Preview
THE DEADCATS
Friday, November 19
Broken City
Some time after Sam Phillips founded Sun Records in 1952, the vein of rock ’n’ roll he nurtured – better known to the world as rockabilly – fractured along the middle. Straddling that fault line, Vancouver's The Deadcats have been forced to confront two sides of rockabilly and navigate between two extremes.
On one side they see the purists, refusing to tamper with a sound already perfected by 1956. The downside to that mentality is that some groups are so bent on the tasteful restraint in that sock-hop sound that it's yawn-inducing. On the other hand, there's the still-burgeoning world of psychobilly, essentially a rock-country hybrid injected with a welcome dose of punk energy. But too much psycho, not enough billy and that timeless rockabilly sound vanishes. The only way to deal with this dilemma, says The Deadcats' Mick Nitro (known to his mom as Mick Dennis), is to not worry about it at all and just do what they feel like doing.
"We know we'll never be the smoothest, traditional rockabilly band," says Dennis, "and we know we'll never be the harshest psychobilly band like the Nekromantix, but we just do what we do – we really try to mix it up."
For evidence of mixing it up, one need look no further than The Deadcats’ current release 2002's Bad Pussy. Dennis cites a love for such influential groups as The Cramps and The Meteors as the backbone of the Deadcats sound, but those influences manifest in a myriad of ways. Kicking off with the straight-up rockabilly of "Psychocat," it doesn't take long to make your way through the swinging horror-groove of "Crypt Zombie Hula," old-school punk in the form of "Lost Generation Breakdown," a faithful rendition of Johnny Cash's "Mean-Eyed Cat," and a variety of other tunes that range from Ventures-type instrumentals to weirdo tales reminiscent of the psycho-semi-surf act Deadbolt.
"I like some of the traditional-country stuff. We like a lot of surf and we love the ’70s punk stuff," explains Dennis. And that's the essence of The Deadcats right there – a wide range of sounds corralled into one cohesive group, sitting comfortably alongside one another. The potential for inconsistency is somehow sidestepped and, as a result, the one-dimensionality evident in many of The Deadcats' peers never crops up, either.
"People like it live because all the songs aren't going to sound the same," says Dennis. "There's stuff you can dance to and stuff you can sit back and listen to." If their rare Calgary appearance is anything like their Vancouver shows, there's sure to be an even ratio of both activities in the club, though the ones on the dance floor tend to get a better view of The Deadcats' antics onstage – the most notable being the bass player, Scooter, setting his homemade washtub bass on fire.
Further incentive to see the show is the fact that The Deadcats haven't visited Calgary in more than five years. And with Dennis's daily routine involving fatherhood, a day job, plans for upcoming U.S. and European tours, and managing Flying Saucer Records, his label that sees distribution as far away as Germany, Japan and England, it's a wonder they can travel to play gigs at all. Fortunately, says Dennis, such a continually crushing schedule has actually ensured that The Deadcats will be able to tour for a long time. "The busier you are, you sort of learn to make time," he says, laughing. You're so active, you get really good at finding time to play." |
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