On my blog site recently there's been a discussion starting about the " guidelines" of being a modern-day rockabilly band. In among my posts I confessed that when I first started playing in a rockabilly band years ago, I didn't even know sufficient about rockabilly to recognize that my bass guitar wasn't " genuine" rockabilly equipment. All I understood is that I loved the sound of the music and I wanted to play it. Because I wasn't playing slap bass on an upright bass fiddle, I soon found out that there were a lot of fans who felt that we couldn't be a genuine rockabilly band. A reader in the UK relates a comparable experience since he doesn't play the " best" guitar for rockabilly. This all brings up an old aching spot with me and opens the conversation as soon as again about what's essential: The music or the look ?
Opting for the look
Obviously, it's enjoyable to dress like the original rockabilly felines and chicks from the mid to late 1950s when rockabilly was brand-new and fresh and Elvis was taking the world by storm in addition to all of the other artists he motivated. And by and big, it does not cost a lot of cash to accomplish the rockabilly look. You can find all sort of fantastic clothes at garage and rummage sales along with second-hand stores. Simply gunning through the far back of your moms and dads' (or grandparents'!) closets can enjoy fantastic benefits for rockabilly clothing.
Things get more made complex when you're in the band. Now it's not just the clothes that make the rockabilly look. It's the instruments. And it's a lot more expensive to set yourself up with a vintage instrument from the 50s period. And new instruments made to appear like the old ones are not precisely inexpensive either. So what's a new ambitious rockabilly act to do? If they don't include a standup bass and a Gretsch 6120 hollow-body guitar (like the one Eddie Cochran played), they're not taken seriously. They're seen as imposters, not genuine "rockabillies".
The initial rockabilly club was not special
Nothing might be even more from the spirit of original rockabilly! Rockabilly was not an unique club that was open only to those kids that originated from wealthy households that could pay for the " ideal" instruments. No way! By and big, our heroes were dirt poor. These people were dynamic, young players who took click here whatever they took place to have at hand and made music with it! And as modern rockabilly fans, we've all gained the feast of incredible music that these artists made on those instruments.
Now, it so takes place that hollow-body stand-up basses and electric guitars are the instruments that a great deal of these people owned at that time. Those were the very same instruments utilized by country musicians of the day and considering that rockabilly was so securely rooted in country, it made sense that rockabilly musicians-- many of whom started out playing country initially-- used those exact same instruments. Not all of them followed that mold.
For circumstances, as far as guitarists go, they used several guitars to make their music And they weren't all hollow-body guitars. Nobody believes less of Carl Perkins due to the fact that his smash struck "Blue Suede Shoes" was tape-recorded with a solid-body Les Paul guitar. Buddy Holly played a solid-body Fender Stratocaster on his wonderful early rockabilly and nobody at the time discounted him. Cliff Gallup, who played for Gene Vincent's Blue Caps used a solid Gretsch DuoJet guitar and most rockabilly fans consider his guitar work as some of the outright best rockabilly playing of all time.
It's not the look, it's the music.
Simply put, it wasn't about the "look" at that time. It was about the noise and it had to do with the energy. It's fun to have the "look" nowadays and the majority of bands try to put their own spin on the classic look. Eventually when I go to a rockabilly show, I'm far less worried with what the band looks like as I am with what they sound like. If they rock and their music makes me move and smile the method rockabilly does, well then, that's excellent enough for me! The rockabilly community might actually use with less issue about the look and more issue about releasing and delighting in the sounds. After all, that's what it's truly everything about anyway.
If you're a group of kids and you don't have lots of dough, however you want to start a rockabilly band, you'll most likely run into the self-appointed "authentic-look" cops eventually. Do not let them stop you. Get the instruments you have and crash into those very first strains of a terrific rockabilly tune. If they can't see past your seek to listen to and take pleasure in the music, it's their loss ... not yours!
In one of my posts I confessed that when I first began playing in a rockabilly band years ago, I didn't even understand enough about rockabilly to understand that my bass guitar wasn't "authentic" rockabilly equipment. Cliff Gallup, who played for Gene Vincent's Blue Caps utilized a strong Gretsch DuoJet guitar and most rockabilly fans consider his guitar work as some of the outright best rockabilly playing of all time.
Robert Gordon was doing straight-out rockabilly and having a bit of success while bands like The Blasters were utilizing rockabilly impact heavily to form a brand-new "roots rock" sound.
These fans don't simply buy rockabilly records and go to rockabilly shows. The rockabillies utilize the features of 1950s fashion to express their love for rockabilly music and the excellent parts of the rockabilly lifestyle.