GreazeFest 2007 | Review by Lori Lee | Photos by Pix by Pete

GreazeFest Arrives

I was grabbing some lunch on the Thursday before GreazeFest and couldn’t help but notice all the rockabilly cats walking around West End. They must have been the earlybirds and those who secured the closest motels, killing time while waiting for the weekend to begin. I stopped in to the local fish’n’chip and was surprised to hear the girl behind the counter ask if I was going to GreazeFest that weekend, prompted no doubt by my GreazeFest tshirt. Then the cookie stopped frying fish for a few minutes to add he intended to go to the GF hot rod show. Jeez, I thought to myself, even the local fishos are going to GreazeFest, the weekend is going to be bigger than I thought.

What started as an underground festival, privy only to those with insider knowledge, the GreazeFest has since grown roots and flourished into a colourful and unique weekender with an easy-going vibe that larger festivals can only dream about. The weekend attracted thousands of people from all walks of life. The core crowd came from all over Australia, including Tasmania and Perth, as well as New Zealand, America, England and Japan. It’s exciting to meet these people at GreazeFest and to discover the common threads linking our scene together. Kustom kulture disciples are a committed and active crowd. They make a huge effort in how they dress, they drive extraordinary cars, they decorate their bodies in sensational tattoos and they support and enjoy loud and live music!

Pre Party

The Thursday night pre-party was a great way to meet everyone before the big weekend. Ric’s Bar is a cozy venue and the intimate setting was packed wall to wall with greazers and glamour kittens. The bulk of the crowd spilled out into the beer garden, making a visual feast and turning a few heads in the usually drab Valley mall.

The Throttle Zombies welcomed everyone to GreazeFest 2007 and launched into a Cramps-infused set of garage rockabilly. The crowd shook their hips and squealed in delight. The trio is fronted by local lead-foot Jimbo, who tonight paid homage to Lux Interior by wearing six inch stiletto heels and snake skin trousers! Up next was local hillbilly act, Corn Liquor, who pushed the already excited crowd to new heights and had everyone bopping on the spot to their galloping moonshine tunes.

Friday Night

Friday arrived quickly and hundreds of psychobilly cats and kittens donned their most wicked outfits for a long night of top notch rockabilly. I dug the fact that GreazeFest has grown its own legs, with many punters attending GreazeFest for the very first time. Brisbane’s warmer weather opened the door for the tattooed types to flaunt their stunning skin art and everyone was looking sharp. It was an exciting audience and they were ready to party.

It takes talent and bravado to be first band up on Friday night at the GreazeFest. The Ten Fours took the bull by the horns and tore through a tough as nails set of rockabilly and rhythm’n’blues. Standout tunes were their take on The Sonics ‘Have Love Will Travel’ and their crowd pleasing closer ‘Midnight Mover’.

The No Nos were one of the surprise acts of the weekend. Coming all the way from Tasmania, this trio was almost unknown to the GreazeFest crowd, but when they started playing their Cramps-meets-Link Wray-meets Johnny Cash twang, the sinners became drawn to them like bees to honey. 

Halfway through their set, a younger member of the crowd jumped onto the stage and commenced a spontaneous striptease. ‘Nude Boy’ as he is now known, teased the crowd with glimpses of skin and by the time I made it to the front of the room, had his strides around his ankles and was doing the snake dance while The No Nos played on unfazed. Nude Boy brought a smile to everyone’s lips (had me smiling for hours) and he received resounding applause at the end of the song, when he was dutifully whisked off stage by security. I remarked to a pal afterwards, “it would have taken a lot of guts to do that”, to which he added “yeah, and a lot of beer…!”.

Next were The Nervous Wreckers who put in a solid set of rockabilly delivered with polish and pizzazz. This rockin’ Sydney trio gets better every time I see them and tonight it was great to enjoy them playing for a large and receptive crowd, who by now were partying in full swing. The dance floor was understandably bouncing when they covered the Go Cat Go classic ‘Please Mama Please’. If the space was too packed to jive, you just bopped on the spot. Rockabilly bliss! 

The Voodoo Kreepers were our special guests of the night, having flown over from New Zealand for their first ever visit to Australia. The trio encountered a few challenges in the lead up to GreazeFest, resulting in two hospital visits for their drummer Julian followed by a bureaucratic bungle at the airport in NZ. It was a relief to finally see them arrive at GreazeFest that evening, even though Julian was still on crutches.

The Voodoo Kreepers cd release ‘Fistful of Voodoo’ was on high rotation on Brisbane radio and on myspace, so when they hit the stage, the audience already knew their songs and were singing along to originals such as ‘Baby Been Shooting’, ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘Getaway Deuce’.  On stage, the Kreepers were a sight to see. Geoff, the dreadlocked bass player, was throwing around his ‘Jack Daniels’ bull fiddle like it was a ukulele and Julian’s drum set up was unusual to say the least.

It was hard bringing the Friday night to a close. The company was so good and everyone was having such a great time, it was tough to kick you all out. But you can’t stop the hands on the clock spinning around, so we had to pull the pin until the following day.

Saturday

Saturday saw the welcome return of the GreazeFest Street Cruise, organised by long time GreazeFest supporters, The Eliminators. Thank you Eliminators! Around thirty hot rods and classic cars rolled into the Eliminators Clubhouse to shoot the breeze before hitting the highway for a cruise around the southside.

The cars rolled into Souths in the early evening and we chilled out with a steakburger or two, before the entertainment that night. With the advance tickets selling out in advance, it was expected to be a big night and it was with a HUGE crowd rocking up. Many people have remarked that this was the best night GreazeFest has ever experienced. 

DJ Mike da Moocha and his vast range of rockabilly was in his element, spinning songs to keep the greazers dancing and ensuring the party stayed in full swing for the entire night.  

First band of the night, West Texas Crude set the standard early. Andy Dashwood led the trio through a scorching set of Sun era rockabilly. Bass player Jon Flynn declared the goal of the night in their final song - the sizzling ‘Let’s Rock Tonight’, sparking on the already energized crowd. 

Up next were The Lucky Shots, a new country band featuring Pat Capocci on lead guitar, Dave Bean on flaming green bull fiddle and cowboy Matt Hull on vocals. These lucksters put in a fine set of honky tonk beer drinking music with a nice rockabilly edge, with tunes such as Junior Browns ‘Highway Patrol’ and ‘Hung It Up’. They sure kept the dance floor swinging to their fine western tunes. 

The Flattrakkers were next on stage and they pulled out all stops with a scorching set of hot rod rockabilly, great tunes and killer licks. Some greazers are saying they were the ‘best’ band of the weekend, but choosing one band out of nineteen is not in the GreazeFest game plan. What I can say is that they ROCKED and looked the part too with their pinstriped Gretsch and Coop devils head bass! These guys are have got this hot rod rockabilly sound nailed. 

Star attraction of the night was Wes Pudsey & The Sonic Aces in their first ever performance at GreazeFest and they worked it like they’ve been saving all their energy for this show. Wes and the Aces did what they do best, and that is pure and authentic rockabilly played with fire and passion. Guitarist Rob Taylor was on the money with every rockabilly lick from both his Gibson and his Danelectro, Wes was in top form, drummer Bruce was laying it down and newcomer Dean Upston slapped that bass like a veteran. The dance floor was packed with rockers and everyone in the room was on their feet. If you can’t find a partner use a wooden chair.
Hot Rod Show

After only a few hours sleep, it was back to Souths for the final day of GreazeFest, the much anticipated Hot Rod Show. It was a warm winter’s day, Brisbane style – cool in the morning and a glorious 27 degrees during the day. 

The team on the GreazeForce did a smooth job getting the cars in and registered quickly. As is the trend in hot rod culture, the autos started rolling in early, making the show field over half full before the designated roll up time of 9am. A steady stream of fins and chrome rolled into the show including bobbers, vintage bikes, stock American iron, Australian favs and classics, heaps of lowrider bicycles, plus through-the-ringer beaters all the way to up top notch hot rods. 

Live on Stage

DJ Leapin’ Lawrie was spinning a perfect set of hot rod tunes, rare rockabilly and highway haulin’ classics as the hot rod show entrants hit the full mark. 

Duke Wilde & The Shotgun Hillbillies kicked off the live music, right on time, and slammed it into gear with full tank of rockin’ country. It was great to hear Duke on the big stage, as his songs really suit a big sound. Highlights were hearing the Allman Brothers’ ‘Rambling Man’ and the Stones ‘Dead Flowers’. Nice guitar work, good harmonies and good fun.

Miss Teresa and Her Rhythmaires brightened the morning with a great set of authentic rockabilly and hillbilly tunes, such as Betty McQuade’s ‘Tongue Tied’. These hepcats are fully dialed into the 1950s both visually and musically and are always a pleasure to watch. 

The Voodoo Kreepers filled in a last minute spot at the Hot Rod Show, giving everyone a second helping of their rockin’ tunes, kiwi humour and very active stage antics. The Kreepers received a warm welcome from the other bands and from their newly established fan club. 

Newcomers to the bulk of the crowd at GreazeFest was Firebird from Melbourne, who hit the stage right on cue and wasted no time in cranking up the pace with their solid, Setzer style rockabilly. This talented trio blasted through a set of original rockabilly tunes from their debut cd ‘Buildin’ A Hot Rod’. I hope to see these cats again soon.

Bad Moon Company hit the stage and signaled the psychobilly phase of the day. This young and upcoming Brisbane trio received a great response from the audience. Their incessant gigging has built their following in the psycho crowd and their original tunes are fast becoming favourites. 

The fashion parade gave the guys and gals from Cadillac Barbie a chance to strut their stuff between bands at GreazeFest. Their range of fashion from Suicide Glam and their full blown hairdos were a sight to see.

The Casino Rumblers from Sydney hit the stage next with a full throttle combination of ska, punk and rockabilly. It was great to hear their brass section booming through the speakers and the Rumblers had everyone jumping around to their energetic tunes such as ‘Dry Martini’. These guys sure received the best crowd reaction, especially when they covered AC/DC’s ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’. 

The Quick Draw McGraws were up next for their very first performance at GreazeFest. This new Brisbane band features Geoff from The Chrome Daddies and Mark from the Wild Ones. They played a clever cross section of country punk and alternate tunes such as Chris Speddings’ ‘Motorbikin’ and The Screaming Tribesmen’s ‘Date with a Vampire’.  Cool! 

Low Brow Art Show

The GreazeFest Low Brow Art Show received an overwhelming amount of submissions from a diverse group of inspiring artists, who all turned up at once to hang their artwork. This display was the biggest yet and I think we’ll need a larger gallery next year. 

Skate decks were also a feature in the art show. Kwala Skateboards showed off a range of killer decks with some of the latest designs from their catalogue and a handful of artists submitted and hung decks in the show. 

Three commissioned GreazeFest decks were created by kustom kulture artists, Rob Walker, Scotty Makin and Andrew Smith. The artists were given full license to create whatever they wanted and just to include the GreazeFest name or initials. Rob created a multi-colour pinstriped, sci fi golf course featuring a half-human-half-pinstripe-brush-monster. I don’t know what this guru sprinkles on his breakfast cereal, but I’d like some too! Scotty went crazy all over his deck with a Mexicana day of the dead theme and Andrew kept it in the fast lane with a custom Mercury and pinstriped deck.

GreazeFest Awards

The judging of the GreazeFest Hot Rod Show is spontaneous and fast paced. The awards are not about making any one person, hot rod or artwork better than the next one. The recipients in each category are chosen who most represent the spirit of the GreazeFest. That’s about as technical as it gets. The GreazeFest is not a competition, it’s a celebration.  Kitty Danger, the hot rod kitten from TCB Magazine, was guest trophy girl, causing a bit of ‘trophy envy’ amongst the entrants, not for the accolades, but for the photo opportunity with Kitty!  Those who scored a blue ribbon are:

King Rod (hot rod) – Shaun’s 1936 Dodge coupe painted flat black with an exposed big block, unveiled for the first time at GreazeFest 2007.

King Rat (rat rod) – Pinstriper Tiny Tim’s flat black VC Valiant, fully covered in various shades of blue pin-striping. Even the windows had been pin-striped!

King Kustom (custom) – Amy Smith’s pink EK Holden sedan with extended fins, extended eyebrows and other subtle finishes. Amy & Anthony from Smith’s Kustoms drove the EK from Sydney and were doing custom pin-striping and artwork at GreazeFest. 

King Kroozer (longest distance) – Glenn Miller’s 1952 Ford pick up. Glenn drove all the way from Waroona, south of Perth, took him eight days going there (via Adelaide) and then five days driving home. He said he was glad he did it and will be back again next year!

Trophy Queen – Andrea’s 1932 Ford roadster painted baby blue with white scallops. The hot rod is a daily driver for Andrea and it was also spotted in the GreazeFest Street Cruise. 

Nice to note that three of the award recipients this year were gals. 

King Ride (motorbike) – Anthony’s gold metal flaked and flamed 97 Harley Davidson. Check it out in issue three of TCB Magazine. 

King Lowrider (bicycle) – Shaun Stranaghan’s Black Widow chopper with extended forks and spider web embellishments.  Shaun is only 12 years old and has grown up around hot rods. Shaun has been to GreazeFest for the past three years and this was his first custom project. 

The Boss Artist award went to Leighderhosen’s ‘Filled Raked and Slammed’ acrylic painting. It was fitting to hand the inaugural award to Leigh, as she has displayed sensational paintings over the past three years at GreazeFest. 

The Rad Deck award (skateboard artist) went to Luke Newman’s RIP Elvis stenciled and spray-painted skateboard deck. If you didn’t catch Luke with his art, you would have spotted him holding second chair in the barber tent, chopping and waxing with Tony (the) Barber.

More Live Music

Right on 5pm the live music moved inside to the clubhouse, as the chilly night air started circling the hot rod show. A couple of hundred people didn’t want the fun to end and stayed on for the next two bands and DJ. 

The room filled with smoke and a bubbling instrumental signaled the arrival of Men Into Space, the rockabilly trio who wear space suits and helmets and play ‘space’ instruments. The songs are about outer space – ‘Rockin Chair On The Moon’, ‘Satellite Baby’, and the members are rockabilly veterans (Jon Flynn, Dangerous Dan, Rupert Jenner), so it’s a musical and visual feast. The crowd went nuts and really dug these cats. 

Last band of the night and of the entire GreazeFest weekend was Monster A Go Go, featuring Dave Bean from the Casino Rumblers and Pat Capocci from The Lucky Shots. This trio adopts the great and not-so-great songs from the 1980s and revive them rockabilly style. Whether you dig the 80s or not, chances are you grew up hearing these tunes, so it’s a time warp even for 1950s diehards. The crowd was quick to get on the dance floor and bop all over the place to songs such as The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ (air punching mandatory) and The Jam’s ‘Town Called Malice’. In fact, the crowd wouldn’t let the Monsters finish, so they kept pulling out cover after cover until time won out as usual and they ended on the B52s ‘Rock Lobster’. It was crazy and it was fun and it was the best possible way to finish off a fantastic weekend. 

The GreazeFest showcased just a slither of the many great rockabilly bands we have here in Australia. Several of this year’s acts were new bands, indicating we have a wealth of talent and a burgeoning culture, right here in our own backyards. To say we have a healthy rockabilly scene is an understatement and I sincerely take my hat off to all the great musos in Australia (and New Zealand!).

The Environment

Even though cars are a big part of our culture, we can’t ignore the fact that our vehicle emissions are seriously impacting the environment. Have you given thought to this side of your automotive lifestyle? Have you ever considered making your car or your air travel to GreazeFest carbon neutral?  Becoming carbon neutral is one way of taking responsibility for the carbon dioxide emissions we create with our lifestyle. 

We’ve made a start at GreazeFest by carbon neutralizing the cars that attended the Hot Rod Show. We took a rough estimate of 300 cars with V8 engines, driving an average of 100kms each, which calculates to a total of 12 tonnes of CO2. To offset this emissions, we have donated money to ‘Carbon Neutral’, a not for profit organisation who will in turn plant 73 trees on our behalf, as a way of counteracting the greenhouse effect.  Read more about these solutions here: www.carbonneutral.com.au 

Big thanks go to everyone who attended GreazeFest this year - the lowbrow artists - the car, bike and bicycle owners - the local and visiting bands - everyone who rocked up from interstate and overseas - you are all an inspiration - it is YOU who gives the GreazeFest it’s identity and it’s YOU who make the GreazeFest a fantastic weekender for everyone.

See you next year!

Lori Lee o-[*_*]-o
GreazeFest Director