// April 15th, 2012 // No Comments » // Photos, Videos
You get the feeling a fella with the name, “White Boy James” might have grown up around another culture. I often refer to myself as a Gringo when traveling in Latin America, even though in some circles its considered a little course and inappropriate, I think it puts people at ease and hopefully lets them know I don’t take myself too seriously… so they can relax.
Well, with White Boy James I didn’t get a chance to talk to him about his moniker choice, but I did get to catch his show at the brand new Torino Lounge in Paramount, CA last night… and I’m going to make an educated guess that it had something to do that this white boy was playing some boogie woogie blues music and moving like he knew what he was doing.. and he did.
He did get a chance to tell me he grew up in Los Angeles, really close to the Torino lounge as it turns out. I don’t know how the blues got in his blood, but it’s in his blood. When he’s on the harmonica, or stomping across the stage in his trench coat, he could be any color… he’s just feeling it and letting it rip.
White Boy James
A white boy singing the blues? Happens all the time. George Thorogood… hell, Mike Ness.. and countless others. But White Boy James hits that traditional, deep southern type of blues where it intersects with hillbilly and roots country just a tad and a half or so before it becomes Rock N Roll. In fact, the band switched gears and played a couple of hillbilly, rockabilly’ish songs deeper into their sets.
I’m not the world’s biggest blues fan, but watching White Boy James and the Blues Express was a hell of a lot of fun. When I could catch the lyrics like “I like my woman with a big old butt” or “you been f”’ing all my friends” it just added to the evening’s fun and not “don’t take things too seriously” tone. The kind that blues was born out of when African Americans in the deep south sang the blues to forget the harsh conditions of their lives. Pain is where the blues came from. Your woman left you.. you’re broke.. you got nothing.. but the blues. I get it.
But White Boy James & The Blues Express are no joke.. they are 1st class musicians and they rip it up and put on a hell of a good show. If you get a chance to see them, well you should. And if you don’t, here is a little video clip for you.
Enjoy!
// April 12th, 2012 // No Comments » // Events, Videos
If you know rockabilly, you probably know about The Polecats, a damned near legendary British rockabilly band that’s been doing it since, get this, 1977!
They were the final act at the recent Viva Las Vegas Car Show Stage last Saturday and it was cool to see some living legends do their thing live for a crowd that appreciated what they were witnessing.
First impression of these guys felt a little like channeling some old school Jerry Lee Lewis energy mixed with some punk.. maybe the Damned or Buzzcocks…. hmmm wonder where I got that Buzzcock reference? Oh well, in case you missed it here is a little video of them performing a little ditty called “What Do I Get?” by some other British band that escapes me.
And if you live in Los Angeles and are STILL jonesing fora little rockabilly, then you gotta check out White Boy James and the Blues Express this Saturday, April 14th @ the Torino Lounge in Paramount, CA. We’ll be there covering the event so if you go, please say “hi” and I’ll hit you up with a Dorados Rockabilly Trio CD… and might even buy you a beer.
Unless you are a scumbag promoter named “Black Cat Entertainment” that owes us and a bunch of other people money… of course. Then you can buy us one…FOR A CHANGE.
// April 11th, 2012 // No Comments » // Photos
PUNK OUTLAW RECORDS SIGNS LEADING PUNK BAND FROM SERBIA
- UPS! (Stand Against the System) Releases first CD “Evolution of the Transition” -
Los Angeles, CA April, 11th, 2012 – Punk Outlaw® Records announced the signing of their first band outside of the Americas with UPS! Hailing from Petrovac na Mlavi, Serbia (the former Republic of Yugoslavia), UPS! is a Serbian abbreviation for “Ustani Protiv Sistema!” which translated means “Stand Against the System!”
No stranger to the atrocities of war during the last century, Petrovac na Mlavi can now boasts having the distinction of spawning the first Serbian punk band ever signed to a U.S. record label. UPS! began performing in 2006 when the band, impoverished but believing in their vision, persevered and began by borrowing instruments to play covers and eventually originals. When they couldn’t find rehearsal space they practiced in a nearby sheep meadow creating a quiet a spectacle for the local sheep herders.
Their vision and hard work paid off. In 2009 UPS! won the qualification rounds of the GBOB Serbia Contest (a country wide battle of the bands). They then participated at the national finals in Belgrade, where they earned the distinction of being the only punk band to reach the finals. They later toured all over Eastern Europe and even Switzerland with other famous regional rock bands.
After five year of struggle and hard work, UPS! has released their debut album “Evolution Of the Transition”, an aggressive, edgy release that features 10 originals railing against corruption and mistrust of authority in a way that can only be described as both angry and authentic.
“We’re excited to have UPS! be our first band from the punk music hotbed of Eastern Europe” states Robert Rose, Founder of Punk Outlaw Records. “These guys have important things to say and our intention is to help them say it” Rose continued.
UPS! influences include Pennywise, Rancid, Bad Religion, NoFX and Bouncing Souls, as well as local bands Atheist Rap, D?a ili Bu, Goblini, etc. Their trademark sound is speed combined with melody and powerful vocals.
“Evolution of the Transition” is currently available on iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Music, CD Baby and other digital music sites. Samples of the music can be heard and official bio and photos can be viewed at www.upsband.com and www.punkoutlawrecords.com site. Current members of the band include Jovan Kostic (Mandow) – Vocal & Bass, Darko Stojanovic (Dare) – Drums, and Luka Glasnovic (Luka) – Rhythm Guitar.
ABOUT PUNK OUTLAW RECORDS:
Punk Outlaw Records is a digital record label and publishing company with a focus on distribution and promotion of socially conscious punk, ska, reggae, rockabilly, psychobilly and other forms of music from around the world. The label’s mission is to facilitate music’s ability to bring social awareness and change to some of the world’s most pressing issues.
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// April 10th, 2012 // 3 Comments » // Events, Photos
Woke up late on Saturday, packed up my camera and I and my painfully chapped lips and headed over to the Viva Las Vegas Car Show at the Orleans Hotel. Other than my aforementioned chapped lips, I love the desert air in April and it was an almost picture perfect day for any outside activity. It’s been five years since I’ve attended VLV and as if further evidence of it’s tremendous growth and popularity over the years were needed, I present Exhibit #1… The Car Show, which this year in addition to the classic cars and hot-rods, featured dozens of vendors on site and a large festival stage with bands playing all day until sundown.
I finally hooked up with my buddy Alex Blue, from the Los Angeles band Normandie Blue who was hanging with our mutual pals at the Spitfire Interiors (Whittier, CA) booth. I’ve known the crew from Spitfire for years and they have some of the most unique punk, rockabilly and psychobilly type of merch I’ve ever seen and they were doing a brisk bit of business at VLV. When I arrived, their booth was so crowded I couldn’t fit inside and shoot at the same time. The guys were preoccupied just trying to provide change for the cash being shoved in front of their faces.
Most of the vendors, like Spitfire, were mom and pop entrepreneurs and artists plying their wares for an appreciative client base. Booth prices are relatively affordable so vendors have a good shot of not only promoting themselves but making a nice profit at events like VLV. As well they should, exhibiting at these events is a lot of work but for most, well worth it (not to mention, a more than little fun is had in addition to raking in all the cold, hard cash).
The cars were insane as always. My favorites are the ridiculously low riding cars with the narrow front windshields and the old timey, two-seater hot rods. Many cars are towed in from around the country on the backs of trailers but I saw more than a few driving in the slow/truck lane on the drive to and from Los Angeles on the way in and out.
One of the great things about VLV in general and the car show specifically is the diversity of unique fashion that’s on display. The ladies had their Sunbrellas out in force to fight against the high desert sun and most of the fashion reflected the tattooed lifestyle of rockabilly or psychobilly fanatics. But there were also plenty of punk and other types of fashion influences mixed in amongst the crowd of strolling pin up queens and retro enthusiast.
The live musical acts on the huge outdoor stage was a great addition to the event from when I attended 5 years ago. There were great acts throughout the day but one of the highlights for me was catching a performance by the legendary British band “The Polecats“, who are a great, high energy rockabilly band dancing and playing on the edges of the genre where it melds with punk and psychobilly.
The Polecats
After the Polecats gig and the car show wound down, I made my way back inside the Orleans. If for some ungodly reason the car show wasn’t your scene, then there was STILL plenty going on… VLV is like Rockabilly amusement park where only your body’s need for sleep (or your tolerance for loads of alcohol) can prevent you from feeling entertained every second of the entire 4 day affair.
In addition to another pool party going full blast, I discovered a couple MORE music venues I had somehow missed PLUS a whole separate vendor area featuring retro clothing and old remastered classic rockabilly CDs and band posters. Yep, VLV has gotten huge.. but unlike so many things that see this kind of success, it has only gotten better in the process of growing. Everywhere you went, PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) was on tap for a measly $3.
Finally, burlesque.. that oh so popular retro and relatively recently revived art form that, at VLV at least, often meant braving snakingly long lines to secure a pass to the sold out shows. You may know how I feel about lines, basically I don’t do them. So I felt pretty smug when I was able to waltz into Burlesque Bingo without standing in so much as a 2 person deep line.
Now I’m not a big bingo fan exactly, but the fact that I could roll right in armed only with my VLV armband and press pass, well then bingo was a great excuse to get up close and personal to some burlesque dancing. Ah dear reader.. the sacrifices I make to bring you the pics and the story. I sure hope you appreciate it!
I’m not going to explain how Burlesque Bingo works but lets just it’s not your typical church bingo, of that you can be pretty certain. The highlight of the event for me was the chance to see the reigning 2011 Miss Viva Las Vegas Burlesque Champ, Miss Inga Ingenue (AKA Little Blonde Bomb) perform… wow! ,
And for any of you with delicate gender political sensibilities, you should know this was not a room full of dudes ogling scantily clad performers, far from it. It was at least 50/50 male-female ratio with some of the most raucous applause coming from the ladies in the bunch, many of whom were there with their man.
Inga Ingenue .
Lets see… burlesque, bingo, bowling… fashion, art and hot-rods… tattoos, leather jackets and rolled up jeans, sun-brellas, tight dresses and high heels..
Pool Parties with Tiki Bars, Hawaiian Shirts & Hula girls… Pachucos with Zoot Suits,
Guys with Mohawks, Quiffs and Pompadours..Girls channeling Sophia Loren and Bettie Page…
Mexibilly and Hillbilly Billy music with sliding guitars!
Drinking PBR out of a bowling pin or a plastic cowboy boot…
Elvis in with a pink cadillac scouting couples for the wedding chapel…
Chuck Berry and Richi Valens blasting from hot rods…
Greasers and Car Clubs…Sophia Loren and Bettie Page lookalikes..
Torn Suicidal Tendancies T-Shirt guy next to a Johnny Cash look a like..
Fans from Japan, Romania, Scotland, England…
Guys in overalls looking straight up from the movie “Brother Where Art Though?” and I saw a tough looking dude in combat boots and a kilt!
ahhh.. silly, ridiculous Las Vegas… oh and lest forget…
great live music from all over the world.
This is Rockabilly… this was Viva Las Vegas 2012.
WANT MORE VLV?
For the complete set of photos from Viva Las Vegas 2012 visit our Flikr Page HERE!
and stay tuned for some video clips from Burlesque Bingo and the Polecats coming soon!
// April 8th, 2012 // No Comments » // Videos
Here is a little video clip from the Atomic Drifters (Denver) Performing at Viva Las Vegas.. Enjoy!
// April 7th, 2012 // 3 Comments » // Photos
DAY 2 (My Day 1) – Viva Las Vegas
I love subcultures. At Viva Las Vegas weekend you get to experience a world flipped on it’s head where it seems almost EVERYONE is a rockabilly character from some 1950′s movie or I Love Lucy episode. When I drove up to the Orleans hotel I knew I was in the right spot before even checking the sign. There were James Dean greasers walking into the venue and crazy looking hot-rods out in the parking lot.
The Orleans is huge and with it’s over the top Louisiana cajun theme, it is the perfect locale for a rockabilly weekender. After 15 years, I would say the Orleans Hotel and Tom Ingram’s Viva Las Vegas have pretty much perfected the art of the event. And it is art. It’s packed full of activities from 10 AM on Thursday until the wee hours of the night on Sunday. When do the people sleep? From the looks of things… not much.
To the casual attendee, things sure seemed to flow along without a hitch. I arrived early afternoon to see an incredibly long line snaking it’s way through the casino floor. It seemed to have no end in sight. I panicked thinking I was going to have to stand in that line to pick up my passes. But not to worry, that was the line to pick up tickets for the popular Burlesque Show later that evening. That dear reader, would have to carry on without me.
Picking up my press wristband and pass was much easier and in a matter of 3-4 minutes I was good to go. I headed straight to the vendor area to see what kind of unique items were being offered this year. Underneath the rockabilly soundtrack and booming live band next door, I heard the faint buzz of tattoo needles where people were getting inked up. Next to the tattoo booth was a spot for Rockabilly girls to get a makeover.
There were of course old Rockabilly albums and photos of bands from back in the day, lots of vintage items including old movie posters from the 50s and 60s, plenty of booths with all kinds of unique clothing for guys and gals, customized knobs for the gearshift of your hot-rod and even a zoot suit booth for those who rock the pachuco look.
Happy Customer with George (Right) - The House of Jorge
I think my favorite booth wasn’t so much of a booth but a little area called “The House of Jorge” run by, you guessed it George from Denver, Colorado. George had custom belts, some cool chain wallets and some really cool, really popular and yes, expensive ($75+) PBR belt buckles. The stuff was unique (and expensive.. though I hear he’ll cut you a deal if he likes you) because it’s custom, one of a kind and made by hand by George himself. George is not only a talented artist, he’s a nice guy. We had a good time talking about the end of social networking as we know it (what, you haven’t heard? well you heard it here first kiddies).
Next up was bowling. Now with bowling shirts so popular in this scene, it should, I suppose be no surprise that the “sport” of bowling is equally popular. The upstairs area of the Orleans has a kick ass bowling alley and for $5, VLV attendees received 2 games, shoe rental and a slice of pizza.
There was a constant supply of music everywhere in the hotel and it was all the right kind, rockabilly and old time rock and roll.
Detroit's "Royal Rhythmairs"
One of my favorites was a band from Dallas-Ft. Worth called “The Royal Rhythmaires” introduced by our buddy DJ Del Villareal of Motorbilly Radio from Detroit.
DJ Del Villarreal from Motorbilly Radio
We also saw the Atomic Drifters from Denver and the Phantom Shakers from Detroit as well as our good buddy DJ Rockin Vic (Los Angeles) spinning classics for a packed and swinging dance floor. There was a cool pool party featuring the “kings of hulabilly”, “Hula Girls” and when I say cool, I mean literally cool, it was chilly in Vegas.
Hula Girls @ the Pool Party
One of my favorite things the entire day was the VIP Screening of the documentary Bettie Page Reveals All.. a documentary years in the works that was officially authorized and narrated by Bettie herself. What an amazing thing to actually hear (but not see) the older Bettie Page telling her incredible life story just before she passed away.
Atomic Drifters
Before the screening there was a red carpet and a Bettie Page look alike contest. BTW – A complete review on Bettie Page Reveals All is coming up later.
Phantom Shakers
One of the many great things about VLV is that there is so much to do that you can’t possibly do (or in my case) cover it all. So you pick and choose your favorite things and if you are bored, well, it’s because you want to be. There are so many bands, so many different things to do you just have to relax, highlight your “Must Dos” and let the rest come as it may, naturally.
It’s sort of like a short vacation to another country, except in this case, it’s not only another place but a completely different era. You can’t do it all, so you do what you can and don’t let the fact that you can’t do it all stress you in any way. I didn’t see a lot of stressed people at VLV by the way, it seemed everyone was having a good time.
Which brings me to the question, if everyone is in the subculture, then is it a subculture anymore? While I don’t think there is any danger in rockabilly taking over the planet anytime soon… hitting the VLV at the Orleans hotel gives one a slight taste what life would be like if it did. And I have to tell you, so long as Elvis is around to be our president and roll around in his motorcade in a hot pink cadilac, I think it might be pretty cool.
MORE TO COME: Today we’re hitting the Car Show, seeing more bands and we’ll many, many more pics and videos up soon, so stay tuned.
// April 6th, 2012 // No Comments » // Events
Yesterday was Day 1 of the big Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender and despite our intentions to leave bright and early, we left around 1 pm and thanks to a car accident on the outskirts of Los Angeles arrived kind of late to Vegas, hungry and tired.
The hungry part was addressed with some cheap but awfully good Mexican food at some not so little hole (everything’s big in Nevada.. wait, wrong state.. never mind) in the wall.
Vegas Road Trip
The tired part, well, I must be getting old because I didn’t seem to bounce back from the 5 hour drive like I hoped.
So yes, you guessed it, I was in Vegas and it was just after 10 pm and off to bed I rolled. Hope I didn’t break any local laws.
On the flip side, I woke up this morning completely rested and refreshed right? Wrong! I was up at 5am for some unknown reason… I finally went back to sleep around 7Am but I feel like the elusive God of Rim sleep skipped my bed last night.
Wow.. how boring it is to type about these minute details of my life. As you know, I usually try to stick to the more exciting things (mugging attempts, con-men, fights, etc.) when covering behind the scenes… and now, my friends, you know why.
The good news? I’m heading over to VLV right now… to pick up my media pass and stand in line to get my pass for the burlesque showcase.. (I guess it’s pretty popular because access to the press is limited). So things are bound to pick up when I actually do what it is I came to do… so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I just finished some pancakes and I think I’ll grab a shower.. Will the mind blowing details of my journey to the exotic land of Las Vegas never end? Wait… I better twitter that pancake blurb really fast! People will want to know.
PUNK FANS!?
Punk fans, bored by all this rockabilly talk? Well I ran across this article in the local Vegas CityLife paper about punk history in Las Vegas. Bands like Tomorrow’s Gone and Faded Glory. They put up an online archive series for you punk history buffs called www.PunksInVegas.com . Check it out.
// April 5th, 2012 // No Comments » // Events
For all of you following the Black Cat / Rich Vreede Scam drama on DontDragMeDown.com (AKA Scumbagpromoter.com) you may have read about the cool new hot spot Torino Lounge in Paramount, California.
If not, then now worries, I’m here to tell you about it. It just opened and next weekend they got a big rockabilly show with Whiteboy James & the Blues Express coming into town. We’re going to be there covering it and since we’ll be fresh off the Viva Las Vegas show this weekend, we’ll probably still be wearing the same clothes from VLV.. so look for us at both places!
// April 4th, 2012 // No Comments » // Events, Photos, Videos
In 2006 I happened to be in Las Vegas for some business reason or another when Viva Las Vegas was in town. I stumbled upon the pool party by accident and saw a guy named “Pachuco Jose y Los Diamantes” playing his brand of boogie woogie out by the pool and all these tattooed and retro looking people in a variety of dress swinging and dancing to the music and generally having a good old time.
The music was in Spanish… the crowd was at least 50% Latino and this was as entertaining of a scene as my NYC jaded eyes had seen in a long, long time. I decided then and there that I’d be back the following year with cameras to feature the event on my syndicated TV show I was producing at the time, American Latino TV & LatiNation.
In 2007 we returned and did just that. We spent a couple days there gathering footage and interviews, checking out the car shows, talking to pin up queens and rockabilly cats from as far away as Japan. We interviewed the founder Tom Ingram and gathered enough material to produce a few segments on the phenomena.
Following my gut instinct that this type of content would play well in our biggest TV market (For a Latin targeted show that is Los Angeles, NOT New York City) and in markets throughout the west and southwest, we started weaving rockabilly and punk content into the shows. When covering music, fashion or other cultural stories instead of just focusing on the latest salsa or reggaetone artists or Latin celebrity, we also included this very underground culture that rarely received any mainstream national media attention.
It worked. Our ratings and awareness increased and I can honestly say of all the smart and stupid things I did in the 8 years I produced the shows, this was one of the smarter moves. It was a marketing home run.
Possibly in part because I was personally fascinated with the culture and people and genuinely interested in this lifestyle, not only from a Latin point of view, but overall.
This my friends, is how Punk Outlaw initially began. Despite the success of the ratings, American Latino & LatiNation couldn’t be all rockabilly, punk and psychobilly all the time. Our mission was much, much broader than that and the vast majority of viewers, while intrigued enough to watch some segments, would never watch entire programs dedicated to the culture. Not to mention our 100+ local affiliates and our dozen or so advertisers didn’t sign up for this type of show.
So walah.. Punk Outlaw was born. First as a simple site with some videos on You Tube then later the current version you see now, which incorporates my world travels as I work on the documentary “Punktology… the worldwide influence of punk”… to most recently, the launch of Punk Outlaw Records.. which is still feeling it’s way around finding and promoting various genres of underground music from around the world so that everyone can enjoy.
Well, now, in 2012, a good 5 years after we first covered VLV and provided some unique, never before seen coverage that I’m still very proud of to this day, we are heading back.
We’re driving this time from Los Angeles and beginning tomorrow will be there through Sunday where we’ll provide daily updates on the blog as well as video segments.
So if you can’t make it VLV this year, never fear dear reader, we got you. Stay tuned for daily updates and pics right here and we’ll do our best to bring it to you in all it’s glory. Should be a rollicking good time.
Enjoy some videos and pics from 2007.
// April 2nd, 2012 // No Comments » // Photos, Videos
You may remember our buddies from Medellin, Colombia, The Dorados Rockabilly Trio, one of the few, true rockabilly bands in the entire country (there is an emerging pyschobilly scene in Bogota). I was really impressed with Dorados’ passion for rockabilly music, in a country where rockabilly music is a very foreign concept.
My rockabilly friends in California and New York have often told stories about the looks and questions they get when they travel outside the “culture zones” of Cali and NYC in areas less familiar with Rockabilly music and subcultures, like the midwest or deep south.
Well, imagine if you can being in a place like Colombia… so long isolated from the rest of the world, where even being a punk, is bound to draw some stares (or a Gringo, take it from me), much less rockabilly with the pompadour hair, retro clothes, tattoos and the 1950′s and 60′s Americana look.
Yet these guys and a few others like them persevere. We signed Dorados to Punk Outlaw Records when they released their first CD “Conflicto de Espacio Blanco” (White Space Conflict), a Spanish / English mix of 6 originals including their trademark song “Bettie Page”. The CD is out now on i-Tunes, Amazon Music, etc.
While we recognize the excellent rockabilly bands in the UK, U.S. and other parts of the world we felt like music like this from a country like Colombia should be heard. I feel like we should support music from artists who are the lone voices in their home country.
With that all said, I really loved their tune, “Bettie Page”. I, like most people, wasn’t alive when Bettie Page’s brand of cheesecake photography was so popular. But I became fascinated by her life story when I found she was from Tennessee (where I’m from) and moved to NYC (where I moved to) and then California (where I now live) and later in life returned to Tennessee and became very religious and secluded in her dying days (the similarities stop there, I hope… oh and I’m not really as hot as Bettie Page either… and I’m a dude).
Say what you will about Bettie Page and her art, the reality is that she was a pioneer and has inspired many, many photographers and models in the current pin up and burlesque scenes, which are a big part of rockabilly culture.
I don’t want to get any hate mail and flames from people who don’t agree with pin up and burlesque. If you don’t like it, don’t read this blog or view the Bettie Page video or videos coming up on Punk Outlaw, because we’re going to feature more of it on the site. Why? because it’s a big part of the culture and we cover the culture, ALL of it. It’s that simple.
Miss Nentini is a burlesque dancer and pin up artists who hails from El Salvador but lives in Los Angeles. She’s got legions of loyal fans on her Facebook Profile and is actually able to make her living performing burlesque and modeling throughout the Los Angeles area. After the video shoot, we interviewed Miss Nentini for our documentary “Punktology” and she filled us in on some of the challenges facing burlesque and pin up girls.
We asked her to channel Bettie for the video shoot last month at Venice Beach for the video we are producing for the Dorados Rockabilly Trip single “Bettie Page”. I think she did a good job and below are some behind the scenes photos of the shoot.
It was a cold, windy day at Venice Beach. I was sick and Nentini in her retro bikinis was not appropriately dressed for the weather. But like the pro that she is, she carried on and made it look like just another summer day on the beach. Thanks again to Miss Nentini and thanks to Tim & Snik, the Russian interns who provided production assistance for the shoot.
The un-retouched photos below are for your viewing pleasure. Look for Bettie Page video featuring Dorados and miss Nentini to come out later this month. And if you live in the LA area or are visiting, look for a Miss Nentini show. I haven’t had the pleasure of taking one in just yet, but I hope to bring one to you guys soon.
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