As is customary at GreazeFest, it will again play host to some of the world’s finest rockabilly purveyors, on a national and international level – and the lineup is gob-smacking. From the US we get Wayne ‘The Train’ Hancock and Eddie Clendening, while Aussie acts include The Detonators, The ReChords, Pat Capocci, Scotty Baker, Hank’s Jalopy Demons and Stu Arkoff, from legendary psychobilly outfit Zombie Ghost Train, in his new band A Man Called Stu. To that, add Von Hot Rod, one of the world’s finest pinstripers, who’s coming out for his fourth festival, and celebrated tattooist Mimsy, who’s bringing her little pink vintage caravan all the way from Brisvegas.
And for all of this, we can thank The Cramps. “Yeah, it was in the post-punk era and I started listening to the Cramps,” reflects Lori Lee Cash, the festival’s organiser. “I wanted to find out where their songs originated – that led me to people like Roy Orbison. I was a teenager and there wasn’t such a thing as kustom kulture back then.
“It’s different now,” continues Cash. “We’re in the information age and there’s no secrets anymore. But back then, there was no web, there was only one decent radio station in Brisbane. Our discoveries came from visits to the op-shop or interstate or to the import record store. You had to be super dedicated back then, but of course you were – because you were a teenager and that’s what it was all about. I never let it go, my feet are firmly planted in 1957 and I’ve been fortunate enough to turn it into my fulltime career.”
Indeed, Cash set up her company, Robot International in 2000 (which morphed into Robot Productions about five years ago) in response to the scarcity of rockabilly in Brisbane at the time. In the same year she ran her first GreazeFest. “Back then, it was 200 people meeting for a weekend in NSW and some very important friendships were forged,” she reminisces with a smile. “It was almost like a club. If you were there, you became part of the inner circle. Now, everyone’s involved and that’s great. Mums, dads, kids… they want to have a look at us and see how we party. We still have the hardcore crew, but now we also have people who just want to do it for a day. That’s the difference – there are those who do it for one day and the hardcore who do it for 365.”
“There’s so many different facets – hot rods, rockabilly, pin-ups, artists, the fashion, tattoos, tiki culture – there’s so many points of entry that will bring someone in and then they just keep coming back. It’s like Christmas for rockabillies.”
GreazeFest is undoubtedly a passion project for Cash. Quite frankly, why wouldn’t it be? “I’m working with my favourite bands from Australia and overseas,” she gushes. “I’m booking everyone on my A-list. I couldn’t do that, unless I was in my position.” And even though the festival is a well-oiled machine, with little by way of surprises for the organiser, certain things still blow her away. “From time to time things happen that I don’t expect,” she chuckles. “For instance, one year Boz Boorer turned up. He was touring with Morrisey, but he’s a rockabilly at heart from way back, and he did a guest spot. That blew my mind a little bit.”
In fact, 15 years has given plenty of time for some pretty significant highlights. “Too many to list,” Cash says, “but getting The Palladins was a huge highlight and bringing them out of retirement. They’ve been booked a lot since then,” Cash says proudly.
“Then last year I had to drive a hot rod. The owner, a female driver, had gone out to dinner and we needed to move it. I kept calling her and said ‘we gotta move it’. She told me to just go ahead and do it. It was a 1932, completely restored, Ford hot rod. I had to learn how to start it. There was that trust though.”
Suffice to say, Cash works damn hard and she sets the bar higher for herself each year. “Ever since the first year, I give myself another new goal to keep the festival fresh,” she explains. “A good example was when we decided to do the GreazeFestCD. Each year I look for a new challenge and this year is taking it on the road. This is going to be the biggest and busiest year, but so far so good.”
Last year, 10,000 people attended the festival over three days. Cash attributes the festival’s growing legend to the all-rounder nature of the scene and the fact that it invites participation. “It’s a very easy genre to like,” Cash says. “There’s a lot of things in there that appeal to me and appeal to a lot of other people as well. There’s so many different facets – hot rods, rockabilly, pin-ups, artists, the fashion, tattoos, tiki culture – there’s so many points of entry that will bring someone in and then they just keep coming back. People get the bug and then they think ‘how can I be involved?’ That’s another one of the reasons it’s so successful – it’s not just an exhibition. You can have a dance, get tattooed, get something pinstriped. It’s like Christmas for rockabillies.”
BY MEG CRAWFORD
