Tag: Rockabilly

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Music Record Reviews

The Old, Weird (North) America of Bloodshot Bill

Here is a record to remind us what rock ‘n’ roll sounds like. In case you forgot, the unholy noise is what matters most. I still remember my sister harking back to her teenage years, when she was lucky enough to hear “Louie Louie” as it climbed the charts, and the wild speculation in her circle about how dirty the lyrics might be. Legible poetry was not part of the equation. Nor was a thesaurus necessary to feel the impact of Little Richard, the Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird,” or Charlie Feathers’ “Stutterin’ Cindy.”

The Old, Weird (North) America of Bloodshot Bill

It’s a spirit that Bloodshot Bill nails on his records, as one cut after another jumps out of the speakers as from a grotto of molten vinyl, like a vintage comic book suddenly come to life around you. That even his digital releases sound like this is impressive. While this torch-bearer of American murk hails from Montreal, he’s declared Memphis his favorite city, and it’s fitting that his latest album, Come Get Your Love Right Now, was released on Goner Records.

Bloodshot Bill’s latest is in keeping with his past gems, yet never fails to surprise. It’s not so much a formula as a bouillabaisse recipe upon which he can build any number of dishes. From the major/minor blurring of the opener that gives the album its name, echoing with brooding background mutterings, to perhaps a musical saw (?) in the next, “Take Me for a Ride.” There are Link Wray-like instrumentals, rockabilly doo-wop numbers, and even a honky tonk original, “Just Because.” All are full of the shouts and echoes of rollicking characters living in Bloodshot Bill’s universe. 

Bloodshot Bill

It should be noted that on record, the wildness is anchored down with a solid “band,” with hard rocking drums, electric guitar, and upright bass, all played by Bill, set in a well-crafted slapback landscape that will soon have you forgetting this was just released last month. Party-goers might well ask you, “What thrift store did you find these fuzzy 45’s in, again?”

Yet for all the magic of his production methods, there’s plenty of energy packed just in his delivery. The boldness of his vocal territory never fails to amuse and amaze. Give a listen online, then check out two upcoming one-man-band gigs where this fearless troubadour can be seen recreating his real gone songs in the moment.

The Old, Weird (North) America of Bloodshot Bill (2)


Bloodshot Bill appears Friday, March 29, at DKDC, 8:00 pm; and Saturday, March 30, at the B Side, joined by the Faux Killas and Jack Oblivian and the Sheiks.

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Music Music Features

Rockabilly Returns

With an impressive list of traditionalists, revivalists, and torchbearers, including Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats and Sonny Burgess and his Legendary Pacers, the first installment of Memphis’ International Rockabilly Festival promises to deliver something no other music festival in the world can: two solid days of live music and nostalgia, all taking place a few hundred feet away from Sun Studio.

On March 3, 1951, Willie Kizart’s, water-damaged guitar amp malfunctioned, giving a recording of Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88” a distinct and fortuitous buzz. Two years later, a starry-eyed kid named Elvis Presley walked in the front door looking for an audition, and the corner of Union and Marshall officially became ground zero for the big bang of rock-and-roll. Howlin’ Wolf, Rufus Thomas, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison all launched recording careers at Sun. Now, 64 years after Kizart’s amp went all fuzzy, festival organizers Darrin Hillis and Mark Lovell are bringing rock-and-roll back to the place where it all started.

Hillis says he has no idea why it’s taken so long for someone to finally organize a major vintage music event in Memphis during Elvis Week, when tourists flock to Whitehaven to visit Graceland and celebrate the King’s life and legacy.

“We’re selling tickets all over the world, from Australia to Japan,” Hillis says. “A whole movie crew is coming from the United Kingdom.”

Hillis, who first partnered with Lovell to launch the Delta Fair in 2007, isn’t from Memphis, but he says he’s always been drawn to the city and its music. It started when he was only a kid living in a trailer park in Gainesville, Florida, playing Jerry Lee Lewis singles on his sister’s record player. “I wore it out,” says Hillis, who was encouraged to finally act on a longstanding desire to organize a rockabilly festival by Memphis’ rocket-powered piano man Jason D. Williams and his wife/manager Jennifer James.

“We really want this to be an experience,” Hillis says. “We want people to feel like they are walking back in time.” To achieve a sense of temporal displacement, Hillis has organized a hot rod car show and offered discounts to all festival vendors who dress in a vintage style reminiscent of the 1950s. To help complete the vibe, tattoo artists will be available to give music fans the ultimate souvenir. Those looking for a less permanent remembrance can visit pinup photography specialists, the Memphis Bombshells. They’ll be giving hair and makeup tips and performing retro makeovers in the Premiere Palace.

In addition to the shows, fans hoping to get up close and personal with their favorite rockabilly artists will be able to visit the Dizzy Bird, a 70-seat venue housed in the former Hattiloo Theatre. Selected performers will be available before or after their main-stage shows to tell stories, sign books, and play songs in a more intimate environment.

Sun Studio sax man Ace Cannon is scheduled to perform, as is Johnny Cash’s longtime drummer W.S. Holland. The first-wave rockers are playing alongside notable innovators like Memphis guitar prodigy Travis Wammack, whose quirky instrumental recordings “Scratchy” and “Fire Fly” inspired a generation of hot-lick guitar pickers including Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. The schedule is rounded out by contemporary Memphis players like Nancy Apple, Jason Freeman, and the Motel Mirrors, featuring John Paul Keith and Amy LaVere, who played rockabilly star Wanda Jackson in the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.

Memphis music has few champions as outspoken as Texas troubadour Dale Watson, who is scheduled to perform Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Watson’s based out of Austin, but since 2001, he’s recorded five albums’ worth of material at Sun Studio.

“I’ve been recording at Sun for almost 20 years now,” says Watson, who launched the Ameripolitan Music Awards in 2014 as a means of recognizing artists performing original music inspired by the sounds of traditional honky-tonk, rockabilly, and western swing. “Something about that room is so magical. A lot of it’s because of Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee’s having been there. But even more, it’s just the sound that you get recording in that room. It’s like nowhere else. And the talent that came to perform there made the perfect storm.”

The Rockabilly Festival also showcases the talents of newly-minted octogenarian and human jukebox Sleepy LaBeef, who takes the stage Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. LaBeef wasn’t a Memphis artist, but he was definitely around for the “perfect storm” Watson describes.

“At the beginning, it was all country, hillbilly, rhythm and blues, bluegrass, and the old foot-stomping, hand-clapping gospel rhythms all put together,” says LaBeef, recalling his early days on the road with all of the original rockabilly artists.

“I never made a record in that building there in Memphis,” says LaBeef, who became a Sun recording artist in the 1970s, after the label moved to Nashville. “Now, in 1954 and 1955, I was opening some shows for Elvis, Scotty [Moore], and Bill [Black]. We also did some shows with Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, and all these different people.

“We were mixing a lot of stuff together back then to see if it worked,” LaBeef says. “And if it worked, we done it.”

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Music Music Features

Recalling Roland

CREDIT: Dan Ball

Last week, Memphis lost Roland Janes. The legendary guitarist and producer was famous for his work with Jerry Lee Lewis and for his studio work at Sam Phillips Recording. Janes’ records will endure. His legacy as a musical mentor is profound. Few people experienced Janes as a teacher more than Scott Bomar, a Grammy-winning film composer, who (like Memphis musicians) learned to record and produce from Janes. Bomar’s success and, more importantly, his demeanor reflect Janes’ influence. Below, Bomar shares his memories of learning from one of Memphis’ greatest talents. — Joe Boone

One of the most pivotal moments in my life was digging a funky, yellow-labeled 45-rpm single out of a stack of records at my grandmother’s house when I was around 13. It was Travis Wammack’s “Scratchy,” one of the wildest, most unhinged guitar instrumentals of all time. It was from the past and the future all at the same time. It was hard to tell if it was from 1962 or 2102. I became fascinated with the sound of the record, and it sent me on a pre-internet fact-finding mission to find out everything I could about its creators.

I eventually found out about the record’s producer, Roland Janes, who had cut the record in the ’60s at his Sonic recording studio in a strip mall in Midtown Memphis. I began to connect the dots and discovered that Roland had been the in-house studio guitarist for Sam Phillips at Sun Studio and had played on numerous Jerry Lee Lewis hits, Billy Lee Riley’s “Flyin’ Saucers Rock & Roll” (one of the lodestones of rock-and-roll guitar), “Raunchy” by Bill Justis, and Harold Dorman’s “Mountain of Love.” Roland had the magic touch.

My growing obsession with the Memphis instrumental sound of the ’50s and ’60s eventually led to the formation of 1990s band Impala. I was a band member. In the early ’90s, I was working at Select-O-Hits, the record distributor operated by the family of Sam Phillips’ brother Tom Phillips and was approached by Johnny Phillips to make a full-length Impala record. I knew that Johnny did all of his recording at Sam Phillips Recording on Madison (the ultra-swank studio Sam Phillips built after he sold Elvis’ contract to RCA), and Roland Janes was the in-house engineer. I couldn’t say yes fast enough.

Working with Roland was not only a dream come true but also the beginning of a life-changing mentorship and friendship that lasted until his passing. With Roland at the helm, I experienced my first album session (Impala, El Rancho Reverbo), my first experience making music for a film (Impala, Teenage Tupelo), and my first record as producer (Calvin Newborn, New Born).

Roland always had the best advice, the best answers, and the ability to get the best performances from both raw talent and seasoned pros. From Roland, I learned more about the psychological aspect of producing records than the technical, though I did glean some of his knowledge of the latter as well. Roland’s sense of humor and wit were unlike anyone I have ever known. Roland would have musicians laughing and quickly forgetting any anxieties or pressure they may have been feeling, and, before they knew it, they would be getting takes down. Roland Janes, like his former boss, Sam Phillips, had a divine ability to work with talent and capture the precise moment of inspiration on tape.

Up until the past few years, Roland had been reticent to do interviews and share the bottomless wealth of stories he had. But being the intuitive person he was, I believe he knew he was in the twilight of his life, and he had begun to share more of his stories and himself — he even had a Facebook page. Fortunately, Roland lived to receive accolades from the Memphis music community that he had given so much to.

In 2006, I had the honor along with Knox Phillips, Jon Hornyak, and Craig Brewer to present Roland with plaques from the Recording Academy for his participation in three Grammy Hall of Fame recordings.

Last month, it was announced he would be inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and would be receiving a brass note on Beale Street. Roland was praised in numerous articles and online posts by a new generation of musicians and fans he had touched, and he was recently featured in a large cover story in the Sunday Commercial Appeal.

Roland Janes’ essence and legacy are captured in the past six decades and in the future of Memphis music. I will never forget the things he taught me, the advice he gave me, his stories, and, most of all, his generosity and kindness.