THURS 16TH APRIL ....

We said our goodbyes & thank-yous to Rea & Goran for havin' us ( we'd see em again in Sf on sat ) & jumped into Kim's car for our next road trip . I think we travelled bout 50 miles ...kim stopped for breakfast , to pee , to fill up with gas , to smoke , to pee again , to smoke again.....i'm joking , but only just ! At this point i must remember that i'm not supposed to mention that Kim had also forgotten her underwear ! oops , i just did !! well , Kim wore a dress & it was windy so she had to be real carefull ....we were scared ...VERY SCARED !! HEH just kidding ...we had a right laugh with Kim all the way to L.A , we had to make a stop at KIM LENZ' house as Kim ( too many kims !! ) had to collect some stuff for her show in SF the day after ...Ms LENZ was very welcoming & gave us all a copy of her new cd ...back on the rd we drove thru santa monica checking the sights . After some dinner we headed to Kim's friend's house , LUCKY . After a quick stop & a re-application of make up ( Kim , not me ! ) we made our way to the PUKA BAR .

A fantastic bar all decked out TIKI -STYLE ...my buddy TOPPER showed up with my guitar ( he babysits it for me , brought it to VLV then onto L.A ...top fella !! ) & my cuz lloyd & his girlfriend Regina also turned up . Also on the bill was ROCKIN RYAN ...a funny guy & really talented . In his band that nite ...RIP CARSON on guitar & RORY JUSTICE on bass ...PHEW ! Bout midnite we tore into our set , it was good to get playin again , that's what we were there for ...a good reception with some good dancin .

We headed into the nite with my cuz , he was puttin us up for the next 2 nites ...we arrived at CLUB L in bout 1/2 hr & got straight off to bed .

FRI 17TH APRIL ....

Woke up mid morning & hit the shower , when i got out lloyd's mum had arrived with some breakfast ...just right ! I hadn't met PAT before so this was nice , she's been researching my family name for about 30yrs now & has found out some real intresting stuff bout the BUTFOYs ...we had a long chat before she had to head off to work . We just hung out in the sun , havin a beer & chillin ...nice ! lloyd then showed us his guns !! wow ...some handy pieces of equipment ...don't enter club L uninvited !!

we then had a drive round TUSTIN saw a few sights & had lunch before we all crashed out for a afternoon nap !

All too soon it was time to head out again ...we had a gig at SPIKES that nite . Lloyd drove us in his monster truck & we soon found the venue. a nice surprize was seein our friends from the u.k ...DAVE n SUZIE show up as well as MARIA n TAMMY ...the nite warmed up nicely with the HI-STRUNG RAMBLERS ...great band ! Then it was our turn ...we hit em with all our best known stuff & they loved it ! It was great seein other artists jumpin' about to our songs right in front of us ...SANTOS ,MARLENE FROM THE RYHTHM SHAKERS , GIZZELLE & HI-STRUNG RAMBLERS to name a few !! We were joined onstage by Colleen of DEVIL DOLL fame for a off the cuff duet of FEVER .

A handfull of encores later we left the stage ...a KILLER gig , a fitting way to end our L.A stay . Lloyd drove us back to his for a few hours sleep , we had a early flight next day to San Fran !

SAT 18TH APRIL .....

After goodbyes to Regina & the kids , Lloyd drove us to LAX airport for our short flight to SF , it was real good of him to ferry us about as he was feelin under the weather , we thanked him & headed to our flight.

Flying up the coast was really nice & soon we were landing in SF ...we took the shuttle to the Clarion hotel where our final gig was gonna be .

The BOMBSHELLS had arranged our flights & our hotel rooms too , we checked in & took some time out to relax & shower before we took in the car show .

The sun was shining , so a beer & a load of rods & customs seemed like a good combination...we checked out the vendors & had a chat with rea & goran on the cock grease stand.

Later on we watched some of the other bands & hung out with THE DELTA BOMBERS , a young band from las vegas who are keeping the sleaze going. Soon it was time for us to hit the stage & we gave San Fran all we had , lots of audience participation & we even had 2 gals ( vanessa & jezz ) join us for all the video dance moves to KITTEN WITH A WHIP ! After several encores we ended up sellin cd's , signin & posing for pix which was a fitting ending to a great mini tour in the U.S.A .

SUN 19TH APRIL.....

We flew outta SF airport very early , with only a few hrs sleep but with a great trip behind us ..thank you U.S.A !!!

Some personal THANK - YOUS .....

Tom Ingram , Kim Smallwood , The Bombshells , Brando , Randy , Nick Curran , Angel . Topper , Rea & Goran , Ricky Mcann , Alex Vargas , Cuz Lloyd & Regina , Texas Steve ,The Delta Bombers , Arsen Roulette & everyone who supported us , bought our cds & sung along to our songs .....THANX  !!

BOB & JRS 

MON 13TH APRIL ...

After a early rise , we checked out of our hotel on the strip & headed to the Orleans . There we were meeting REA of COCK GREASE fame , who was kindly driving us to her place to stay for the next 3 nites ...that was in SACREMENTO !

We hung out , saying goodbye to friends & getting a chat with hot rod legend BO HUFF  who told us he'd dug our show the nite before ...KOOL !!

After abit of breakfast we hit the road ...the long lonely highway outta vegas was a hot desert , with great looking cactus & joshua trees ...awesome landscape ! Rea drove & we chatted , after a few hours we caught up with GORAN , rea's newly wedded husband. he was cruisin' in his killer mercury with Richard , a cool kid we got to know in the next few days . We stopped for a drink & a quick chat , then headed on ....as we drove thru Fresno , we had a call from KIM of the BOMBSHELLS ...there was a prob for our bass in San Fran ( our landon's a lefty ! ) i quickly gave ARSEN ROULETTE a call , as we were drivin thru his hometown ...i asked if he could make SF on sat & lend us his bass strung up for a left hander...yep sure ! was his reply !! sorted then...what a star !!

10 hrs of drivin saw us arrive in Sac , not one traffic jam or hold up ...just like our M25 here in the U.K ??? Rea drove us straight to her friend Maria's house , where luckily for us , they were having their weekly monday nite dinner party ...food & beers ...mmmmm , nice ! We got to meet some nice couples at the party but we were beat , so headed to Rea's to get our heads down !!

TUES 14TH APRIL ...

We all rose pretty late , the coffee tasted good that morning ...we got the chance to see Rea & Goran's place in daylight ...they had some great 50's pieces , a cracking 50's kitchen & a awesome TIKI BAR out back....it was decided that a brunch was in order ...Rich had also crashed out at rea's so we all headed into town . Goran chose a crackin thai restaurant which went down a treat with everyone . Rea had abit of work to do in her shop ( EDDY'S DELUXE HAIR CUTS ) so we hung out , read the mags , flicked thru the cd's , played with the chairs & took some pix. we found out that Rich played bass in a rockin band named The Infamous Swanks ...cool name !

We then headed out to old SAC ...what a treat !! it was like a old western town ..really cool  !! Rich knew all the in's n out's of the place & took us to a cool old record shop & gave us the full tour guide of all the sites ...nice one !

Next we headed back near rea's shop to a English pub where we were gonna meet some more friends & spend the evening ...imagine my delight to be greeted by a DERBY COUNTY pennant as we walked in the door !! ha , ha !!

We met some good people that nite , Nick , Julie , Jani & loads who's name i can't quite remember ( sorry ! ) some of the guys opted for good old fashioned english grub ...i had a pizza with Rea & we struck up a partnership of JRS & COCK GREASE !!

WEDS 15TH APRIL ...

Rea had to work today so us guys just chillaxed !! the sun was shining so we caught some rays in the back garden & tiki bar ....we tried to clear up abit for rea as we were so gratefull for her hospitality & Goran was suffering the effects of all the pollen flying about . That afternoon Kim joined us at Rea's as she was takin us to see WANDA JACKSON in sacremento . once rea came home from work we all headed out to eat, Nick came with us too ...cool guy !! ...Mexican tonite !!

Bout 9pm - ish we arrived at the gig , i was kinda pleased cos i got asked for I.D ...i told the doorman i was old enough to be his father so he let me in ! Rich showed up too ( he had to go home , his aunt had called the police cos he hadn't returned after VLV , when he finally called her she was well relieved !! ) & we waited for Wanda . Miss JACKSON rocked the house , her voice was still as sharp & reconizable as in the 50's ...killer gig . we hung about for a chat & a photo , a nice reminder of a great nite .

We hit the sheets knowing we had a drive to Long Beach next day & our 1st gig in L.A at the PUKA BAR !!!!

MORE IN PART 3 .........

9th April 2009 saw JRS hit the USA for a gig at VLV then a mini tour of California .Darren , our guitarist flew in on the 7th with his bride to be , Kim . After a quick check in at our hotel , we headed to the Orleans to get wristbands & start partying ! We met up with lots of our friends , both from the US & the UK ...things were warming up !!

FRI 10th -

After catching up on some zzz we hit the vendors , thumbing thru the new releases & checking out the vintage threads . we collected some cd's that Steve Chapman had taken into the country for us & set about putting em together for selling at the gigs . That nite we checked out the great James Intvelt , hooked up with my cuz Lloyd & his girlfriend Regina .

SAT 11th -

This was Darren's wedding day !! we headed to the car show , some killer line to get in , with all the prowess of a top crimbo , we snuck in thru the out door...result ! some great motors on show & real busy , we had to cut it short to get back to our hotel to get ready for the wedding . once we had a shit , shower & shave we headed to the taxi rank outside our hotel ...the local fire brigade had closed the strip outside our hotel so it was impossible to get out ....we ran out to the next hotel which involved crossing 4 lanes of traffic twice & nabbed a taxi driver pronto ...he started slowly , til we told him we were late for a wedding ...then the dukes of hazard in him , kicked off !!! u-turns in traffic , running red lights ..it was great , i had to holler YEEEHAW , just for good measure ! we hit the little white chapel 10 mins late but just in time for all the proceedings ....Darren & Kim looked great & so did their bridesmaids ...The rest of JRS looked pretty sharp too ! ELVIS ( who was present & gave kim away ) called us his " Rockabilly brothers !" ...the vows were said & we rocked it up at the end with Elvis singin' baby lets play house !! after a few foto's we all jumped into the limo & headed to the venitian for drinks ...COOL !!

SUN 12th ...GIG NITE !! -

We kicked the day off doin abit of shopping on the strip then headed over to the Hilton hotel to try gettin abit of inspiration from the King , ELVIS . we checked the pix & the statue but really wanted summat else , i tapped up a security guard for a look in the showroom where Elvis had played all them years ago ...Wayne was only too glad to give us a mini tour , it was great , we got right up to the stage & could almost feel the spirit of that old truck driver from tupelo , miss...AWESOME !!

we prepared for the gig with a couple of drinks in Lloyds room , got our glad rags on & hit the stage running !! For us it was a great reception , the VLV crowd has never let us down & we let rip all our favourite toonz plus a few new ones too !! all too soon we got the nod for one more & was really pleased to be asked back to do 2 more ...CHERRY PIE is always asked for by the US audience so we played that , then a wild kick ass version of JUSTINE !! the crowd still wanted more so we indulged in abit of GENE ...a near perfect version of B-I-BICKEY-BI with BIG SANDY joining in on the last chorus ....what a gig !!!we hung about meeting people for fotos & signin cd's after but we were just about beat , the gig had taken it outta us , so we hit the sack cos next day we had a 10 hr drive to SACREMENTO !!!!

more in part 2 .....

www.vivalepunk.net

POLL RESULTS

VIVE LE PUNK reveals the results of last month’s poll…

WHAT IS THE BEST UK ALBUM OF 2008?


JACK RABBIT SLIM ‘From the Waist Down’ 51.1%

ARGY BARGY ‘The Likes of Us’ 32%
THE JIM JONES REVUE ‘The Jim Jones Revue’ 6.4%
GOLDBLADE ‘Mutiny’ 5.2%
THE DAMNED ‘So Who’s Paranoid?’ 4.5%
THE SCOURGE OF RIVER CITY ‘The Scourge of River City’ 0.8%

With over half the votes, UK ‘sleaze-a-billy’ favourites Jack Rabbit Slim prove they’re the kings with the 14 sin-filled tracks of third album ‘From the Waist Down’. With their infectious, low down and dirty mix of rock ‘n’ roll, surf rock and rockabilly, it’s no surprise that it was VLP readers’ favourite album of 2008. Petrolheads and bikini bull-riding babies rejoice!


JRS WOULD LIKE TO THANK VIVA LE PUNK & BIG CHEESE MAGAZINE & EVERYONE WHO VOTED FOR US ....STAY SLEAZY !!

CHECK THIS SITE ...

www.coolgrrrls.com    then clik on the lovely ALISHA AMNESIA piccy to see her view of what kicked ass at this years 1st usa rave , held at the orleans hotel , las vegas !!

go , go , go.....................................................................................................

The King Of Sleaze "A" Billy Is Back "From the waist down" It's Raw .. It"s Wild .. It Makes You Wanna Jump Up & Down Like A Lunatic & Girate Your Hips Like Elvis P , The Album Is Aptly Named "From The Waist Down" From Track 1 Through to 14 You Won't Be Able Stop Your Feet From Moving This Is Rock "N" Roll At It's Very Best, Theres Only One Thing Better Than Listening To This Album & That Seeing The Band Live I Was Fortunate Enough To Catch Them At Bedlam Breakout Earlier This Year, A High Energy Thumping Beat From The Set go If You like You Rockabilly Raw Then Go See Them Live ...
Other Albums From Jack Rabbit Slm - Sinuendo - Sleazeabilly

This is a letter printed in the august 2008 edition of UK ROCK.....

 

Dear john ,

just a note of thank you for the write up in the mag.

copies of the magazine filter throught to me in the office from time to time & i always enjoy them . in a recent issue , i read a live review of JACK RABBIT SLIM and as a result went to see them at Greetham comm centre , last friday ...WHAT A KNOCK OUT !

They have to be ONE OF THE BEST , IF NOT THE BEST ROCKABILLY BAND I'VE SEEN and their new c.d is SUPERB !

keep up the good work !

TED CARROLL , ACE RECORDS , LONDON

 

MANY THANKS TED & U.K ROCK ....STAY SLEAZY - JRS

'From The Waist Down' - CD Review by MAVERICK     

Moving up a gear or two, albeit not quite so many as maybe expected going on the cocksure, crafty and well-cultivated allure of their self-styled Sleaze-a-billy, bound Jack Rabbit Slim. A motivatin' power-sneer cruising by, tyres barely touching tarmac, smooth enough to comb hair in the rearview one-handed, rough enough to rustle up a sweat in the unwary, leering out the window displaying sinister wares slyly with aptly titled rumbles like 'Petrolhead' and 'Rock-a-Cha'. Festooning on the classic chassis of Vincent, the Johnny Burnette Trio, Holly and Cochran, (taking 'Move it' on a field trip to see the 'Wild Cavewoman' before it bursts into a tantrum and invents psychobilly thousands of centuries too soon) with a slightly harder edge and a perhaps slighter something of the surly-eyed, lip-curling, high-collared sassitude of Elvis with the Sun in his eyes and all horizons unscarred (they resurrect the 'Girl Happy' 1960's soundtrack slop 'Wolf Call' in admirably animalistic manner, tying it almost literally to the movie title), but the self-same un-sanitised primal energies and humour (see the Coch-Ramp Ran rumble that is 'Bikini Bull-Ridin' Baby'), they're at their best when Darren Lince's ES-295 swagger gallops cliff-wards on Paul Saunders' spasmodic snare gesticulations and Landon Filer's double-bass drubbings. Ably dodging the pit of pastiche, they combine succinct songwriting (many penned by head Slimmer Bob Butfoy), unabashed by origins and their obvious chops, with a talent for self-promotion on the right side of confidence. You may anticipate a slightly less mild-mannered and drive-time affair, but in these times where rock'n'roll has divided itself into more sub-sects than there are freeview channels, Jack Rabbit Slim have cross-stripe appeal and don't seem to suffer the usual willfully obscurist nature often assocciated with their idium.

Authentic hard-core rockin' of various ilks, mingling with malicious hi-jinks and greased generously with good-natured aggression as an encore, this is an essential triple-shot to start, or end, an evening with for the converted, and equally those keen to sneak a peek into the chaos that can be conjured just across country's state-lines.

MAVERICK