‘It’s amazing to see bluegrass guys rubbing shoulders with punk rockers’ — Eve Hell’s rockabilly is a unifying force.
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Some marriages are made in heaven, but according to Albertans Mike and Eve Hell, things are even better south of the border. Legally united in October of 1995, the Hells trace their mutual affection for rockabilly music back to their formative years as music students at Red Deer College. The dynamic duo explored the annals of classical and contemporary forms, but it was in the subculture of Americana that they found their true musical calling. Receiving her first stand-up bass as a gift from her beloved husband, Eve Hell continued the journey she had embarked on as a youngster marvelling at The Stray Cats’ strut, and joined Mike in forming The Razors. Despite a tendency to stay in the background, in the fall of 2006 Eve repurposed her Broadway-style vocal training to become the Razors’ lead singer and hard-pluckin’ centrepiece.
“I just kind of fell into the role of singer,” Eve confesses with a good-natured chuckle. “When I studied voice techniques, it was originally for stage and theatre. I never imagined I’d be using it to do this instead. Over time, I’ve gotten much more comfortable performing for people and presenting myself onstage. I wish I could be a more normal role model out there for girls to see. The role models that get presented as normal today are all messed up princess types. Growing up, I would have loved to have seen a woman who had brains, talent, a good family and a good life. You can have it all.”
Seeking to swing a permanent third member for their outfit, Eve and Mike rolled the dice and lost on more than one occasion. Various drummers came and went, until 2008, when they struck gold by landing surf band veteran and hired gun “Richie Ranchero” Lazarowich. A stellar skinsman who has paid his dues with the likes of Huevos Rancheros, Loaded Dice, The Black Coffee Cowboys, the Rowdymen, Hurricane Felix and many more, Lazarowich gelled with the infernal couple immediately.
“Richie has had a big influence on us,” says Eve. “He has a huge record collection and has been exposing us to everything, including old albums from Chess Records and modern guys like Southern Culture on the Skids. We’ve really come a long way together — the band as a whole has really evolved in terms of knowing each other so well that we can just focus on putting on a great show. You can feel it in the air; we’re so much tighter and the audience is more involved than ever. Everyone loves rockabilly; it’s amazing to see cowboys and blues guys and bluegrass guys rubbing shoulders with punk rockers and greasers in leather jackets.”
Mining a cross-section of popular ’50s motifs for the contents of their full-length debut, Eve Hell and The Razors released Fire it Up in January of 2009. Recorded with ex-drummer Ed Tiegs, this psychobilly juggernaut landed somewhere between The Cramps and Richie Valens and whetted greaser-rock appetites for the trio’s future conquests. Setting its sights on Sin City, the group is gearing up to rock local audiences in preparation for a jaunt to Nevada for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend this April.
“They call it a weekend, but it’s really four days straight of bands and partying at the Orleans hotel off the Las Vegas strip,” Eve says. “It’s really cool; just walking up to the doors, you pass through a parking lot full of awesome vintage cars and bikes, and inside everyone’s dressed in ’50s garb. It’s our second appearance there and we love the atmosphere. We enjoy sticking to the same fun ’50s themes in our songwriting — every genre has songs about love and heartache, but how many also let you sing about girls, cars, aliens and monsters?”
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