The Rockabilly Roosters Have A Fanatic Following

Club preview

Rattled Roosters, tonight and tomorrow, 9 p.m., Victory Club, 2803 Sixth Ave., $5; 272-8085. -------------------------------------------------------------------

TACOMA - Rockabilly is one of the most influential music styles in the history of rock 'n' roll. Although it has always been considered "outsider" music in the minds that rule the pop music industry, rockabilly originally provided the stage for musical outcasts like Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and even the Beatles.

Now four decades have passed since the Memphis-based Sun Records label introduced the country, and later the world, to the Southern roots-rock hybrid sound of rockabilly. Today the music's early stars are now rock 'n' roll legends while rockabilly itself still exists along the sidelines of popular music. However, rockabilly fans are a uniquely fanatical bunch, and the few groups that are scattered about the continent remain irreverently devoted to the genre and are intent on keeping the raw power and frenetic energy of rockabilly alive.

Stirring up a lot of dust here in the Pacific Northwest is a Vancouver, B.C.-based quartet called the Rattled Roosters. The three-year-old group has become a particular favorite among Seattle-area rockabilly devotees for developing a sound that updates the genre without losing the simplistic ragged edge the tradition was founded on. And though theirs isn't a particularly novel idea, the Rattled Roosters allow new ideas to be absorbed naturally into the tradition rather than consciously gluing patches of popular music styles onto the sound.

"When rockabilly first evolved it was based on the merging of the kinds of music that were around in those days, like blues, gospel, country and bluegrass," said lead vocalist Rev. Rick. "Basically we've continued with that concept and included popular music styles that have come along over the years."

Based on the typical rockabilly combo - acoustic guitar, stand-up bass and drums - along with rebel-rousing vocals and ready-for-action stage names like Crash Gordon, Tony Longlegs, Lucky and the "Rev.," the Ratted Roosters rely almost exclusively on gut-level energy and unfailing enthusiasm. Of course, amplification serves to intensify the sound, though one would suspect that they'd have no problem holding off the blistering howls of a 1950s back-country honky tonk crowd.

Though the Roosters are currently the premier rockabilly group in the region, they actually started out playing 1960s garage/blues rock and featured a harmonica player. But as the group matured and new members joined on, they soon "regressed" to a sound that Rev. Rick describes as the epitome of freedom and raw energy.

"The fact that we ended up as a rockabilly band was natural for me," he says. "It was one of the first music styles that appealed to me as a kid. I liked the fact that there are not a lot of rules in this music and it is difficult to classify. The freedom to break all the rules and to do it with conviction is what makes the music exciting."

Almost a year ago the group released its first compact disc titled "Year of the Rooster," and though distribution of the independently produced recording has been scarce, Rev. Rick says their audiences have been rapidly growing, especially over the past six months.

"We've found that there is always some sort of rockabilly crowd in almost every town we've played in," Rev. Rick says. "Some maintain a purist attitude about the music while others, especially in Seattle, are more open-minded. Many people think rockabilly is a small thing, but from our perspective it's the biggest thing going."