Rockabilly Round-up

by Sheila Broderick

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Hello Everyone: I have taken up the exciting task of bringing to the forefront a genre of music that doesn’t get a lot of press and hides many great and talented musicians. This is going to be a column that focuses on the Rockabilly scene, its roots, and, most of all, the music. This genre of music encompasses Country, Honky Tonk, Blues, Jazz, Swing, and good old Rock and Roll.

It was 1985 in Denver when I jumped into the Rockabilly and Punk scene. My father raised me on the late greats; Gene Vincent being my all time favorite. The fifties’ era is a time I have fallen in love with, from the cars to the style – the music being my favorite and all that has come from it.

I remember Social Distortion was blaring along with Gene Vincent on everyone’s turntable. From Pompadours to Mohawks, this combined music scene was gaining a huge following. While understanding that Punk and Rockabilly were two different clicks of people, we all came together for the music. So with that said, let’s start with someone who poured his soul into the Denver music scene.

Willie Lewis, a Denver icon in the Rockabilly scene, deserves a standing ovation and a handshake. Without him some of Denver’s Rockabilly bands may have not been heard. While they may have been released on other labels, many did not gain notoriety until their release on Lewis’s label. Lewis is not only a singer, songwriter, and performer, but also he released many of Denver’s great Rockabilly bands, including his own, which was Willie & The String Boppers. He is the president and founder of Denver-based Rock-A-Billy Record Co. and has released limited quantities of colored vinyl 45-RPM records over the years, including one of my favorite artists, Kidd Pharaoh as well as Ronnie Dawson, Don Rader, Redline Rockets, Jonny Barber and the Rhythm Razors. These 45-rpm singles have become rare collectables. I have a few from the eighties and they are prized possessions amongst my collection.

I had a brief interview with my dear friend Pete Nalty, former frontman for Bop Street (the early eighties) & The Jinn’s. He has been a strong presence in the Denver music scene for a long time.

CMB: How do you feel the music has evolved or changed in the last two decades?

PN: Well, I think the local Roots Rock/ Rockabilly music has devolved in a way. That is to say it seems to have gone even deeper into its roots. For better or for worse, the roots I’m referring to are mostly Country/ Hillbilly roots, and I think that the R&B, Blues, and Jazz roots are being somewhat ignored by some of the more popular local “Rockabilly” acts. I think one of the reasons for this is an honest love of Honky Tonk and Hillbilly music on the part of many of the current Denver cats, but there might be a desire to imitate the Austin scene of the nineties and early part of this last decade, I’m not sure.

CMB: What is your take on the Rockabilly scene in Colorado? Is it better and has the following grown over the years? Who are some of your favorites?

PN: My take? Well, there are a lot of bands I haven’t seen yet, but I can tell you that I dig The Lucky Few, The Pinup Boys (though I’m not crazy ’bout the name). Mad Dog and the Smokin’ Jays are cool. I really like Angie Stevens, think she’s just great. I can only say I hope the scene is getting better and bigger, I think it is, and I hope that it’s ready for some piano bangin’ Rock and Roll.

CMB: Tell a story of one of your favorite moments from the eighties.

PN: There are so many wonderful memories from the eighties, nineties, and even the last ten years (believe it or not) it’s hard to pick one, But I’m gonna go with meeting Carl Perkins at Beer School. In 1990 or ’91 The Jinns had just received a sponsorship from Miller Genuine Draft and were flown to Milwaukee to learn how to represent their product! To my great pleasure I learned that Carl was going to be the keynote speaker. When we got there we found out that beer school took up most of the mornings for five days. Afternoons, however, consisted of hanging with the Paladins (our longtime buddies from the road circuit) and trying to keep up with The Toasters in beer-swilling competitions (The Toasters were a fantastic Ska band that rivaled Fishbone.)

On the final evening Carl Perkins spoke. He was eloquent and down-home at the same time. We tried to find him after the speech and had no luck. Needless to say we were bummed, so we drank Miller GD (it was free) and looked for girls instead. Upon entering the dining room the next morning who do we see but the daddy of Rockabilly himself. We go right up to him (hung over and all) and just as gracious as he can be he invites us to join him. He was full of stories and advice and all of it was wonderful and then he blew my mind when he said, ‘I thought you guys were great the other night and I really think you’ve got good material. I especially liked that  ‘She Don’t Wanna Hear It’ song. Wow! He was there for our performance! Good thing we didn’t know. We wouldn’t have been able to play a lick!

Well, this is a start. Tune in every month for news on new- and up-and-comers to well-seasoned musicians in the scene. Would you like an interview or CD review? If you are a band, musician, or just have stories, shoot me an email. Denver has a lot of talent; go check some of it out whether you think it is your thing or not. I will be posting information on upcoming shows and goings-on in my blog, which will be up and running January 1, 2012. Stay tuned!

For more information and the history of Willie Lewis and Rock-A-Billy Record Co. visit the following links:

RockabillyRecordCo.com     

RockabillyHall.com/WillieLewis    

Tags: rockabilly

Category: The Rock