Rockabilly?

Hey everyone, can someone explain to me the term "Rockabilly". I know it means a type of music and I know what it sounds like it. But when they use the term Rockabilly as in a style, or to describe an art, car, or clothes, what does it mean? What makes Rockabilly, Rockabilly? Hah. Thanks in advance!

It's turned into a sort of subculture rooted around the late 40s and 50s eras music, clothing, cars, etc etc. The simplest way to look at the whole thing is Rockabilly is the music, and a lot of people who listen to the music and identify with the 'lifestyle' call themselves Rockabillies.. like Punks like Punk rock etc etc..
I'm going to suggest the favourite solution to most questions like this...

google!

There's lots of RAB message boards and sites.
Or if you're brave, why don't you try and go to a rockabilly show and see what everyones doing..

the term comes from hillbilly rock, hence the merger to end up as Rockabilly. This is because it is thought of to have come form a bunch of hicks like Elvis, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. By the way Elvis's B-Day coming up.

I'm going to suggest the favourite solution to most questions like this...

google!

Thanks. But ye.ah, thats how I found this site. And I've often seen tiki things in rockabilly sites so I thought maybe someone here would know.

I should actually find out more about this since the term in thrown around a fair bit at the local nightclub (not Tiki I'm afraid... the only Tiki club here is pretty minimalistic, plays House music and is generally dissappointing) in reference to certain people.

What I can tell you about Rockabillies is that they could easily be mistaken for Goths or Rivets, or even Emo, by people who don't really know the scene that well (oh great, throw around MORE terms now!). They tend towards jeans and denim jackets with band patches all over them, with shorter greased hair on guys and copious hair extensions on girls. I gather it's sorta' part Elvis and part Johnny Cash, with a little Punk and Industrial thrown in for flavour. 50's kitsch and spooky kitsch both figure highly, depending on the individual Rockabilly, but I can't say that I've seen any of them go overboard into a full and proper 50's emulation.

Of course, I COULD just be completely misrepresenting them... Maybe I'll get the skinny on it from one of my friends who's dating a Rockabilly right now, and report back on it.

Cory

The short greased hair is called
a pompadour
The extensions on girls are called "falls" although, I know few gals that actually wear them.
Denim jackets are rare round these parts, but I know lotsa the Euro billies wear em that way.
Here's a couple of sites for ya, but a word of caution, don't just hop on some rockabilly message board and post anything like "Can someone tell me about RAB?" you most likely won't get the nicest responses.
http://m.webring.com/hub?ring=rockabilly&list
http://www.topsitelists.com/bestsites/rockabilly/topsites.html
Read and learn.
Good Luck.
Pea

There's vintage rockabilly, and what it is now. It has developed into a pretty defined sub-culture. Guys wear a lot of cuffed jeans and pompadours with work jackets, t-shirts, vintage and western. Gals seem to all have bangs and too many try to look like Bettie Page. Lots of tattoos now a days too. Many 'billies are fully sleeved. That's a lot of where tiki comes in. Lots of tiki tatts.

It's hard to describe exactly, but if you ever go to a well attended show or event, you'll understand all. Unless you go to psychobilly show by mistake...

Tool around http://www.PlanetRockabilly.com maybe too.

It's that subculture where you get a lot of grease under your nails, Murrays, Royal Crown and Valvoline...

...don't just hop on some rockabilly message board and post anything like "Can someone tell me about RAB?" you most likely won't get the nicest responses.

Yeah, it's amazing how defensive some people get over their obsessions.

There is a lot of elitism in rockabilly. Some scenes are hard on new comers. If you don't look right, they can be brutal. Nashville has a very friendly crowd where they will come introduce themselves to new comers etc, which is great and rare.

Not like here, eh? We're always so nice to the newcomers.... er...

On 2004-01-05 12:13, Swanky wrote:
There is a lot of elitism in rockabilly. Some scenes are hard on new comers. If you don't look right, they can be brutal. Nashville has a very friendly crowd where they will come introduce themselves to new comers etc, which is great and rare.

I haven't noticed elitism is Rockabilly scenes as much as in others. I guess because I used to be in the mod scene which was incredibly elitist. The whole point was to "one-up" your friends by wearing the best suit or by wearing some article of clothing in a new way or by inventing a dance move. It was for the most part friendly but there were times when new people would get picked on. Unfortunately, that always happens in any kind of "scene".

I remember the first time I went to a punk rock show in San Diego and wore a trenchcoat. I got some laughs and one girl called me a "poser" but I had a good time anyway. People were for the most part cool to newcomers. I hated it later when hardcore got really violent. I remember going to see X at the Starwood and if anyone in the crowd had long hair or didn't dress punk rock they got jumped and pummeled by several thugs (who probably had long hair too the previous year and now had their new skinhead cuts).

Compared to those scenes the rockabilly scene isn't so elitist. Here in the bay area there are some cliques that seem aloof but I see plenty of people who go to shows regularly and always wear regular street clothes. Some of the best dancers at shows here never got into wearing 1950s styles or greasing their hair.

When it comes down to it the main thing is the music. If you want to know what rockabilly is all about start with The Rock and Roll Trio (with Johnny Burnette). If you like it than you like Rockabilly music and the rest (the cars, clothes, and dancing) aren't really necessary but might be fun to get into. But just do what you want. Personally, I'm more into vintage clothes than cars. I would rather spend my money on a gabardine suit than get my hands dirty and where jeans all the time. I guess it's my mod past that will never go away. And I still frequent punk and mod shows because I still like the music.

More on rockabilly music:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDCASS70312181707571190&sql=C187

Canadians rock!

Discussion of female rockabilly fashion here. Skip if it bores you.

*On 2004-01-05 11:45, sweetpea wrote:*The extensions on girls are called "falls" although, I know few gals that actually wear them.

Well, I'm one of 'em! Got 'em in about every length and wave factor. I used to be more of a 'billy, but I find myself in the fluffy-dresses-purging mode. (I never looked good in the severe-ponytail-with-Betty-Page-bangs and cuffed jeans thing - I just liked the music, the cars, the dancing and the great fifties petticoat dresses (which I'm now selling off). Now I spend my clothing $ on eBay Hawaiian/tiki dresses!)

I'll second the big difference between '50's rockabilly culture and '80's revival - and now late '90's/early 2000's culture. The '80's billies in England were pretty rockabilly Nazi when I lived there; course, it seemed that all the billies all loved psychobilly there, so I couldn't give any distinction between the cultures. It seemed to be one culture, with some bands faster (Speed-driven = really great), and some slower and more traditional (exact antique gear = really great).

I remember laughing when I showed up to a rockabilly club in London with my British billy gal friends in '87 (or '84?) and being stared at because my hair was 1940's, and NOT psychobilly 1950's in a ponytail. The girls ALL had stand-up-straight bangs, with the back pretty closely shorn OR smooth ponytail. There WAS NO deviation. Cuffed jeans or pedal-pushers ONLY. I don't really remember the boys, except ALL stand-up-straight bangs and ALL in jeans.

The full-sleeve or multiple tattoos thing seems to be the distinguishing mark for this new generation, both guys and girls (not that tatts didn't abound in the '80's too, but you didn't see SO many beautiful girls with several square feet inked in)). I haven't gotten out to Viva Las Vegas or any of the other rockabilly festivals, mainly 'cause 24 hours of only rockabilly kinda, well, bores me. And I thought that even when I sang in rockabilly bands in the '80's!! But I can take a solid week of '60's revival garage bands, which would drive others up a wall, so I can't throw stones.

This is by no means meant to be an informative post about "what is rockabilly" - I'm just having fun reminiscing!

What band were ya in darlin'?
Pea

Ha! First one looong ago in The Trouble Boys (Austin, circa 1981 or '82 'til '83 or '84)

....when I waaaaas - EIGHT years old, that's the ticket!

Nah, but we were ok. Very traditional. No attempts to be psychobilly. The Clash liked us, though, and picked us to open for them, replacing Stevie Ray Vaughn (who was booed off the stage the first night!). They put me in the "Rock the Casbah" video (BRIEFly!) as a thank you, so I can claim one really cool punk rock thing (not that it wouldn't have been cooler to have been on "White Riot" or a song actually punk rock!)

(Unknown fact, for Clash afficiados: The song actually playing when the sheik and the Hassidic Jew were watching the band play was NOT "Rock the Casbah", but rather "Guns of Brixton", one of my FAVES. I'm dancing between the two guys, enjoying the hell outta myself....or was it "Spanish Bombs"? crap, the mind starts to go...)

But Sweetpea, I loved your buddy Bernie's husband's old band, the Rockats! Hung out with them some after Dexter had left. Got a great dress from her via eBay recently, BTW!

The Bettie Page thing is working itself all over the place. I've yet to figure out what the Gothic appeal of Bettie is, or the whole 50's pin-up thing for Rivets, but damn if she's not the top model. It might be the influence of the BDSM-wannabe set who seem to uphold her as some kind of goddess. I dunno'.

One thing though: the Rockabillies I've met have been really nice people. They're usually pretty shy, but that might just be because they're pretty outnumbered around here by Rivets and Britpoppers. The Britpoppers can be a little standoffish unless they want a cigarette from you. Us Goths aren't, I hope, too bad... We just have a very tight knit little group that is friendly but can seem closed off. Most people just try to stay away from the Rivets and Mansonites :P

Cory

On 2004-01-05 13:18, FLOUNDERart wrote:
Canadians rock!

Yer damnright son! We tend to get pretty hip to new subcultures fast, because we need stuff to dispell the gloom of long, cold winters. My hometown had (and probably still has) an intensely vibrant music scene in any category you can name right through the 80s and 90s: ska, punk, 'billy, whatever. This in a city of just over half a million people, in the middle of nowhere at the 53rd parallel.

cheers,
em.

How come nobody mentioned The Stray Cats?? :-?

Just kidding! Please no flames! :o

On 2004-01-05 16:04, Formikahini wrote:
Discussion of female rockabilly fashion here. Skip if it bores you.

*On 2004-01-05 11:45, sweetpea wrote:*The extensions on girls are called "falls" although, I know few gals that actually wear them.

Well, I'm one of 'em! Got 'em in about every length and wave factor. I used to be more of a 'billy, but I find myself in the fluffy-dresses-purging mode. (I never looked good in the severe-ponytail-with-Betty-Page-bangs and cuffed jeans thing - I just liked the music, the cars, the dancing and the great fifties petticoat dresses (which I'm now selling off). Now I spend my clothing $ on eBay Hawaiian/tiki dresses!)

I'll second the big difference between '50's rockabilly culture and '80's revival - and now late '90's/early 2000's culture. The '80's billies in England were pretty rockabilly Nazi when I lived there; course, it seemed that all the billies all loved psychobilly there, so I couldn't give any distinction between the cultures. It seemed to be one culture, with some bands faster (Speed-driven = really great), and some slower and more traditional (exact antique gear = really great).

I remember laughing when I showed up to a rockabilly club in London with my British billy gal friends in '87 (or '84?) and being stared at because my hair was 1940's, and NOT psychobilly 1950's in a ponytail. The girls ALL had stand-up-straight bangs, with the back pretty closely shorn OR smooth ponytail. There WAS NO deviation. Cuffed jeans or pedal-pushers ONLY. I don't really remember the boys, except ALL stand-up-straight bangs and ALL in jeans.

The full-sleeve or multiple tattoos thing seems to be the distinguishing mark for this new generation, both guys and girls (not that tatts didn't abound in the '80's too, but you didn't see SO many beautiful girls with several square feet inked in)). I haven't gotten out to Viva Las Vegas or any of the other rockabilly festivals, mainly 'cause 24 hours of only rockabilly kinda, well, bores me. And I thought that even when I sang in rockabilly bands in the '80's!! But I can take a solid week of '60's revival garage bands, which would drive others up a wall, so I can't throw stones.

This is by no means meant to be an informative post about "what is rockabilly" - I'm just having fun reminiscing!

Damn. Cool.

There was a big rockabilly scene happening in L.A. in the early '80's. We used to go to a place in Hollywood called the Cathay de Grande (on La Brea I think). You could catch Levi Dexter, the Paladins, Jimmy & the Mustangs and Ray Campi there nearly every night of the week on their hot, sweaty little basement stage. You can experience the old club in a scene from the Nick Cage movie Valley Girl, with the Plimsols performing.

On 2004-01-05 13:06, thejab wrote:

I remember going to see X at the Starwood and if anyone in the crowd had long hair or didn't dress punk rock they got jumped and pummeled by several thugs (who probably had long hair too the previous year and now had their new skinhead cuts).

Hey Jab, I was at the the Fleetwood in Redondo Beach when Penelopy Spheres was shooting "The Decline of Western Civilization". After the show I heard Don Bowles (Germ's drummer) was beat up out in the parking lot because some asshole skinheads didn't like the length of his hair! I only wish I would have been there to help him out...the bastards.

What the heck is a 'Rivet'? I am feeling old right now!

(To see me in my goth days, check TC's 'most embarassing photos' thread...)

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=4771&forum=1&start=15

(second page)

So music depends on what you wear?

Well put, Bong!!

How often that seems to be the deciding factor of "authentic or not"!

I was once harrassed by a girl who hated me (she didn't even know me) because I wore rockabilly clothes to rockabilly shows and punk clothes to punk shows. She called me "Barbie" behind my back. I was obviously inferior because I didn't wear only ONE style of clothing to thus align myself to only ONE social group.

But Austin wasn't separated into social groups then! It was (then, at least) all about the music! (Note: she later checked into a mental hospital, and much later still, sought me out for forgiveness. But not until after a specTACular catfight between her and my best friend, which occured between the sets by the Droogs and the Butthole Surfers.

Final exchange:
Psycho: (as she is being dragged out of the Ritz by her husband)I'll get you Alice Berry!!!
Me: Who ARE you?!?!
Best Friend: Suck my c*** bitch!!

(Best Friend was asked to join the first band, owing to her kickass fighting skills and that last shout-out.)

(She now is in the Junior League in Houston.)

(sigh)

(I can't in the slightest way bring this back to tiki.)

TIKI: Now, more than ever

[ Edited by: Formikahini on 2004-01-06 09:25 ]

I'm with you Alice. I was, and am, a scene hopper. There are the "life-stylers" who live it 24/7, but I can't do that either. I like too many things, and I like it when they get messed up together. Nelson Riddle Orchestra playing pop rock music. I recall being the one person who would go from the punk shows to the dance night in the 80's. It's hard to beleive the punk scene existed the way it did here in Knoxville. The shows were at Vic 'n' Bill's Deli. A sandwich shop with a large-ish dinning area. No stage. And who played the Deli? Circle Jerks, COC, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, The Mob, Suicidal Tendencies... Craziness. Then I'd go over to the dance night and they'd play a 15 minute set of "our music" which was everything from Cure to REM to Bauhaus. We were a distinct (and distinctive) minority in the club and you'd be severly harrassed just getting back to "our corner". The Stray Cats didn't play the Deli, they played down the street in 82 at a place that would make a trailer seem large. 80's rockabilly ala Stray Cats invoked Mousse. Whatever the show, Goth to Punk, I was there "in costume." And I called people posers in all of them!

On 2004-01-06 06:50, tikifish wrote:
What the heck is a 'Rivet'? I am feeling old right now!

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=4771&forum=1&start=15

(second page)

They're those kids that get rivets driven through various body parts, Fish! Usually it's something non-life threatening like the tibia or pelvis, but the more daring (Hardcore Rivets as they're known) get 'em right in the skull. Abcess and painful death usually follow, but y'know, be true to your school.

Rivets hate music of any kind.

:), em

On 2004-01-06 09:09, Tiki_Bong wrote:
So music depends on what you wear?

For most people, music depends on who directed the video, how big the tits are, and yes, clothing. Fortunately, that's just for BAD music - the kind most people listen to.

not knowing whether to laugh or cry,
em.

On 2004-01-06 06:50, tikifish wrote:
What the heck is a 'Rivet'? I am feeling old right now!

(To see me in my goth days, check TC's 'most embarassing photos' thread...)

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=4771&forum=1&start=15

(second page)

Aww... You looked cute in that picture :P Actually, your eye make-up was pretty good...

On what Rivets ACTUALLY are... "Rivet" or "Rivethead" is a label given to fans of Industrial and EBM music, and who tend towards very masculine, industrial-inspired, often military fashion. Commonly one will find shaved heads or dreadlocks, PVC or cargo trousers (often of the bondage variety), goggles and big stompy boots with lots of buckles. Rivets I've met tend to be secretly okay people, but they like to hide it behind a layer of fashionable hostility. Generally they seem to carry an interest in things Cyberpunk and technological, and pattern themselves accordingly. Usually one will find Goths and Rivets congregating in the same clubs, with their music being played alternately, even though (in my opinion) they strike me as being opposite poles.

Concerning the music and style of clothing thing... People are entitled to listen to whatever music they want and dress however they want. Nothing's stopping them, and it isn't infrequently that I find myself making mix tapes or disks for my non-Goth friends.

My only issue is that I find it disrespectful when someone "plays" at being Goth, as any other person would if someone else wore their values and lifestyle as a thinly veiled joke. I'm not into the "Gother Than Thou" pretentiousness, but neither am I interested in being mocked or trivialized.

In defense of myself, I don't dress the way I dress because I "have to" because of the music I like. I dress how I dress and listen to the music I listen to because the lifestyle as a whole resonates with me in a complex combination of experience, interests, value systems and psychological make-up (not at all like, say, people who are into Tiki lounge culture or something). I'm the first to admit that my musical tastes - Goth, Ethnic Fusion, Dreampop/Shoegazer and New Age - aren't especially diverse, and that my primary style ranges all the way from Victorian Gothic to Victorian Steampunk, but I can't help it... That's just who I am, y'know?

Cory

im there with most of you folks--in the early 80s i grew up listeninng to ny/la punk and have to credit some of those folks(notably X & the blasters)for pointing me towards everyone from hank sr to count basie.

ist concert-buzzcocks,emerald city trenton nj 1979

last concert-(well,this fri)big bad voodoo daddy-bb kings ,nyc
--------dave from jersey

On 2004-01-05 23:53, Shipwreckjoey wrote:
Hey Jab, I was at the the Fleetwood in Redondo Beach when Penelopy Spheres was shooting "The Decline of Western Civilization". After the show I heard Don Bowles (Germ's drummer) was beat up out in the parking lot because some asshole skinheads didn't like the length of his hair! I only wish I would have been there to help him out...the bastards.

Did you appear in the crowd in that film? I remember seeing some San Diegans. I'll have to watch it again.

On 2004-01-06 09:09, Tiki_Bong wrote:
So music depends on what you wear?

People who wear vintage clothing every day, like myself, do it because they enjoy the style and quality of vintage clothing. It doesn't have anything to do with music for me - music sounds the same whatever I wear!

On 2004-01-06 09:09, Tiki_Bong wrote:
So music depends on what you wear?

Music does not depend on what you wear, but in many, many social sub-cultures, music and clothes go hand-in-hand.

For example, you can be well into Tiki wthout liking Martin Denny or wearing Aloha shirts, but many of use DO like Martin Denny, and DO wear Aloha shirts. It is not mandatory, but very often the music and the style accompany the community.

On 2004-01-06 10:00, Swanky wrote:
I'm with you Alice. I was, and am, a scene hopper. There are the "life-stylers" who live it 24/7, but I can't do that either. I like too many things, and I like it when they get messed up together.

Alice and Swanky have the right idea...

There are too many interesting things in life to just join up with one clique and ignore all of the other things life has to offer.

When I was in high school, I was too punk for the new wave kids, and too new wave for the punk kids. Was it such a crime to adore both X, Clash, Buzzcocks, AND Devo, OMD, Ultravox? I guess so...

So I said fuck 'em all and hung out with my Sci Fi geek pals, who needed all the friends they could get, and didn't care what music I liked as long as I'd sit around watching Blade Runner every damned weekend.

Now I see the same thing happening: the swingers are too good for the rockabillies, and the rockabillies are too good for the swingers, and the old-school rockabilly / hillbilly set are too good for the psychobilly set and vice versa... And the Tikis don't like the parrotheads... but some of them like both, which is, I guess, a good thing seen in this context.

Is it a problem to just like good music, good times, good people, and not pigeonhole yourself? Can't someone have their own identity without having to march under the banner of being a Mod or a Trekkie, or a Goth?

I think this abondonment of needing a clique comes with maturity.

So I'll never know! :)

Death to the parrotheads, ONLY TIKI is GOOD! (kidding)

On 2004-01-06 09:09, Tiki_Bong wrote:
So music depends on what you wear?

Yes.

as long as I'd sit around watching Blade Runner every damned weekend

Tikibars, you're my kind of guy!

em.

*On 2004-01-06 16:04, tikibars wrote:*Is it a problem to just like good music, good times, good people, and not pigeonhole yourself? Can't someone have their own identity without having to march under the banner of being a Mod or a Trekkie, or a Goth?

Absolutely not. In the time of a week or 2 I often will attend a "mod" dance event, a rockabilly show, a punk show, and a tiki get-together. And I have a good time at all of them.

But I can't see anything wrong with being part of a group either. Our whole childhood we are formed into not having an identity by our society. Everyone has enourmous pressure while growing up to just conform and be the same as everyone else. Joining a group is often the only way to break away from society's rules in some way, even if it's not totally original (someone's always done it before you) or independent (in a way you're just conforming to a different set of rules). Still, I would rather see punk, goth, or mod kids here and there than see everyone dressing the same and listening to the same music.

I can't deny that some of the best days of my life were spent as a mod. I cut my hair, started wearing 60s clothes, and bought a Lambretta after seeing Quadrophenia because I felt like it was the kind of lifestyle I was waiting for all my life. I was terribly bored before I became a mod with hearing Van Halen music and wearing OP shirts. I hadn't discovered punk yet when I saw Quadrophenia (I had only heard the B52s, Blondie, and the Talking Heads) and I only went to see the film because I liked the Who.

After about a year I ran into a couple guys at a punk show that were dressed in 60s clothes. It turned out they had been inspired in the same way. Soon we met a few more and it just grew. I would have never had so many friends, or dated so many girls, if I had not become a mod. And I was into punk, rockabilly, and surf music all the time I was a mod.

Personally, I'm a tik-a-goth-a-mod-a-billy. :wink:

Frenchy Polynesiabilly
http://www.compulsiveobsessive.com

I was always an independent spirit and did not care what other people thought of me in school or now. I've always been able to blend in and feel comfortable pretty much wherever I go.
Surprised me at my 25th reunion that #1. everyone seemed to remember me and #2. admired the independence thing the most.

I'm a Blade-Runner-Tiki-musician-screwball-elitist-Taoist. I would have thought that'd be obvious by now.

em.

P.S. as if anyone needed proof fatherhood has altered my brain chemistry, you can check out my new remix at http://emspace.zed.cbc.ca/ . It's the one at the top, called "Stars".

On 2004-01-06 16:04, tikibars wrote:
Is it a problem to just like good music, good times, good people, and not pigeonhole yourself? Can't someone have their own identity without having to march under the banner of being a Mod or a Trekkie, or a Goth?

I think this abondonment of needing a clique comes with maturity.

Not to cast aspersions, but I also think that the need to be considered More-Individual-Than-Thou is something that might wane with age as well.

I guess no one really read what I wrote at the bottom of page 2, which I had hoped would shed at least some light on the mentality of a person who does self-identify by a cultural label.

I don't see identifying by a label as being the antithesis of having an identity... I just consider it being honest. I identify by plenty of labels: Goth, Steampunk, Lutheran, Canadian, university student, "that really bouncy guy with the hair", etc. etc. etc. I don't feel that being honest enough to acknowledge that these are my lifestyle, interests, religion, nationality, occupation and so on in any way diminishes my identity or individuality.

I am still who I am, as an individual. I have my own distinct personality, life experiences, faith, tastes, style, and everything else that makes one an individual. But I also share much in common with others, and I feel no compulsion to shy away from that in the name of appearing More-Individual-Than-Thou. I lead a lifestyle that, even in my interests in anime and Tiki and Steampunk, bring me into a cultural community that identifies itself as "Gothic". And it makes this self-identification for the sake of ease: it is easier to describe and congregate and find music when you acknowledge that this distinct community exists (imagine trying to find some good lounge music or Tiki bars if those labels didn't exist and all you had to go on were vague descriptions... If a description, y'know, isn't too much labelling).

For those who feel a need to conform to a label rather than use a label as a handy means to find likeminded people, they don't last long anyways... The lifestyle they are leading is not who they truly are, and they'll inevitably move on until they find it. But for those of us who are leading a lifestyle that is in synch with their sense of identity, I don't know why we deserve to be insulted as immature sheep. And sometimes, "I'm too much of an individual" may be a case of protesting too much.

Cory

[ Edited by: EnchantedTikiGoth on 2004-01-06 23:36 ]

To really be a certified down & dirty Rockabilly hellcat, you had to have the hair goin' on more than anythang else. A huge pompadour, a Chicago boxcar with a double motorcity and a duck's ass told the world..."I have arrived" more than any other fashion statement you could make. Not a slam dunk to maintain...it took a lot of work (and product). Turn in your hymm books to pgs. 125 & 126 in The Catalog of Cool for further instructions.

I never liked being labeled or stereotyped because of the clothes I wore or the way I look. I highly doubt that it would be possible to do so with me if someone tried.
Variety is the spice of life and I like spice. I must admit that I have used this "judge the book by it's cover" mentality to my advantage though! :D

I don't think Formica, I or tikibars are preaching here, just our views on it. Eclectic is how I am and how I live. I love the "life-stylers." Having one identity and going with it is fine, just as none. I want everyone to come here the bands I like however they are dressed. I don't like the hippy types dancing their funky chicken dance to traditional rockabilly however. ; ) But I don't think any of us are slamming those how live it 24/7, nor those who just like the music, and don't get into the lifestyle.

That is one good thing about the tiki people. They are super nice to all. I think it's a matter of the age bracket. Maybe it's rum. Nah, age.

Oh, and one of the most important parts of the well heeled pompadour you forgot is finding a barber that can do it right! You also sacrifice a lot of pillows to the grease...

...unless you can get a hold of my buddy's LAY RITE. This stuff is water soluable and goes in like Murray's but comes out at the end of the night like hair gel. The only problem is when it rains out side. Then the whole thing turns into a disaster.

Seriously though, this stuff is amazing. I'm not plugging it here because it's my buddy's original formula and company but because the stuff is really great. Swanky, this stuff will save your pillows and your hair: http://www.layrite.com/

American music for American people

Spike

[ Edited by: Luckydesigns on 2004-01-07 10:00 ]

Now THAT, Luckydesign, is the proper answer to the gentleman's original question!!!:

Q: "Rockabilly?"
A: "Pomade!"

On 2004-01-06 09:21, Formikahini wrote:
Psycho: (as she is being dragged out of the Ritz by her husband)
Me: Who ARE you?!?!
Best Friend: Suck my c*** bitch!!

Suck my Chicken? My Chicken coop? My confluence? Suck my catarrh? I have to know! Send me a private message.

I'll get you Alice Berry!!!

Sounds like a title for a 60's film. It could star Peter Sellers, Elke Somers and Don Durant.

She now is in the Junior League in Houston.

Here's your chance for revenge (though her being in the junior league is probably revenge enough):

Attend on one of their functions dressed as "Barbie", get shit-faced and take a squirt on the table. "Urine and Revenge, perfect together!" That's my motto!

On 2004-01-07 10:27, Formikahini wrote:
Q: "Rockabilly?"
A: "Pomade!"

Alice, if you'd piped in with this from the get-go, you'd have saved me plowing through 4 pages of responses, concocting my own long winded ramblings, and wondering if my time would better be served sanding the window sills in Aku Hall.

Better get to it...

what inna name of Jaheezius H. Christ is a Steampunk anyway? Should I Google it? Sounds like an Oregon brewery name...

em.