Then he watched as another of his former employees–Jerry Lee Lewis–smashed that one through the roof. And the song was further bad luck for Hall as he lost his rights to the song in a battle with his ex wife. Bad luck seemed to follow Hall and he died in the early ’80s at the age of 61.

He might have felt Elvis “weren’t no damned good,” but he followed his lead down the rockabilly path and therefore, we get to listen to some of his great rockabilly. Enjoy “Three Alley Cats!”

This wonderful gem was written by Millet and released in 1956 on Republic Records. Millet had recorded a bunch of stuff for different labels before then starting with his first known recordings in 1949 on Louisiana label, Rogue Records, and later Feature Records where he recorded as Louis Millet and His Melody Ramblers. He’d already cultivated a pretty rocking hillbilly boogie sound and by 1954 was truly boarding on rockabilly with “Just You and Me” on the Ace label out of Mississippi.

After the brilliant “Shorty The Barber” and “Slip, Slip, Slippin’ In” he only released a few more odds and ends including some gospel material in the 1970s. I have no idea what happened to Millet after that, and I haven’t come across anyone else who seems to know either. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of my smart readers knows, so if you do, fill us in!

In the meantime, fall in love with “Shorty The Barber” if you haven’t already. Pure bliss in just under two minutes–now that’s rockabilly!