The Bands

These SF Bay Area bands and solos are listed by the first letter of their name.
Look for Toshio Hirano under “T” rather than “H” for example.

This page lists SF Bay Area bands on the western swing, honky-tonk, alt-country and rockabilly axis of Americana.
Know of (or have) a band that fits, tell HWS.

Bluegrass, old-time and jug band fans can visit the NorCal bluegrass site.
Folksters can find their Bay Area home at the SF Folk site.

77 EL DEORA: Alt-Country. This band is about strong original songs with strong hooks.  Lead singer Jenn Courtney gets torchy on the slow ones and wails on the fast ones.  Guitarist, Maurice Tani, writes the songs and sings.  Steve Kallai lets his fiddle do the talking while Mike Anderson on bass and Christopher Fisher on drums keep the beat.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE B STARS: Honky-Tonk. The B-Stars have developed from an okay four piece into a honky-tonkin’ five-piece band with the addition of Mikiya Matsuda on steel. Greg Yanito plays acoustic guitar and sings lead, Eric Reedy plays upright bass, Bill “J.L.” Zelinski is on drums and Bill McKenna plays electric guitar.  Put on your dancin’ shoes for The B Stars 2.0.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

THE BACHELORS: Rockabilly/Vintage Rock. The Bachelors have been playing every Monday at The Saloon in North Beach since God was a teenager.  Brent “Mr. B.” Byners plays bass and sings.  Jinx Jones plays guitar and sings; their various pals play drums.  The band offers many styles of Americana music from rockabilly to vintage rock, though no tired oldies.  No site, no MySpace, no merchandise, no nothing except a good time on any Monday night.
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BIG B & HIS SNAKEOIL SAVIORS: Chicken-Fried Swing. This dance-friendly band combines influences from western swing, old school R&B, and jump swing.  Ben “Big B” Beuttner plays the hollow-body electric guitar and sings.  Adrienne Pfeiffer also sings, David Phillips plays steel, Jennifer Jolly plays keyboard, the horn section features Brian Campbell on tenor sax and clarinet and John Halbleib on trumpet. Mike Burns plays drums and Mark Petrella plays bass. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE BILLY BOYS: Rockin’ Country. Everyone in this band is “Billy” and each plays guitars and stuff.  Guitar player Billy P. was thrown out of mortuary school for trying to bury people who weren’t quite dead.  Fearless leader Billy D. is a retired bounty hunter who does miss the danger.  Billy C. steals cars and cattle when not playing mando, and Billy K. is a card cheat and the band’s fiddler.  And every word of this can be found on their site, so it has to be true.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

BLUE DIAMOND FILLUPS: Neo-Rockabilly. The BDFs play a driving style of rockabilly powered by the hot guitar licks of Johnny Zaentz and vocals of Flash Rickets.  Michael Shiono (bass) and Mark Viada (drums) steady the backline.  Their “Drive Like Thunder” video, linked to here, provides an inspiration for high-quality, home-produced, low-cost A/V production. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

BLUENOTECATS: Rockabilly. DaltonJerry, which not a typo, plays guitar and sings, Elan Tribo slaps bass and adds vocals while Greg Gallup keeps time in this Napa trio whose originals and covers tunes draw from rock n roll, rockabilly, blues, bluegrass, country, swing and surf.  Their annual early summer blowout in Calistoga is worth the trip. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE BROTHERS COMATOSE: Americana. This band may not fit neatly into a category like bluegrass or country, yet they have been successful at drawing audiences that otherwise wouldn’t come to more classifiable shows.  Brothers Ben (vocals, guitar and foot tambourine) and Alex (vocals, lead guitar, banjo) Morrison join forces with Joe Pacini (mandolin), Gio Benedetti (vocals, stand-up bass), and Philip Brezina (fiddle) for a foot-stompin’ good time.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

THE BUCKSHOT BOYS: Country/Rockabilly. The Buckshot Boys mix “flat git it” rockabilly, country covers and original songs into their set.  This band began as a quartet and, interestingly, less became more for them when they became a trio.  Cassidy Crowley handles lead vocals, plays guitar and writes songs.  Brett Beaudry plays lead guitar and Evan Saunders anchors the stand-up bass. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

CALAFIA: Alt-Country. Hicks with Sticks is looking forward to catching this band live.  They’ve been on our radar as the Sacred Profanities, having recently changed their name, and they sent a link where the songs on their new CD can be heard in their entirety.  Based on that, we added them here.  Jeremy Wilson plays guitar, harmonica and sings lead; Kirby Lee Hammel is on keyboards and backing vocals; “Great Scott” Appleton plays pedal steel, electric guitar, dobro and also provides backing vocals; and K.G. and TBD are on bass and drums.   Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

CARELESS HEARTS: Alt-Country. Country and rock found their way into this band’s debut CD.  They went big on 2008’s Heart’s Delight and got in touch with their inner indy rock band. Paul Kimball sings lead vocals, plays rhythm guitar and says his twang-influenced indy band is really an indy-influenced twang band, so who are we to argue?  It’s their hillbilly hearts that count.  Derek See plays lead guitar and sings, Bryan Thunderhead plays bass, Jody Clarke plays pedal steel, banjo and electric guitar, and Eric Powers plays drums. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

CHARLIE ROMAN & THE TEENAGE WEREWOLVES: Rockabilly. This down to the primer rockabilly band finally surrendered to MySpace in 2007, which was quite a sacrifice for their just-shaddap-and-play style.  If there were only ten real rockabillies in the Bay Area, Charlie Roman, who plays rhythm guitar and howls at the moon, would be three of them. Jack Spade plays upright bass, Guido might or might not be on drums, and Palo Alto Brian is on lead guitar.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE CHOP TOPS: Rockabilly. The Chop Tops are Gary “Sinner” Marsh (drums, vocals), Shelby Legnon (guitar), and T.K. slapping the bass.  The Chop Tops are one of the most versatile rockabilly trios anywhere.  Along with rockabilly, hey can rock, get dark, or play a spaghetti western tune.  This Santa Cruz-based band has kept from getting locked into the rockabilly ghetto by getting billed with hip, but non-rockabilly bands as they did on the Van’s Warped Tour in 2007.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

CHROME JOHNSON: Junkabilly. This quartet calls it “junkabilly” because their music lies somewhere in the musical Bermuda Triangle connecting rockabilly, alt-country and rock.  Danny Uzilevski leads the band and writes the songs.  This band performs infrequently but when it does its lineup may or may not include Dana Miller on traps, Ben Pfieffer on bass, Johnathan Korty on keyboards. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE COUNTRY CASANOVAS: Classic Country. Norm Collins fronts this ’50s & ’60s covers band playing guitar and singing male lead vocals, Emily Hayes adds female vocal leads, Scott Hill is on bass and vocals, Gary Chiappetta plays pedal steel and Bing Nathan handles drums.  They play every Tuesday as a trio or quartet at Baby Blues BBQ in SF on Mission across from El Rio. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

THE COWLICKS: Twang Rock. Winners of the 2004 California Music Award for best country, The Cowlicks‘ core lineup is Todd Novak on lead vocals, guitars and songwriting, Mike Anderson on bass and Dan Newett on guitar, vocals and dobro.  Various friends join in to form a back line or add to the front line.  This band also performed at Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys party for Ralph’s 80th birthday. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photo

DAVE CRIMMEN BAND: Rockabilly/Vintage Rock.  Dave Crimmen is so vintage that he releases 45 RPM singles.  He has a bevy music on CDs though.  His published music is all original material but his live sets are mainly covers of ’50s-60s rock and roll, ballads, and even a little surf.  He can play several decades and styles so go ahead and yell “Freebird” but know that Dave won’t necessarily back down from a dare. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

DEVIL MAKES THREE: Acoustic Alt-Country. This popular band tours and regularly sells out mid-sized venues like Great American Music Hall and The Independent. It’s easy to hear why.  Great songs, tight musicianship and a strong stage presence bring fans back for more.  Pete Bernhard plays guitar, writes the songs and sings most leads.  Lucia Turino plays upright bass and sings and Cooper McBean plays guitar, banjo, saw and sings. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

EMILY BONN AND THE VIVANTS: Americana/Country. The former lead singer in The Whoreshoes formed this band which includes Emily on lead vocals, guitar, banjo & mandolin, Anna Levitt on fiddle and harmony vocals, James Touzel on upright bass,  Isaac Bonnell on accordion and Janese Hurley on fiddle and vocals.  Though new, they’ve already toured exotic places like Europe and the Pacific Northwest.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

FANCY DAN BAND: Alt-Country. They dress for success and perform songs that have themes not usually found in country such as the dilemmas of being rich (see “video”).   From left to right they are Michael Loebs on electric guitar and vocals, Mark Underwood on upright bass, Joe Gusich on drums and Fancy Dan on lead vocals, guitar and harmonica. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

GAYLE LYNN & THE HIRED HANDS: Twanger/Songwriter-Country. Gayle Schmitt writes the songs, fronts this five-piece band and doesn’t shy away from the old crying towel.  Rik Elswit plays guitar, Ted Garber plays dobro, Tom Drohan is on upright bass, Cory Losee plays drums and Mike Roper sings backup and plays harmonica.  This band is for grown-ups though Gayle, whose day job brings music into schools, also leads the Toodala Ramblers, a childrens music band. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE GOLDDIGGERS: Alt-Country. What do musicians do when they’re not backing up a pop star?  Why, play honky-tonkin’ music of course!  Some members of the GoldDiggers do just that with Ted O’Connell on vocals and rhythm guitar, Bob Spector playing lead guitar, Dylan Orlando on keyboards, Russell Bourne on lap steel, Bill Skieresz handling bass and Rory Judge on drums.  Catch them every other Wednesday at the 23 Club in Brisbane and at other gin joints throughout the Bay Area.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

HANG JONES: Americana. Here is a band whose music is difficult to categorize.  It isn’t at all like country, bluegrass or any familiar sub-genre though it is definitely Americana.  They’ve got lots of songs about drinking and dying and even one about pirating, so it has to be Americana. Maybe urban folk?  Steven Jones sings lead, plays rhythm guitar and writes most of the songs.  Marisa Martinez fiddles, Scott Sneddon plays mandolin, and Mike Anderson handles the bottom end on stand-up bass.  Site MySpace Facebook Video  Audio  Photos

HI-RHYTHM HUSTLERS: Old School R&B. This band might seem out of place on Hicks with Sticks since they are an R&B band.  Yet they have high cross-over appeal to fans of country and rockabilly, particularly among the dancers.  All of the Hustlers are mainstays in the twang music community starting with guitarist Mitch Polzak (Royal Deuces, Cottonpickers), lead singer and tenor sax Rockin’ Raul Castro, bassman Mike Walz (Stillmen) and drummer Jay Laude.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

HONKY TONK DREAMERS: Western Swing, Country. This relatively new band is made up of veterans from the bluegrass community who decided to trade in the banjo for a steel guitar and play country music.  Charlie Wallace plays steel & Tele, Tony Marcus is on fiddle & guitar, Jerry Logan handles the stand-up bass, and Julay Brooks plays guitar and sings. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

JAY LINGO AND THE KICKBALERS: Honky Tonk. Jay Lingo is yet another pleasant surprise to come out of Santa Cruz.  He plays solo, or as a duo or trio in the quieter spaces.  The full band has Lingo on vocals and rhythm guitar, Jeff Cruse picking up lead guitar, Charlie Wallace on steel, dobro and guitar, and Jerry Bradley and Jim Norris are on bass and drums.  Norris, who is no stranger to found objects as instruments, is the band’s resident gear head.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

JEANIE & CHUCK’S COUNTRY ROUNDUP: Bluegrass/Country. Jeanie (guitar) and Chuck (mandolin) Poling are the core of this band.  They kid that the band’s name comes from the two of them plus whoever they can round up.  Though mainly bluegrass, the band is equally at home with country and lets the audience and venue determine how much country they can plug into any given show.  They can even rope in some of the Chickwagon crew to be The Velotones, a ’50s-era girl group. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

JINX JONES & THE KINGTONES: Rockabilly. Rocking out is his main interest with the Kingtones, but Jinx Jones is no one-trick pony.  He had a hair band in his youth, he’s still got a jazz band, he studied under the late great Roy Buchannon, he’s big in Europe, he’s got a sponsors eating out of his hand, his smilin’ face is in Guitar Player and other fine axe-friendly publications.  They play every third Saturday at the bar in La Barca restaurant in SF.    Whiskey Pills on bass and Jamie Lease on drums keep the beat.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

JENNY KERR BAND : Twang Rock/Blues. This SF-based band has a low Bay Area profile, but they are the most popular Bay Area band in Europe where they tour the festival circuit every summer.  This band has a hillbilly heart and blues side as Jenny Kerr can belt ‘em out when called upon.  She and Philbilly Milner (guitar) form the core of the band. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

JOE GOLDMARK & THE SEDUCERS: Honky Tonk. Pedal steel player Joe Goldmark and the Seducers play the second Sunday of every month at the Riptide in SF. Hank Maninger plays guitar and does most of the singing. Henry Salvia and Chris Key, both from Houston Jones, play keyboards and bass respectively, and Ken Owen plays drums.  This band is as likely to play a country version of a Beatles song as a Hank Williams tune. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

KING CAB: alt-country. This lively San Leandro band has fun with country without self-parody. A real trailer park band, they can celebrate a low rent holiday in an over-crowded Mexican motel room or sing the praises of daredevil Evel Kneivel with equal ease.  They’re Jason Hammon – vocals, guitar; Ben Decker - vocals, bass; Gavin Hammon – drums, vocals; and Emil Besson – lead guitar. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

KIT & THE BRANDED MEN: Honky Tonk. This band came together with Christina “Kit” Lopez singing lead and playing rhythm guitar and her musical partner Glen Earl Brown Jr. on bass.  Darryl Pretto plays lead guitar and Jon Hinkle plays drums.  They serve up a mix of traditional and Kit-penned tunes that have a fondness for California’s Bakersfield Era. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

KITCHEN FIRE: Alt-Country. This band’s shows tend to come in spurts with long breaks in between. They’ve got a CD out and are mining mainly original material that is about as close to urban as country gets.  The personnel are: Chris Allmond (drums,vocals), Joanna DeJarnett – (guitar, vocals) and Dan Seidel (bass, vocals) Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LADY A & HER HEEL DRAGGERS: Western Swing, Country. Several of this band’s members came to country from bluegrass, swayed by an appreciation for the ’50s and ’60s hillbillies.  Lady Ayelet Arbuckle sings, Will Fourt plays guitar, Mikiya Matsuda is on steel guitar, Eric Chaves plays accordion and clarinet, Danny Chaves plays upright bass and Leif Karlstrom is the fiddler.  They also have Michael Brilliot (Joe Buck, Darling Clementines) on drums.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LARIATS OF FIRE: Honky Tonk. This band took a break then regrouped after their drummer moved in 2007.  At shows this band’s drum kit is encircled by Lariat of Fire, lest we forget. Their name and fiery lariat are a sure sign of a band that’s having fun as they play a combination of honky-tonk originals and covers ranging from Merl Haggard to twanged-out Pink Floyd. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LARRY HOSFORD: Country. Hosford is a veteran of the ’60s, most notably with the Santa Cruz band Snail which enjoyed some success back in the day.  He writes most of his own material and has played in and around S.C. for years.  His latest run is every Thursday at the Britannia Arms in Aptos whith a variety of his Santa Cruz mountain music buddies.  He does have a site which is itself old school, but none of that fancy stuff like MySpace or videos. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LI’L ANNE & THE TUNE WRANGLERS: Country.   Born out of the ashes of the Sweet ‘n Lo’s, Li’l Anne & the Tune Wranglers are playing vintage country.  Anne Arnheim-Yanito sings, Pierre Liak plays guitar, and Pam Brandon is on stand-up bass.  A search for a drummer is on at this writing.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LONESTAR RETROBATES: Western Swing. This band mainly gets together every third Sunday for an early show at 19 Broadway in Fairfax.  Bryan “Spex” Adams handles most of the singing.  Mylos Sonka is on vocals, steel and guitar.  Brian Campbell also sings and plays sax and clarinet.  Kevin McConnell is the band’s guitarist.  Ray Landsberg is the fiddler and Ray “Idaho Slim” Green is the trumpeter.  The rhythm section is Greg Dunn on stand-up bass and Bing Nathan on drums.   Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LORETTA LYNCH: Alt-Country. This band is built around the song writing and singing talents of Val Esway, Heather Davidson and Ari Fellows-Mannion.  Others join in depending on the circumstances.  Motherhood coming to two of the band members has slowed their live appearances, but it didn’t stop them from releasing a fine CD.  Their sound is a unique, urbanized style of alt-country. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LOS HIGH TOPS: Rockabilly and Surf. They call it “surfabilly” but Los High Tops play rockabilly and surf as two separate styles rather then trying to fuse them together.  They’ve even got some blues in their sets.  Lenny Fortunato plays guitar, Rick Kienle is on stand-up bass and Tony Tissot is on stand-up drums.  That’s right, Tony wouldn’t want to sit down for this.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LOS TRAIN WRECK: Twang-Americana. Los Train Wreck is a band of veteran players assembled by Kathi Kamen Goldmark to play the open mike every second Tuesday at El Rio.  This band exists for this one show, so they don’t put much into marketing.  They do have a site and Goldmark has recorded songs, a hilarious one of which will be linked to here once the audio player is working.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

LOST WEEKEND: Western Swing. Lost Weekend is an 11-piece western swing band, and though the number of players may vary from show to show, they are all top flight. Don Burnham (rhythm guitar) leads the band. Pam Brandon (Belle Monroe and the Brewglass Boys) sings, Bobby Black (Commander Cody) plays pedal steel and Bing Nathan (Lavay Smith) plays bass.  Beside band members too numerous to list, Burnham has a lot of musical friends, so expect some fine guest players at Lost Weekend shows. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

MIGHTY SLIM PICKINS : What-the-Fuckabilly. You’ve got to see it to believe it, but The Mighty Slim PickIns really are, as they describe themselves, a what-the-fuck band – one that rocks out and performs!  Lead vocalists Leigh Crow (Elvis Herselvis) and Nettie Hammar front the band while Roxane Chicoine plays stand-up bass, Bleedin’ Eden Uscilowski is on drums, and Jen Grady plays the electric guitar. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

MISISIPI RIDER: Alt-Country. The future is looking bright for Misisipi Rider. Misisipi Mike Wolf and Cree Rider write the songs and sing from their stockpile of songs.  They have so many songs in fact that they have to front two other bands (The Mission Three and Men of La Mancha) to get them all out.  They are joined by Doug Blumer on stand-up bass and Katy Rexford on fiddle.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

MISS FIRE & THE DETONATIONS: Rockabilly.  Miss Fire is a mechanic who teaches Automotive Technology at a local college.  Victor plays guitar, Paul “Swingin’” Johnson plays upright bass and Chad is on the drums.  A professional mechanic in a rockabilly band?  There’s not much tht can top that for street cred.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

PINE BOX BOYS: Twangabilly Darkgrass. The Pine Box Boys are as dark as their name implies, yet highly entertaining.  Somebody has died, is dying or will die in most of their songs.  They headline shows around the Bay Area, have toured in Europe several times and have two strong CDs to their credit.  S. “Your Uncle” Dodds plays drums, Lester T. Raww plays guitar and sings lead vocals, Col. Timothy Leather plays stand-up bass and Alex “Possum” Carvidi plays banjo and sings. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

PLAIN HIGH DRIFTERS: ’70s Country. Yes folks, the eternally undead band has risen again.  We’ll be filling this space with more information once we get some.  The band plays for a few years, disappears for a few, and comes back with a new line-up ad infinitum.  Smelley Kelley (Red Meat) is the one constant in this labor of love.

Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE POLKA COWBOYS: Vintage Country. The Polka Cowboys play a few polkas but they are not a polka band.  They chose their name to fool us.  There’s kind of a rotating line-up that includes various players like Ray Landsberg on fiddle, Patty DeVea on drums, Art Peterson on accordion/vocals and Kurt Stevenson on bass/harmony vocals.  They play every fourth Wednesday at Champa Thai Restaurant, 3550 San Pablo Dam Road in El Sobrante. And yes, this good, inexpensive restaurant has PA and a dance floor.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

PORKCHOP EXPRESS: Alt-Country. They started out just being buddies drinking beers and picking a few tunes.  The next thing they knew they were a band, and one with a sense of humor. John Brunn is on guitar and lap steel, Collin Conoley provides the lead vocals and plays ukulele, Brian Hamilton plays lead guitar, Ryan Johnson plays harmonica, Kevin Kalahiki handles both electric and stand-up bass, and Kitt Thompson adds drums and vocals. Sarah Nelson has joined the band to add fiddle and vocals. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

QUARTER MILE COMBO: Rockabilly. This picture was shot as the band was in costume for a hillbilly party.  Justin Barr, who is wearing the baseball cap that says “Nothing Runs Like a Deere” and also patting lead singer Nettie Hammar’s “package,” plays guitar.  Cross-dressing Gary Daly plays drums and Todd Troublemaker, who didn’t have to change a thing to get ready for this party, plays bass.  Sonoma County may be more rural than most people think.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS-CD-Review

RED MEAT: High Cholesterol Honky-Tonk. The main thing that has kept this band out of the national spotlight is that they don’t tour much, yet the hits keep coming on their four CDs.  Smelley Kelley sings most lead vocals, Scott Young plays rhythm guitar, sings lead and harmony and writes most of the songs, Jill Olson plays bass and also sings lead and harmony and writes songs, Michael Montalto plays lead guitar, Les James provides backup vocals and keeps the beat. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE REVTONES: Neo-Rockabilly. The RevTones play a hard driving style of rockabilly.  While falling short of psychobilly — they can carry a melody and they write interesting songs — they are out to rock.  Randy Schmidt handles guitar, vocals and songwriting,  Rob Shaw is on doghouse bass, and Marcus “Hot Rod” Edell plays the biggest, baddest, bluest drum kit in all of rockabilly.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

RHYTHM RANGERS: C&W. The Rhythm Rangers feature Kevin Russell (Modern Hicks) on rhythm guitar and vocals; Dave Zirbel (Mother Truckers) on lead, lap and pedal steel; Kirby Pierce on keyboards; Blair Hardman on bass and Ric Cutler on drums.  This veteran country cover band plays in Sonoma county.  They put out a so-so CD, and play out-of-the-way places in Sonoma, leaving Hicks with Sticks to wonder why this band’s talent-to-ambition ratio seems so out of whack. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

ROYAL DEUCES: Rockabilly. The Royal Deuces play good ol’ bopping rockabilly.  This is the rockabilly incarnation of Mitch Polzak who plays guitar, sings and writes the original material.   Polymorphic Polzak has Cajun, bluegrass, R&B, country and probably two or three other types of bands we don’t know about.  Anyway, in this one Mike Walz plays upright bass and Rick Quisol, who himself is in 27 other bands, plays drums.  Don’t let their many colors put you off.  Experience counts here. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS CD Review

RUSTY EVANS & RING OF FIRE: Honky Tonk/Johnny Cash Tribute. Rusty Evans’ Johnny Cash covers are popular at his live shows because they are great songs and he does them so well.  Cash’s songs have taken Evans all over the world, but this isn’t strictly a Cash tribute band as their live shows and CDs, which have no JC covers will confirm. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE SADDLE CATS: Western Swing. The Saddle Cats are, left-to-right, swing/bop guitar master Gordon Clegg, conservatory-trained Bing Nathan who has played with an Igor Stravinsky-led orchestra, steel player Bobby Black (Asleep at the Wheel, Commander Cody & his Lost Planet Airmen) and Richard Chon (Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, Sons of the San Joaquin).  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS CD Review

SHITKICKERS: Aggrobilly. San Jose’s ShitKickers are a born-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-trailer-park, Johnny Cash meets the Misfits kind of band. Their line-up is Brian Christian, vocals; Shawn Packer, lead guitar, banjo, vocals; Branch Benson, bass, vocals; Julie Freitas, drums, vocals; Josh Williams, rhythm guitar; Brian DuPras, guitar; and Murray Bowles, viola. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

SHUT-INS: Hulabilly. “Hulabilly” is the only way to describe the Shut-Ins’ Hawaiian-influenced hillbilly music.  Mike Roper and John Poultney, seen here in their Lear’s front seats, are the visionaries, and though they are having fun this is not a comedy band. Well, not a complete comedy anyway.  Most of their clever ad-libs zip by so fast as to go unnoticed.  Tom Drohan (stand-up bass) and Cory Losee (drums) keep the beat. Ted Garber plays lap steel. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

SICK WOLF: Rockabilly. “Happy” Jack Spade has had a few bands over the past years, some lasting a nanosecond or less, but this is the happiest he’s been about a band since he started forming them.  Personnel are Jezebel on lead vocals, Jack on vocals and stand-up bass, Bryan on guitar and Buck (maybe) on drums.    Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

STARLENE: Country. Starlene is the band’s name, not to be confused with the lead singer Catherine Foreman’s name and they are back after a long break from Bay Area music. Mike Wolf and Tom Huber play guitars, Maurice Tani is on bass and Christopher Fisher is on drums.  The band is noted for its country favorites from the distaff set. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

TEXAS STEVE & THE GIT GONE TRIO : Rockabilly. Texas Steve is on vocals and rhythm guitar, Steve Merritt plays a red hot lead, Brendan Glueck plays bass and Tommy Chiffon might be playing drums, but we heard a rumor that he’s moved away.  The band plays straight-up rockabilly with a Texas twist. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

TONY T. & THE PENDLETONS: Neo-Rockabilly. This band plays a hard-driving brand of rockabilly on the verge of psychobilly that makes them popular with the car club set.  They’re still generally known as “The Pendletons” but had to tweek their name because there are 2-3 other bands with the same name.  Tony T. plays lead guitar, Elin Tribo plays upright bass, Dusto plays rhythm guitar and they have a drummer (but who?).  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

TOSHIRO HIRANO: Country Favorites. An original Japanese cowboy, Toshio Hirano got hooked on the music of Jimmy Rogers, learned to play, sing and yodel, and the rest is history.  Beside Rogers, Hank Williams and other vintage cowboys figure into Toshio’s mix.  True, this may seem a bit unusual, but he’s 100% sincere and the fans at his monthly Amnesia and Rite Spot shows appreciate this. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

TWANG TENS: Garage-a-billy. Their MySpace page is unreadable and their living room video is low rent, but nobody told them they couldn’t play “garage Americana” just for fun.  They’re making music on Peter Pan time for now, but growing up happens.  This will be fun while it lasts, for them at least.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

WEST COAST RAMBLERS: Western Swing. Formed in 2010, the WCRs feature Lee Jefferiess (Big Sandy) on keyboards, Josh Workman (Indigo Swing) on lead guitar, Ran Bush (Loaded Ponies) on stand-up bass, “Naughty” Jay Laude keeping the beat and Steve Walz (Stillmen) on rhythm guitar and lead vocals.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

WHISKY PILLS FIASCO: Neo-Rockabilly. Whisky Pills plays bass and sings, Danny from Tallahassee plays guitar and provides backing vocals, Dave Lupo is on washboard, and Skye High pounds drums.  In case their name didn’t give it away, this is rockabilly for whiskey drinkin’, pill poppin’, weed puffin’, octane burnin’ and otherwise decent, if flawed, greasers and betties.  Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

THE WHISKY RICHARDS: Honky-Tonk. After a few false starts personnel-wise, the Whisky Richards (who sometimes spell it “whiskey”) have found their footing and are building an audience for their countrified mix of originals and covers.  J. Logan Barrier plays drums; Chase Christie is on rhythm guitar and vocals; Joe Kenny plays bass; Katy Rexford sings and plays fiddle; and  Adam Roszkiewicz plays lead guitar Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos

YARD SALE: Pop/Country. Melanie DiGiovanni (accordion), Jill Olson (bass, Red Meat) and Denise Funari (guitar) all write songs and sing.  The band plays a mix of acoustic twang and pop songs that are touching, rousing and invariably well-crafted. Site MySpace Facebook Video Audio Photos HWS CD Review.

BANDS FROM BEYOND THE BAY AREA

THE FORTUNATE FEW are a twang-lovin’ Sacramento-area band.
THE GOOD LUCK THRIFT STORE OUTFIT is too good to be hiding in Oakdale.
The MIDNIGHT TRIO is a rockabilly outfit hailing from Livermore and Vasalia.
COW BOP from Monterey is a western be-bop band.

OTHER BAY AREA BANDS OF INTEREST

MISNER & SMITH: A truly wonderful folk duo.
HOUSTON JONES: Country or folksy by turns, but all mod cons nonetheless.
THE WAYBACKS: Grateful Dead-influenced Americana and proud of it.
MARS ARIZONA: Americana from another planet, and a darned clever one.
KAMI NIXON & THE SKIDDY KNICKERS: An Americana melange.
THE HIGHWAY ROBBERS and THE FEROCIOUS FEW are rock bands with hillbilly influences.
DANNY MONTANA AND THE BAR ASSOCIATION: Roots ’70s California country.