It’s either between the Cramps or the Meteors. Nekromantix and Tiger Army ain’t got shit.
Edit - Whaaat, how are they not? Unless you’re picking out specific songs.[/quote]
The Cramps were important as precursors to psychobilly, but were never a psycobilly band. They had a few songs that sound kind of psychobilly but they didn’t use the trademark upright bass and in general their music varied greatly from album to album.
Necromantix and Tiger Army kind of represent the newschool of psychobilly which seems to be influenced by the newer mainstream sounding punk which results in more poppish and mainstream psychobilly. I still prefer the older stuff influenced by 1908s punk (meteors, Demented Are Go)
I always thought “American Nightmare” sounded a lot more rockabilly than psychobilly. And I agree with the above post about the Cramps. They’ve always been more “garage/trash rock” than psychobilly.
Also check out Calavera (psychobilly) and 13 Cats (rockabilly) if you like the above stuff.
I suppose i’m with you on american nightmare being more rockabilly sounding, but there’s a fine line between the two styles. Some psychobilly bands like tend to go for the real 1950s rockabilly sound while others lean towards hard punk with a little but of rockabilly guitar mixed in. What really defines psychobilly? Someone else more familiar with the genere than me should speak up. Psychobilly is kind of a trendy subculture, just like any other music psychobilly fans have their own style and dress and this is what seems to define the music more than anything else (aside from the upright bass). As far as i’m concerned upright bass +1950s rock influence+ horror affixation =psychobilly.
But then there’s this YouTube- Meantraitors - Heavy Boogie
They’re referred to as a psychobilly band in sources, but where’s the upright bass? Where’s the horror influence?
Horror punk, sometimes called zombie punk, is a music genre that was defined by the band Misfits, blending horror movie lyrical themes and imagery with musical influences from early punk rock, doo-wop, and, to a lesser degree, rockabilly.[citation needed]} Horror punk bands usually tell tales through their lyrics, which are often related to horror films or literature, and feature black humor. Horror punk has traditionally used, amongst other influence, the aesthetics and themes of zombie films.
Its not like it’s anything new, at least not in Europe, but it’s differentiated from psycobilly music & crowd. Altho many gigs feature both psyco and horror bands, like annual Club Sin in Finland. :headbang:
Yeah, horror punk is another wide genre that can be made to include a lot of bands and influences, from old Alice Cooper to the Misfits to Penis Flytrap to the Phantom Rockers to the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. Much like Potter Stewart’s quote about obscenity, “it’s hard to define it, but you recognize it when you see it.”
[quote=jspeedy;2391964]I suppose i’m with you on american nightmare being more rockabilly sounding, but there’s a fine line between the two styles. Some psychobilly bands like tend to go for the real 1950s rockabilly sound while others lean towards hard punk with a little but of rockabilly guitar mixed in. What really defines psychobilly? Someone else more familiar with the genere than me should speak up. Psychobilly is kind of a trendy subculture, just like any other music psychobilly fans have their own style and dress and this is what seems to define the music more than anything else (aside from the upright bass). As far as i’m concerned upright bass +1950s rock influence+ horror affixation =psychobilly.
But then there’s this YouTube- Meantraitors - Heavy Boogie
They’re referred to as a psychobilly band in sources, but where’s the upright bass? Where’s the horror influence?[/quote]
So you started the thread to tell us what is and is not pyschobilly but you don’t even know? Was your life not pedantic enough?
I was more or less just opening up the lines for input from others while admitting the fact that I don’t know everything. I started this thread to introduce some who might not be familiar with psychobilly to the genre.
Drove 600 miles last year to see Guana Batz and im going to be seeing King Kurt this coming Saturday (King Kurt live is something fucking else, MESSY).
Have no love or time for bands like tiger army, fuck the fashionbilly, only the Meteors is 110% pure psychobilly… P. Paul Fenech is a genious and The Meteors are the K.O.P