This Saturday in Memphis (or my trip to Mecca)

Heading to Memphis Saturday to see the HILLBILLY CASINO tear Beale Street up. WOOOOHOOOOO!

But before the rock, comes the soul. I'm heading to Sun Recording Studio for the first time in my life (moment of silence please). Elvis, Johnny, Jerry Lee, Carl, Sam and too many others to mention. Is there a more important room in the history of rock and roll?

I CANNOT WAIT!
N

You´ll never forget your trip. Every minute in there is going to be retained in your memories forever. Walking and breathing in Memphis is a total different experience from any you may have had before.

Enjoy, and have lots of fun.


While in Sun, ask the guys there to direct you to Sam Phillips studios, which is real close.

And if you have time, visit Shangri-La record shop. Lots of cool stuff there.



You may wanna extend your stay in Memphis till Sunday, to catch THE DEMPSEYS playing there as well:

5/25/2008 Huey's Southwind Memphis, TN 7825 Winchester Rd. 8:30pm

I´m pretty sure it will be a free admission show, and you won´t regreat seeing them live.


Again... have fun man!!!!!!!

I bet it's gonna be great, I'm sooooooooo jealous

what happened? do tell....

He's probably still waiting for the Jagermeister to wear off.

doesnt he have like a 10hr drive?

Ok, Jagr's worn off Actually, this is the first time I've been on the internets since then.

First of Geoff, you guys floored me. I'm not entirely sure how it is you guys keep getting better, but you do. The CD is outstanding. LOVE the liner notes! Wish I could have stayed for the entire show (see Jagr reference).

Sun records, well, what can be said about standing in the most important room in Rock and Roll history. Overwhelming. I won't ever forget it.

4.5 hour drive.
N

I forgot to mention, THE HILLBILLY CASINO IN ST. LOUIS JUNE 7. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Count me in brother.

we want the pics... and you know!

cool, Jag attacks in memphis at the casino stage!!

Sorry boys, no pics. Didn't take a camera. I burned the images into my memory.

I haven't been to Beale in a loooong time. I can't believe how much it changed! It was packed and it was fun.

To love the Hillbilly Casino is to love Jagermeister. They got me hooked.

BTW. If you haven't heard the new album Three Step Windup. Buy it. NOW. It may be a touch better than the last one, but it's hard to say for sure. Boys can write some tunes. Damn.

N

Nikko wrote:

BTW. If you haven't heard the new album Three Step Windup. Buy it. NOW. It may be a touch better than the last one, but it's hard to say for sure. Boys can write some tunes. Damn.

N

I just want it on itunes right now..instantly. You Dont want to see the impatient
man....
Its darn near frightening to see me scream at the baked potato in the microwave to hurry it on up in there!...... all 5'6" of my tubby ass growlin with a fork. grrrrr...

The production value on Three-Step Windup is top-notch! Better than Sucker-Punched, which seemed to put a little more emphasis on the bass (go figure!) More rockabilly bands need to take a lesson from Geoff and Andrew on how a rockabilly band should be recorded.

Powerful songs indeed! Don't Stick Around has a great swagger to it to match the lyrics, and Ronnie's guitar reminds me of the mature, post-Blast Off Setzer where the licks suit the song perfectly.

One Cup Beyond is a perfect title for this screamin' amphetamine-fueled ode to ridin' the bean. I love the percolatin' guitar lick that pops up in the middle of the frenzy. Expect to be exhausted at the end of this one.

Big Dan is an easy-rollin' trucker tune with a baritone guitar that would put a smile on Dave Dudley's grill. Good God, men! Get Ronnie on the vocals more often - Nic's a great front man, but there appears to be no end to the Crusher's talents - don't take away any tracks from Nic - just squeeze in a few more from that smooth talkin' feller on the geetar.

The harmonies on Have To Tell It All seems to be channeling the best stuff from Waylon and Willie. Another fine piece of songwriting (and I apologize, as I don't have the disc in front of me at the moment to give credit where credit is due.)

The 'billy goes 60's garage band on Broke Down - and that's a good thing. Three chords and a cloud of dust. What else do you need?

Other highlights for me include Nic's defiant vocals on the fantastic lyrics accompanying I'd Rather Be Lonely, and the tight, 'billy groove from Andrew and Geoff on Stop Drop and Roll (along with Ronnie's incendiary guitar at the end.) Whiskey has this small combo jazz feel that I you might find on a Dan Hicks or Leon Redbone album. Not since Ring of Fire has the pain of pining for a love that can't yet be realized been expressed so well as on You'll Have Me.

Anyone who's heard Lemmy's forays with Slim Jim Phantom knows the Mötorhead frontman is a fan of rockabilly. Hillbilly Casino's version of Iron Fist shows the song was meant to be in the hands of real rockabilly craftsmen.

Now I've never had the pleasure of experiencing Hillbilly Casino live (other than on YouTube), but if the live version of Shoe Leather that closes this disc is any indication, I believe I will have to expand my travel radius to catch a Hillbilly Casino show very soon. The sound is incredible and clean - you can hear every note, even if you can't keep up with it. It appears Ronnie manages to hang on to his axe on this rendition, as the listener is hanging on for dear life right along with he and the rest of the band.

I can't say enough good things about this album. Order it now. TV, in the time it took me to write this you could have had it by now!

The Hillbilly Casino should not just be considered a great rockabilly band. They are a great band, period! No labels or stylistic descriptions necessary. I can't even imagine what it's like to catch them live.




www.thehillbillycasino.com (abilly)

Nikko wrote:

Sorry boys, no pics. Didn't take a camera. I burned the images into my memory.

Alright then. Download your brain!!!

Well Rickabilly....are you getting a commission on the cd's you're selling due to your incredible review? Thanks, and chalk up another album sold.


hrg

I love the new album too! It's been on 'repeat' in my cd player since it arrived last week

I love the art work too....in fact, it's one of the best albums I've heard this year

Cheers PP

Thanks for the kind words, but the four people who visit this board aren't gonna make those boys enough money for a PBR split four ways. Hopefully people who are visiting the board without logging in will decide it's worth checking out. I'm unbelievably jealous of the folks who have seen their shows. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they head west and north a bit - Kansas City, Minneapolis... Shoot, if I wasn't planning on seeing the BSO in Aspen In June, I'd set aside some gas $$$ to get to St Louis.

HC in KC-billy

S.O.S.

Can't seem to order the cd off the website....when I click on the music page, it comes up blank. After all the discussion, I simply must have it. What's a girl to do? (I feel really computer illiterate right now)

Help!
hrg

Click on the "MERCH" link (bottom star), not the "MUSIC" link and you should have a Paypal button that's ready to go!

Clickabilly

I ordered mine from Raucous Records here in the Uk but they also ship out to the US

Hillbilly Casino - Three Step Wind Up

Cheers PP

Thanks guys! I completely missed that little merch star down at the bottom. It's all ordered and paid for. Can't wait to get it!

Take care,
hrg

Just got the shipping confirmation today! whoo hooo!

hey Nikko, we should be getting into STL around 5 ish, give ronnie a call around 4 or so, and we'll make our plan.

-g

ps. I relly wanna checkout that kay.