October 2015 - Page 2 of 4 - the rockabilly chronicle

Bob Luman

Published on 25 October 201510 October 2019

Reissues

Bob Luman – Red Hot 1956-1957

CD+DVD
ETCDVD 10011
All Night Long (Imperial 8311) – Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache (Imperial 8311 – undubbed) – Amarillo Blues (Imperial unissued) – Wild-Eyed Woman (Imperial unissued) – Blue Days, Black Nights (Imperial unissued) – Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache (Imperial 5705 – overdubbed) – Red Hot (Imperial 8313) – Whenever You’re Ready (Let’s Fall In Love) (Imperial 8313) – Your Love (Imperial 8315 – overdubbed) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (unissued first take) – Your Love (unissued first take) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (Imperial 8315 – cool version) – Your Love (undubbed take) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (Imperial 8315 – wild version) – Stranger Than Fiction (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock 45-028) – You’re The Cause Of It All (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock 45-028) – That’s Allright (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Hello Baby (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – In The Deep Dark Jungle (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Let ‘Er Go (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Let It Happen (unissued Texas demo) – No Use In Lying (California demo)- That’s Alright (California demo) – Hello Baby (California demo) – The Shadows – The Creep (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – The Shadows – Shadow Rock (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – The Shadows – Jumping With The Shadows (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – This Is The Night (Carnival Rock soundtrack)- All Night Long (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – The Creep (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – David Houston with The Shadows – One And Only (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – David Houston with The Shadows – The Teenage Frankie And Johnnie (Carnival Rock soundtrack)
Slowly but surely and with an impeccable taste, El Toro makes its place in the world of reissues and is now a label you have to count with. After Buddy Holly, Pat Cupp and Johnny Burnette, the new legend to receive the El Toro treatment is Bob Luman. Well what can I say about Luman? If you’re on this website and read this lines I can, without making a big mistake, assume that you are a rockabilly fan. An wether you know Luman or not, this cd is a must have for you. You have the complete recordings made by Luman in 1956-57 with some of the finest rock’n’roll musicians like earl Palmer, James Burton and James Kirkland. From early demos, with one of the best rock’n’roll song of all times “Deep Dark Jungle“, to his Imperial classics (Red Hot, Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache, All Night Long), with alternate takes, dubbed and undubbed version and unissued stuff, this is the most comprehensive set about Luman available on the market if you except expensive boxsets but this one has the advantage to concentrate on his rock’n’roll/rockabilly years. And if you still hesitate (which seems impossible but…) El Toro has included the DVD of Carnival Rock, a rock’n’roll movie, starring Luman, The Platters, The Blockbusters and David Houston.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Memphis Rockabilly Band

Published on 17 October 20151 August 2022

Articles & Interviews

Bill Coover and Jeff Spencer formed the Memphis Rockabilly Band in 1978. Though the band came from the Boston area, they chose this name to leave no doubt about the music they decided to play: Rockabilly with a Sun influence. In an interview given to us in 2007, Jeff Spencer recalled “I think the first rockabilly record I heard was Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.” I bought it. If you listen to it today, it still rocks.”
Spencer came to singing around the age of 25 when he took up guitar. He named Elvis, Carl Perkins, Hank Williams, Jimmy Reed, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, the Moonglows, the Platters and Ray Charles as primary influences. Later he got into Louis Jordan, Amos Milburn, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and a lot of other blues players with Robert Jr. Lockwood being his biggest influence in term of guitar. “By 29 I was playing guitar in a blues band called “Rocket 88.” I then took over the band as the singer. (Sadly, that was the end of my being a serious guitar student, since I had to sing and manage the band.) We played Chicago blues and 50’s r&b, and a few rockabilly tunes. The band broke up and I decided to do rockabilly.”
He pursued “I was living with a great blues band called “Powerhouse,” and the guitar player was my guitar teacher: Tom Principato. One of our roommates knew Bill. Bill liked the old Elvis rockabilly tunes, and the roommate told Bill that I sang some of that stuff, so Bill and I met. I played Bill some Link Wray instrumentals the first time we met, and when I saw him next, he had them all down.”
The pair began to look for a rhythm section and after a couple of gigs with a drummer and a bass player (“Mostly we played country & western bars”.) they found Sarah Brown (bass guitar) and Terry Bingham (drums). Both previously played with Johnny Nicholas and the Rhythm Rockers who at that time broke up. “We began playing the blues bars a lot, and things happened fast after that. We became one of the top bands in Boston”.
In 1979, the quartet recorded a few songs (Draggin’, Baby let’s play house, Rumble, Lindy Rock and Don’t mess with my ducktails) and a 7” (Lindy Rock/Ducktails) was released before Big Beat a French Rockabilly label ( “My wife of French grandparents got a contact to Jacky Chalard, and we sent him a tape”) got interested and published a 10”. By the time “From Boston to Memphis” had been released Lynn Farrar had replaced Brown.

Coover, Lynn Farrar and Jeff Spencer) with Roy Orbison

The band then toured Europe and France in particular where they were hugely popular with this time Preston Hubbard (formerly of Roomful of Blues) on slap bass.
This line-up was broadcasted on national French television on a show called the Bop’n’Roll Party held by Wolfman Jack with Jack Scott, Crazy Cavan, Freddy Fingers Lee and French band les Alligators. Despite what Spencer said about not being on top form (“The “Bop ‘n Roll Party” was shot in Jan, 1982 in Paris. I had been sick for several weeks, and was just getting over it when we left for Paris. My memory of the event is personally painful, because I lost much of my voice by the end of the soundcheck. So when I hear the audio, I can hear myself struggling more & more. But that’s just my perspective. It was fun other than that.”) this is an amazing show and it’s hard to believe him. The Memphis Rockabilly Band literally steals the show. They perform songs from their records (Lindy Rock, 16 Chicks) a superb rendition of Muleskinner Blues (inspired by The Fendermen version) with powerful voice from Spencer (and crazy stage antics on Nervous Breakdown), amazing guitar licks from Coover who blends Rockabilly, Western Swing and more all together while Bingham and Hubbard provide the beat.

Memphis Rockabilly band with Preston Hubbard — Memphis Rockabilly Band circa 1982 with Preston Hubbard

Their debut lp was recorded around the same period when the band was at its top. It contains 12 covers played in their own way. As their cover of Link Wray’s Rumble previously showed, they didn’t limit strictly to Rockabilly with Ernest Tubb’s Nearly Lose your Mind that features an amazing country swing guitar solo from Bill Coover and the blues touch of The Stroll with sax and piano. It’s a shame this jewel had never been reissued. The singer remembered “”Bertha Lou” on Big Beat was our first attempt to do an album. We produced it ourselves, and I expect we would have done better with a producer who knew what they were doing. We added the older tape of “Lindy Rock,” which was my first original. I had written a few more by that time, but we didn’t record them.”
The band toured heavily appearing wth Gene Summers, Jack Scott, Jerry Lee Lewis, Link Wray and Carl Perkins who sang their praise (the best Rockabilly band I have ever seen). In the same interview Spencer evoked Mister Blue Suede Shoes “There have been many special shows, but it was Carl Perkins who stands out. We did 3 or four shows with him and he was very gracious and complimentary. Unlike Jerry Lee, Carl watched our shows. He had us onto his bus and hung out with us. I was told he put my version of “Ducktails/Lindy Rock” on his home jukebox.”
By 1984, Hubbard had left to join The Fabulous Thunderbirds and various musicians took over the bass duties including Rory McCloud, Jon Ross and Jeff Lowe. They recorded some demos that were later gathered with older stuff by Blind Pig to release “Betty Jean” in 1986. The quartet kept on playing until 1989 but decided to call it quit. From one day to another, Spencer’s life change drastically “I quit playing altogether in Jan. 1989. I sold my guitars and amplifiers. I did not sing or play a note, nor did I go into a bar for over 11 years. I got a job, had a child. Most people I knew never knew I played music. I never played a note until I got separated from my wife. I bought a Roland digital audio workstation and started fooling around. I wrote “1 Ain’t Dead” in 2000. I started jamming with people and sitting in with bands I knew.”

One thing led to another and by 2005 Bill and Jeff reformed the Memphis Rockabilly band with Paul Justice (bass player of Fat City) and Milt Sutton on drums. They went back to Europe where they were warmly received and recorded a new album for Big Beat titled “Roll, Rock and Rhythm” featuring Spencer’s original and classic covers. Some were recorded by Spencer on his Roland, other were recorded at Duke Robillard’s studio and two songs were lifted from the band performance at Vergeze the same year. The Memphis Rockabilly Band kept touring though there was, according to Spencer a huge difference between the 70’s and the 00’s: “Back then there was a healthy club scene. We would pack people into a club, and have lines down the street. Now most of the clubs are gone. If a club draws 100 people, that’s considered pretty good. There are many reasons for this, but mostly it’s that the younger people, 20’s and 30’s, and even 40 year-olds don’t go out as much, and don’t support live music, especially roots music.”
Sadly, on January 11, 2009, Jeff Spencer passed away of a heart attack. One of the best and most original voice of the Rockabilly revival became silent.
Coover decided to carry the torch with a new singer (Roy Sludge) who also doubles on keyboards but no recordings have been released yet.

Various artist – Perfect for Parties 3

Published on 16 October 2015

Albums/Contemporary artists/Reviews

Various artist – Perfect for Parties 3

RBR5820 [2015]

1. Killswitch ! – The Rip Em Ups 2. You Gotta Go – Crystal & Runnin Wild 3. Something Wicked This Way Comes – Jittery Jack 4. When I Watch You – Twisted Rod 5. By My Side – Carolina and her Rhythm Rockets 6. Rumors – Frantic Rockers 7. Lotsa Rhythm – Gone Hepsville 8. Mary Lou – Rusty Pinto with CC Jerome 9. When Im Gone – Nico Duportal and his Rhythm Dudes 10. Schnick Schnack Boogie . Jai Malano with Nico Duportal 11. Where Can I Put The Junk – Cherry Casino and the Gamblers 12. Mutha – The Playboys 13. Johnny Rocket – The Kabooms 14. Little Baby Of Mine – Spo-Dee-O-Dee 15. Mess You Up – Hanks Jalopy Demons 16. Go Man Go – Dale Rocka and the Volcanos 17. Revenoor Man . The Shadowmen 18. Bossman – Ruby Ann 19. Stay In Bed – Rob Ryan Roadshow 20. Ice Water – Fia Sco and the Majestics 21. Mad And Blue – The Roy Kay Trio 22. That Somethin – The Margraves 23. Ride The Savage – The Sabres 24. Hot Rod Racing – Ati Edge and the Shadowbirds 25. Babyshaker – The Boners 26. Sins And Secrets – The Backseat Boogie 27. Roots Man – Levi Dexter 28. Motor Head Baby – Ezra Lee 29. Hideaway Blues – Ricky Fabian feat. Ruby Ann 30. Cant Stop Lovin You – Marc and the Wild Ones 31. Chicken – Blackberry & Mr. BooHoo

This 31 songs compilation album gives a good overview of the recent albums released by Rhythm Bomb. Every genre that fits in the rock’n’roll spectrum is well represented here: hillbilly and honky tonk with a western beat(The Shadowmen, Fia Sco), traditional rockabilly (the Roy Kay Trio, the Kabooms), rhythm’n’blues (Nico Duportal, Jai Malano, Rusty Pinto), Rock’n’roll with a jive influence (Gone Hepsville) wild (Frantic Rockers, The Rip Ems Ups, Jittery Jack) or with a 60’s feel (Ricky Fabian) and some neo-rockabilly too (Levi Dexter).
The selection is, with a few exception (Crystal and Runnin’ Wild) very good.
Besides being perfect for parties, it’s also the perfect record to discover the good work of Rhythm Bomb and it’ll sure make you want to dig deeper in their back catalog.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Mark Winchester, slap bass Rockabilly hero

Published on 15 October 20157 April 2018

Interviews

Mark Winchester

He’s slapped his doghouse bass for Emmylou Harris’s Nash Ramblers. He performed with Sonny George and Eddie Angel in the rockabilly cult favorite group, the Planet Rockers. He’s penned songs for Randy Travis, was the longtime bassist for the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and was a member of Setzer’s ’68 Comeback Special trio. He’s Mark W. Winchester, rockabilly journeyman, and he’s pretty much done it all. Although known for his ability behind the upright bass, Mark is a talented singer, as well. He provided vocals for the track “Rooster Rock” on the Brian Setzer ’68 Comeback Special album Ignition!, and recently release his first solo effort, All These Young Punks. The disc is a bit of a departure for Mark, showcasing his rich, southern-twanged voice and songwriting talents, as opposed to his bass playing capabilities.  Although no longer a member of the BSO, Mark Winchester’s ties to Brian Setzer remain strong. He performed upright bass duties on Setzer’s recent Sun Records cover album, Rockabilly Riot, Volume 1; it was around this time that I conducted the following interview with the prolific musician.
by Denise Daliege-Pierce

When did you begin playing the slap bass?
Mark Winchester I started playing upright around 1982-83. I had just started college at the University of South Carolina, and was trying to start a band with me singing and playing guitar, but we could never find an upright bass player. I volunteered to get a bass and teach myself to play it, since I had taken three or four electric bass lessons in the eighth grade. When I finally found one, it immediately felt right in my hands.

Who were your greatest musical influences?
Mark Winchester I taught myself to slap to Johnny Burnette and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio album. I had a Sun compilation tape I listened to a lot. The first music that really got me excited was the Ramones, the Clash, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson; first Police record. I found that same energy when I started investigating ‘50’s rockabilly, and fell in love with all those records, too.

What brand of bass do you play?
Mark Winchester ¾ scale blonde Kay, early ‘40’s.

How many do you own? 
Mark Winchester Just the big banana right now, the bass I played on “Jump, Jive and Wail”. At one time, I had three.

Who are some of your favorite slap bassists? 
Mark Winchester The late Dorsey Burnette, Willie Dixon and Bill Black.

How did you break into the music business?
Mark Winchester I moved to Nashville [Tennessee], sat in with a band on my upright, got invited to be in a video because I looked “rockabilly”; met Eddie Angel on that video shoot, and he said he was starting a band. I said I play doghouse. That’s how I got in on the ground floor of the Planet Rockers.

What are some of your memories of the Planet Rockers and your time with them? 
Mark Winchester Wow. This is a tough request. I remember the Planet Rockers being a great looking band onstage. We looked like a band. We sounded like a band. I didn’t realize, at the time, how rare that is. The chemistry, the vibe; that ingredient “x” that you just can’t put your finger on. We had a lot of fun.

  Many people don’t realize that you toured with Emmylou Harris for some time during the 1990s. Describe that experience.
Mark Winchester It was an incredible honor to be asked to join the Nash Ramblers. To be included in the long line of stellar musicians she had had in her hands was humbling. I got a lot better quickly. I had to. I could go on and on about how wonderful those three years were. They changed my life musically, professionally and personally. I’ll always owe Emmylou a huge debt of gratitude for hiring me. She was really cool to work for.  You’ve played with an assortment of musicians from a variety of genres.

How are you able to adapt to a certain music style so quickly? 
Mark Winchester Well, I don’t really have to do it all that quickly. I usually know beforehand what the gig I’m on calls for. You might get a curve ball on a songwriter session occasionally but, if they hired me, it’s usually pretty country/bluegrass/roots oriented.

  How did you and Brian Setzer meet? 
Mark Winchester He was scheduled to appear on Ricky Scaggs’s Monday Night Concert series that was being taped at the Ryman Auditorium [in Tennessee] for TNN. The music director called and hired me to be in the house band, so there would be a slap bass player to back Brian. That’s the first night I met him. There was a great unscheduled portion of the show where Brian, Elvis Costello, Marty Stuart and Ricky Scaggs decided to do a tribute to Sun Records. I found myself in a dressing room at the Ryman with all those guys, rehearsin’ Sun songs. Overwhelming. I’ll never forget that.

Brian Setzer's 68 Comeback Special (Brian Setzer, Mark Winchest — Brian Setzer’s 68 Comeback Special (Brian Setzer, Mark Winchester and Bernie Dresel)

You performed with the Brian Setzer Orchestra until 2001. Why did you leave the group? 
Mark Winchester During my tenure with the Orchestra, my wife and I had twins which, in addition to our two daughters, brought our total number of children to four. I had a hard time being away from them for long periods of time, so I chose to get off the road.

You’ve also performed with Setzer and fellow Stray Cats member Slim Jim Phantom on a handful of shows. Did you feel as though you would be compared to the group’s bassist, Lee Rocker? 
Mark Winchester Sure, I thought about that. When they called me about those two gigs in Japan, I was extremely honored. At first, I thought it was just gonna be us in a club situation, and that worried me; that I might be pelted by tomatoes by irate fans who wanted all the Cats there. But when I found out it was a huge festival with a bunch of bands and 10,000 people, I knew I’d be out of range of projectiles—or at least I’d see ‘em coming. Brian and Jim treated me so great. It was a wonderful experience. When we all met in the lobby of the hotel that first night to go over to the gig, Brian and Slim Jim looked so Stray Cats—hell, they were them! It hit me then, I’m going to be on stage with the Stray Cats. Couldn’t help feeling 18 again!

Tell us about reuniting with Brian Setzer for his Rockabilly Riot album. 
Mark Winchester So, so cool to be back in a studio with Brian and [BSO and ’68 Comeback Special drummer] Bernie Dresel. It was rockin’ from the downbeat of the first tune. Brian picked some great Sun songs, rare and classics. To be recording those songs with someone of Brian’s stature was a thrill; just a blast all the way around.

You’ve finally released your first solo record, All These Young Punks.
Mark Winchester I’m very proud of it. I think that everyone should rush to www.cdbaby.com/mwwinchester and buy one immediately. I played my ’61 Harmony Rocket guitar on it. No bass—probably not a clever disclosure, given I’m being interviewed about my bass playing, huh?

  Who performed with you on the album? 
Mark Winchester Larry Atamanuik, who played drums in Emmylou’s Nash Ramblers, played drums. He’s supported my excursions into solo projects since the Nash Rambler days. When I first started playing out, I somehow found out about a wonderful musician in town named Dave Francis, and from the first time he played electric bass for me, I just knew he got where I was coming from. He’s on the whole record. Jim Hoke is a genius musician living in Nashville. Many years ago, he came up after a Mark W. Winchester Trio gig and said he had a friend working at a label, and would I let him cut some sides on me to send him. Four songs on the new record are from that session. When I finally got around to finishing it, I asked Jim to help again, and play sax. We got the best engineer—in my opinion—in town, Neil Cappelino, who recorded those earlier tracks, and we finished the record in about four days. It all fell right back in place.

  What was the inspiration behind the album’s title?
Mark Winchester “All these young punks” is a line from a song on the [Crickets’s] album called Back in Style. It seemed to fit as a title, because this record is a batch of songs that reflect my British pub rock influences, more so than my rockabilly influences. It won’t be what fans of my slap bassin’ would expect, although I don’t think anyone will be disappointed or bored. It’s another side of what I do that not a lot of people are hip to…yet.  Thanks for your time, Mark.

Are there any closing comments or thoughts that you’d like to share? 
Mark Winchester Rockabilly has a special place in my heart, obviously, and I truly love to slap the bass. It’s like my “free” space on the bingo card of life, and I’m grateful to have been given the talent to do it, and the opportunity to do it with some seriously rockin’ cats over the years.

Note: Since this interview, Mark released two more solo albums, played on Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot All Originals as well as the excellent Return of the Planet Rockers the latest album of the newly reformed Planet Rockers.

Buddy Dughi

Published on 14 October 201523 April 2016

Albums/CD/Contemporary artists/Reviews

Buddy Dughi – Rev It Up

Golly Gee Records GGR 1050
Velvet Collar, Iron Fist – Let’s Go For A Spin – Metal Flake Coupe – Hot Rod Hell – Love My Gretsch – Suicide Ride – Hot Rod’s and Harleys – Vampire Girl – Demon’s Got A Motorcycle – Rev It Up!

Do you remember when rock’n’roll was still synonym of “wild” or “restless”. This is what this album is. Ten songs written by Buddy and talking mostly about hot rods, cars, motorcycles with Rip Carson on bass and drummer extraordinaire Craig Packham. The opening track has a kind of stripper music feel in it ala Las Vegas Grind with hot and threatening sax by Archie Thompson. The sax is a really nice addition and on “Hot Rod Hell” you’d swear you hear a engine roar. Fantastic. Thompson also appears on piano on the Chuck Berry inspired rocker “Metal Flake Coupe” bringing some Jonnie Johnson licks. You also have some songs on the psychobilly edge like “Demon’s Got A Motorcycle”, the kind of tune with one thing in mind “Take no prisoner!” if you see what I mean. After the almost punk “Suicide Ride”, “Hot Rod & Harleys” adds some change in the pace. Buddy is always at ease on guitar whatever the style he plays, a wild distorded growl or a clean sounding style on more “traditional” rockabilly tunes like “Let’s Go For A Spin” and “Love My Grestch” where his hiccupy vocal is perfect. Climb aboard and take a ride with Buddy…

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Buddy Dughi plays Hot Rod Surf

Golly Gee Records GGR 1038
Tiki Head Shift Knob – Fireball – Mag-Neato – Good Humor – Pipeline – Lonely Gasser – El Gato – 40 Miles of Bad Road – Devil’s Octane – Head Hunter
When Deke Dickerson writes some good of another guitarist it is that the latter should not be completely bad! This colleague guitarist has a name, Buddy Dughi and he officiates in the rockabilly “Hot Rod Trio” with his wife Suzie (also present at the bass on this album) and Pete Bonny. Buddy, for his crossbred surfing of rock’n’roll’ roll and rockabilly likes to use guitars and amp from Fender which seems to be his sponsor!! (Buddy specifies on the liner notes and on his website that Fender Jaguar doubles neck guitar and Standel 25LIS amp with Fender Reverb tank has been used on almost all tracks)
All this beautiful stuff between the hands of a drudge would be like throwing pearls before swine but not in the Buddy’s case! These 10 tracks (for an entirely instrumental album that seems to me sufficient) are enough original not to be another so- and- so surf album Moreover the three covers “Fireball” from the same name band the stainless Chantays’ “Pipeline”and the Duane Eddy “40 Miles Of Bad Road” has sustained radical treatments for example the Duane’s cover has become a rockabilly. The self-penned Buddys are typical (“Tiki Head Shift Knob” is a prototype of surf music) melodic (“Mag Neato”) twistin’ (“Good Humor”) melancholic (“Lonely Grasser”), full with movement (“El Gato”) powerful (“Devil’ s Octane”) or tribal (“Head Hunter”)… In a word an album with a lot of variety where one did not expect such an amount of it!!!
Dave “Long Tall” Phisel

Suzy and Buddy Dughi (Hot Rod Trio, Suzy Q and her Be Bop Boys, the Rockits…)

Published on 14 October 20157 April 2017

Interviews

Hot Rod trio (Pete Bonny, Suzy Dughi, Buddy Dughi)

Buddy Dughi is a guitar player and singer. He plays in the Hot Rod Trio, Buddy Dughi Combo and also in his wife’s band, Suzy-Q and Her Be Bop Boys who also plays in double bass in The Hot Rod Trio. Here’s the interview they kindly gave us.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

How did you meet together? Is this some kind of rockabilly romance?
Suzy Dughi – First I went to see Buddy’s band at that time, “The Moonlight Wranglers” and then ran into him at a local record store. Our mutual interest in rockabilly music drew us together and the rest is history!How long have you been doing music?
Buddy Dughi – l’ve been playing guitar since I was a child and have been in bands since I was a teenager.

How did you get started?
Buddy Dughi – First I tried playing drums along with the Beatles records, and then my parents suggested I take up guitar instead.

Did you grow up in a musical family?
Buddy Dughi – No, my family is not musical, although they listened to lots of music while I was growing up, including country, doo-wop, and of course rock and roll. My mom was lucky enough to have seen greats like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran live a the Brooklyn Paramount Theater. So that had an influence on me and my musical tastes.
Suzy Dughi – No one in my family (mom/dad) is very musical, as far as playing an instrument goes but my mom likes to sing. They both were teenagers in the 1950’s, and I had discovered some of their old records like Elvis, Duane Eddy, etc… but most notably was my moms “Beatles for Sale” album which I found when I was about five or six and listened to nonstop, especially “Honey Don’t” and “Everybody’s Tryin’ to be My Baby”, I loved the guitar on it! I had no idea who C. Perkins was as indicated on the credits, nor did I know that what I was listening to was actually second generation rockabilly, but I loved it!

Do you remember the first record you bought and thought “Whoa ,that’s what I want to do”!
Buddy Dughi – The first record I ever bought was “Meet the Beatles”. After listening to that album I wanted to play everythinging I wanted to play drums like Ringo, and guitar like George! It had a very big impact on me.
Suzy Dughi – I don’t really remember the first one I ever bought, but I do remember in the early 80’s when the Stray Cats came out, I was about 14, I heard one of their songs on the radio and it reminded me of the music I had discovered years earlier on those old records.So, I immediately went out and bought their album and of course that led to digging deeper into the vaults of long forgotten rockabilly artists.

George Harrison was heavily influenced by rockabilly guitar pickers and they used to cover tunes like Honey Don’t, Everybody’s trying to be my baby or Words of Love… Did the Beatles connection helped you to get into rockabilly?
Buddy Dughi – Yes, they got me interested in digging deeper and finding out who originally did the songs.

Cliff Gallup, George Harrison, Brian Setzer… They’re all “Gretsch Men”and I believe you are one too. You even wrote a song about it…
Buddy Dughi – Yes, I love Gretsch guitars and those guys are the reason why I play one!

I’ve seen pics of you with a Duo Jet, a Gretsch “Cochran/Chet Atkins” model and you also have that double-neck Jaguar. Are you a guitar collector?
Buddy Dughi – I do collect them, but unlike some collectors, I actually play all of them!

Do you have a favorite model ?
Buddy Dughi – My favorite would have to be any 6120 up to 1959

Buddy around 1988 (© All rights reserved) — Buddy around 1988
(© All rights reserved)

What are your influences as a singer?
Buddy Dughi – As a singer, l’ve always based my style on some of the more obscure Sun artists with the real hiccupy-hillbilly wildness, although l’d have to say without a doubt. Gene Vincent was the BEST singer EVER!!!

Talking about Gene Vincent, do you know some of the European bands of the early 80’s like the Blue Cats, Dave Phillips or The Sprites?
Buddy Dughi – Yes, I am aware of them and have their records and would love to have a chance to play guitar with the Blue Cats, I really dig those guys!

Any musicians that influenced you?
Buddy Dughi – As a musician my main influences are Paul Burlison, of the Rock’n’Roll Trio and Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps. Brian Setzer also had a very big impact on me when I was first learning how to play in a rockabilly band.

Paul Burlison was still very active until his death. Did you have the chance to meet him and even play with him?
Buddy Dughi – Yeah, I did get the chance to meet Paul Burlison and got to watch him play, he also gave me one of his guitar picks!

And Brian Setzer?
Buddy Dughi – I have known Brian Setzer for many years now and and have shared the stage with him as well.

Suzy, is there any bass player who’s a model for you?
Suzy Dughi – I can’t say there is really one model bass player for me, but through the years, even before I knew it, people like Bill Black, James Kirkland (bass player for Ricky Nelson), Ray Campi and of course Lee Rocker influenced me because I absolutely drowned myself in that music. Years later when I started playing myself I think some of their styles emerged in my playing. I do have to give credit to Lee Rocker for bringing the upright bass, as big and clumsy as it is, back in vogue

Tell us about your different bands and the musicians who play with you…
Buddy Dughi – As for the Hot Rod Trio, Pete our drummer answered an ad for stand-up drummer many years ago, we chose him and we’ve been friends and bandmates ever since. My then girlfriend, now wife, Suzy picked up the stand-up bass almost instantaneously, out of necessity when our bass player quit and we were in dire need of a bass player for a new years eve party, and the rest is history.
Suzy Dughi – I had to learn pretty quick because the band (“The Rockits“) had a show booked and no bass player.Also at that time (1990) not too many people were playing upright bass. Fortunately I new the music really well and had attended almost every one of their shows, so I kind of knew what to do and with some help from Buddy I was able to pull it off in about a month. The only thing I played before was guitar for about a year when I was ten, but I really didn’t remember much from that experience!
Buddy Dughi – As for my combo, it also included Pete on sit-down drums, Bobby Cavener on bass, which also plays for his wife’s band, Amber Foxx, and Mike Homer on acoustic rhythm guitar. This band is very traditional 50’s rockabilly in comparison to the Hot Rod Trio.

Suzy Q and her Be Bop Boys (© All rights reserved)

Please don’t take me for a horrible “macho man” but rockabilly slap bass is kinda physical… How do you approach that?
Suzy Dughi – That’s really what I love about it as opposed to playing electric bass, it really gives you the opportunity to really dig in and feel the rock’n’roll beat! In the beginning though it does require building up the stamina to keep going even when your arm gets tired, but if the audience is diggin’ it and their really into it you kind of get energy from that and you tend to forget about it

Wendy LeBeau (Flea Bops) told me that Stan Kessler tried to discourage her to play upright bass and told her she should stick to the e-bass…
Suzy Dughi – I think anyone, male or female, as with most things can learn do just about anything if they really want to as long as they stick with it. If anyone told me that it would give me even more reason to do it!

That’s what she actually did. Do you also play electric bass too?
Suzy Dughi – I learned to play electric bass a few years ago for a side project we did called the “Mag-neato’s”, a surf instrumental band. I also played on Buddy’s solo surf cd called “Buddy Dughi plays Hot Rod Surf”. I really like playing upright bass alot better, but electric bass definitely has it’s place music.

Let’s get a bit technical here, especially for all the young ladies who’d like to play the slap bass. Do you do something to protect your fingers ? Do you have advices?
Suzy Dughi – Most of the time when playing with the Be-Bop Boys I don’t use any protection on my fingers because the blond Engelhardt bass I use in that band is very easy to play as far as the way it is set up. The black flamed Engelhardt I use in the Hot Rod Trio seems to have a bit more tension on the strings which makes it not so kind to your fingers so I usually use white, cloth, athletic tape because it is flexible, it doesn’t slip off the strings and it stays put. Of course using gut strings as opposed to steel is also a lot easier on your hands and sounds a hell of a lot better too!

What about your albums?
Buddy Dughi – I have several albums out, although my first recording experience was a 45 on pink vinyl which I recorded with the Rockits (which was the Hot Rod Trio prior to Suzy’s joining the band). I now have two studio albums out with The Hot Rod Trio, one live Hot Rod Trio album, a solo surf album, and a soon to be released on Golly Gee Records solo rockabilly project called Buddy Dughi-Rev it Up!

Do you record live in studio?
Buddy Dughi – I am a firm believer in recording live whenever possible and my latest project was recorded live to tape with tape echo, just like they would have done back at Sun Studios.

What is the most memorable gig you played and or went to?
Buddy Dughi – One of my most memorable gigs l’ve played was when we played at a car show and Brian Setzer came down and sat in with us, that was pretty cool!
As far as the most mémorable show l’ve been to, it would probably hâve to be going to see Cari Perkins and meeting him after the show and getting a picture with him by the first hot rod I ever built!

How about your future plans
Buddy Dughi – I plan to play rockabilly forever! l’d like to possibly do some touring, I’d love to come to Europe to play, and l’d like to start recording some vinyl 45’s.

What do you think about the rockabilly scene today in Europe and the US?
Buddy Dughi – It seems to me like some of the younger people in the US rockabilly scene don’t really know what rockabilly is, it’s getting too mixed up with psychobilly and punk and that stuff is getting mislabeled as rockabilly. the Europeans however, seem to have a better understanding and appreciation for the true meaning and history behind the music and ail that goes along with it.

Some of your songs, especially on Hot Rod Trio Live have a psychobilly edge. What do you think about this kind of music. Do you think it could bring younger kids to “real” rockabilly?
Buddy Dughi – It’s probably the only way to bring kids to rockabilly. I recently played a concert with 14 Psychobilly bands, all young kids, and they loved the straight-up rockabilly we played, but kept their interest with songs like “Demons got a Motorcycle”, etc…and besides, it’s fun to let loose and go crazy now and then!

It sounds like the Hot Rod Trio is your wild/neo rockabilly side and Suzy Q. is more your Vincent/Gallup side…
Buddy Dughi – Yes, it’s very confusing for people and hard to have a “defined” sound, image and style when you switch back and forth between styles during a show. I also have a very traditional band called “The Buddy Dughi Combo” which is based on the sound of the more obscure Sun artists. I am planning on releasing only vinyl 45’s with this band.

A last word?
Buddy Dughi – If I could never listen to anyone else again, l’d die happy just Iistening to Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps!

What about you Suzy?
Suzy Dughi – That’s really hard to say because I love so many different artists and styles (of rockabilly). The same answer would probably go for me too, but really anything on the Sun label or Ricky Nelson would be just fine too! As a last word I would just like to thank anyone playing, listening to, or supporting rockabilly music in any way, shape or form simply for keeping this great form of “truly American music” alive for generations to come!