Saturday Matinee – Link Wray, Billy Bacon and The Forbidden Pigs & The Highmarts

Link Wray did what Elvis couldn’t.

Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs = Billy Bacon / bass, vocals; Adrian Demain / guitar, vocals; David Bernson / drums. They were a fun band live.

The Highmarts = Suzu /guitar & vocals; Haruna / bass; Minako / drums (sitting in for Karin). More about this Japanese garage band here.

Outta time, gotta go, see you tomorrow. Here.

Saturday Matinee – Elise Trouw, Lake Street Dive, Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs

Elise Trouw is kind of amazing – she’s capable on drums, vocals, guitar, piano, bass guitar and synth stuff. Pretty hyno, kind of a Wendy Carlos meets Laurie Anderson meet John Bonham thing.

Lake Street Dive (featuring Rachael Price) on a yellow couch in 2016. Price was born in Australia and grew up in Tennessee. The band formed in Boston, but it’s not clear to me where (or if) they’re anchored.

Billy Bacon & the Forbidden Pigs were a hoot in their heyday. Saw the Pigs in So. Cal in the late ’80s, and they blew me away. Bacon would climb up ON his bass and jam, or take it to the floor for a roll around, and never miss a beat.

There’s something for (almost) everyone in that mix. Have a great weekend, folks, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow whether you like it or not.

 

 

Saturday Matinee – The Iguanas, The Forbidden Pigs & The Paladins

New Orleans band The Iguanas (Rod Hodges on guitar & accordion, Joe Cabral on sax & guitar, Rene Coman on bass, Doug Garrison on drums, and Eric Lucero on trumpet) live at Cafe Nine, New Haven, Connecticut on Oct. 19th, 2008. Nice vibe.

I have an Iguanas CD.

The missus and I saw them live. Billy would climb up on his upright bass, the drummer would leap over his drum set and hammer on the strings. Great show.

I have a Forbidden Pigs CD.

Glad to see The Paladins are still around. Saw them live – they were the warm up band for The Fabulous Thunderbirds at the now-defunct Golden Bear. Bass player was killer, looked like he was biting an invisible tennis ball while slapping.

I have a Paladins CD.

Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow for stuff.

Saturday Matinee – Valerie June, Steve ‘n’ Seagulls & The Forbidden Pigs

Valerie June plays “organic moonshine roots music.” More popular in Europe than the U.S., her recording of “Workin’ Woman Blues” was produced and engineered in Budapest. [via]

A Finnish redneck bluegrass band playing AC/DC with Irish influences and an anvil? Steve ‘n’ Seagulls cover of “Thunderstruck” is awesome. [via]

“Rake My Back” by The Forbidden Pigs (live at the Zoo Bar, Lincoln Nebraska 2001). The missus and I saw them in L.A. about 10 years prior by accident. We went to see The Paladins, and Jimmy & The Mustangs were there, too. The Paladins were great, The Mustangs were loud, but The F Pigs blew everyone away.  Best stunt was when the drummer got up on his stool, took a flip over his kit, landed on his feet and beat the strings of Bacon’s bass. Pure awesome.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, folks. We’re not going anywhere soon.

Saturday Matinee – The HorrorPops, The M3T30RS, Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs, The Stray Cats, and Eddie Cochran

I don’t know how The HorrorPops missed showing up on my radar screen. Too much awesome in this psychobilly band from Denmark.

Before The HorrorPops came these guys.  The M3T30RS‘ version of “Rawhide” ain’t too bad, especially considering they’re from the U.K., and according to some are the originators of psychobilly.

Antedating The M3T30RS  came San Diego’s own Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs, presented here in a gloriously crappy 35mm film. The missus and I were fortunate to see FP at their prime. Great show.

Just prior to The Forbidden Pigs, there were The Stray Cats, but y’all know about them.

Before The Stray Cats were even born, there was Eddie Cochran, arguably one of the most successful early Rockabilly recording artists. Sure it’s lipsynching but he faked the entire crowd out with the giant TV set, and his fans were given free chewing gum just to go along with it.

With that, have a great weekend, folks. See y’all back here tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee: Bus Boys, Paladins, Mustangs, Forbidden Pigs

Whatever happened to these guys?  They were a blast when they came out in the late ’70s. Here’s the Bus Boys‘ promo video.

Better yet, whatever happened to The Paladins?  Great 3-man flat head six rockabilly, and here they are live in Holland of all places.  I saw them decades ago opening for The Fabulous Thunderbirds at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California. Track down any of their records and you won’t be disappointed.

When I was dating the future Mrs. Strutts, we went to see the Paladins in L.A.  Opening for them was Jimmy & the Mustangs.

Opening for the Paladins and the Mustangs: The Forbidden Pigs.  Stand up bassman Billy Bacon was amazing, standing on it, rolling around with it, jamming it. At one point the drummer took a flip over his drumset to beat on the bass while Bacon fingered the chords.  Great show.