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Robot [Roundup]
Edition © Robot International Pty Ltd
Howdy folks and welcome to the
latest Robot Roundup.
Heaps
has been happening since we last spoke. I’ve been on my first trip
to Japan checking out the rockabilly scene in Tokyo. Two days after
returning, we held the inaugural Twangfest, which was huge. I’ve
just received the Dodge Phoenix staff car back from the panel
beaters after a blasé Commodore driver reverse-parked into my rear
fender, what a waste of time and money, if only people could be more
careful. A couple of international tours have flown through Oz,
namely the Royal Crown Revue and The Meteors. I’ve also been doing
some reno’s at Robot Headquarters, replacing the timber fence was
turning into twinkling piano keys. It’s been a while since I’ve
swung a hammer and boy, am I feeling it as I’m typing this Roundup.
There
are new gigs on the horizon for December, including the next Custom
Rockabilly and a huge gig planned for New Years Eve. So let’s get
into it.
In this issue:
Cool Cats Rock Tokyo
Twangfest Review
Custom Rockabilly No.9
New Years Eve Saints’n’Sinners Ball
GreazeFest 2008 Update
New stuff to check out:
- Nervous Wreckers cd
- Johnny Cash DVD
- Miss Teresa on YouTube
Dave Gonzalez fund raiser
Rockabilly Home Share
Cool Cats
Rock Tokyo
A couple of weeks
back I went on a whirlwind trip of Japan, visiting
Tokyo and Osaka. Japan is a
fantastic country and I’d happily go back there immediately.
I was lucky to catch some rockabilly while I was there and I’m
pleased to report that rockabilly is alive and kicking in Japan. The
Japanese are full tilt about everything in life, including their
music taste, and as expected, the rockabilly scene is full tilt too!
Rockabilly gigs are happening on most weekends in Tokyo. We headed
to one such gig at Club Doctor in Shinjuku. Live shows are expensive
compared to Australia, this show was advertised as $30 in advance or
$35 at the door, but they charged me $40 on the night, which
included one free beer… gee, thanks! The show was in a tiny,
smoke-filled L-shaped club, one storey underground and the club was
packed with rockabillies. Some were greazers, others had 80s
hairspray coifs, some were in comedy dress with fake sideburns and
Elvis sunnies. The gals were like little dolls, some in full skirts
and pony tails, others in rolls and bangs with sex kitten outfits,
others in jeans and silk Japanese jackets.
The scene looked
about the same size as a rockabilly scene in most international
cities, eg Brisbane, Melbourne, LA, Texas, with a solid hardcore
scene based around the local bands. Even though there are tens of
thousands of people heading out on Saturday night in Tokyo, we still
noticed the distinctive look of rockabillies as we spotted a few
heading to the gig on the streets of Shinjuku. At least we knew we
were heading in the right direction...
The first band I saw that night was Hot Dog Buddy Buddy,
who entered the stage and did a three-minute dance routine
before picking up their instruments to play their set! I was
thinking of Sha-na-na! During the routine, a punter leaned over and
clamped a glow stick around my arm and yelled 'yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeahh'
and another handed me a plastic cap gun.
Hot Dog Buddy Buddy’s songs sounded like Japanese versions of Sea of
Love, Jimmy Jazz and 18 Miles from Memphis. They’d often stop a song
to tell jokes, the crowd was very responsive and I had no idea what
they were joking about, as everything was in Japanese of course.
They could have been taking the mickey out of the Australian in the
front row; there was no way of knowing. Many of their songs were
call and response and even though I couldn't understand a word, I
still yelled back 'yeaaaah' or 'yeehaaaaaah' along with the crowd.
Between bands, the club pulled a curtain across the stage and turned
a spotlight on the dance floor, so the dancers can be seen. They
also broadcast the room out to a bank of tv screens in the street,
so those hanging outside don't miss the show. For one song, a few
gals did the modern version of the stroll, made popular at VLV. I
stood off to the side, dancing and waiting for the next song. An
unknown Japanese rocker handed me a half litre can of Japanese beer
and yelled 'kanpai' (cheers), to which I replied 'arigato' (thanks
). A tiny and gorgeous Japanese woman came over and asked
'are-you-drunk' to which I pointed to my watch and said 'not-yet'.
We hit the dance floor together for an impromptu non-jiving sexy
dance, which caused the crowd to back off and form a circle around
us while they watched us intently. I spotted a few rockers joining
the circle to take photos! My husband Johnny was out in the street
getting some fresh air and watched us dancing on the tv screens.
Only in Japan!
Of the bands I saw
that night I enjoyed Hillbilly Delights the most.
They played authentic and traditional rockabilly tunes, all note for
note and sung in English. They had a cool attitude, dressed to the
nines and were obvious big rockabilly fans. They kinda reminded me
of Rusty & The Dragstrip Trio from Perth.
 Even
though they couldn’t hold a conversation in English, they sung in
English and even spoke the introduction to Johnny Cash’s Rock Island
Line – “now this here’s the story of the Rock Island Line…”.
These guys were seriously blowing my mind. Halfway through the set
they played Little Pig and I simply went nuts
dancing and singing out the lyrics at the top of my lungs. It was
the most English I had heard all week! Towards the end of their set
a guest joined them onstage to sing a high energy version of
Surfin’ Bird and the crowd went full-tilt-crazy. The guest
was swallowing the microphone and singing the brrrwww and
ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba parts while doing blubber-lips and shaking his
head around. Outta sight!
I met with Hillbilly Delights after the show. We hung out on the
footpath, drinking Japanese beer bought next door at the 7-11. We
tried hard to break down the language barrier. I knew about four
Japanese words to get me through the trip, namely ‘excuse me’ (sumimasen),
‘thank you’ (arigato), ‘beer’ (biru) and ‘cheers’ (kanpai) and they
knew about the same in English, words such as ‘rockabilly’, ‘cool’,
‘Elvis’ and ‘Johnny Cash’!
Out on the street, we spotted a motorcycle 'gang' who had rolled up
to the gig. They were dressed in serious Ton-Up-style
leather jackets, studs, patches and white scarves and they rode
Japanese bikes (of course). Even though the temperature inside the
gig was boiling over and the air was thick with smoke, they kept
their leather jackets on all night, in fact, no locals removed any
item of clothing that night, everyone stayed 'in character'. That
night in Tokyo there was an ‘Ace Café Rockers Party’ that started at
midnight, perhaps these dozen bikers were on their way there.
In the city of Osaka,
we mainly hung out in Amerikamura or 'American Village',
a shopping and entertainment district featuring heaps of vintage
clothes stores, rockabilly / kustom kulture stores, cool custom
nic-nac shops and unbelievably cool record stores. The record / cd
shops in Japan are way more thorough than those in America with huge
collections of rockabilly, country, 60s, 70s punk, garage, you name
it. Amongst the intense rockabilly cd section at one such store were
cds by Aussie bands such as Zombie Ghost Train and
The Flattrakkers. Cool!
Osaka is home to
thousands of small bars, situated in high rise buildings and
apartment blocks. The bars are tiny, about the size of your average
bedroom, one door, no windows, they cater to around ten punters per
bar. The bars are where you hang out to drink and smoke. Everyone
smokes.
We spent our last
night in Japan in one such bar, a rockabilly bar
called Cohiba, in a high rise building, along a
skinny hallway in a high rise apartment block. There were 12 other
bars on that level in the building, each with their own theme –
tiki, rock’n’roll, whatever. Cohiba was bigger than some bars – it
had two lounges and a bunch of bar stools. There was a double bass,
a drum kit and some guitar amps pushed into one corner and pictures
of Elvis hung on the walls. Their cd collection was
full of top notch rockabilly. With their permission, I slipped into
DJ mode and had a ball picking and playing the gems out of the
collection. Not many people in Japan speak English, including our
bartender, who hung out with us regardless, smoking and just digging
the vibe, without needing conversation. After three hours of
partying at Cohiba, one tiny bar out of thousa nds in the city, we
finally rolled out of there and hit the streets. It was raining and
there were people everywhere. I checked my watch and it was 4am on a
Tuesday morning. This is my kind of city.
I’ve posted a
travelogue on the Robot web site. You can access the rockabilly
section here:
www.robot.com.au/Japan_Rockabilly.htm
and simply click on any of the other links if you want to see other
aspects of the trip.
You can watch a video of Hillbilly Delights on their web site here:
www.boppintonight.com/hillbillydelightslivemovie.html
Twangfest
Review
The recent Twangfest
at The Troubadour was huge with a couple of hundred alt-country fans
turning up for one long haul of a gig. The eight hour event
showcased many of the top country artists we have here in Brisbane.
Phil Smith
opened the event with a strong solo performance of original country
tinged tunes; Cori Scanlon, who co-runs the
Troubadour venue, put in a beautiful set with her gorgeous Neko Case
style voice sending goose-bumps throughout the room; Chris
Dale from Halfway was quick to jump on stage with a very
comfortable set of country, he was joined by Cori for a duet on
Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Flying Shoes’ and Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’.
Marty Brown was up next with a great set of tunes,
Marty has a huge voice and is in his element when on stage, I can’t
wait to see him play again. The Hanklin Brothers
sparked up the atmosphere with a sprightly set of vintage country
covers – sometimes the rocker audience probably doesn’t realise that
many of these rockabilly classics (such as Teenage Boogie) started
life as country tunes. Hopefully the Twangfest helped cross the
wires. Sugar’town played as a three piece tonight,
performing sinister songs with sweet harmonic vocals.
A large crowd of fans
had rallied for Inntown, as they were launching
their debut cd this night, and they were treated to an energetic and
quality show from this new country outfit. Duke Wilde
put in a solid set of rockin’ outlaw country classics and had all
the rockers dancing. Last band of the night was Halfway,
who squeezed onto stage to play as a nine piece (!) band tonight.
Their layered and clever arrangements, the talent within the band
and their range of tunes from their two record releases make Halfway
a standout act in Brisbane.
Throughout the eight
hour gig, I played every traditional country and alt-country tune I
thought you’d enjoy, totaling some three hours worth of songs from
the dj desk. I made sure the local rockers got a spin too, with
tunes from Gatorbait, Johnny Law, Satellite V and The Starliners.
I’ve been posting my playlists on the
www.robot.com.au web site,
so if you’re curious about a tune at one of my gigs, just check out
the web for the lowdown.
The Twangfest
will definitely be back again next year, so country fans can stay
tuned for a new date in 2008.
Custom
Rockabilly No. 9
 The
next big rockabilly gig coming up at The Troubadour is the Custom
Rockabilly No.9 on Saturday December 8 ~ starring Pat
Capocci's Barnyard Ramblers; Mexico Bender;
Paulie & The Crazy Rhythm Boys and DJ Lori
Lee.
As well as being a
return show for Pat Capocci from Sydney (after his
sensational show at the Johnny Cash Tribute), this is also the debut
Troubadour gig for Paulie Burke's new band - Paulie & his
Crazy Rhythm Boys. You'd know Paulie as the bass slapper
for The Ten Fours. Now he's stretching out with his own rockabilly
combo featuring Jon Flynn and Dangerous Dan.
Another new Brisbane
band is Mexico Bender, who features Dean from The
Flamin' Locos. Take a listen to their cow punk sound here:
www.myspace.com/mexicobender
I’ll be dj-ing as
usual and I’ve picked up some killer new rockabilly tunes while
overseas and I’m busting to play them for you.
All this fun is all
happening on Saturday December 8 at The Troubadour, so be there or
be pretty dang square. Doors open at 8pm. Cover is $15.
BTW, Pat Capocci will
also be playing with The Traipsers at the Racehorse Hotel, Booval on
Friday December 7.
Custom Rockabilly No.9
Saturday December 8 at The Troubadour, Fortitude Valley
Pat Capocci's Barnyard Ramblers;
Mexico Bender;
Paulie & The Crazy Rhythm Boys
DJ Lori Lee.
Tickets $15, doors 8pm
One Night of
Sin
Robot International is happy to present the first ever
Saints’n’Sinners Ball on New Years Eve!
 I
know you've been hanging out for years for a decent New Years Eve
gig in Brisbane and here it is!
The Saints'n'Sinners
Ball is destined to be a sensational night of full tilt rockabilly,
psychobilly, blues and swing. Come along dressed in your finest or
wildest threads and party on at the home of the GreazeFest, namely
upstairs at Souths Leagues Club in West End.
There’s a huge dance
floor, plus seating if you want it, plus the popular outdoor deck
area for the smokers. Basically everything you need for a top night
out, including this entertainment roster:
West Texas
Crude
Big Kitty & The Scaredy Cats
Bad Moon Company
DJ Leapin' Lawrie
DJ Lori Lee
The date is Monday,
December 31. The doors open at 8pm, tickets are $22 and they’re
selling already! You can get yours on the Robot web site at:
www.robot.com.au
Be part of this big
night and put the 'new' back into New Years Eve!!
Saints’n’Sinners Ball on New Years Eve!
Monday, December 31, 2007 from 8pm
West Texas Crude
Big Kitty & The Scaredy Cats
Bad Moon Company
DJ Leapin' Lawrie
DJ Lori Lee
Souths Leagues Club, Jane St, West End
Tickets $22 on sale now
www.robot.com.au
GreazeFest
2008
Judging from the
comments from our new Roundup subscribers, many people are keen for
news on GreazeFest 2008. People often ask me when I start planning
for the GreazeFest. Let me say that the planning never stops. I
think about GreazeFest all the dang time!
You should
already know the dates – it’s the first weekend in August, namely:
Friday August 1
Saturday August 2
Sunday August 3.
There’ll be a big
pre-party on Thursday July 31, so can I suggest
putting in your request for both Friday and Monday off work?!
Venue:
The location for GreazeFest 2008 will be Souths
Leagues Club and Davies Park at West End. There have been
rumours about GreazeFest outgrowing this venue, but we here at
GreazeFest have a fierce loyal streak and we’re sticking to Souths
as long as we can. We know the weekend works well at Souths.
Everything you need is there, for both the evening Balls and
Sunday’s hot rod show and markets.
Where to
stay: We’ve detailed a list of various accommodation
options close to the GreazeFest site here www.greazefest.com/accomm.htm
so you can easily book your accommodation. When you see the price
wars heating up between the discount airlines, you can book yourself
some cheap airline tickets too.
Suggestions:
Greazers, if you have a favourite band or suggestion, feel
free to email me. Any input from GreazeFest patrons is always highly
regarded, I love hearing from you. When you think about it, it is no
use booking bands you don’t want to see, so you may as well tell me
which ones you do want to see. But, please don’t suggest Brian
Setzer, the Reverend Horton Heat or any of the rockabilly Gods, I
already know you want to see them. We all do, but a quick reality
check tells me that it won’t be at GreazeFest!
I’d rather hear about
your fav’ Australian bands. Some folks say that they can see
such-and-such-band any old time, but listen up, the local bands are
the core of the rockabilly scene and they put their time and energy
into this scene every week of the year. You wouldn’t not-invite your
kin folk to Christmas dinner, so why would you not-invite your
rockabilly kin to the rockabilly celebration of the year?
Bands:
If you’re in a band, you should be submitting your
applications for GreazeFest 2008. The form on the web site is open
24/7, so it couldn’t be easier.
www.greazefest.com/bands.htm
Cars'n'bikes:
The Hot Rod Show for GreazeFest 2008 will be held at Davies
Park, Jane Street, West End. The rough guide to GreazeFest states
the show is open to pre-1970 iron, including hot rods, kustoms,
daily drivers, rats, led sleds, stockers, vintage bikes, bobbers,
lowrider cycles and all types of fins and chrome.
If you need more of
an insight into what cars are welcome, just check out the pix on the
GreazeFest web site, or take a look at the latest reviews in Cruzin
Magazine and Queensland Street Car at your local newsagent.
If you have any
GreazeFest queries, drop me a line, or check out the FAQ on the web
site. I’ll be back in touch with more news as the pages on the
calendar flip.
www.greazefest.com
New stuff to
check out
The Nervous
Wreckers have released a three-song cd single ‘Under the
Moon’, featuring the title track plus two more original songs ‘No
Star Hotel’ and ‘Try to Get Up’. This is top notch release from the
Sydney trio who play great rockabilly with just a twist of
psychobilly. Very tasty indeed.
The Nervous Wreckers
will be in Brisbane in January, playing at the upcoming Rockabilly
Rumble and Twilight Hot Rod Show at Souths on Australia Day Sunday,
January 27. More news to follow.
www.myspace.com/thenervouswreckers
Johnny Cash DVD
I’ve just picked up a copy of a new DVD - The Best of The Johnny
Cash TV Show from 1969 – 1971. As well as an important archival
document, this DVD is a great insight into how cool TV was in 1969!!
I may be biased towards Johnny Cash, but this time it’s his guests
who are the stars - and everyone is wearing stove pipe pants and
Cuban heal boots - Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins,
Neil Young, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis (doing Whole
Lotta Shakin), Tony Joe White, Chet Atkins, Hank Williams Jr, plus a
very young Neil Diamond, in fact everyone looks real young. I’ve
read that the early release of this DVD is a double set, so if you
can get DVD early, as the killer songs are on disc 2.
Miss Teresa & the Rhythmaires on YouTube
Dangerous Dan has uploaded a bunch of Miss Teresa tunes to YouTube,
from her appearance at the Rockabilly Gals #1 held in Brisbane last
year. I’ve also spotted some Lone Star Valley Boys, Men Into Space,
Big Kitty and the Scaredy Cats and some vintage Slingshots from ten
years back. Here’s a link to Miss Teresa, you can find your way from
there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Ncp0NXPeg
or simply do a search for Brisbane rockabilly.
Dave Gonzalez
Fund Raiser
 Dave
Gonzalez and his band, The Paladins,
should need little introduction to Australian rockabilly fans. For
the past 17 years, The Paladins have released eight albums and
consistently performed and toured worldwide upwards of 200 shows per
year. With dynamic guitar work from Dave G and killer live shows,
The Paladins have developed a strong following in Australia, where
they have visited a number of times since 1989 for the Byron Bay
Blues Festival.
The Paladins actually
played the very first Robot International show in Brisbane in 1999
and they remain one of my favourite live acts.
Dave Gonzalez has
also formed a country outfit called The Hacienda Brothers,
playing what they term ‘country soul’ and releasing two albums so
far. The Haciendas were also in Australia in Easter this year.
Just after their
visit to Australia, Dave G was involved in a motorcycle accident,
breaking his wrist in five places, obviously a devastating blow to
the talented guitarist. Dave has since had surgery, installing what
Dave G calls a ‘hot-rod-wrist’ and a ‘hi-speed kustom titanium
plate’ holding his wrist together! His latest message states: "I'm
hurtin', but I'm healin'!".
 Friends
of Dave G in the USA are holding a fund raiser to help cover his
medical bills. Remember that Dave G is a musician by trade, and he's
just lost use of his main tools - his hands. There's no workers
compo in the music industry (and no super' by the way), you really
have to stand on your own two feet in this industry.
You can help out Dave G by purchasing one of their t-shirts
featuring ‘The Hacienda Brothers’ and
‘Blazing Haley’ in a Drag Racing Showdown.
The shirts are US$15 each, plus US$8 postage to Australia. I’ve got
mine, so now’s the time to grab one for yourself, while our Aussie
dollar is peaking, and at the same time help out one of the great
musicians of our era, who has given us so many good times.
Simply email
mycatbella@aol.com for
more details, or check out The Paladins myspace page at:
www.myspace.com/thepaladins
where you can see a larger picture of the shirts.
We wish Dave G a full
and speedy recovery.
Rockabilly Home Share
DJ Leapin’ Lawrie is looking for a person to share
his house in Redbank, on the southside of Brisbane. The room
available is a double size bedroom with an ensuite. The room has
walk in robes, but you’ll need the usual bedroom furniture.
Otherwise the house is furnished. There is lockable car space for
one vehicle. Rent is $150 per week. If you’re keen to flat with a
mega rockabilly fan ring Leapin’ Lawrie on 3381 8650.
Well, that's
enough typing for now folks, it's time to go crack my knuckles.
See you at a gig soon!
Lori Lee o-[*_*]-o
www.robot.com..au
+ Howdy from Lori Lee
Welcome
to another edition of the Robot Roundup. We've just caught our
breath after the hectic Zombie Ghost Train tour
last weekend that started on a cold and rainy night on the Cold
Coast, I mean the Gold Coast, last Thursday and ended at The Globe
Theatre in the Valley on Saturday. The local support acts,
West Texas Crude, Men into Space and Bad Moon
Company were all in fine form and turned many new fans onto
their rockabilly tunes. I don’t know how to tell you about my dj-ing
without it sounding like I’m tooting my own trumpet, lets just say
that I had a ball and it looked the audience did too. Main tour
support, The Wrath, sit a little too far at the
punk corner of the paddock for my old ears, but they’re entertaining
to watch and by the end of the tour, their tunes were starting to
grow on me!
The two
Zombie Ghost Train shows at The Globe were
something else. At the all ages gig, it became obvious that some
parents were bringing their kids along to the show, rather than vice
versa. At the over 18s show that night, it was wall to wall goths
and greasers, all decked out in their finest of course, plus some
more unusual patrons who wore robes, court jester hats, painted
skull faces, Herman Munster boots (on the gals…!), Alice in
Wonderland dresses and all sorts of interesting outfits. Being the
last show of their four week Australian tour, the night was a
destined to be a big one with a rockin’ performance from Zombie
Ghost Train to a very appreciative crowd of fans, with encores until
the house lights came on and an unexpected flour bomb hurled at ZGT
at the end of the show! Australia’s most distinctive rockabilly
export are now heading off on a tour of Europe and we wish ‘em all
the best for a fun time over there.
Did you
survive the Wintersun, or did you even make it
there? The event has become enormous, but bigger doesn’t mean
better. The event presented the usual frustrations, such as nowhere
to park, lack of information about band playing times, weird
positioning and wrong information about music stages, bands
appearing without notice, bands not appearing and some questionable
playing times. But, it’s not my job to whinge about other festivals
and I’ve always said fun is what you make it. As long as you are in
good company, you can have fun anywhere. So, I had fun. I saw a
stack of bands, ranging from ordinary to excellent, walked for
miles, talked for days and spent most of my budget on accommodation!
As we
continue this solid month of rockabilly entertainment, the next
place to be is this Saturday night at The Troubadour. Get yourself
along to the Custom Rockabilly to see a choice line
up of bands. More details in this edition.
For
those ready to go harder, the psychobilly kings, Nekromantix,
will be here for their first ever Australian tour and are playing
Queensland next weekend. Please note the Valley gig on June 30 is
not all-ages, as previously announced. It’s 18+ only, so bring your
ID.
There’s
plenty of rockabilly happening right in your own back yard, so get
amongst it and get your wig along to a gig.
Lori Lee
o-[*_*]-o
+ Custom Rockabilly #7
Here comes the seventh in the series of killer rockabilly gigs at
the Troubadour. This will be the last Custom Rockabilly night before
GreazeFest, so be sure to get yourself along for a top up of
rockabilly.
Starring
on night will be the sensational Miss Teresa & Her Rhythmaires, as
well as Bad Moon Company, The Ten Fours and DJ Lori Lee.
These
nights are where it’s at for the Brisbane rockabilly scene. With the
upstairs location of the Troubadour, it’s like our very own (rather
large) lounge room. The atmosphere is highly charged, the club staff
are super-friendly and the music is all rockabilly.
Custom Rockabilly #7
+ Miss Teresa & Her Rhythmaires
+ Bad Moon Company
+ The Ten Fours
+ DJ Lori Lee
Saturday June 23
The Troubadour, Brunswick St Mall, Fortitude Valley, 8pm, $12
www.robot.com.au
+ Nekromantix Australian Tour
Nekomantix is one of the premier psychobilly bands in the world and
they’re heading to Australia for their first ever tour downunder!
Originally formed in 1989 in Denmark, Nekromantix wrecked across the
US, UK, Europe and Japan, releasing some nine cds and emerging from
the underground to become one of the world's most successful psycho
bands.
After the release of their album, Return of the Loving Dead, bass
player and founder, Nekroman, decided the band had accomplished as
much as they could from Denmark. He loaded up the hearse and his
distinctive coffin bass and headed to the US, recruiting new
guitarist Tröy Deströy (The Rezurex) and drummer Andy DeMize (The
Rockets). Fans would also know of Nekroman’s other
thrill-seeking outfit, The Horrorpops, who stormed through Australia
a couple of years back.
The
Nekros are touring downunder to present their brand new album, with
the catchy title of ‘Life Is A Grave And I Dig It'.
Queenslanders can catch Nekromantix performing two dates, namely:
Friday June 29 - The Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 18+
Supports: Bad Moon Company, The Wrath
Saturday June 30 - Club 299, Brunswick St Mall, Fortitude Valley,
18+
Supports: West Texas Crude, Bad Moon Company DJ Lori Lee
Tickets for both these shows are on sale from record stores -
Skinnys, Mosh Pit, Rocking Horse Records, Sunflower Music, Music
Mania, Butter Beats or online at
www.oztix.com.au
Listen
up! I had previously announced that the June 30 show at Club 299 was
all-ages, but it aint. It’s over 18s. Commiserations if any of you
young guns are missing out.
All
other Oz dates are in the Rockabilly Dating section.
www.robot.com.au
www.nekromantix.com
+ GreazeFest Update
www.greazefest.com
News: If you are new to the Robot Roundup, you may
have missed previous news items. Get yourself updated here
www.greazefest.com/newsletter.htm
or simply read the headlines here:
http://www.greazefest.com/index%202.htm
Accommodation: Is starting to fill up. If you are flying
into Brisbane and need to be close to the GreazeFest (ie no ground
transport), ring the Flight Centre to find some accomm close to the
festival 07 3844 2505. Closest places are The Edmondstone, West End
Central Apartments and the Sapphire Resort.
 Car
Cruise: If you are traveling from interstate and don’t have
wheels to join in the cruise on Saturday, a fleet of cars from The
Eliminators Car Club will be stopping by Souths Leagues Club before
the cruise to pick up non-wheeled greasers. More details will be
announced as the weeks roll on.
Markets: GreazeFest Market sites are almost booked
out. As at the time of writing, there are only 12 sites left.
Vendors, please don’t dawdle, get your site booked to avoid missing
out. Full site plan with remaining sites is here:
www.greazefest.com/traders.htm
Lowbrow Art Show: Is expected to be the biggest show yet.
You can be part of the art show by displaying your latest creation,
be it pinstriped, carved, pined up, automotive or tattoo inspired.
Your art can be at garage standard or art studio standard. It’s up
to you.
Simply bring up to four pieces (fewer if they are real big) in a
ready to hang condition, to GreazeFest on Sunday at 9am.
Artists, especially pinstripers, are welcome to continue
works in progress at the festival. For those of you who are
not-so-creative, bring along a piece to GreazeFest to get pinstriped
– from your tool box to your double bass, there’ll be plenty of
creative artists with brushes at the ready.
Skateboard Art Display: In addition to the
skateboard at display from Kwala Skateboards, we have commissioned
leading kustom artists for a special series of GreazeFest pinstriped
decks. Stay tuned and we’ll update you with the progress of this
project.
www.greazefest.com/lowbrowart.htm
Dress Standards: A few folks that haven’t been to
GreazeFest before have asked me about the dress standards for the
Sinners Ball and Greazers Ball. Let it be known that there are
STRICTLY NO DRESS STANDARDS! GreazeFest isn’t about rules, it’s
about fun, so you can turn up in anything from your shop overalls to
your king drapes, we aren’t going to judge you and we sure aren’t
going to make you go home and change!
If you
came in late, here’s the GreazeFest schedule:
Thursday August 2 - GreazeFest Pre-Party
+ Throttle Zombies [Q]
+ Corn Liquor [Q]
Ric's Bar, Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley (free)
Friday August 3 - The Sinners Ball
+ The Voodoo Kreepers
+ The Nervous Wreckers
+ The No Nos
+ The Ten Fours
+ DJ Mike da Moocha
Souths Leagues Club, Jane St, West End 7pm – 1am; $26 door / $22
earlybird
Saturday
August 4th arvo
GreazeFest Street Cruise from 2pm
Greazy BBQ at Souths from 5.30pm
Saturday August 4th evening - The Greazers Ball
+ Wes Pudsey & The Sonic Aces
+ The Flattrakkers
+ The Lucky Shots
+ West Texas Crude
+ DJ Mike da Moocha
Souths Leagues Club, Jane St, West End 7pm – 1am; $26 door / $22
earlybird
 Sunday
August 5 - 9am to 9pm - GreazeFest Hot Rod Show
+ Lowbrow Art Show
+ Skateboard Art Show
+ Vintage Markets
Live bands include:
+ Firebird
+ The Casino Rumblers
+ Monster A Go Go
+ Bad Moon Company
+ Miss Teresa & Her Rhythmaires
+ Men into Space
+ Duke Wilde & The Shotgun Hillbillies
+ The Quick Draw McGraws
+ DJ Leapin' Lawrie
o-[*_*]-o
Ticket Locations: Thank you to those of you who are getting
in early for your GreazeFest tickets. If you haven’t ordered yet,
what are you waiting for? Here’s how to do it:
In person:
Tickets are available at Rocking Horse Records and Skinnys Music,
both in the city.
Online: Order
via the GreazeFest web site. You can pay online via Paypal, or
download a form to post back with a cheque or money order.
www.greazefest.com/tickets.htm
Myspace:
We’ve really embraced cybertechnology this year, so you can purchase
your tickets via the myspace chat page:
www.myspace.com/greazefest
Snail Mail:
Request a brochure in the mail and send it back with the ticket
section.
Earlybirds will receive $4 cash back on all evening tickets
purchased before July 20. Hot Rod Show tickets are available too,
including the $6 discount for show car drivers.
o-[*_*]-o
+ Ten Questions for GreazeFest
Here’s
the next in our installments of conversations with some of the 18
bands appearing at this year’s festival. This edition, we speak to
The Flattrakkers from Newcastle and Duke
Wilde from Brisbane.
 Band
name:
The Flattrakkers
Band members:
Mark Hawkins - guitar/vocals
Bruce 'Real Skins McCoy' Findlay - drums
Matt Ward - slap bass
Location:
Newcastle/Central Coast
Tell us about your music:
Skins - Best described as High Octane Rockabilly, our songs
are influenced by our passion for kool cars, racin' and ol’ speedway
days. Our debut CD, released earlier this year, is 12 original
tracks with plentya tunes about goin' fast. We try to mix it up a
bit and take influence from the early days, a little bit of
hillbilly in there somewhere and right through to current bands,
Aussie and overseas.
Who has influenced your sound?
Mark - The Stray Cats, Eddie Cochrane, Elvis, Johnny Cash,
Wayne Hancock, The Living End and all Aussie rockabilly bands - in
no particular order!
Skins - Hank 3, the Satellites and all of the above - I really
enjoyed seeing Living End earlier this year with the boys, you can't
help but appreciate their musical ability and stage presence.
Matt - The Living End, Elvis, The Stray Cats, Billy Idol, The Horror
Pops, Tiger Army and anyone with a double bass.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Mark - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Skins - AC/DC TNT
Matt - Limp Bizkit 3 Dollar Bill
Who are your fav old or new rockabilly artists?
Mark - Wayne Hancock, Early Elvis, Johnny Burnette, Wes
Pudsey and the Sonic Aces, Satellite V, The Stray Cats
What is / was a musical highlight for you or your band?
Mark - Debut recording of High Octane with Rob Long and
finally having a CD out there so near and far can hear our tunes.
Skins - I love playing live. So my highlights are the great venues
and crowds we have played to. Our recent Sydney gig was great.
Nothin’ beats looking out through the lights to see folks dancin and
toe tappin' to our tunes. I get a kick out of playing at car shows
too - but that's just because I'm a rev head from way back! Meeting
new people who come up and say "Hey, you guys rock" makes it all
worthwhile.
Matt - Watching people dance to our music and being able to say "I'm
in the band!".
What can the audience expect at GreazeFest?
Expect us to be fuelled up with a heap of Flattrakkin
originals and a coupla good ol' tunes thrown into the mix.
Do you drive any choice wheels?
Mark - Ol' 64 Valiant Safari Station wagon. Grey, all
original.
Skins - Hot Rod: 1929 Dodge roadster pick-up, almost finished. Mild
Custom: my wife's '54 Plymouth.
Matt - 1937 Ford Roadster still in the making with rollin chassis
and half of he body back to bare metal.
Stewy ‘Soup’ Campbell (Our Number 1 roadie/father-in-law to Bruce
and Mark/hot rod and rockabilly guru/engineer and fabricator
specialising in old time rods and customs) - ‘Soup-er’ kool '55
Chevy Panel truck/band wagon.
o-[*_*]-o
 Duke
Wilde & The Shotgun Hillbillies
Band name:
Duke Wilde and the lads like to be referred to as The
Shotgun Hillbillies, which is better than some of the names they get
called.
Band members:
We have the "Mighty" Mal Corams on drums, Brad "the Texan
Accountant" Wright on bass and Sean "Starkers" Stark on guitar.
Location:
Hopefully standing upright onstage?...Brisbane.
Tell us about your music:
Rockin' Swamp Outlaw Country and Southern Rock.
Who has influenced your sound?
Waylon, Hank (All of 'em), Jerry Lee, Allman Brothers and a
million other lesser known, but just as deserving artists.
What was the first record you ever bought?
The first that I personally bought was a double cassette
called Funbusters Vol 1 + 2. The first album that I got given by my
Ma was Stones, by the Rolling Stones when I was nine. It’s the one
with Mick Jagger on the front in black and white and his giant lips
are in bright red - classic.
Who are your fav old or new rockabilly artists?
Old: all the obvious ones, Gene, Eddie, Johnny Burnette,
Billy Lee Riley, Charlie Rich, Ronnie Self etc. I love Carl Perkins’
country sides, I think he would have been a huge country star if he
had been given the chance.
New-ish: You have to check out a guy called "Unkown Hinson", he's
brilliant. Plus Lee Rocker, Brian Setzer, Reverend Horton Heat,
Dwight Yoakam. Again, all the obvious ones for a guitarist/singer.
I'm more into what I call a "Triple Threat" artist, which is a
singer/guitarist/songwriter all rolled into one, such as Mike
Henderson, Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty or Phil Lee etc.
Locally: I can't wait to hear Mexico Bender's debut CD and I heard
some of Rupert Jenner's stuff which I thought was great.
What is / was a musical highlight for you or your band?
Playing Mainstage at the Gympie Muster. Touring the USA
with the legendary Flamin' Locos, playing Heavy Rebel and going to
Sun Records in Memphis and being invited to stay back and go into
the control room of the studio and talk shop with the engineer.
What can the audience expect at GreazeFest?
A good dose of "Outlaw Country". Some fancy fretwork and
home cooked southern fried rawk. We are hoping to have our debut EP
ready by GreazeFest, so you can expect some shameless plugs for
that.
Do you drive any choice wheels?
Unfortunately at this stage I don't, so if anyone can give
me a lift to GreazeFest I would be most appreciative. Please send
photo first - of the car that is!
o-[*_*]-o
We'll
continue to keep you informed on all GreazeFest developments as they
happen. Remember to keep an eye on the web site, or drop by the
myspace site to leave us a message and hook up with other GreazeFest
friends.
www.greazefest.com
www.myspace.com/greazefest
+ New Aussie cd releases
There’s
plenty of great Australian rockabilly and roots music cds out these
days. How many do you own? I’ve heard a rumour that the Ten Fours
are in the studio, plus West Texas Crude are stepping back in the
studio in July for a long awaited follow up to their debut. If you
are chasing these tunes you can usually find these releases via the
bands web sites, or grab one when you’re at a gig. There’s just too
much happening at Robot International HQ to give you a review of
each cd, but trust me, this is all good stuff.
Firebird - Buildin’ A Hot Rod. Simply top notch, balls to
the wall rockabilly. 13 tracks. All ridgey didge.
The Flattrakkers – High Octane. 12 tracks, all
originals, quality rockabilly tunes. See ‘em at GreazeFest.
Gatorbait – Not If, But When. 15 tracks of top
notch traditional rockabilly and honky tonk.
Peter Baylor – I Hear The Road. 14 tracks,
hillbilly and rockabilly road tunes from a master guitarist.
Corn Liquor – Moonshine Tunes for Broken Hearts. A
four track all original teaser from the hillbilly foursome.
Benny & The Flybyniters – Hey Now. Cool blues and
swing recorded in Austin Texas.
The Flatfoot Shakers – Let’s go to Planet Bop. 14
tracks of cool-school traditional rockabilly.
Jonny Gretsch’s Wasted Ones – On Trial. Solid
rockin’ rhythm’n’blues.
4ZzZ Survey
Brisbane radio listeners who have a spare moment, may wish to take
part in the 4ZzZ Online Feedback Survey, to give the long running
community station some much appreciated feedback. By filling in the
survey you go in the draw to win one of three 10-CD packs. The
information in the survey will be used by 4ZzZ promotions and
marketing to build a 'Listener Profile' and to assist in programming
decisions.
You can take part here:
http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/events/index.cfm?action=dsp_content&contentID=284
+ Rockabilly Dating
Sat Jun
23 - Custom Rockabilly #7, The Ten Fours, Miss Teresa & Her
Rhythmaires, Bad Moon Company, DJ Lori Lee, The Troubadour, 8pm
Sun Jun 24 - West Texas Crude, The Boo, 2pm *note new start time*
Fri Jun 29 - The Hanklin Brothers, Satchmos Café, West End
Fri Jun 29 - Nekromantix, plus supports, The Coolangatta Hotel, Gold
Coast
Sat Jun 30 - Nekromantix, plus supports, Club 299, Fortitude Valley
Sat Jul 07 - West Texas Crude, Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna 2pm
Sun Jul 29 - West Texas Crude, The Boo, 2pm *note new start time*
Thu Aug 2 - GreazeFest Pre-Party, 8pm
Fri Aug 3 - Sinners Ball, GreazeFest, Souths, 7pm
Sat Aug 4 - Greazers Ball, GreazeFest, Souths, 7pm
Sun Aug 5 - GreazeFest Hot Rod Show, Davies Park, 9am - 9pm
Nekromantix dates:
Fri June
22 - Rosemount, Perth
Sat June 23 - Annandale, Sydney
Sun June 24 - Utopia, Sydney All ages
Wed June 27 - Enigma Bar, Adelaide
Thu June 28 - Prince Band Room, Melbourne
Fri Jun 29 - The Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast,
Sat Jun 30 - Club 299, Fortitude Valley,
Robot [Roundup]
Edition 30-05-07 © Robot International Pty Ltd
Howdy from Lori Lee
Howdy everybody and welcome to a bumper edition of the Robot
Roundup. Here’s a big thank you to all the folks that came out to
the Rockabilly Gals night, it was simply sensational. There is so
much else happening in the rockabilly and music scene right now,
it’s hard to know where to start.
There has been a tremendous interest in GreazeFest now that the line
up is out of the bag. Heaps of info is following. As the weeks roll
along, we’ll be featuring interviews with the bands so you can get
to know them. The first installment of ‘Ten Questions for
GreazeFest’ is included in this Roundup.
The Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson, is in Australia next week,
and so are the Go Getters, so make sure you catch both of these acts
when they come to your city. Playing bass with the Go Getters for
this tour will our very own rockabilly ex-pat Josh, who has been
fully immersed in the UK rockabilly scene since moving there some
years back.
There are a stack of southern bands to catch while at Wintersun,
such as The Satellites, The Creepers, The Retro Rockets, Satellite
V, Wes & The Sonic Aces, Benny & The Fly By Niters, plus The
Flatfoot Shakers, who will be launching their two (!) new cd
releases: ‘Let's Go To Planet Bop’ and ‘The Many Sides Of The
Flatfoot Shakers’, which is a compilation of trax from their first
three CDs.
Purveyor of all things western swing, is Flatfoot Shakers guitarist,
Peter Baylor, who has notched up a couple of decades playing with
almost every rockin’ roots band around the country. Peter Baylor has
just released his first full solo cd of all original tunes and he’ll
have it available at Wintersun. If you have a hankerin’ for country
tunes and vintage rockabilly, then check out ‘I Hear The Road’...
I’ve been hearing it all week and I’m sure enjoying the ride.
Speaking of honky tonk, The Hanklin Brothers from Brisbane, who
feature Andy & Jon from West Texas Crude, have just added a new
member, Jimmy, on pedal steel guitar. The new line up of The Hanklin
Brothers will premier at Satchmo’s Café this Friday night. More
dates in the Dating section.
June is also the month when Zombie Ghost Train hit the road for a
huge Australian tour. More info coming in this Roundup.
The weekend following the Brisbane Zombie Ghost Train shows is the
next Rockabilly Psychosis night at the Troubadour. Lined up on
Saturday June 23 are Miss Teresa Miss Teresa & Her Rhythmaires, plus
Bad Moon Company, The Ten Fours and DJ Lori Lee. It will be a great
night.
Photos from el Borracho’s final showdown at the last Troubadour show
have been posted on the Robot web site. We’ve started a new page
with just gig / band photos, check it out here: www.robot.com.au/gallery_photos.htm
For those who like to get really wild, the psychobilly kings,
Nekromantix, will be here for their first ever Australian tour in
late June! Keep reading for details.
Guitarist for Mick Hadley’s Atomic Boogie Band, Craig Claxton, is
holding the first Brisbane Vintage Guitar and Amplification Show at
Brisbane City Hall on June 2 and 3, more info here: www.myspace.com/craigclaxtonmusic
Overseas, the fantastic Green Bay Rockin’ 50s Fest has just wrapped
up for another year, wish I could have been there. Check out some of
the photos here: www.actionpackedevents.com/Oneida%20Fest%202007.htm
Amongst the hundreds of acts were Little Richard, Charlie Gracie,
Billy Lee Riley, Robert Gordon, Lee Rocker, Glen Glenn and the list
is almost endless. One of the finest acts of our era, Deke
Dickerson, was at Green Bay launching his new signature model
guitar, thd Hallmark "Deke Dickerson" model. Check more info here:
www.hallmarkguitars.com and click on Guitars and Basses.
There’s plenty of rockabilly happening right in your own back yard,
so get amongst it and get your wig along to a gig.
Lori Lee o-[*_*]-o
Zombie Ghost Train are dealing the
Death card
Following their sensational performance at GreazeFest last year,
Zombie Ghost Train I s returning for a string of shows in and around
Brisbane to promote their new album 'Dealing the Death Card'.
The shows are part of a national Australian tour the trio are
undertaking before heading off on their second tour of Europe and
their third tour of the USA. There’s no rest for the wicked (or the
undead!).
Best of all is that one of the shows at The Globe in Fortitude
Valley is all-ages, so everyone will have their chance to see this
amazing trio. We’ve also lined up some exciting supports including
West Texas Crude, Men into Space, Bad Moon Company and DJ Lori Lee.
Check out Zombie Ghost Train gigs on the main
page:
Custom Rockabilly #7
Here comes the seventh in the series
of killer rockabilly gigs at the Troubadour. This will be the last
Custom Rockabilly night before GreazeFest, so be sure to get
yourself along for a top up of rockabilly.
Starring on night will be the sensational Miss Teresa & Her
Rhythmaires, as well as Bad Moon Company, The Ten Fours and DJ Lori
Lee.
These nights are where it’s at for
the Brisbane rockabilly scene. With the upstairs location of the
Troubadour, it’s like our very own (rather large) lounge room. The
atmosphere is highly charged, the club staff are super-friendly and
the music is all rockabilly.
Nekromantix Australian Tour
Nekomantix is one of the premier psychobilly bands in the world and
they’re heading to Australia for their first ever tour downunder!
Originally formed in 1989 in Denmark, Nekromantix wrecked across the
US, UK, Europe and Japan, releasing some nine cds and emerging from
the underground to become one of the world's most successful psycho
bands.
After the release of their album, Return of the Loving Dead, bass
player and founder, Nekroman, decided the band had accomplished as
much as they could from Denmark. He loaded up the hearse and his
distinctive coffin bass and headed to the US, recruiting new
guitarist Tröy Deströy (The Rezurex) and drummer Andy DeMize (The
Rockets). Fans would also know of Nekroman’s other thrill-seeking
outfit, The Horrorpops, who stormed through Australia a couple of
years back.
The Nekros are touring downunder to present their brand new album,
with the catchy title of ‘Life Is A Grave.& I Dig It”. Queenslanders
can catch Nekromantix performing two dates, check the
main page:
GreazeFest 2007 Update
The GreazeFest campaign paraphernalia has just arrived at Robot HQ,
so keep your eyes peeled as the GreazeFest campaign hits the
streets.
Many thanks to the crew at TCB Magazine, and photographer Matt
Black, who have provided the new images for the GreazeFest look this
year. While at Wintersun, look out for the TCB crew and the gorgeous
Kitty Danger, who will have the latest installment of their magazine
available for sale. Thanks also to photographer, Pete Walker, who
has provided images from previous years GreazeFests. Another top
level GreazeFest supporter is Cruzin Magazine and I must say their
latest issue is a mighty fine read.
You will be receiving your copy of the GreazeFest brochure next
coming week. If you have moved house recently, or haven’t received
anything from GreazeFest in the mail before, please drop me a line
immediately with your postal address. That way, you’ll get your
GreazeFest brochures with all the guff on the festival for you and
your friends, delivered direct to your door.
Likewise, if you want a GreazeFest poster pack to stick up at your
local fish’n’chip shop, just drop me a line and I’ll get some
GreazeFest goodies out to you.
Check the GreazeFest site for the entire schedule
www.greazefest.com
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