The following interview originally appeared in FFanzeen Number 10, which was issued in 1983.
Never saw the Blasters play, but I have a few of their vinyl releases from that period. Rockabilly was definitely making a re-swing, despite the Blasters’ comments below, which I believe are meant respectfully tongue-in-cheek.
However, I did see Dave Alvin’s Americana-style group play at the Calgary Folk Festival during the early ’90s, and they were a blast (pun intended), though I was too far away for decent photos (hence their absence here). If you want to see them in action, though, they’re right there in the film Streets of Fire pretty much playing themselves for two great numbers (one of which is at the bottom of this page). – RBF “You don’t really think were rockabilly, do you?” asks Jon Bazz, bass player for the Blasters, the Slash / Warner Bros. recording artists who are reviving the roots of ‘50s rock’n’roll and transplanting them into the hearts of the ‘80’s record buying public. The Blasters, which include Phil Alvin, vocals; Bill Bateman, drums; Gene Taylor, piano; and Dave Alvin, lead guitar, prefer to look upon their brand of rock’n’roll as just “American music.
“For rockabilly, you have to have a stand-up bass, and the singer’s got to croon or hiccup. Our singer thinks it’s a racist term because back in the ‘50s, their influences were black (like) Little Junior Parker and Ray Brown. Then a white guy came along and put a hillbilly – because that’s what Elvis was – to it. Sam Phillips, who created the Sun sound, wanted a white guy who could sing like a black. He knew there was something to be gained by the mix of black and white when he started out.
“One of the biggest hits Carl Perkins had, ‘Matchbox,’ was an old negro folk tune out of the cotton fields. His daddy taught it to him.”
The Blasters see their music as more R&B than rockabilly, although they admit that “Go, Go, Go” is rockabilly-ish and “Rock ‘Em Pete” is jazz, and that their first album, American Music was on a rockabilly label, Rolling Rock Records.
“I liked a lot of different types of music. I’m 30 now. When I was going up in Downey (California), surf music was popular. Later in high school, I started listening to blues – post-war Chicago blues – like Muddy Waters.” It was around this time that John met Phil Alvin, another blues fan. They’d jam together and formed a band whenever they wanted an outlet for their music.
They hadn’t decided to devote themselves to music professionally until three-and-a-half years ago, when they were asked to play at a wedding reception. Phil, who was a math teacher at the time, and Bill Bateman, who was working in an amplifier company, had heard of someone who needed a band for their reception. So, they threw together an impromptu band with David and a few friends. They enjoyed performing so much that they decide to start rehearsing regularly, and organize a band.
“We played biker bars for free drinks and $40 a night. The bikers were more into their girlfriends and playing pool than listening to a band. They used to throw beer bottles. We were horrible then. We’d break strings and have to end the set. We learned a lot in 10 gigs, about how to present ourselves to an audience.”
And in their short career, they’ve presented themselves to many different types of audiences as they opened for various acts around the Los Angeles area. “We’ve always got along with the punk audience because we’re very authentic in the way we present ourselves. We were into playing the music we liked and eventually ended up on a rockabilly label.”
While out on the road promoting their independent release, the Blasters built up a following. “People liked our shows and that’s how we got on Slash / Warner Bros. I’m really thankful that the public likes our music.”
With a successful East Coast tour under their belts and their LP, The Blasters, doing well on the charts, the group is inspired with ambition. Right now, “the battle plan for the Blasters is rehearsing and getting new material. We’ve got six songs. We’re very slow in terms of putting out an album.”
But their die-hard fans shouldn’t worry, a six-song EP, The Blasters Live at the Venue, London, is soon to be released. [Note that the EP was titled Over There by the time it was released – RBF, 2010]
They’re also planning to put out a new album in February, and then get out on the road again. In the meanwhile, however, the band is looking forward to playing their old haunts in Los Angeles. “Things have split up. There are so many things going on. If we go out on tour for a couple of months, when we get back, there is a whole new generation out here.”
[Sidebar: Please excuse the dubbed dialog, that’s all I found; and note that the woman dancing is the real dancer from the film Flashdance]
I put this cassette together in the 1990s, when people still made mixed tapes. It was for traveling in the car, as it had a cassette player and it seemed I was always going somewhere. Certainly, there was nothing on the radio to which I wanted to listen (and that is still true).
In 2001, I starting making a series of six-hour drives up to western New England, and for that summer I often had my granddaughter with me. At the time she was 8 years old, and was heavily into Britney and the like. I was quite proud of her that summer because she really got into some Bollywood music I had in the car. But that’s another tape, and here is this one. It seems I played the first side a lot around her, but judiciously. Some of her reactions at the time, will be included here, if you wonder why I bring her up.
SIDE 1
The Cyrkle – I Wish You Could Be Here The Cyrkle were know for a number of things, such as “Turn Down Day,” “Red Rubber Ball,” being the only American band managed by Brian Epstein, and for playing the last gig with the Beatles at Candlestick Park, which was also their own swan song. The reason for the Cyrkle’s split was that their second album tanked. This was a shame, because there were a couple of really great tunes on it, including this one. Played in a dissonant tone, each stanza climbs one scale, and yet Don Danneman’s voice is clear throughout as he misses the woman who recently left him. Sad song yes, but beautiful (“I keep listening for your footsteps / Or your key turn in the door / I sure could use your company / But we’ve been through that before”).
Bugs Bunny – I’m Going Cuckoo This song, which I taped off the television, is from one of the very early cartoons, when Bugs was short and stout, and still sounded like Woody Woodpecker, rather than the iconic look and sound that would crystallize in the just- pre-World War II years. The song is brilliant in its non-sequiter imagery, many of which were played out during the song (such as, “Please pass the ketchup / I think I’ll go to bed / Hoo!”)
Mystic Eyes – My Time to Leave The grand-kinder was impressed that I was a friend of the lead singer of a recorded song, Bernie Kugel. Every time this came on, I would say, “Yay, Bernie!” After a few days, this annoyed her. After a few more, she was doing it with me. This was one of the early tracks of Mystic Eyes, after the demise of Bernie’s previous group, the Good. It is similar to the Cyrkle song in that it is about the break-up, but in this case, the singer is the one leaving (because it is his time, you see…). This is one of Bernie’s strongest early songs, which is saying a lot considering Bernie constructs some killer pop garage tunes. I love the line, “My mind stuck on you like a magnet,” and it is hard to be still during this total beat-fest with a bit of a calliope swirling feel.
Deaf School – Golden Showers I would fast forward over this song when the kid was in the car, for obvious reasons. Not that I thought she would understand the meaning of it back then, but the last thing I needed was her walking around the house singing it (e.g., “A touch of madness in us all they say / But I don’t do this every day / I get relief from stressful hours / I like those golden showers”). Bad enough she was going around singing, at the top of her lungs, “I’m not that innocent!” Scary. Anyway, while I do not imbibe in the practice this song portrays, it is, nevertheless, a great pop tune, full of great beats and a building power.
Fire, Inc – Tonight Is What it Means to Be Young This is the end theme to the cult film, Streets of Fire (if you haven’t seen it, you should). It is everything I would normally not like in ‘80s music: overproduced and overdramatic; however, it is one of my favorite songs. I must admit, for those who have seen the film, I like the movie version better because the handclapping within the film takes it to a HNL (hole nother level, for we Keegan-Michael Key fans), but as the film fades out there is talking over the end of the song, I chose the soundtrack rendering. The granddaughter fell in love with the song, too, and when the key change happens during one of the musical breaks, we’d both raise our hand (palms down) to indicate its rising, and laugh.
Mike Oldfield – Five Miles Out Oldfield was mostly known for his theme to The Exorcist, “Tubular Bells,” but I also like this piece. A bit overwrought, it is about a flyer that is running on fumes and is trying to make it to the airport while in the eye of a hurricane (“Five miles out / Just hold your head in two”). It is a very theatrical piece, which I became familiar with through its video, but came to love independently.
Trashmen – Surfin’ Bird Papa-Oo-Mow-Mow, indeed! Since everybody knows that the bird is the word, I won’t explain this piece, but here is the meta-story: the kid hated this song, because it was just so stupid, in her words. It would come on, and she would just roll her eyes, annoyed. In the fall of 2008, I showed up for a family visit to celebrate her Sweet 16, and she was all excited. “Did you see Family Guy!? The whole show was about that crazy bird song you used to play! They kept doing it over and over! It was great!” She remembered it after 7 years. Wow, the power of stupid songs, I guess, but I felt like I had done some good in the world.
Ventures – Pipeline This was definitely one of the superior versions of the song, and one of the better instrumentals to hit the top 10 (and there were many in the ‘50s and ‘60s). There are plenty of good interpretations, including by Johnny Thunders, but this one takes it. It starts off so subtle with feather-light string picks, which turn into bass rhythms, and the listener is hooked even before the core melody starts. I firmly believe that this song started the surf music craze as much as the Beach Boys and Dick Dale.
SIDE 2 –
Jonathan King – Mary, My Love Despite my disagreeing with King on his musical philosophies (I interviewed him in the early ‘80s), and especially on his troublesome vocation (look it up), he did write some great songs. Yeah, a lot of his work is crap (e.g., a disco version of “Una Poluma Blanca” and “Hooked on a Feeling” with the ooga-cha-kaas, an idea which was stolen by Blue Swede), but I really like this reworking of Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” theme. I have a running disagreement with Boston musician / publicist Joe Viglione on the meaning of the ending (I say she comes to protagonist, Joe says he rejects her); whatever, it is a well-written album cuts from the ‘70s). Yes, that is King in the video, as this is HIS official release.
Grease Broadway Soundtrack – All Shook Up They screwed up the movie in many ways, one of which was by dropping this song for the tedious and musically out-of-place “One That I Want.” Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear you out there saying, “But I loved that song!” Fiddlesticks. “All Shook Up” was much better. Barry Bostwick’s Danny was stronger than Revolta, and while I like some of the early work of Newton-John (i.e., her country period), Carole Demas of The Magic Garden was a great Sandy. It felt moving when Bostwick wailed, “Got a fever / 104 Fahrenheit / Need your lovin’ / Can I come over tonight / Feelin’ low down / My equilibrium’s shot / Give me that tranquilizer you got!” As she turns on the “bitch,” Carole was much more believable in this exchange: Danny: C’mon an’ take my ring, coz you’re my match Sandy: Well I still think there’s strings attached D: You’re writin’ my epitaph S: Well that’s just tough-and-a-half D: You’re gonna make me die S: Don’t make me laugh!
David Essex – Rock On David’s only hit in the US, this is a spooky, echo-riddled, and cryptic ‘50s homage. While disconnected here, David was associated with the ‘50s a lot in the UK because, in part, to a few films in which he was the lead that took place in that time period (e.g., That Will Be the Day). The song’s beat is hypnotic and the rhythm of the lyric patter with David’s voice makes this a kind of zen-lite experience. Plus, once heard, it’s hard to get out of the head. www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_mzadEFuP4
Grass Roots – Bella Linda While this song was a hit, it is not one of their biggest, and tends to get forgotten. That is a shame. It is sort of a whiney version of “Lightening Strikes” (i.e., I was a screw-up, still am, and may be for a while, so please forgive and wait), while the lyrics plead and cajole, but with great harmony. Mind you, the whiniest song is, arguably, the Seeds’ “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine” (another classic, recently used for a TV commercial), but this one is up there. You can’t help but feel sorry for the guy, much like Robert Klein’s beggar screaming, “Pleeeeeease!” If one looks at a Grass Roots’ greatest hits collection, it is amazing how many times one will go, “Oh, yeah! I love that song!”
Deaf School – All Cued Up Deaf School – I Wanna Be Your Boy Yes, two in a row. I’m not quite sure why, but Deaf School seemed to be left out of a number of punk histories that focus on England. They were a true egalitarian punk group that started out of pretty bourgeois circumstances. “All Cued Up” is Betty Bright singing about waiting on a line (“I don’t remember a place / I don’t remember a time / When you got what you wanted / Without waiting in line”). However, “I Wanna Be Your Boy” is a white-ska masterpiece, starting off with a slow rhythm, which doubles, then again, and again, repeatedly. And just when you think they can’t go any faster, they double it once more. Killer tune.
Daddy Cool – Baby Let Me Bang Your Box If I remember correctly, Daddy Cool was an Australian band in the ‘80s. Here, they cover a ‘50s doo-wop innuendo-laden tale of playing piano to perk up a boring party (“Baby let me play your 88s / I’m gonna play ‘till the whole house rocks”). Amazing they gave “Louie Louie” such a hard time, when this one was so much more blatant. Seems like the perfect song to end the tape, on an up beat and wanting more.
Currently living in Saskatoon (email at RBF55@msn.com for address). From 1977-88, I used to publish a print version of a music magazine in New York called FFanzeen, which dealt with the wide-ranging independent music scene. I also photographed many bands from the period (and since). Now I write this blog. And the beat goes on.
“For rockabilly, you have to have a stand-up bass, and the singer’s got to croon or hiccup. Our singer thinks it’s a racist term because back in the ‘50s, their influences were black (like) Little Junior Parker and Ray Brown. Then a white guy came along and put a hillbilly – because that’s what Elvis was – to it. Sam Phillips, who created the Sun sound, wanted a white guy who could sing like a black. He knew there was something to be gained by the mix of black and white when he started out. 
They hadn’t decided to devote themselves to music professionally until three-and-a-half years ago, when they were asked to play at a wedding reception. Phil, who was a math teacher at the time, and Bill Bateman, who was working in an amplifier company, had heard of someone who needed a band for their reception. So, they threw together an impromptu band with David and a few friends. They enjoyed performing so much that they decide to start rehearsing regularly, and organize a band.
And in their short career, they’ve presented themselves to many different types of audiences as they opened for various acts around the Los Angeles area. “We’ve always got along with the punk audience because we’re very authentic in the way we present ourselves. We were into playing the music we liked and eventually ended up on a rockabilly label.” 
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