GreazeFest - Friday Night, Saturday Cruise & Saturday Night

This year's GreazeFest was something above and beyond what we have ever produced and experienced before. It's hard to describe something that has become so big and has so many facets. But let's give it a try. Here's a rundown on the weekend from Friday to Sunday, with stories from myself and Sheri Bomb, plus special insights from long haulers Mike from Mt Isa and Bert from Perth and our man behind the camera, Mr 'Pix by Pete' Walker.

Lori Lee: This was our twelfth GreazeFest, but only the second one held at Rocklea Showground. Other than the Kustom Kroozers reunion we held in April, this was the first real big show we have run at the site since the devastating flood in January. It was exciting to transform an empty showground into a hep and happening festival space for all the GreazeFest friends and fans. If you didn't know, we truck in and build the stages, the dance floors and floor coverings, seating, shade, lighting, curtaining, fencing, marquees, facilities and all sorts of production equipment.

The publicity we generated in the lead up to this year's festival was extensive, with every media outlet in Brisbane and beyond enticing their audience with colourful images and intriguing stories on our kustom kulture lifestyle. TV station Channel 10 did a live broadcast for the '7pm Project' program on Friday night, and at the same time, I was taking part in a long and live interview on the radio. We even made the 7 o'clock news on the ABC on Sunday night!

Friday Night

Sheri Bomb: GreazeFest came around before I knew it this year, and I'd say it's got to be the biggest and best yet. Every year I wonder how it can be better than the last but Lori Lee never fails to deliver! Arriving on Friday night to a line-up that stretched for a couple of hundred metres outside the venue, I knew the weekend was bound to be huge. We caught up with plenty of familiar faces as well as meeting some new ones and the spacious venue at Rocklea was perfect for kicking back with a brew for a chat up the back or tearing it up to the bands down the front and although the dance floor was pretty big, it was a great sign to see it so packed.

Mike in Mt Isa: My son Oscar, my good mate Daniel and I, drove 1700km in just 27 hours in my 1966 VC Valiant. Why did we do this? Simple, we did it to get to GreazeFest! We did about 20 kilometres of the drive by moonlight because a wire shook loose from the alternator somewhere near Winton. We dodged owls and foxes and pigs and rabbits around Longreach. We hit a kangaroo outside Barcaldine doing 65 mph (thank god for steel cars!). We had limited sleep, a diet of V, beef jerky and truck stop breakfasts.

None of this mattered. Nothing compared to how proud we felt finally cruising through the gates into GreazeFest. It is unexplainable to anyone who hasn't put in the time behind the spanner and behind the wheel, but it was as close to a religious pilgrimage as I could imagine.

Lori Lee: Managing the festival means I don't get to see everyone I'd like to (especially on the opening night) and I missed just about everyone tonite - Miss Teresa and Her Rhythmaires were up first and I heard many a fan remark about their great show. People were also raving about the rare but welcome appearance by Melbourne's Starliners, who performed an excellent set of rockabilly and hillbilly bop.

There was no way I would miss seeing our first guest of the weekend Jason Lee Wilson, who flew in all the way from Tennessee, so I set myself front 'n' centre for his show. Many of you have gotten to know Jason during his visit and he was delighted to be back in Australia. Jason was backed by Doug Wilshire & The Tailspinners, who have performed with him when touring in Europe, so this was somewhat of a reunion for this ensemble who share the same record label, Rhythm Bomb.

Jason Lee Wilson and his honey-tone voice purred through an enormous set of boppers (like "Pure Horsepower"), rock-a-ballads (like "All I Need Is Your Love") and story-songs (like "Tx, Qld, Aust"). The fans down the front were dancing and whooping and a-hollering and whenever a bopper would start up, the dance floor would swell with jivers. At the sets-end, bassman Paulie Burke whipped the crowd into demanding an encore which then finished off with Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light", as the crowd jumped around, arms waving in the air in delight. Presenting music definitely more devilish was final band of the night, Blazin' Entrails from Perth, who proceeded to slam it into overdrive with their intense, tough as nails tunes. The trio declared themselves 'the loudest band at GreazeFest' and scored themselves many new fans tonite.

Saturday Cruise

Sheri Bomb: The cruise during the day on the Saturday was a great way to unwind and get a sneak peak at some of the rockin' rides that would be on show the next day. The weather was perfect and a lazy afternoon quickly turned into a fantastic warm up for the night that lay ahead with Doug Wilshire and his Tailspinners packing the Royal Mail Hotel at Goodna.

Lori Lee: I had high hopes to get to the GreazeFest Cruise, but getting the show ready for Sunday simply took over. I haven't been on a GreazeFest cruise since I caught a ride with Rick in his Ford convertible in 2002, but you never know, there's always next year!

Mike: After the cruise on the Saturday, we headed over to True Love Tattoo where Daniel and I got memorial road trip tattoos from the one and only Mez (True Love Tattoo). We spent Friday and Saturday nights surrounded by old and new friends, beautiful pin-up models and ultra-cool rockabilly tunes. Both nights were unforgettable even though many a drink was had until the early hours rolled around.

Saturday Night

Lori Lee: Saturday night is always the biggest night at GreazeFest and this year I had a feeling was going to be huge. Our very special guests James Intveld, guitarist Storm Rhode, bass player Bob Gothar and drummer Kip Dabbs all turned out to be warm and friendly gentlemen who were professional, courteous and graciously pleased to be at GreazeFest. West Texas Crude opened the show and quickly filled the dance floor with their red hot rockabilly classics. Scotty Baker made his GreazeFest debut and put on a fabulous show with his 'Elvis Presley meets Johnny Cash' sound. Scotty performed his original compositions from his new cd "Just Like That" and the crowd just loved him. Keep an eye on this cat, his star is rising. Paulie Bignell and the Thornbury Two took to the stage for a solid set of rockin' tunes from his Red Eye Flight cd. His fans were quick to the front when he opened with "C'mon and Dance" and the dance floor once again filled with jivers.

The James Intveld show was simply spectacular and it brought the evening to a whole new level. James performed for close to two hours and wove his way through the pick of his three albums, with tunes like "Cryin' Over You", "Modern Don Juan", "One Sweet Letter" and "Let's Get Started". Intveld and band didn't play to a set list, each song was chosen along the journey.

It was great to see the musicians enjoying themselves so much, guitarist Storm Rhode with a constant grin and James really playing up to the gals lucky enough (or smart enough...) to be right down the front. James Intveld closed the show with "King Cry Baby" merging into "Doing Time For Being Young".

Sheri Bomb: Saturday night has got to be one of the best nights of GreazeFest I've ever been to! The line up was fantastic so it's hard to pick a favourite but finishing the night off with James Intveld was a riot! The singing voice of Johnny Depp's character Cry Baby from the John Water's movie of the same name went down a treat with the whole crowd.

As a huge fan of both Johnny Depp and this movie this was such an awesome experience. James wrapped up his set with a medley of some of my favourite songs from the movie and I just couldn't help but get right down the front and scream my lungs out like a little school girl!