Garterbelts & Gasoline
Rockabilly,
Rod & Culture Festival 2012
**Rocket to Memphis' Razor Jack gives the
low-down on this knockout weekender**
This was the second year in a row that
we've had the pleasure of attending Garterbelts & Gasoline - and it seems
to be getting bigger and better all the time! Held in picturesque Mt. Tamborine
(a hour outside Brisbane) this is a celebration of 50s rockin' culture, with
live music, pin-up gals, hotrods, lowbrow art and more - wrapped up in a 3 day
festival that rivals any in the country. Here's a brief taste of the action…
Friday night
Things kicked off on Friday with the
Rockabilly Ball. The event sold out so quickly last year that organiser Paul
Biagini made the wise decision to move the Fri & Sat nights to the Vonda
Youngman Centre. While it was a little less intimate than last year's venue, it
had a huge dance floor and great stage/sound for the bands. As always the mix
of music was great, with 4 live bands and DJ Jamie Suppa (Dingo, from Presstone
Records) spinning up a storm in the breaks. There was also a vintage fashion
show, which added a nice touch.
Opening act was the Drey Rollan Band a
young rockabilly outfit from Sydney - I thought they sounded great, reminding
me a little of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis. After the fashion show, Rocket to
Memphis turned on the voodoo - we busted out a brand new song "Turn it
on" - and had a ball! Next was the
swinging' country sounds of QLD-based Pete Martini & the Freight Jumpers
(great name!). Joining Pete (also Corn Liquor's frontman) were my good
friends Warren Earl (guitar) and Ben Franz (steel) and a wild fiddle-player
who's name unfortunately escapes me. International headline act for this (and
Sat) night were Austrian/Swiss rockabilly cats Mars Attacks. These boys
have been around for a while and it shows - they were solid and rockin' - a
great addition to the bill!
Saturday
Had a few extra jars when we got back to
our accommodation, so Saturday morning wasn't exactly an early start and we
didn't get to see the thrills and spills of the legendary "Soapbox
Derby" - G&G's annual vintage Gokart race! Instead, we spent the
afternoon with our Canberra buddies The Fuelers who treated us to 4
fabulous sets at the micro brewery. They've gotta be one of the most
entertaining bands on the planet, with a great mix of rocking' music
(hillbilly, surf, even a bit of "country & eastern"!), crazy ad
breaks and audience participation games - they are an act best savoured live
and we love 'em! The Mars Attacks boys dropped by for a beer too and
really dug it.
Saturday night
Back to the Vonda Youngman Centre for
Saturday night's great line-up. Launching a brand new album (and what a corker
it is too!) was Melbourne-based Warren Earl & the Atomic Rockers. Billed
as rockabilly, but this band plays period-perfect western swing and hillbilly
boogie - and they're dynamite! Great twin lines from Warren & Ben Franz -
and a killer rhythm section to boot!
Next up was the Pin-up competition, which Rusty & I had the pleasure
of judging last time round. This year, the Rocket gals Betty Bombshell &
Voodoo Viv shared the duties with Martin (guitar man from Mars Attacks) and a
gentleman from Cruizin' mag, who sponsor the event. All good clean fun - and
the usual high standard of pin-ups! Hang
onto your hats folks… the whirlwind is about to take the stage… next up, the Rusty
Pinto Combo, back by popular demand and with killer Pat Capocci on guitar -
proceeded to tear the place apart! (this
is the same line up that played Devilles the next Friday - so if you caught
that Perth show, you'll know what I'm talking about). Great rockabilly and
rockin' blues… as was the next band too. Wes Pudsey's Hollywood Hombres
(NSW) added piano and sax for a swingin' r&b sound - and were great. Mars
Attacks closed the night and once again bust out a great set of savage
rockabilly.
Sunday - HOTROD CARNIVALE
Perfect weather for the big show - and a
huge turn-out too (I think they'd already clocked up 6000 people by 2pm!). A
great display of hotrods and custom cars, vintage stalls, live bands,
fairground rides, food stalls and a bar - all contributed to a very enjoyable
day. The Fuelers kept people entertained with their own stage once again
and the main stage featured the following:
Corn Liquor (alt. country/rock n roll), Little Miss Garterbelts
competition, the hip-shakin' swampabilly of Rocket to Memphis, great rockin' sets from Scotty Baker,
Coral Lee and one of my favourite rockabilly bands Hank's Jalopy Demons.
Midnight Son kept things rockin' right till the end.
Sunday night
Billed as the festival "wind
down" session, the Sunday evening was at last year's venue St. Bernard's
Hotel. Warren Earl & the Atomic Rockers treated us to two
swinging' sets and the more intimate room was perfect for them - the band was a
knockout! Great to have a beer and chat at the end too, before making the trek
back across the country to the "big smoke" of Perth (heh heh!).
Big thanks to Paul & Amanda, who put
so much work into making this event such a success (and a medal to Giggles for
driving us all around too!). Check out the pics and investigate any of the
bands you haven't heard of - they were all great. I have a feeling even more
people will be putting Garterbelts & Gasoline on their calendar for next year!
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| MARS ATTACKS - hot rockabilly from Austria / Switzerland |
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