Everything I said was in complete jest.

I know, I just wasn't sure what you were referencing with your post.

"Please not over this side of the water!"

I didn't quite understand what that was supposed to say.

zak

morphball
Nah... it's a valid opinion. I do unashamedly admit to appreciating Heath's music (though they seem to be going a little more country now), I understand how other bands trying to emulate one guy's concept of a genre might start sounding unoriginal.

It isn't a lack of originality that I object to.
It is an obliviousness to the genre's roots and origins, or even blatant disdain for it. I have met a shocking number of people in the rockabilly "scene" who will proudly admit to "hating" country music. And I'm not talking about Brooks & Dunn "country" here, I'm talking about the stuff rockabilly came from. Or dissing rockabilly bands for not having an entire set of warp-speed psychobilly material and some clown bashing out full barre chords on a Gretsch with way too much distortion. "Rockabilly" bands where the guitar player can't fingerpick. Huh, come again??
It is like saying "hey let's start a 'surf' band based entirely on MOaM?'s sound" and then telling everyone how you think first wave 60s surf is 'boring grandpa music' which makes you yawn.

I have always found the whole Rev Horton Heat thing odd myself. Jim is a really nice guy offstage and is an amazing guitar player...but like other bands he spawned some stuff that is beyond his control.

I was around when he first started (I live in the Dallas area) and the original line up of the band before Jimbo was a really straight forward Rockabilly band that started doing some "darker sounding" stuff.

When Jimbo came in and things started rolling for them the "psychobilly" thing got started being used in songs and as a label for the band.

Meanwhile the Euro Psychobilly thing had been going on for some time and the only "American" band that was like those guys were the Quakes.

I still remember guys in Texas when the Rev's first CD came out "going Psychobilly" and always saying the Quakes and the Europeans were crap and not "Psychobilly." That was a major "huh" for me.

Later on another band came out (I can't think of the name of the band off the top of my head) and they looked and sounded like a Rev cover band and then Taz (the drummer when they got popular) was out of the RHH and played with these guys and from that point on I started hearing a lot of RHH style bands.

I picked up and saw a lot of hate from those guys for the European Psycho thing (and the look with the bleached spotted jeans and such) because I was buddies with a guy who had been in Europe and was going to college with me that was a total Euro Psycho (he was into that Halloween Hemsby stuff/scene) and for the bands doing "traditional" rockabilly like High Noon, Dave and Deke, The Planet Rockers, Big Sandy, Go Kat Go, and so on at the time.

Funny thing is knowing Jim and Jimbo (not close, just know them) they never had any of this attitude or feeling. Jim loved country, I know that for a fact, and he used to walk around where he lived wearing an AC/DC t shirt.

The Stray Cats and RHH both have spawned some interesting scenes really kinda lost touch with the roots and real world.

Hell, most of the younger "rockabilly" guys I have run into HATE surf and drag music big time.

Another odd off shoot is from Social Distortion.

Car shows are now loaded with guys who look rockabilly, listen to punk, drive rolling nightmares they call rat rods who HATE rockabilly and surf.

What a world, what a world...

If anybody is from DFW you will also remember the huge transformation of former Nazi Skinheads into Rockabilly looking guys in the early to mid 90's.

I still remember Kevin Smith of High Noon being engaged by one of these guys who was going on about how rockabilly was a "true white man's music" and totally being oblivious to the blues influence.

This goof ball said Jump Blues was horrid and when it was pointed out to him that many of the early rockabilly songs were covers of Jump Blues standards he just got angry and said the country and punk aspects were more important.

....yeah, right.

www.kingvoodoo.blogspot.com

Just a quip really zak, It's just leads to British Rockabilly which i'll only find myself in deep waters if i try to explain out in the open.

I'll just a shut up my face, please carry on..

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 27, 2009 18:21:20

The Hillbilly Hellcats...that's them.

Man, they even looked and dressed the same...scary.

crumb
Just a quip really zak, It's just leads to British Rockabilly which i'll only find myself in deep waters if i try to explain out in the open.

I'll just a shut up my face, please carry on..

Ah, the Teddy Boys.

I never have figured out a lot of that scene.

I remember meeting some Teds that came over to the US in he late 80's or early 90's who were in at least their 40's and all they wanted to do was drink and fight...they do live that scene.

They seem obsessed with switch blades, hair care products, booze, and the music. More so than you standard rockabilly lifestyle types for a lack of a better way of putting it and that is saying a lot considering the discussions I have heard and been in about pomade LOL.

I never liked that "drenched" electric bass sound at all most of them had and that goofy dance stuff that looked like break dancing.

Ted's are just different, I don't know how else you can put it.

www.kingvoodoo.blogspot.com

morphball
merc50: You're right, Jim is definitely a great player, really a great singer and lyricist too. I saw them recently, and they still sound really tight, almost like listening to a CD. They played some stuff off of the upcoming "Laughin' and Cryin'" release, which seems to be a return to what he really loves. (Not bad, but probably not the kind of thing for many of those sleeveless plaid shirt wearing guys... when he finished his new material set and announced they were going back to the oldies, he told everyone not to look so happy... haha.)

The guy gets a lot on crap he should not get from people.

I dug his instrumental deal he did with organ but most of his fans seemed to hate it.

BTW: I have always like the guys, understood Jim's talent, but I could only take limited amounts of RHH.

I feel the same about Wayne the Train Hancock if you know who that is...I like him but can only take limited doses.

Also, I kinda like the guitar that started this thread and Hawaiian shirts...uh oh....

www.kingvoodoo.blogspot.com

I was am a big reverend fan the first records rule and start to drop off from there, the live show to me has gotten really boring...i can set my watch to there set list and am really fed up with the croud that now shows up like zak said....a buch of frat boy goons!

Last time i saw him some retard swong a full bottle of beer in the air and got a bunch on jim and everyone else, Jim stopped playing guitar and i think punched him in on the top of the head. the show stopped for a second you could tell how pissed off he was

he recoverd very nicely buy saying
"the fisrt thing you learn in high school is not to spill beer....the first thing you learn in college is not to waste beer" something like that, and he had the guy tossed out

it was a really weird moment and he made it cool really quick with his banter, right then he started having a good time and the show became alot more fun.

hes playing this saturday in my town and im debating on going or not. i really should support good music FINNALY being brought here.
we dont get tons of cool stuff (intown anyway)

My GF hasent seen him, if she wants to go ill take her.

Im sick of dealing with the frat boy goons when im trying to have a good time out at a show.

im glad you guys are saying hes a nice guy, i would think he might be a jeark and never wanted to meet him so i didnt ruin what i love about him.

ps the tiki guitar is still ugly

Give me reverb or give me death!
facebook.com/onenightstandards
https://www.youtube.com/scotstandard
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Welcome to sg101, Big John! Very glad you're here. Wow. I'd never seen this thread before. Quite a read, isn't it? The link to your old guitar is busted; I sure wish I could've seen it. Please don't lurk too much. I'm sure we'd love to know what you're thinking. And playing.

And, the music video is wild!

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Jan 06, 2014 16:58:37

I with you, Noel.