Rockabilly Revival!

How would you describe your music? Rockabilly? Psychobilly?

When I’m trying to explain it to somebody who doesn’t have the slightest idea, I usually say we’re a rock and roll band that’s influenced by the ’50s—especially rockabilly. But then I add that if you come see us play live, you’ll think we’re a punk band.

How much did punk influence your sound when you were starting out?

Well, you couldn’t really ignore it, and I was listening to the Clash, the Sex Pistols, and, of course, the Ramones. Punk wasn’t necessarily my main deal, but I was kind of in that scene.

How do you keep rockabilly’s rather traditional stylizations musically interesting?

I’m not really sure. When the band started, we were pretty much a straight rockabilly band, but every once in a while we would add a rock or punk rock song. And all the writers would say, “Wow, that was a great rockabilly song!” That made me realize we could try different things. Another thing I do to keep it fresh is to learn new stuff—things that enhance my musical ability. I try to challenge myself with new concepts and new ways of looking at things.

How do you go about doing that?

When I finish an album, rather than concentrate on writing new material, I’ll concentrate on learning some new guitar lick or concept. Maybe I’ll work on sight reading, or something like that. It may not even be something that fits into my musical style, but if it helps my technique even just a little bit, it’s worth it. For example, after Spend a Night in the Box [2000], I started working on some Chet Atkins-style things, such as his technique of playing legato scales in the third and fourth positions to use every open string that you can. It’s really a beautiful concept when you’re doing a descending scale, because you can let those strings ring.

What other guitar players do you listen to for inspiration?

Brent Mason, Albert Lee, or anyone who can offer a new kind of crazy concept—a guy like Tommy Crook. He’s a fingerstyle jazz guy from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he’s phenomenal.

Who would you recommend as an influence to someone just starting to play rockabilly?

I’d tell them to listen to Scotty Moore on Elvis’ “Mystery Train.” That’s one of the all-time classic rockabilly licks. But, from my point of view, rockabilly isn’t just one particular thing. I think it’s more important to find a guitar player you like, and then find out who they liked, and how they developed their style. For instance, I think Scotty Moore was trying to play like Merle Travis and Chet Atkins, but within the framework of rhythm and blues.

How do you get your guitar sound?

My guitar sound comes largely from using a Fender Super Reverb. I don’t like Fender Twins that much because they’re too clean and too loud, but you can crank up a Super Reverb and get a really nice, modest distortion. The sound also compresses a bit, and that compression, to me, is the “Fender Sound.”

From the guitar, I go into a volume pedal, which helps me with pedal-steel-type licks, and I can also simulate an amp tremolo with it. From there, I go into a tuner, and then a Chandler digital delay set up to replicate that old Sun Records tape delay. From there, one of the stereo outputs goes straight into the Super Reverb. I usually crank up that amp really loud to get some distortion—that’s the bulk of my sound. Now, out of the other echo output, I go into a Boss Blues Driver, another delay that I hardly ever turn on at all, a Boss Metal Zone, and a Twin Reverb. I use this setup so if I’m playing a really small place where I can’t crank up the Super Reverb, I can use the Blues Driver and the Twin to make sure the sound isn’t rock-solid clean.

I don’t like to mess with my settings on my amps or effects. In fact, my pedals are up off the ground. I’ve found I can sound heavy metal or country just by how hard or soft I play. So many guitar players are focused on their equipment, but about 95 percent of it is how you can play the instrument, as opposed to some pedal you can stomp on.

What kinds of guitars are you playing?

I’ve played all sorts of guitars throughout my career. I have a ’54 Gibson ES-175 with a Bigsby that I really like, but it broke back in the late ’80s, and it started giving me a lot of electronic problems. So I went into a music store and saw one of the first reissue Gretsch 6120Ws. I tried it, and it felt really good, so I’ve used Gretsches ever since. The one I use now is a reissue White Falcon, and Gretsch just made me a Reverend Horton Heat model.

When you’re recording, do you plan out your solos or just go for it?

It happens different ways. If, for example, we get a song to a point where we all agree it’s viable—and it’s a fun deal and we’re all grooving on it—then I might go back and really try to work out a solo for it. But if I can’t work anything out by the time we get into the studio, then I’ll just play whatever comes to the top of my head while we’re recording the song.

Why did you decide to take on the production of Revival?

I just wanted to keep things rocking and entertaining, and I wanted to record the album as quickly and as cheaply as possible. If we lacked audio quality, or if there were a bunch of mistakes, I didn’t care. I just wanted to get it done and get it out there. We did the whole album in about ten days. I also wanted to keep the music simple. You know, producers always want you to overdub another guitar part on every song to fatten up the sound. But that kind of stuff makes the band sound like something we aren’t. We’re a three-piece band. There should just be one guitar, one bass, and one drum set.

What do you value most about making music?

Let me put it this way: There are so many bands out there that have it backwards. They feel like they’re not valid unless they’re “Recording Artists.” But listen, if you can go out there and entertain people, you’re gonna get gigs, and you’re gonna get paid for those engagements. Now, that’s what being a musician is all about—playing live gigs.