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Ah, the land of the rising sun, they who do America better than Americans. Yes, some would point to the auto industry and electronics, while I would point to more significant areas of cartoons 'bout giant fightin' robots and Rockabilly! I've done nearly as many posts about Japanese Rockabilly as from anywhere else on our spinnin' marble! The problem is, getting to Japan is hard, staying is damn expensive (have you checked out the exchange rate?) and the language is exceptionally difficult to learn for someone who failed Spanish twice (true. oh so sad but true).

I have a feeling that Italian born-NYC based photographer Alessandro Zuek Simonetti (who probably knows more languages than me, safe bet), must identify with my plight. Simonetti admits to a "deep interest in young niche cultures", and this reflects on his work, which you may have seen in Rolling Stone, GQ, Warp Magazine Japan, Tema Celeste, Vice and Theme. Brands such as Carhartt, Zoo York, 55dsl, Lee, Bijules, Still Life NYC, Redbull, Evisu, Sartoria comunication and Slam Jam have also benefited from his talents.

But what drove him to unearth a little slice of Japanese rockabilly right in the Big Apple and document it through his lens?

Well, I'll let him tell it:

ABC Rebel Night is a monthly party organized by a Japanese rockabilly group based in NYC. I went one night in this bizarre tiki bar on 14th street. I was astounded by a japenese rock'n'roll/female synchro ballet contest and intrigued by everyone's 50's style... they were so perfect!

His photos have been collected into a limited-edition portfolio. Learn how to BUY IT here.

Stray thought?... Why can't Afghanistan look like Japan in a few decades? How do you fight the Taliban? Afghani Rockabilly... I'm just sayin'.

LA WEEKLY talks 'bout Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson.

Amy Winehouse - drugs = VV Brown?

RIVERFRONT TIMES catches up with James "Cry Baby" Intveld.

Imelda May has some serious vocal chops and her songs are all constructed around showing off her pipes. Clearly, this is an artist who has done her homework (evidently, she was the vocalist for a roots rock band for seven years prior to going solo). Like a subtle perfume, her various vocal stylings hint and whisper at sources of inspiration... full-throated, husky, imperiousness that Wanda Jackson couldn't handle better, whispered laments that could move Billie Holiday or sultry come-hithers that would have Petty Lee swinging her hips. The success of Imelda May is that none of these influences overpower her own talents, and it is precisely this ease as moving from country to jazz to pop (even if "pop" music as it hit turntables a half a century ago) attitudes that makes her music such a delight to behold. The music is tasteful, featuring a full band but restrained arrangements, recorded to sound warm and alive -- as proven by the "live room" sound of the thumping upright base that opens "Johnny Got a Boom Boom".

Joe Brown blends US and UK influences to create a satisfying roots rock sound. The clean, modern and full production stands in contrast to much of the ethic of today's retro and alt-country approach. Instead, the work sounds either like when past country luminaries tried to sound "relevant" in the 80's and 90's (think the Cash/Nelson/Jennings/Kristofferson supergroup THE HIGHWAYMEN or Carl Perkins' star-studded 1996 effort, GO CAT GO) or when 60's and 70's rock gods grab a mandolin or bust out a shuffle lick (think TRAVELING WILBURYS). The picking is more crisp than ferocious, but it'll get your toe tapping.

The Honeybees - genial, witty ditties that rise on the wings of high harmonies and the sweet (if occasionally pitchy) female dual vocals of Barbara Clifford and Rachel Decker, ably abetted by sunny playing that nods to many styles found in the pre-British Invasion hit parade.

I found a thoughtful blog post about how Confederate iconography is a slap in the face to everything Rockabilly stands for -- the mixing of black and white musical concepts in a time and place when "race mixing" was violently opposed. As we reflect on our first black President, it's time to better honor Rockabilly's role in changing racial attitudes at a crucial time in our nation's history.

The racially-segregated world longed for by the Stars and Bars Confederacy would inhibit the multi-racial development of rock'n'roll. Real rockabillies were the enemies of that order. They acted in rebellion against then-prevailing strictures.

The phenomenon of the individual daring to think for her or himself and rebelling against imposed values undergirds today's authentic rockabilly community, just as it fired the original.

Read the rest of the article by DC LARSON, a freelance writer and current CD Review Editor for Rockabilly Magazine.

Read a great article/appreciation/timeline of the Queen of Rockabilly from TULSA WORLD.

The TENNESSEAN has a positive review of Billy Bob Thornton's rockabilly outfit, THE BOXMASTERS' new holiday offering, CHRISTMAS CHEER. As a bonus, they offer a free download of their cover of John Prine's wry, off-kilter tune, CHRISTMAS IN PRISON.

News from multiple sources that MERLE HAGGARD is recovering from an operation removing a malignant tumor from his lung.

HUSHABYE has a lullaby version of JOHNNY CASH classics! Get your kids started off with good taste in music from the cradle! When are they tackling THE CRAMPS???

Jack’s Vintage Clothing, tel: (81-3) 3470 1499, sells poodle skirts, bowling shirts and vintage Levi’s out of a closet-like shop on a backstreet in Harajuku — the district known for its weekend gatherings of rockabilly buffs. Store owner Jack (Elvis) Sato, a sometime actor and Elvis fan (he honors the King’s birthday each year by throwing a street party), attracts a mix of stylists, tourists and members of Tokyo’s rockabilly scene. The clingy Hawaiian-print dresses are especially popular, but in fact Jack’s is good for almost anything ’50s. Pick up a couple of items and chances are you’ll blend right into Harajuku’s passing parade.

Read more about "Tokyo's Vintage Scene" in TIME MAGAZINE.

With rockabilly, the Stray Cats wrote great songs. Most bands just had that "1,4,5 Go Cat Go". They didn't break out of that. - Brian Setzer

This article's a few months old at this point, but its always great when musicians interview other musicians. Here, you have THE LIVING END's Chris Cheney interviewing his childhood hero, Brian Setzer about the end of the STRAY CATS and his next moves.

One of the most interesting bits is a discussion about how to be true to rockabilly, but not a slave to it. To a certain extent, the entire scene is about "authenticity", but using the past as a springboard for self-expression is just as important. The Living End left rockabilly behind a long time ago. Their early EPs rate as some of the best 90's era rockabilly, approaching REVEREND HORTON HEAT in energy. As they matured, they seemed to reach for 80's UK power pop influences and the rock/punk melange of the Clash. Now, you can barely hear the rockabilly in their increasingly complex sound.

Setzer crumbing on people's desire "to make it sound like it was done in 1955" is rich, considering the Stray Cats have always relied heavily on covers with similar arrangements to the originals and Setzer produced two albums consisting entirely of covers (STRAY CATS ORIGINAL COOL and solo effort, ROCKABILLY RIOT: A TRIBUTE TO SUN RECORDS - both are great!) Still, it's worth thinking about: is retro lifestyle really liberating our imaginations or is it a crutch... a uniform... that allows us to lazily avoid originality while still donning the cloak of "alternative" and "outlaw"?

Thoughts?

JASON GELT recently listed his "Top Ten Old Time Memphis Records" in the LOS ANGELES EXAMINER:

1. Johnny Ace, "Pledging My Love." Romantic, haunting, creepy. This ballad from the tragic R&B star (he died in a Russian Roulette accident in 1954) has been used in many a movie, including Abel Ferrarra's "Bad Lieutenant."

2. Rufus Thomas, "Memphis Train." The clown prince of Memphis soul recorded for Sun Records and more famously, Stax Records. This raging R&B ode to love and trains is hard to beat.

3. Charlie Feathers, "That Certain Female." Why Mr. Feathers is only appreciated by a cadre of die-hard roots music enthusiasts and rockabilly nuts is beyond me. Check out the LPs available from Norton Records.

4. Billy Lee Riley, "My Gal is Red Hot." With a raw, gravely voice and a manic stage presence, Riley cut his best material for Sun Records, both as a front man and as a session musician. This song, covered by many a retro rockabilly, is one of his finest offerings.

5. Booker T. and the M.G.s, "Green Onions." Recorded at Stax Records, otherwise known as Soulsville, U.S.A., this is one of the best brooding, strutting instrumentals of the '60s from one of the South's first interracial music acts.

6. The Prisonaires, "Just Walkin' in the Rain." Just one of the many great groups obscured by Elvis Presley's tenure at Sun Records, the Prisonaires were actual Tennessee state prisoners that the warden allowed out -- accompainied by armed gurads -- to record at Sam Philips' burgeoning R&B studio. The 45 went on to sell over 250,000 copies.

7. Bill Justis, "Raunchy." Another killer instrumental from Sun Studios, this catchy and kooky number features the warbly-yet-wonderful sax work of Justis himself, who took over blowin' duties when the session player assigned the instrument failed to show up to the recording date.

8. Jerry Lee Lewis, "Whole Lotta Shakin.'" His personal foibles have been the subject of movies, documentaries and books, but the important thing to remember is that the Killer recorded some of the most energetic, foot-stomping songs of the '50s. This is just one of them.

9. Sam and Dave, "When Something is Wrong With My Baby." They may be best remembered for "Soul Man," but this hot buttered ballad, penned by Isaac Hayes and his Stax writing partner, David Porter, is a beautiful, juicy slice of classic '60s soul.

10. Carl Mann, "Mona Lisa." A love song penned around the famous portrait, this is yet another sadly underappreciated Sun Record, featuring smart lyrics, precise playing and a bouncy energy that can't be denied.

Deke Dickerson is one of the finest and most highly regarded guitarists on the rockabilly circuit. Too bad he's not a straight-up rockabilly guitarist. His songs and his guitar leads, thrilling and full of joy, ebb and flow though surf rock, country, western swing, rhythm and blues, garage rock and yes, rockabilly. The result is something acutely American, technically dazzling and truckloads of fun to listen to and watch.

READ THE REST of this fine article about one of the standard-bearers of the scene, DEKE DICKERSON.

Hosted by the irrepressible Rosie Flores, WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' offers, for free, a 10 part streaming radio show that covers all of the basics of Rockabilly. Segments are as follows (make sure to click on "listen now!" at the top to hear the programs):

1. Good Rockin' Tonight: Elvis, Carl Perkins and the rise of Sun Records
2. Get Rhythm: The story of Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two
3. Fujiyama Mamas: The women of rockabilly stake their claim
4. Rebels with Guitars: Borrowing from Brando: the music's most notorious rebels
5. The Cradle of the Stars: The rise and fall of radio's The Louisiana Hayride
6. Real Wild Child: The story of Jerry Lee Lewis
7. Shake This Shack: Cat Music from the Lone Star State: rockabilly in Texas
8. Rockin' Bones: Suzy Q and rockabilly's one hit wonders
9. Rave On: The life and music of Buddy Holly
10. Summertime Blues: Sunglasses after dark, rockabilly California-style

There isn't a Rockabilly compelation this complete on the market for ANY price... and here, you get to hear an illustrative cross-section of the genre for nuthin'!

OC WEEKLY just interviewed a very deserving Rockabilly band. I don't know how popular they are in other parts of the country, but they've long proved themselves to be talented and authentic stalwarts of live Rockabilly.

Check 'em out:
OC WEEKLY interview
MYSPACE
Hot Rod Trio