Interview with the band BAMBOOZLE

With a new EP out called Red Right Hand, Bamboozle are a 50’s influenced rockin’ band, with a modern sound. Being one of the only bands to have a sexy gal on rockabilly slap bass, a world class pedal steel player, one of the scenes top rockabilly guitarists and a top class swingin’ drummer, with mesmerizing four part harmonies, Bamboozle are the band to see! Let's chat with Serena Sykes (bass) & Jim Knowler (guitar)

Who got you into Rock & Roll?

S: I guess it’s always been a part of me. Growing up, my Mum was crazy on Cliff, but also had a great collection of Elvis and a few others on vinyl. I had a great old record player that was bright red, and I’d spend hours playing through her collection, but it wasn’t until I met Jim that I considered playing bass and doing it myself. Living with Jim means you can’t avoid anything 50s, and it ended up becoming a big part of me too. After watching some of the great bassists, I had to learn how to play proper rockabilly bass, it was just the coolest thing.

J: My cousin Andrew Knowler. I was about 13 years old and when I'd visit him he'd always had Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and various doo wop, rhythm n blues playing and I just fell in love with the energy of it. So when I started learning guitar it was the obvious path to take.

How do you see today's Rock & Roll scene?

S: A little bit divided… It’s great that its around, I love it loads, but it used to be more people who just liked 50s music, and old style stuff, but its broken off into sections a bit, rockabilly, jive, doo wop, and if you cross over between genres, not everyone likes that, but it’s still a great scene and so far, everyone has been really welcoming and positive about the band, which means a lot to us. I hope it continues.

J: It's changed a lot. I remember when there were just a handful of weekenders, all-dayers and rock n roll clubs, and the music was just 1950's music including rock n roll, rockabilly, doo wop, jive etc ...now the music has divided into rockabilly weekends, jive weekends, rock n roll weekends, which for me is a shame because I feel it divides the scene. 

I understand if you're someone who only likes rockabilly or jive, but for me it's only a shame because I love all the styles of music from the 1950's. However the main thing for me is that the scene is still thriving, and there are events that keep the music alive, and hopefully appealing to the younger generation so it carries on forever! Rock n' Roll is here to stay!!!

What are the bands plans for 2017?

S: Play as much as we can! Being so new, we just want to get out there, and see what people think of the music. We’re all working hard on writing too, Jim and I have already got original songs in the set, and our next one was written by Dave. Hopefully we’ll have a full album of stuff by the end of the year.

J: We have just released our 4 track EP RED RIGHT HAND. So promoting that on gigs, radio all over Europe. Build up a following that enjoy what we are doing. Then at the same time we are all working on writing new songs as we want to record an album with mainly originals on it.

What are you all-time favorite Rock & Roll artists?

S: Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin are my top ladies and big influences of mine. They had real grit, and talent. I love them. I’m also a big fan of Johnny Burnette, he had such a raw energy in his stuff.

J: There are so many, but for different reasons. Elvis Presley is an obvious one, as he influenced so many people. Eddie Cochran one of my early guitar influences.

Gene Vincent has got to be one, great sound! 

I love vocal harmonies so lots of doo-wop groups The Five Keys, The Flamingos, The Crew Cuts, and that's just a few! The Everly Brothers were a massive early influence. My cousin Andrew and I learnt nearly every song on the greatest hits album and we'd perform them at family parties. I'd say the Everlys taught me how to harmonise, I owe them a lot.

You got any wild stories that have happened to the band?

S: Well, we haven’t been around for even a year yet, so our ‘wild’ history is a bit dull ;) I think this year is the year to make a few though! We’ve got a lot of long road trips coming up, so I can’t imagine it all being a sensible, easy ride!

What makes Bamboozle the band that it is?

S: The mix of the players and their skills. We all come at it from a slightly different angle. Jim loves his vocal harmonies, and anything with a swing and cool chords, Shaun is really into proper rockabilly, Dave comes from a more of a country and western swing background, and I love a lot of the classics, but also have a bit of a modern edge to what I do too, and I think the combination of what we all bring together makes the band a bit different to what’s out there at the moment. Hopefully people will like that!

J: Its the the collaboration of all the band members different influences. Rockabilly, jazz, Western swing and country. All this is mixed in a great big pot and poured into a large glass and there you have it, beautiful refreshing Bamboozle juice! 

Hopefully everyone will want to try some ;-)

What is the bands history?

S: It all kind of came about by accident really. Last year, Jim decided he wanted to make a change in music, as he had been working with his function band, Hullabaloo for 18 years, and needed a change. It was a scary time, as it meant we would have to find something to replace the full-time income, so it was a lot of pressure.

He had met Dave, (Pedal Steel), a few months before, and it had planted a seed to do something on those lines, as he’d always been a fan of Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant. We started with some ideas, gave Dave a call, and it happened to be perfect timing, as he was looking for a new project himself.

It did get off to a quite rocky start behind the scenes, as when Shaun decided he wanted to come on board, it was a difficult decision due to them being two thirds of The Keytones. Their intention wasn’t to quit, just to have a break from it for a while, renew their passion for music and go in a slightly different direction, but it did sadly end in the break-up of the band, which I know was hard for a lot of people.

It was a tough thing for everyone to face, and I don’t think they guys were ready to put it to bed for good, but we all invested that energy into Bamboozle, and worked hard to get the band out there and put the past behind us.

We’ve still got a long way we want to go musically with Bamboozle, it’s still in its infant stages for us, and we all have so many ideas of where we want it to go. We’re really excited about creating our debut album, but we want to take our time and get it right, really make it something special.

It has even inspired all of us to write too. Jim as always been the songwriter in his previous incarnations, but with Bamboozle, alongside Jim’s fantastic songs “Just Like You” and “Ice Cold Beer”, from our debut EP, we have introduced one of my original songs, “Daddy’s Girl”, which we hope to release as a single in the next few months, and have one by Dave in rehearsal, which we’ll try out live soon. Shaun also has a couple of numbers on the way. Hopefully the new album will show a bit of what everyone can do.

J: Well we are coming up to our year anniversary, so not a long history yet, but we certainly hope to make some!

Describe the band in 3 words?

S: Exciting, passionate, musical.

J: Fan, Dabby, Dozy!

What are your rock & roll turn on's?

S: Anything with a swing and passion! I love people who just get lost in their music. Elvis was a great example of that, you get drawn into their world and its great. You can see it in instrumentalists too. Steve Whitehouse is an influence for me, he really performs when he plays, it’s great. You can’t beat that.

J: Wild guitar solos! and anything by Jimmy Bryant.

What’s your favorite rock & roll movie?

S: I must admit, I listened to the music a lot, but haven’t seen anywhere near enough of the movies. I have seen most of Cliff’s movies, as my Mum would have one on almost every weekend, and a few of the Elvis ones too. My favorite scene is “The Lady Loves Me” from Viva Las Vegas. I love the interaction, it’s so fun and light-hearted. It really sums up the era for me.

J: Rock Rock Rock. I love the mix of live artists, Frankie Lymon, Johnny Burnette trio, Lavern Baker, the Moonglows. Also I've always been a big fan of The Three Chuckles who are featured a lot in this movie.

Interview with wild guitarist JETT 'DAMIEN' DEAN

Speaking with guitar hero Jett 'Damien' Dean - Brutish power chords & flamboyant rockabilly solo's mixed with bad-trip psychedelia

Whats it like being know as one of the wildest live guitarists around?

When Im on stage it's just a blur, I look down and I've got broken strings and blood all over the guitar. I just cant stand still I've tried it but it's not for me, soloing mid air and using the guitar as a weapon is more fun.

You really go for it on stage where do you get your energy and passion from?
It's always been the same, whenever I hear music I just lose it 100%!!...All these different characters come out, Im a natural onstage, I love to see the audience's reaction and to give them a party, it's the greatest high in the world, all the other bullshit is worth it just to get on the stage and unlock the key.

Where do you get your middle name from?
From my parents, but in Italian it's Damiano. 

I also read that you're into the occult?

Yes, I was brought up near Salem and people are very superstitious around there. We used to hang out in graveyards and on plantations at night and I'd play guitar, crow's would gather around as we wailed. To this day I still put graveyard soil in my guitar case, just feels natural.

How would you describe your music? 

Bonkers rock & roll, just that really raw primal sound. The crowds want something that will shake them up, mean licks with nothing too fancy, any new guitarist can copy my style. It's about being sloppy, aggressive and tasteful all at once, that to me is exciting playing. The rhythm of rock & roll is an atomic bomb, pure excitement anything from 1956-1966, to be able to play those songs is beyond arousing. There's something about that time period in music. I must be a  reincarnated 60's pop dynamo (haha)

That's what appeals to me, the mixture of your influences.

For me rock & roll has to have that mutant side to it, people like Screaming Lord Sutch did it with 'Jack The Ripper' or The Phantom's 'Love Me' nailed it, cult music. It's gotta be frantic, there's never been any other music that's even come close to the guts of rockabilly or psychobilly. The greatest stars are a pure mixture of God and the Antichrist, it's an exciting combination.  

How long have you been playing guitar?

I started when I was twelve and took lessons for a bit. Learnt my minor chords, but then my guitar tutor disappeared and a week later the police reported him as missing, but I kept learning by ear from records. Bands like Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Charlie Feathers, Bo Diddley, Hasil Adkins, Link Wray, The Damned.

Your influences are mixed with punk?

Absolutely it's all part of the same DNA, I see punk as an update on rockabilly. I love witchy girls and cult B movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space or Hammer Horror one's like Plague Of The Zombies. The audiences who come and see us deserve a show. On any given night I can be either a mixture of Mocata, Frankenstein or Dracula, I can tap into their energy. 

What are your future plans?
Well on the day that Honey Don't fired me Chuck Berry died.........so I'll leave it to you to figure that sign out.

Interview with the Four Aces

Talking with Laurent Cuchi from the Four Aces

How did the band get started?
Summer 2001 : taking advantage of a gig in a Parisian bar, Laurent (singer), Nico (drums) and Malo (double bass) were hitting some booze and started to talk about forming a band. First, they called themselves "The Rockets" and were mostly "white rock" styled. When the first guitarist left, Laurent, who was also playing with the "Rock - A -Tones" for a couple of years, asked his guitarist Jean Charles to join them and that was the real start of "The Four Aces", a serious combo who doesn't takes itself seriously ! They changed their repertoire and choose to turn more Rockabilly. Most of the songs were covers however, they would play them their own way. Their first live gigs happened during parties at friends' and the first official show took place in St Malo (France) on July 2002. After many gigs in different places during the year of 2003, the band decided to stop, Laurent continue to play with the Rock-A-Tones and Nico joined The Atomics. In the early 2005 Nico, Malo and Laurent decided to play again together and asked Marco (Rhythm All Stars) to play with them, his answer was "yes". The Four Aces are back. After 1 year of rehearsal the band now plays a mix of cover and own songs and was ready to hit the road again. But after a few years, the band had to stop again, when Nico left for new adventures with Easy Lazy "C" and his Silver Sleepers, untill june 2010, when Carlos, also member of King Baker's Combo, join them on drums. In 2016 we have a new bass player, Thierry (from the Ol' Bry).

How would you describe your music?

I try to play 50s Rockabilly

How long you been a musician for?

I sing since 1997, I started because I love Rockabilly since more than 30 years. And when I saw Bands on stage, I told myself, I too would like to do this.

What got you into rockabilly?

A friend of mine in school made me listen Gene Vincent, After that after that everything changed.

How do you see todays rock & roll scene?

The rockin scene today is a mix of young cats (who love 50s Rockabilly and modern bands) and old ones with differentes tast, but now the rockin' scene are really in the move, with many peoples listening not only 50s Rockabilly but also 60s Garage.

You got any mad stories from being on the road?

I remember once or we flew to Portugal. We all carried a t-shirt from our band, a stewart asked us who we were, after that he went to the front of the plane, he picked up the microphone and announced that there was in the ' Plane a famous group and asked people to applaud. It was amazing to see all the passengers applauding us when no one knew us

How do you see the bands image?

I don't know exactly, for my band, we are well know here in France and of course I love that. For the other bands, they have a good image too, because you can't love music without live music.

What are the bands plans for 2017?

We working for our third album, and we would like to play in new place like England, big festival like the Rockabilly Rave, Sweden, Finland.... (we played in Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and all over France off course).

Interview - Trash Wax

Talking with Charlie Spliff one of the founders of the notorious record label Trash Wax
http://www.trashwax.com/

Tell Me about the labels history?
Ok, in 2010 during a period of unemployment & intense boredom I started a youtube channel which i called 'Trasharama' & started uploading music from my late teens that seemed to have been ignored or overlooked. It was a mixture of 80's rockabilly,psychobilly,garage punk & beat music. 

A wavy gravy monster mash mix of Garage, Trash, Rock'n'Roll, Punk, Rockabilly, 80's Psychobilly, Surf, Mod, Psychedelia, Freakbeat, Blues, Country, Folk & Ou... the channel grew over the years, (at one point I had over 5000 videos up) & bearing in mind the trashy nature of the music, 8-9 million video views was quite impressive i thought. In late 2014 I was contacted by my now label partner Darren, who was also impressed by the amount of interest there still was for the niche music we listened to in our teens & 20's & we started hatching a plan for a record label.

One band we had both really loved were 'The Vibes', & Darren had got hold of a raw, but banging live recording from their 1985 tour of europe. The Vibes looked like rockabillies with their quiffs & double, bass but they played 60's garage punk covers & they along with bands like The Sting-Rays, Milkshakes, Prisoners, Cannibals, X-Men, Tall Boys had been part of the Trash scene promoted by Cannibals frontman Mike Spenser.

These Trash bands fused elements of rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, beat music & psychedelia into their music & although all sounding different to each other, shared an ethos, attitude & ability to have cross appeal for their music, much like The Cramps. In fact the Cramps are the ultimate Trash band, their music was a mish mash of genres & they were loved by punks, goths, psychobillies & garage fans.

Both myself & Darren had got into the neo rockabilly/psychobilly scene where we encountered these Trash bands who sometimes shared the same billing at gigs. I would sometimes spend my weekends in Hammersmith, downstairs at the clarendon on friday nights for the trash nights & upstairs on saturdays at the legendary klubfoot. In the end, the only reason I went to the klubfoot was if one of the trash or garage bands was on the bill. In fact bands like the sting-rays, x-men, tall boys etc were Marmite to the klubfoot crowd, people either loved or hated them, it all became rather purist in the end which is why i stopped going.

The vibes, sting-rays etc were the bands that got me into garage music, they were the first wave in the UK after punk, there was no garage scene until the 80's & it was completely different to the purist stuff from the USA, this is why these bands are special, they were innovators, ground breakers & there has been nothing like them since. Anyways 2015 Trash Wax is born with a focus of paying homage to the original UK trash & garage bands of the 1980's, plus whatever demented shit from around the world Darren or I like now & believe share the trash ethos.

So on 31/5/2015..... exactly 30 years to the date of the recording, The Vibes - Voodoo Juju (Live in Enger) is released - 200 copies green wax & 300 black.

The vinyl sells well & a small cd run of 250 copies follows in July. In August we release our 1st 7" by 'Vince Ripper & The Rodent Show' (who feature ex 'Turnpike Cruisers/Alien Sex Fiend' guitarist Ratty), a cover of 'I Was A Teenage Werewolf' by The Cramps. By the end of 2015, a further 3 Lp's are released, 'In Go-Go We Trust' by cult Scottish garage band 'Mondo A Go-Go', and two lp's previously only available on cd The Go Go Cults' 'Into The Valley Of' & The Guitaraculas' 'Two Bottles Of Blood'. The Guitaraculas is the side project of Messer Chups main man Oleg Gitarkin. The rest is history https://www.discogs.com/label/845875-Trash-Wax

Whats on the cards for the new year?
2016 was a busy year, 2017 looks even busier including a new 'garbage grails' series of singles

Interview with The Accidents

Talking with lead singer & stand up bass man John Blackwell

Whats the history of the band?
The band is an evil offspring of a working rock & roll band. Being all family we have always been musically together and enjoying the music, especially the rockabilly side.  

How would you describe the bands music?
It is difficult to describe our music.....I think Charlie (brother & guitar player) thinks of us as if  'Rockabilly/thrashbilly & blues had a massive orgy...and the twisted outcome would be us'...I on the other hand would describe ourselves as a high energy fast paced rockabilly band with a touch of blues.

When did you start playing music?
I've been playing guitar since I was five then took up bass and double bass when I was ten. After that I learnt a bit of drums, piano and saxophone to grade 8 level, but bass is really my love. I went to see The Buddy Holly Show when I was really young and have been hooked ever since. My dad has always been working in bands, duos ets.. so have really been brought up with music, we all have. I've been gigging since I was ten.

Which artist first clicked with you?
I have always loved Buddy Holly for as long as I can remember and really got brought up with his music, then I discovered rockabilly...and WOW!

How do you see the bands image?
Erm bands image....I would like to say two sex gods and Keri on drums...BUT...we are probably more of a noise complaint on the scene...Nah, in all seriousness we are brothers and sister having the time of our lives and playing the music that we love.

Now that we've survived 2016 what do you see for the band this year?
For 2017 ALCOHOL is the way forward! We have got some great gigs and festivals lined up and we are working very close with a label on a 50/50 covers and originals album...watch this space...hopefully (lol)

The Runawayz - Interview with Joe Newbon

How did the band come together?
Joe met Curt through playing with previous bands on the rock & roll scene then we finally found a young bass player who was with us for a year, but now we have Sam French on bass who I've known for a long time. 

How would you describe your music?
We started out really authentic, clean sounding rock & roll but then we realized we sounded like nearly every other 'standard' r&r band out there and it wasn't something we wanted to aim for so we developed a more driving and energetic sound which has appealed to the rockabilly/biker and young indie crowd.

How long have you been playing guitar?
I personally have been playing guitar since I was 10 years old, I've had a few lessons that taught me the basics, but from there I have been self taught!

Who got you into Rock & Roll?
My dad and his side of the family are huge R&R and Rockabilly fans. I got into it through them. I grew up hearing them play the 50's records and I got hooked from a very early age.

How do you see today's Rock & Roll scene?
I have always loved this scene since I first joined when I was 13 years old, but during the last 6-12 months there seems to have been a massive influx of young people of our age onto the scene and its great for us all. We have all become one massive friendship group and we all go to Weekenders and other gigs together. There are more young rockabilly bands forming within the group of us kids and with this happening our scene can only get stronger and last for yet another generation!

What are the bands plans for 2017?
We plan to get our first album out of original material. We are currently in discussions with a record label so the sooner we can get sorted the better. We had some crazy times in Finland at our first European gig, also very early in the bands career we got to play the O2 in London so they are just a few of the many crazy and surreal experiences we've had so far.

What are you all time favorite Rock & Roll artists?
Artists like Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Johnny Burnette, Gene Vincent, Charlie Feathers, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stray Cats, Whirlwind, The Jets etc...

Interview with guitarist Jett 'Damien' Dean

Speaking with guitar hero Jett 'Damien' Dean ahead of his show at the authentic Rayner Rock & Roll Club

How did you form then and all get together?

Our singer Bopper started things going, he's a true rock & roll warrior. We met on Facebook and then I had an audition in a pub while karaoke was going on, I just played along to some of the songs. But while this was going on some drunk was eating crisps out of his underwear and rubbing them all over himself, then a Marianne Faithfull lookalike came over and started drooling over my shoes. After that it wasn't long before I met Zak who was involved in a Heinz Ketchup conspiracy.

How would you describe your music? 

Bonkers rock & roll. We just really go for that raw primal sound. The crowds want something that will shake them up and we're relentless, we love anything cult or wild.

That's what appeals to me, the mixture of your music.

See I need rock & roll to have that mutant side to it, people like Screaming Lord Sutch did it with 'Jack The Ripper' or The Phantom's 'Love Me' nailed it. It's gotta be frantic, there's never been any other music's that's even come close to the guts of rockabilly or psychobilly. The greatest stars are a pure mixture of God and the Antichrist, it's an exciting combination.  

I also read that you're into the occult?

Yes, I was brought up near Salem and people are very superstitious around there. We used to hang out in graveyards and on plantations at night and I'd play guitar, crow's would gather around as we wailed. To this day I still put graveyard soil in my guitar case, just feels natural.

How long have you been playing guitar?

I started when I was twelve and took lessons for a bit. Learnt my minor chords, but then my guitar tutor disappeared and a week later the police reported him as missing, but I kept learning by ear from records. Bands like Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Charlie Feathers, Bo Diddley, Hasil Adkins, Link Wray, The Damned.

Your influences are mixed with punk?

Absolutely it's all part of the same DNA, I see punk as an update on rockabilly. I love witchy girls and cult B movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space or Hammer Horror one's like Plague Of The Zombies. The audiences who come and see us deserve a show. On any given night I can be either a mixture of Mocata, Frankenstein or Dracula, I can tap into their energy. The band is a true gang and we want to thrill and mesmerize wherever we play.

What are your future plans?
On the day that Honey Don't fired me later that night I heard that Chuck Berry died....................You can work that sign out.