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The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. The band are credited as progenitors of the psychobilly subgenre, fusing elements of punk rock with rockabilly. The addition of guitarist Bryan Gregory and drummer Pam Balam resulted in the first complete lineup in April 1976. They released their debut album Songs the Lord Taught Us in 1980. The band split after the death of lead singer Interior in 2009.
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,... [creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock."
The Meteors are an English psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from London, England, they are one of the pioneers of the psychobilly subgenre — which fuses punk rock with rockabilly — its distinctive sound and style. "Starting in the neo-rockabilly scene, the Meteors were initially shunned for being too spooky and mean. Excuses for exclusion from rockabilly concerts varied from the band having too extreme of a sound to their drummer having green hair." The Meteors blended elements of punk rock, 1960s garage band surf music, rockabilly, and horror film themes in their music and are thought to be one of the first bands to use the label 'Psychobilly' to define a genre and musical style, though the term is used as a lyrical motif as part of the narrative in the Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three song, One Piece at a Time.
The Prisoners are a British garage rock band formed in 1980 in Rochester, Kent, England. Their 1960s garage sound made them a regular live fixture in London's underground "psychedelic revival" and "mod revival" scene of the early 1980s, as well as a linchpin of the Medway scene.
The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a characteristically dark and rebellious image reflected in an untamed musical approach. Sometimes it made use of distorted guitar lines and hallucinogenic organ parts, punctuated by Bonniwell's distinctively throaty vocals. Although they managed to attain national chart success only briefly with two singles, the Music Machine is today considered by many critics to be one of the groundbreaking acts of the 1960s. Their style is now recognized as a pioneering force in proto-punk; yet within a relatively short period of time, they began to employ more complex lyrical and instrumental arrangements that went beyond the typical garage band format.
Demented Are Go are a Welsh psychobilly band that was formed around 1982 near Cardiff, Wales. They were one of the earliest in the initial wave of bands to mix punk rock with rockabilly, and as a result, are considered to be highly influential to the psychobilly scene. The band often claims their name originated from the phrase "Demon teds are go!" as an adaptation of the phrase "Thunderbirds are go!" from the Thunderbirds TV series. Psychobilly is often associated with horror.
The Slickee Boys were a Washington, D.C.-area punk-psychedelic-garage rock band whose most-remembered lineup consisted of guitarist Marshall Keith, guitarist Kim Kane, singer Mark Noone and drummer Dan Palenski. The group was named after a GI slang term for the rockabilly-inspired Korean street toughs who sold black market goods to American soldiers.
7 Shot Screamers is an American psychobilly band from St. Louis, Missouri in the United States.
Big Beat Records is a British record label and import distributor owned by Ace Records, specialising in garage rock.
Batmobile is a Dutch psychobilly band from Rotterdam and Breda, formed in 1983. They were the first band not from the United Kingdom to perform at the influential psychobilly club, Klub Foot and are considered the seminal Dutch psychobilly band.
The Fog Band were an English garage punk/indie rock act from Bath, Somerset, England, that existed between 2000 and 2006 and were fronted by Bobby Grindrod. Originally instrumental, the band's lead guitarist persuaded Grindrod to be their vocalist after being intrigued by his unusual appearance. Although somewhat reluctant, Grindrod agreed after a period of intense insistence. He later claimed that:
"I only joined to stop Oli pestering me, but when we found ourselves supporting the likes of The Futureheads, Art Brut, The Buff Medways, The Dirtbombs, Neil's Children and The 5.6.7.8's, I realised that I'd definitely need more ties".
Ace of Cups is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1967 during the Summer of Love era. It has been described as one of the first all-female rock bands.
The Mystery Trend was an American garage rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1964. The band was among the first wave of San Francisco rock groups to emerge from the city's growing music scene. Exhibiting music prowess leaning toward R&B, the Mystery Trend were set apart from their contemporaries who later developed into psychedelic rock groups. Their recording output was limited, with the group's one single, "Johnny Was a Good Boy", being released in 1967.
The Midnite Sound of the Milky Way is a garage rock compilation available on compact disc put out by Big Beat Records (UK) that consists of songs recorded at the Midnite Sound recording studio in Danville, Illinois during the 1960s. The Midnite Sound studio one of many such venues pushing out obscure garage rock in the mid-1960s. The set was compiled by Alec Palao, who also wrote the liner notes. The compilation features twenty four tracks by different various artists who recorded there, and all except four have not been previously compiled. The Midnite Sound recording were often typified by an echo-laden sound, giving them a characteristically "outer space" vibe. The performers tended to be, even by 1960s garage rock norms, untutored and naively strange and noncommercial racket. The groups and artists who recorded at Midnite Sound tended to be less British Invasion-influenced than most, sometimes displaying rockabilly and pre-Beatles stylistics. The best-known act to record for the label was rockabilly/garage rocker Dean Carter, who is known for the song "Rebel Woman", which has appeared on several other compilations such as his Call of the Wild anthology on Big Beat Records. He does not appear on this set, but two performers here, George Jacks and The 12th Knight, do renditions of the song.
The Oxford Circle was an American garage rock and psychedelic rock band from Davis, California, near Sacramento, who were active from 1964 to 1967. They became a popular garage rock act with a proto-punk sound influenced by Them and other blues-based bands of the British Invasion, that, in addition to heavy guitar feedback, came to encompass psychedelia. The group began to make appearances in San Francisco, where they became a top draw in venues such as the Avalon Ballroom. They taped a show at the Avalon in 1966 and, after lying in the vaults for years, it was rereleased in 1997 on the Nuggets from California: Live at the Avalon 1966 anthology. In 1967, they released the single, "Foolish Woman" b/w "Mind Destruction", which is also included, along with several other studio outtakes, on the Nuggets from California compilation. In 1967, drummer Paul Whaley left to play in pioneering heavy rock act Blue Cheer. Lead vocalist and guitarist Gary Lee Yoder and bassist Dehner Patten left to form Kak, who recorded for Epic Records. Yoder subsequently went on to join Blue Cheer in one of their later configurations.
You Got Yours! East Bay Garage 1965-1967 is a compilation album featuring American garage rock bands that were active in the San Francisco Bay area between 1965 and 1967. It was released on September 18, 2007 on Big Beat Records and is the twenty-third installment of the Nuggets from the Golden State album series. Generally overshadowed by the garage scenes located in Los Angeles and San Jose, the San Francisco scene was uniquely influenced by the surplus of folk rock, which would eventually develop into psychedelic rock. For the most part, the groups presented on You Got Yours! do not exemplify the teenage-angst and rawness associated with the garage rock genre, but rather display a level of professionalism not expected from an adolescent band.
Uptight Tonight: The Ultimate 1960s Garage Punk Primer is a garage rock compilation put out in 2005 by Big Beat Records. The set consists of twenty-six tracks that, with a few exceptions, focus on the harder and more aggressive side of the genre. Steve Legget, commenting in AllMusic, writes that Uptight Tonight "...rips out the attitude and trash riffs pretty darn well, making it perhaps the ultimate single-disc set of this raggedly endearing rock style." The packaging includes well-researched liner notes written by Alec Palao, which provide helpful biographical information about the artists and their songs, as well as extensive photographs of the bands."
Restless is a British rockabilly band formed in 1978. The group got their name from the song "Restless" by Carl Perkins. The band performed their first gig in Sudbury in 1980, with Mark Harman as front-man on guitar and vocals, and Ben Cooper on drums; the two shared songwriting duties. After the second album was released in 1984, the band re-organised, dropping Mark's brother Paul on bass to be replaced by Jeff Bayly. The band are credited with being pioneers of neo-rockabilly.
Alejandro "Alec" Palao is a British musician, music historian, writer, and reissue producer. In addition to his musical output with groups like the Sting-rays, the Sneetches, and Mushroom, his works include hundreds of production credits and liner notes on important compilations of vintage rock and soul from Ace Records, Rhino Records, and others, plus a wide array of music-related print and film credits. Palao is unusual in that he normally supervises each aspect of the projects he compiles, including audio transfers and restoration as well as research and liner notes. Honors include five Grammy Award nominations for historical albums and liner notes.
The Koffin Kats are an American psychobilly band formed in 2003 in Detroit, Michigan. Known for their high-energy performances and unique blend of punk rock, rockabilly, and psychobilly influences, the band has gained a dedicated following both in the United States and internationally.
References
- ↑ David Stubbs, Rob Young Ace Records: Labels Unlimited 2008 p.87 "Another example of the type of group Big Beat worked with was The Stingrays. As Alec Palao, the American-based English expat, one time member of the band and subsequent Ace consultant, recalls: "The band was an amalgam of everything we were into, be it rockabilly, garage punk, 1970s punk, surf, northern soul, folk-rock; we were omnivores." The Stingrays were the classic example of a band who had supersized on Ace's ever-increasing and eclectic output of lost music."
- ↑ Martin Jones Lover, Buggers, and Thieves 1900486415 2005 p.153 "This, and the fact that Big Beat were releasing ... ...played a track by then-current psychobilly band The Stingrays."
- ↑ Marc Masters No Wave 2007 Volumes 287-292 p.267 "as punk rock mutated into psychobilly there was a demand for an outlet for the primordial rock music of such acts as Johnny & The Jammers, The Meteors, The Stingrays and The Cramps - and in 1980 the Big Beat label was born."
- ↑ George Gimarc Post Punk Diary: 1980-1982 1997 031216968X p.275 "The Stingrays are proponents of the "back to Billy Haley" sound that has been lurking in English basements for the last two years."
- ↑ The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul 1998 p.369 "...in the UK where his influence on 'trash' guitar groups, notably the Stingrays and Milkshakes, has been considerable."
- ↑ Maximum Rocknroll No.15 1984 "The STINGRAYS look rockabilly, act punk, and sound more 60s than anything else (note their covers ...)"
