On my blog site recently there's been a discussion starting about the "rules" of being a contemporary rockabilly band. In among my posts I confessed that when I initially began playing in a rockabilly band years ago, I didn't even know enough about rockabilly to recognize that my bass guitar wasn't "authentic" rockabilly equipment. All I understood is that I enjoyed the sound of the music and I desired to play it. I soon discovered that there were a lot of fans who felt that we couldn't be a genuine rockabilly band due to the fact that I wasn't playing slap bass on an upright bass fiddle. A reader in the UK relates a similar experience due to the fact that he does not play the " best" guitar for rockabilly. This all brings up an old aching area with me and opens the discussion once again about what's important: The look or the music ?
Choosing the look
Naturally, it's fun to dress like the original rockabilly cats and chicks from the mid to late 1950s when rockabilly was fresh and new and Elvis was taking the world by storm in addition to all of the other musicians he inspired. And by and big, it doesn't cost a whole lot of loan to accomplish the rockabilly look. You can discover all type of great clothes at garage and rummage sales along with second-hand stores. Just rifling through the far back of your parents' (or grandparents'!) closets can reap wonderful benefits for rockabilly clothing.
But things get more complicated when you're in the band. Now it's not simply the clothes that make the rockabilly look. It's the instruments. And it's a lot more pricey to set yourself up with a classic instrument from the 50s period. And brand-new instruments made to look like the old ones are not exactly cheap either. So what's a brand-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 viewed as imposters, not genuine "rockabillies".
The original rockabilly club was not exclusive
Absolutely nothing might be further from the spirit of original rockabilly! Rockabilly was not an special club that was open only to those kids that originated from wealthy families that might pay for the " best" instruments. No other way! By and large, our heroes were dirt bad. These men were dynamic, young players who took whatever they happened read more to have at hand and made music with it! And as modern rockabilly fans, we've all gained the banquet of remarkable music that these musicians made on those instruments.
Now, it so happens that hollow-body electrical guitars and stand-up basses are the instruments that a lot of these people owned back then. After all, those were the same instruments used by nation musicians of the day and considering that rockabilly was so firmly rooted in country, it made good sense that rockabilly musicians-- numerous of whom began playing country initially-- used those very same instruments. However not all of them followed that mold.
As far as guitar players go, they used many various guitars to make their music And they weren't all hollow-body guitars. No one thinks less of Carl Perkins since his smash struck "Blue Suede Shoes" was recorded with a solid-body Les Paul guitar. Pal Holly played a solid-body Fender Stratocaster on his wonderful early rockabilly and nobody at the time discounted him. Cliff Gallup, who bet Gene Vincent's Blue Caps used a solid Gretsch DuoJet guitar and most rockabilly fans consider his guitar work as a few of the outright finest 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 had to do with the noise and it was about the energy. It's enjoyable to have the "look" nowadays and most bands try to put their own spin on the classic look. Eventually when I go to a rockabilly program, 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 good enough for me! The rockabilly community could truly utilize with less issue about the look and more concern about releasing and enjoying the sounds. That's what it's actually all about anyway.
If you're a group of kids and you do not have loads of dough, however you wish to start a rockabilly band, you'll probably encounter the self-appointed "authentic-look" cops sooner or later on. Don't let them stop you. Get the instruments you crash and have into those first stress of a great rockabilly tune. If they can't see previous your want to listen to and enjoy the music, it's their loss ... not yours!
In one of my posts I admitted that when I first began playing in a rockabilly band years earlier, I didn't even know adequate about rockabilly to realize that my bass guitar wasn't "authentic" rockabilly gear. Cliff Gallup, who played for Gene Vincent's Blue Caps utilized a solid Gretsch DuoJet guitar and most rockabilly fans consider his guitar work as some of the absolute finest 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 new "roots rock" noise.
These fans do not just purchase rockabilly records and go to rockabilly shows. The rockabillies use the features of 1950s fashion to reveal their love for rockabilly music and the excellent parts of the rockabilly lifestyle.