Photos by Keith Thompson Calgary, Alberta

That's Tricky! and its something that I have played with a lot over the years.  I used to think that perfection was a Gibson ES295 plugged into a Fender twin amp but now I'm into Boutique Amps.  I recently learnt that there is no substitute for a hand build hand wired amp - most of the stuff in the stores is hyped up cheaply built rubbish.  I have been involved in a project with Greasy Groove Inc., working on the development of a lovingly built and hand crafted Rockabilly inspired amp called the "Rebel Rouser", I have a prototype that I am using and its given me the sound I always wanted but never seemed to hit I LOVE IT.

REBEL ROUSER AMP - www.greasygroove.com

  I like a Big Fat Clean sound these days and I always run an analogue delay.  I've used many tape echoes such as WEM Copicats, Roland Space Echoes and Echoplex's, they all have there quirks and I love em.  I'm a hollow body man at heart but it seems like everyone with a Gretsch wants to distort it these days, that's not always the best sound on your ears.    I certainly strive to be creative and get my own sound and style so I now dabble between Fender Solids and a Gretsch 6120 that the guys at Greasy Groove Guitars dressed up for me with custom hardware and Fatter sounding pickups.  My favorite guitar is my gorgeous 1956 Gretsch Country Club, its got the best vibe I ever felt from a guitar - too bad I never had it for recording the last album but it will sure be on the next.  I am also very into my 1963 Gibson ES175 but it stays home most of the time.  You can check out some of my gear on the guitars page linked here!

I've played rockabilly since 1980 in pretty much every country in Europe and have seen the scene change over time.  Deep inside I still have the Ted there that I used to be but being in Canada - no-one knows what the eck a Ted is so I'm now just a Rockabilly nut.  I've dabbled in a lot of Rockin blues in recent years but now I'm back where my heart and soul is - Rockabilly. 

My Guitar playing keeps on moving and there is always something new to learn - this band is great and I have a tremendous rhythm section - When  Kimmi gets going on the Slap bass, all I have to do is lay a guitar on top of it - she gets the groove, I dress it up with twangs, frills, bends and Bigsby slurrs.  It's easy when you have a great rhythm section and its pretty essential for a great rockabilly band to have a tight groove with the hick in the beat at just the right place to get folks feet bouncin'.

Kimmi is amazing, she has the best sense of rhythm ever and its just the best when we power up and get deep into some Rockin' Grooves.   The upright bass sound is so important to me and she hits it dead on - that makes my job a whole lot easier.

I write songs at all different times for all different reasons.  It may be that I read a story and feel the urge to write a song about it or a tune hits me driving home from a gig at 3am.  I can't count the amount of times I've had to call my home phone to sing a new tune into the answering machine.  I never write a song without it has some meaning and I do get a big cryptic at times.  Rockabilly can have a tendency to be all about Girls, Cars and "lets rock rock rock the whole night long" but I like the challenge to make any song have meaning.  I've written songs about life, death, love, serial killers, cream cakes and yes, the odd one about a car.  The list is endless and I must have approaching a hundred songs under my belt now, not all of them make it to the band.  I write about something that has a meaning at the time when I write it.

There are times when I get a  melody first and times when I get a lyric first - I have no rules.  I have to give myself time with a song to get to know whether I like it or not - If I present a song to the band, it at least got through my own filter. 

Exciting stuff I hope!.  I just got asked to write a film score for an independent  film being shot here in Calgary.  The script looks great and the crew are of a good high caliber - I like it when the bar is set high.  I am really excited about sitting down and writing over the next little while and putting some music to a visual art - I will keep the web site up to date with how things go.

As for the band we have just recorded a great CD and we will be touring a lot once we get it released - that's a couple of months off yet.  We will hit some Rockabilly fests in the US and see what we can find in Canada.  Europe is definitely on the horizon and it will be great to tour this band over there.  I feel really happy with this band its the best I have ever had and its really exciting - Our energy is high and well take every opportunity we can to get out there and deliver our brand of twang to a rockabilly loving audience.