Greased-up ghouls on the go

Unearthing Montreal's psychobilly scene

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

The term "psychobilly" was first coined during punk's heyday in '77, when the Cramps' lead singer Lux Interior invented the word to describe his band's sound. He pretty much hit the nail on the head, too. The Cramps were hopped up on the original rockabilly of the Sun Records label, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Burnette and the little-known (and genuinely psycho) Hasil Adkins, as well as obscure '60s garage bands like the Trashmen and the Green Fuzz. This they mashed up with their newfound love for a band from Queens who were getting known for playing at hyperspeed and huffing household solvents - the Ramones.

As punk began its burnout in the '80s, bands from England like the Meteors and the Guana Bats would counter the pop-ification of rockabilly (Stray Cats, Bop Cats) by amping up the sound, sending the tempo through the stratosphere and matching Mr. Interior's wild stage behaviour.

Jump ahead to 2003 and we start to see the fallout of So-Cal skate rock and more and more dissatisfied punks turning to the adrenalized, underground sounds of psychobilly bands like Tiger 13, Mad Sin and the Nekromantix.

Your town is next!

The current crop of psychobilly bands take as much influence from hardcore punk, oi and sometimes even metal as they do from reverb-laden, Gretsch-drenched rockabilly riffs. "Psychobilly takes what rockabilly has done so far and just pushes it to the limits," says René Garcia, guitarist in local band the Brains. "It's just fun, almost a caricature version of rockabilly," adds the Gutter Demon's bassist Flipper. "Rockabilly will have these guys wearing pompadours and psychobilly guys will have to push that by getting pompadours that are a foot high."

This mutant rockabilly scene is still relatively small in the Montreal scene, though psychobilly bands like Flesh, the Gutter Demons, the Brains and Bloodshot Bill and the Hubcaps are eager to stake their claim. All four bands appear on the Stumble Records label's soon to be released Zombie Night in Canada compilation, which features some of Canada's more deviant takes on hillbilly, trash and psychobilly. All four bands also make an appearance in the forthcoming book The Psychobilly Bible, penned by Kim Nekroman of the highly-regarded Danish psychobilly band the Nekromantix. The Gutter Demons release their record Enter the Demon on Halloween, and are preparing for a release on Dutch label Fantoom Records. Bloodshot Bill and the Hubcaps just finished a tour, including blowing bands off the stage at the primitive rock 'n' roll festival Rockaround in Las Vegas, while the Brains and Flesh are busy in the studio with their debut CDs.

Big hair, baby steps

It's a bit early for these acts to rest on their laurels, though. "As far as just a psychobilly scene in Montreal right now, there is really nothing going on unless one of the bands you mentioned plays," admits Flipper. News and opinions are traded with bands in the circle and most info, records and the ever-important vintage clothes are obtained on the Web (try wreckingpit.com). Local psychobillies can stay in the know with the help of some sympathetic college radio DJs, and also the rockabilly nights happening on every second and last Friday of the month at Missy Bar on Mont-Royal. Though the night is mainly dedicated to more traditional rockabilly, they're sure to slip in a few psychobilly songs. If you're looking for an all-psychobilly night, your best bet is a show with one of the aformentioned bands.

"In Europe and L.A. it's more established, but here it's still pretty close-knit," says Flesh singer Lili Sweet. "What helps out is people from other scenes, like skinheads and punk rockers, coming to the shows, and bands like the Gutter Demons playing with the Misfits. With big shows like that, it's really going to expose the scene to even more people."

Hot rods and horror flicks

What makes psychobilly stand out and will give this new breed some lasting power, especially amongst the hardcore-weary punks, is its emphasis on the spectacle. Whether its the sex appeal of Lili Sweet, the wild hillbilly antics of Bloodshot Bill, the Brains' ghoulish makeup or the Gutter Demons' Meteor-esque mohawk pompadours, Montreal psychobilly bands mean business in the looks department. When it comes to putting on a show, they like to play hard, and although all four bands sound very different from one another, it's this sense of showmanship and eagerness to take traditional roots music to new extremes that tie them all together.

"In the '80s, psychobilly bands like the Meteors were kind of a reaction to a lot of the politics that were happening in punk rock and hardcore at the time," says Sweet. "They were putting fun back in the music."

With lyrics that concentrate on B-grade horror and slasher flicks, trash culture and hot rods, and imagery that puts a macabre twist on rockabilly's vintage '50s, psychobilly is out to restore the entertainment factor that has been sorely lacking in rock 'n' roll. By not taking themselves too seriously, they distance themselves from both the garden-variety punk rock show and the record-collecting rockabilly purist geek. "With the Brains," says Garcia, "we dressed up as zombies for my birthday as a joke, and we just had a lot of fun with it, so we kept doing it. People think it's funny and see it more like a little show than just another rock band."

"It's all about having fun," chimes in Flipper. "It's like when you see a bad horror movie and it's hilarious - it's the same thing when you see a guy with a huge pompadour."

Bloodshot hot to trot

Psychobilly aside, one of the best Montreal performers in any genre would be Bloodshot Bill. Having played every dump in this city and sharing bills with any band that would have him, Bloodshot has become one of the most electrifying performers happening right now. Bloodshot's musical lineage can be traced to Hasil Adkins and other old-timers, but his whooping and hollering and general nuttiness encapsulate the essence of what Lux Interior meant when he first uttered the word psychobilly.

"I guess you could call me psychobilly," shrugs Bloodshot Bill. "Most people who see me on the street see my pompadour and just call me Elvis. I don't think I look anything like Elvis but that's all they know. Most people don't know anything about rockabilly, let alone psychobilly. When people see me play, they wonder how I invented this type of music - it's crazy how little people know about music outside of Limp Bizkit or some shit. Psychobilly is just good-time music that uses traditonal rockabilly and can get really crazy. If it's not fun and really crazy, then it just isn't psychobilly."

The Gutter Demons launch Enter the Demons with the Brains at Café Chaos on Friday, Oct. 31, 10pm, $5. Bloodshot Bill and guests the Donkeys spook out Casa del Popolo on the same night, Friday, Oct. 31, 10pm, $4.44 with costume, $6.66 without

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