Rockabilly's Stream isn't as Main these days.

One thing interesting to note when it comes to Rockabilly today, is that is now considered a unique, underground and perhaps obscure subculture, yet it is derived from a movement that was once the dominant popular culture. I guess the same can be said for all 'revival' movements. 

Yet as Erin Akerson observes, today's adaptation of the once-mainstream subculture is often lost in translation.

"Many subcultures based on a past era, including Rockabilly, often fail to understand the meaning of the original culture... the need to restore a genre and create a revival speaks volumes not only about the group reviving them, but also about what is going on in larger society and becoming a form of protest."

Akerson's sentiments echo those of Chambers', who said a revival is seldom based on recreating history. Being a lover of 40s, 50s and 60s popular culture and music myself, I can confirm that I reinterpret aspects of these eras without a true understanding and with very little attention to historical accuracy. But what Akerson brings up that is new, is the idea that this is born out of protest, or a disenchantment with the way modern society is perceived.

This is certainly true for bands such as Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, who consciously do not use any recording equipment or technology made since the 1960s. There is an unspoken snobbery amongst retro-orientated music groups and their fans towards 'modern music', and perhaps this distaste for today's popular culture is what fuels the revival movements.

Bibliography:

Akerson, E. Rockabilly Rumble: An Examination of A Southern California Subculture. ProQuest LLC, United States, 2009.

More Re-interpretation than Revival...

Iain Chambers, when talking about 'revivals' in general, makes a remark that is highly relevant to modern Rockabilly culture;

"The idea of 'revival', so central to the cyclical novelty of clothing and contemporary imagery, has nothing to do with history. A revival does not set out to rediscover or faithfully quote a historical moment; rather, it revisits, recycles, re-presents a particular look, a sartorial gesture that has become part of the timeless wardrobe of contemporary mythology."

Today's rockabilly, you could say, is retro 'with a twist.' Drea Morsby (who I contacted and have permission to mention her) is a Brisbane model and artist belonging to the Rockabilly culture.  The photos of her included below support Chambers' idea that a 'revival' isn't based on an effort to relive history. While these images have heavy rockabilly connotations, when considered, they are barely reminiscent of the era they are influenced by. Tattoos were considered taboo on women in the 1950s, and while pin-up girls were common, the car, clothing and hairstyle featured in the second image don't fit into the same time period accurately.

The same is evident in today's Rockabilly music; while directly influenced by the Rockabilly genre, often today's Rockabilly-style songs are blends of different parts of the original era's music and therefore don't make sense from a historical stand point.

Bibliography

Chambers, Iain. “Maps for the metropolis: A possible guide to the present.” Cultural Studies (1987) 1: 1, 1- 21, Routledge, London UK. Accessed 5 May, 2011.

< http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09502388700490011 >

Rockabilly Neotribe???

Because Rockabilly isn't just about the music, and in fact for some isn't about the music at all, but rather the fashion and technology (or lack thereof) typical of the Rockabilly era, members of the 'subculture' are easily distinguishable. 

However, for many, it seems there is a certain time and place dedicated for being a part of this subculture, so that a member's identity is subject to change often.

Andy Bennett explores the concept of Neotribalism, first thought up by French sociologist Michel Maffesoli. Bennett quotes Maffesoli as saying a tribe is "without the rigidity of the

forms of organization with which we are familiar, it refers more to a certain ambience,

a state of mind, and is preferably to be expressed through lifestyles that favour

appearance and form." (Bennett: 606)

Bennett writes that as opposed to subcultures, "the concept of tribes or ‘neo-tribalism’ offers a recognition of instability and the temporary nature of group affiliation."

Thus, perhaps many Rockabilly members treat it more like a neotribe than a subculture, as they only choose to dress-up every time there is a hot-rod festival or a Rockabilly dance organised.

Brisbane's very own Greazefest is a testimony to this. Held every August at the Rocklea Showgrounds, it is a chance for Rockabilly fans to congregate over shared fashion, music, cars and art. Participants dress the part for the three days, however for many this custom wouldn't continue after the festival is over.

http://www.greazefest.com/bands.html

Bibliography: 

Bennet, A. “Subcultures or neo-tribes? Re-thinking the relationship between youth, style and musical taste”. Sociology (1999) vol 33, no. 3 pg 599-617

Brisbane Rockabilly

The fact that Brisbane is home to a thriving (albeit quite underground) Rockabilly subculture is a little suprising on first thought. Here we are, in Australia, 2011, over fifty years on since Rockabilly originally formed, which took place in America, the other side of the world.

Yet when you consider the way today's societies are wired across the globe, it makes sense. Roy Shuker describes Locality as a key factor in the study of popular music, and its applicability to all off-shooting subcultures. The following paragraph, taken from Shuker's book Popular Music: The Key Concepts, outlines one way locality is used to study popular music;

"To consider a global process of cultural homogenization and commodification, and the intersection of these with the local. The study of the global geographical distribution of recorded popular music is concerned with the nature, status and operation of cultural imperialism, and the relationship between the local music and the international music industry. Here locality becomes a marker of political experience, juxtaposed against the other to ideologically valorize and support local music."

Of course, the process described is equally if not more applicable to Rockabilly when it was first conceived, but remains relevant for the 'revival' as well. 

"This internationalization of the local is a process encouraged and fostered economically by the  major record label companies, who place particular local sounds within larger structures, reaching a larger market in the process. Similarly, local sounds/scenes and their followers are ideologically linked through internationally distributed fanzines, music press publications and the Internet."

This is very true for today's Rockabilly subculture. Australia is not Rockabilly's local scene, and Brisbane only has a scene of its own because of Rockabilly's internationalization, through social media and technology.

The following YouTube clip is a great example of Australian Rockabilly - it shows a young Brisbane/Gold Coast female fanatic. Interestingly, music doesn't get a single mention. Rockabilly, for some, is more about fashion, dance and memorabilia. 

Evidently locality has expanded to a world-wide scale as the subculture, like most others, has become globalised. However, each location's adaptation of rockabilly will have its differences.

Bibliography:

Shuker, Roy. Popular Music: The Key Concepts. Routledge, London, 1999.

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis are three siblings from Britain, who with their recently formed band, bring something new and discuss-worthy to the Rockabilly revival... or if not Rockabilly specifically, a retro revival from both a musical and fashion-standpoint. Though they themselves don't claim to be rockabilly (Lewis: "Journalists don't know what to call us - they say 'Oh yeah, they've got quiffs, so they must be rockabilly...") the music is almost a perfect imitation of 40s and 50s swing, country and western, rhythm & blues, hawaiin and rock'n'roll, to name a few.

The band claims to use recording equipment only from 40s, 50s and 60s - with no computers or other modern recording equipment.

While the band isn't strictly trying to recreate an era completely accurately or in its entirety, their image and sound is very unique due to its "vintage" and "retro" style.

Introducing Rockabilly, again.

Rockabilly is a music style that developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The name is derived from two terms describing other music genres - 'rock & roll' and 'hillbilly'.
Other music genres that influence rockabilly are country & western, rhythm and blues, swing and boogie woogie.

Rockabilly has had many waves of revival, and for some the subculture may have never died.
In Brisbane there is a very strong and vibrant rockabilly subculture that I find really fascinating. The subculture not only embodies rockabilly music but also fashion from the '50s and neighbouring decades. Some members of the subculture are more fanatical than others, and to them rockabilly is an entire lifestyle.

This blog will focus on the subculture as exists in Brisbane, as well as draw on national and international examples.

To give you an idea, here is a photo of an Australian band based in Melbourne called The ReChords. Not only their music but their image is a very strong example of the rockabilly revival subculture.

Stay tuned!