The show is broadcast on radio stations on 3 continents and has an ever growing following.

Tune in to hear great music and in depth interviews with the stars of this fantastic genre.

Go to www.RockabillyHQ.com and lcik on Radio to see when & where you can hear the show.

Simply go to the website www.rockabillyhq.com and click on Classifieds.

You can post ads for cars, music, clothing, dating and any other stuff and it’s all FREE!!!

Firstly, I wanted to pass on my condolences to the friends and family of Bo Diddley, who passed away yesterday.

He was truly one of the biggest influences on some of the biggest names in music. If you don’t believe me, just listen to Buddy Holly’s “Brown Eyed handsome Man” or The Rolling Stones’ “Not Fade Away.”

He will be sorely missed, but leave behind a huge legacy which will be enjoyed by generations to come. Here’s a little taste of what the man could do.

RIP

Don’t forget that this Thursday, June 5th is the date of the latest Diamond Springs Classic Car show. They meet at around 4PM at Deb’s Frosty on Main Street.

There are always a bunch of really cool cars so don’t miss it. It’s a great way to see some classics and get away from the valley heat.

You can see our Myspace page to check out some photos of previous shows.

I got some news from Rockabilly legend, Dale Brooks today which I will happily pass on. He writes:

Thanks to Dale for that information.

As always you can sign up to our Newsletter for further information.

If you have an article, new item or gig you would like to have added to the news letter, send us an email to Newsltter@RockabillyHQ.com.

We are currently working on the new website RockabillyRomance. com this will be a new dating service specifically for the Rockabilly community. Stay tuned for more information!

Cheers

Al E. Cat

Drum Roll…………

www.RockabillyHQ.com is here.

At the moment it just has limited functionality; The Newsletter sign-up and front page are working and we’re hoping to have the forum and downloads sections up and running by the end of the week.

Please do go and check it out and give us any feedback.

As always the email address is alex@rockabillyhq.com

Cheers!

Last week I was lucky enough to interview SoCal’s Psychobilly kings, The Rocketz shortly before their gig at The Fire Escape in Citrus Heights. Just before the gig I met up with Ralphie, The Faraway Boys’ Bass-Slapper who was standing in for The Rocketz’ Tony Marcias, who has since moved on.

Ralphie handed me a copy of their debut CD, “Pirate Ship Set Sail”

The Faraway Boys are probably best known for their music being used in a Sailor Jerry Run commercial.

To give you an idea of what the Faraway Boys are all bout, here’s a video clip of them in action:

First thing that strikes you when you open the package up is the actual CD itself. I’ve been buying CDs for many years and vinyl records for many, many years before that.  I have never, until I unwrapped the Faraway Boys’ CD seen a hybrid of both. It’s the Toyota Prius of CDs. It’s black and has little grooves and a really cool retro “record label” on the top side, just like a real record. Kudos have to go to their designer for the original and innovative design.

The CD opens up quite innocuously with a nice instrumental track called “Por Vida.” It starts out with some very latin-flavored bass chords, then rips into a high-octane rockabilly guitar.

The Next track: “Skin & Bones” is your first introduction to Scotty’s vocals. From the first line you’re reminded of Roy Orbison’s Sun years, but with more than a hint of Rev Horton Heat. The highlight of the track is Ralphie’s slapping, which is superb throught.

“Cowboy Moon” is a nice straight Rockabilly track with a Scotty’s vocals being beautifully complimented by female harmonies. The only thing that mares it slightly for me was the accordion solo, which makes it feel  a little bit country, bordering on Zydeco. However, credit to the band for experimenting and not making every track sound the same.

“Fear The One” is back to some full throttle Rockabilly with a driving bass line and excellent, short guitar solo from Scotty.

“Doing Time in Hell” has a great crescendoing intro with Slap bass, then drums, then guitar riff building to a great little intro that itself builds into the crashing chorus. Along with plaintive vocals of the verses make a nice contrast for a track that is possibly the weakest song on the CD, but is still and very cool Rockabilly song.

“Sailor Jerry Rum” has another great crescendoing intro that builds to a driving rhythm. There is something very reminiscent of Link Ray’s guitar work on it and just great lyrics. The accordion isn’t as overstated on this track and simply blends into the background at the very beginning. Possibly my highlight of the CD with a wonderful slap bass solo about 3 and a half minutes into the track. The final chorus is great to sing along to.

The next rack “Situations Change” really underlines the diversity of The Runawaboys’ reprtoire. It’s a moody, ambient track with a reggea-esque lead-in. The rockabilly soon kicks in and normal service is resumed.

“Vampire” has no pretensions of being anything else. Right from the get-go it kicks into high gear and just keeps going.  The band’s Stray Cat influences show through heavily on this track. Up to this track Bucky had done just what drummers are meant to do, sit in the back and keep the beat, but in this track he’s brought to the fore and does a great job of keeping this one going and making it interesting.

“Misfortune One” has a much heavier guitar than other tracks, with the possible exception of “Sailor Jerry Rum.”  Scotty’s vocals shine through too varying between his lilting, melodic style with some raucous, gravelly stuff that gives this track a nice balance.

They close the album with a song called “Make it to Bed” which when I first heard the drum intro, I thought was Hank Mizell’s Jungle Rock. I’m sure this is a total coincidence, right guys? It’s a nice way to finish off a very well-rounded debut.

Overall, I think they guys did a great job and I’m pretty sure it’ll be the first of many releases to come.

If you want to catch the guys live check them out in Mesa, Arizona on May 25th, where, once again, they’ll be playing alongside The Rocketz.

You can also check out their website http://www.myspace.com/farawayboys

Keep rockin’

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

Last weekend it was my pleasure to spend a very entertaining hour with Southern California’s finest, The Rocketz.

Lead singer, Tony and drummer, Mr. Pink were fantastic and very candid about their music and life in general. We recorded the interview and it will be available as a podcast once the site is finally up and running.

At the same gig I met Ralphie, the bassist of The Faraway Boys who was kind enough to provide us with a copy of their latest CD, “Pirate Ship Set Sail”. We will be reviewing that and that too will appear on the website soon.

Watch this space.

Gigs coming up this weekend include:

The Rocketz, Gambler’s Mark, Johnny Dahmer, The Aftershocks and Society of Graverobbers appearing at Angel’s Roadhouse in Yucaipa, California. $10 cover.

Scotty Moore will be appearing at the Cleveland Arena on May 16th.

The Fire Escape in Citrus Heights continues to bring great Rockabilly to Northern California. May 24th sees the Gin Rickys apearing. Rockabilly HQ, will, of course be there.

Have a rockin’ weekend!!

Al E. Cat

www.rockabillyHQ.com

As we are kind of in a holding pattern until the website design is finished and published I thought I’d share some other stuff that’s going on this weekend.

Firstly, my Wife is taking par t in the Race For The Cure tomorrow. It’s a 10K walk/run which equates to about 3.5 miles, so it’s not too strenuous, so please get off your fat butts and support a really worthwhile cause. Since her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of weeks ago, it’s become a very personal thing. Good luck and thank you to all who are participating tomorrow, wherever you are.

Secondly, It’s Mothers’ Day on Sunday, please don’t forget!

The other big thing that’s happening on Sunday is the Rocketz gig at The Fire Escape in Citrus Heights. The guys don’t make the journey up I5 very often, so make the most of it. They will be on stage at 8PM, so get there with plenty of time.

They are also looking for a new Bassist, so if you can slap an upright you need to contact them. They have a MySpace page on which you can leave a message if you’re interested.

That’s it for this week. I’m hoping to have more news on the website and also a write-up on the Rocketz gig as well as an interview to report on early next week.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

Well, We asked for feedback and we certainly got it. Thank you to all of you who have contributed on our various forums on MySpace and Facebook (See links below)

Please do keep the ideas coming!

We have a killer new idea for the website…

Have you ever found it hard to find someone who has similar taste in music and dress to you?

Let’s face it, we’re a unique bunch.

Well, we might just have the solution for you.

RockabillyHQ.com is proud to announce Rockabilly Romance, a dating service for the Rockabilly community.

Also, I wanted to announce that the EBook version of my latest book “The Rock N Roll Encyclopedia” will be going on sale on eBay this weekend, so keep an eye out for it. It’s only available on a CD since eBay don’t allow downloadable products anymore.

It’s almost 500 pages of artists’ bios. including Rock n roll, doo-wop and rockabilly pioneers from the early days right up to today’s neo-rockabilly and psychobilly bands.

If you’d like to purchase an electronic copy, please contact me Alex@RockabillyHQ.com

Stay tuned for more information soon!!

I have received some great feedback from my posts in various forums on MySpace and FaceBook. It’s great to hear from people and find out what they want from a website. That way we can be sure to provide people with what they want. So far it looks like Pictures and gig guides seems to be way out ahead. We will certainly be doing that. In fact I’ll be at the Fire Escape this Sunday to interview The Rocketz and I’ll be taking a bunch of photos there.

We still want to hear from you. What do you want from a Rockabilly Website? Comment below or send me an email : Alex@RockabillyHQ.com

I’ve also posted some great pix of the Diamond Springs car show last Thursday to my FaceBook and MySpace lages (Links at the bottom of this blog.)

There’s another car show at the Deb’s Frosty in Diamond SPrings on May 15th. Come and check it out!

I also just created a new MySpace page for rockabilly pioneer, Dale Brooks. Check him out and say “Hi” at www.MySpace.com/DaleBrooksRockabilly

If you’d like me to create a MySpace page for you let me know alex@RockabillyHQ.com

my MySpace page: www.MySpace.com/RockabillyHQ

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1179885734

Stay Tuned!

Al E. Cat

www.RockabillyHQ.com

Mine was uneventful, except that we bought a dog for my in-laws.

I received a reply from Rockabilly pioneer Jerry Benty to some of the questions I had for him.  Sadly he wasn’t available for a telephone interview, so I’ve decided to post his answers here and also on my MySPace and FaceBook pages.

Those pages are:

MySpace.com/Rockabillyhq

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1179885734

There’s a bunch more information and goodies on those sites too.

Here’s the Jerry Benty interview:

Q: Where and when were you born and what was your up-bringing like?
> A. Born in Pittsburgh Pa. in 1936 to a hard working steel working family.
> Q: Who were your first influences in music?
> A. My biggest influence was Chet Atkins.
> Q: What made you decide to be a musician?
> A. It kind of came naturally.
> Q: How did you first big break come about?
> A. I wrote and recorded some songs and got involved with my so called
> manager and things went from there. I never really made it big, but it was
> a lot of good times.
> Q: Who would you say was the biggest influence when you started your
> musical career?
> A. Once again Chet Atkins. Vocally it was Elvis, Conway Twitty, and a
> little Merle Haggerd.
> Q: What was life like as a recording artist?
> A. Not as what you hear about today. I was just trying to get by.
> Q: Can you give me a time-line of your recordings? (The names of the
> songs, when and where they were recorded and any other information you
> give about the sessions etc..)
> A. I guess I recorded back in 1959 in a studio in Cleveland Oh. I think my
> best tune was ” We’re gonna have love ” I didn’t write it but we recorded
> it.
> Q: What’s your favorite song of yours?
> A Same as above.
> Q: What is your opinion of today’s music?
> A. The only music of today that I can enjoy is Country.
> Q: What event would you say “changed your life”?
> A. No answer
> Q: Who have been your favorite people you have worked with?
> A. Almost every musican that I worked or played music with.
> Q: What advice would you give to anyone wanting to become a musician?
> A. Don’t read it from a sheet, feel it in your soul.
> Q: What has been your biggest achievement so far?
> A. Of course being married to the same wonderful lady .
> Q: If you could go back and do it all again what, if anything, would you
> change?
> A. Change managers. I still feel ripped.I know my recordings were sold to
> a different label unbenonst to me.
> Q: Do you have a message to the subscribers of RockabillyHQ.com ?
> A.Keep rockin!!

Stay tuned

Al E. Cat

www.rockabillyhq.com