It's a Psychobilly Freakout!

Driven by the rhythmic slap of the upright bass, the snarl of punk rock and the macabre lyrics of horrorpunk, Psychobilly music has swaggered through its’ long and lively career as one of the undergrounds’ oldest subcultures, but also as one of its’ most cherished.

The conception of Psychobilly can be traced back to Johnny Cash, in the song, “One Piece at a Time”, which was a Top 10 Hit in the United States in 1976. The song describes the building of a “Psychobilly Cadillac”. During the punk rock and garage band movement, the Sacramento based band, The Cramps, appropriated the term to describe their unique blend of 1950’s flavored Rockabilly with the punk music of the 1970’s. The sound of The Cramps was heavily influenced by 1950’s rock n’ roll and the band covered many songs from the Sun Records roster. Their 1979 album, Songs the Lord Taught Us, is considered influential to the birth of Psychobilly. Even though the band has rejected the idea of being a Psychobilly band, many fans consider them the progenitors and precursors to the movement, alongside artists such as Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and the Stray Cats.

The evolution of verifiable Psychobilly is split into three waves. The first wave occurred in Britain in the early 1980’s with the kings of Psychobilly, The Meteors. The Meteors, founded by P. Paul Fenech, Nigel Lewis & Mark Robertson, formed in South London in 1979. Fenech and Robertson had played in Rockabilly bands before, but left to experiment with a new sound that mixed the aggressive nature of punk rock with Rockabilly twang and the macabre lyrical style of science fiction, horror, exploitation films and raunchy sexual themes, although often presented in cheeky fashion. The bands’ background in Rockabilly music influenced their decision to play with an upright bass instead of an electric; the upright bass has since come to be seen as a centerpiece of the Psychobilly genre.

The band developed a loyal following that came to call themselves “the Crazies,” or “the Zorchmen,” who invented a violent style of dance that would come to be known as “wrecking”, a cross between dancing, moshing and fighting. Wrecking is still a staple of the Psychobilly movement and identity to this day. The Meteors soon began playing at punk clubs alongside punk rock idols, The Clash, The Damned and The UK Subs. Upon witnessing the divisive issue of politics within the burgeoning punk scene, The Meteors vowed to make their music a politics free zone. Nekromantix frontman, Kim Nekroman, explains that: “We are all different people and have different political views. Psychobilly is all about having fun. Politics is not fun, and therefore has nothing to do with psychobilly!” This strict apolitical stance is one that has carried on throughout the years.

Shortly following The Meteors came another significant Psychobilly band called the Guana Batz. Alongside The Meteors first two albums, Meteor Madness and Radioactive Kid, the Guana Batz first album, Held Down to Vinyl at Last, is considered one of the scene’s most important and influential albums.

With the rise of this new genre followed the opening of Psychobilly focal point, The Klubfoot Nightclub, in Hammersmith. At the same time of the rise of Psychobilly in Britain, bands such as Batmobile, from the Netherlands, emerged and were headlining shows at the Klubfoot by 1985.

In 1986, with the rise of Welsh Psycho band, Demented Are Go! came the second wave of Psychobilly. The genre spread like the plague throughout Europe, and in 1987, German band Mad Sin was formed, followed by the legendary Nekromantix from Denmark in 1989. In 1986, The Quakes formed in Buffalo, but finding no niche for their sound, moved to London the following year. Tiger Army frontman Nick 13 has observed that: “while other British youth trends such as scooter riding, the skinhead subculture, and 2-Tone ska crossed over to the United States during the 1980s, Psychobilly did not.” For all that, the influential Texas-based band known as The Reverend Horton Heat introduced America to the genre with the single, “Psychobilly Freakout”, in 1990.

The third wave of the evolution of Psychobilly began in the mid 1990’s. During this time, many bands branched out and experimented with the sounds of hardcore punk, indie rock, heavy metal, new wave, goth, surf rock, country and ska. This inclusion of metal influence was noted in 1994, when the Nekromantix album, Brought Back to Life, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Heavy Metal Album”. During this time, Psychobilly exploded in Southern California, thanks in part to the reverence of bands such as The Misfits and Social Distortion, as well as the glorification of hot rod, motorcycle and body mod cultures. At the turn of the new millennium, dominant Psychobilly act Tiger Army released their self titled debut album.

The Nekromantix and fellow Danish band, the Horrorpops, relocated to Los Angeles around this time, where they found themselves at home at Hellcat Records, beside fellow Psychobilly acts Tiger Army, The Rezurex and Devil’s Brigade. Psychobilly has since spread all over the World, with bands and scenes emerging from Japan to Canada, Australia and Brazil.

With the rise of Psychobilly however, came the backlash from hardcore fans. This rampant elitism throughout the scene has come to be known as the genre’s most unpleasant feature. The scene has been divided between the rise of Psychobilly and the will to keep it underground; a particular example of this would be issue of Tiger Army. While some fans condemn the band for bringing Psycho into the forefront of the music scene and for including emotional lyrics, even going so far as to calling them “Emobilly”, other fans praise them for branching out and making Psychobilly accessible to any fan of music, with their combination of new wave, gothic rock, punk and country. Frontman Nick 13 has dismissed these accusations, saying that he makes the music that he wants to make, but never straying too far from the bands’ Psychobilly roots. Some fans have now come to identify the band as “Post - Psychobilly”.

Like every other definable music genre, there comes a fashion with Psychobilly. Fans and musicians often dress in a style reminiscent of 1950’s greaser with a smattering of punk rock sensibility. The song, “Take a Razor to Your Head”, by short lived band The Sharks, describes the code of dress for men, including the pompadour, quiff or Mohawk. Psychobilly ladies often fashion themselves in a style implicative of pinup girl chic from the 1950’s. Overall, the fashion borrows from the scooter boy movement, skinhead, punk rock, and rockabilly subcultures. Tattoos are common in both sexes.

On January 11th 2009, the Psychobilly scene mourned the loss of Nekromantix drummer Andrew Martinez, known more commonly by his stage name, Andy DeMize. At the tender age of twenty-five, DeMize was caught in an automobile accident outside of Fullerton, California. Shortly afterwards, the scene suffered another heartbreaking loss at the death of Cramps frontman, Lux Interior at the age of sixty. This small and tightly knit scene set up many online communities in memoriam of these two considerable musicians.

Unlike some modern musical trends, Psychobilly has a definitive and long lasting legacy that has carried on throughout generations of people. From the 12 Step Rebels and Asmodeus to Zombie Ghost Train, Psychobilly is not just a style of music, but a way of life for many followers. Psychobilly is not something that can just be bought at the mall – it is something one must experience to fully appreciate.