Bodeco
Encyclopedia
Bodeco is a rock and roll
band out of Louisville
, Kentucky
, formed in 1984 by guitarist, singer and songwriter Ricky Feather and drummer Brian Burkett. It later grew into a full band, with its most famous line-up featuring Feather, Burkett, guitarist Wink O'Bannon, bassist Jimmy Brown and multi-instrumentalist Gary Stillwell. Only Feather, Brown and Stillwell remain from that version. Titled after a portmanteau of "Bo Diddley
" and zydeco
, the quintet typically plays a fast-paced country-
and blues-
tinged rock and roll that prompted journalist Piero Scaruffi
to label them "manic 'punkabilliers'". The band has recorded four studio albums, including the November 2009 release of "Soul Boost," and a live album. Bodeco has had a considerable impact on the Louisville music scene, finding a place at #80 on WFPK
's "top 100 albums of all times" and inspiring Trouser Press
to dub them "[o]ne of the most underappreciated combos in the early-to-mid-'90s indie roots-rock movement".
approach to music garnered comparisons to The Cramps
, '68 Comeback
and Southern Culture On The Skids
." In 1992, The New York Times
described the quintet as "a skunky country-rockabilly outfit", noting in 1993 that "[t]here's nothing quaint, cute or five-and-dime about Bodeco's brand of rockabilly. Greasy as a truck-stop burger and bumpier than a high-speed ride in the back of a pickup, this band of Louisville wild men eschews retro contrivances in favor of gristle, marrow and the occasional backwoods yowl".
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band out of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, formed in 1984 by guitarist, singer and songwriter Ricky Feather and drummer Brian Burkett. It later grew into a full band, with its most famous line-up featuring Feather, Burkett, guitarist Wink O'Bannon, bassist Jimmy Brown and multi-instrumentalist Gary Stillwell. Only Feather, Brown and Stillwell remain from that version. Titled after a portmanteau of "Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
" and zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
, the quintet typically plays a fast-paced country-
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and blues-
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
tinged rock and roll that prompted journalist Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi received a degree in Mathematics in 1982 from University of Turin, where he did work on the General Theory of Relativity. For a number of years he was the head of the Artificial Intelligence Center at Olivetti, based in Cupertino, California. He has been a visiting scholar at...
to label them "manic 'punkabilliers'". The band has recorded four studio albums, including the November 2009 release of "Soul Boost," and a live album. Bodeco has had a considerable impact on the Louisville music scene, finding a place at #80 on WFPK
WFPK
WFPK is a 24-hour listener-supported, noncommercial radio station in Louisville, Kentucky, broadcasting at 91.9 MHz FM featuring an adult album alternative format. The station plays national and local alternative music as well as jazz all day on Sunday....
's "top 100 albums of all times" and inspiring Trouser Press
Trouser Press
Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...
to dub them "[o]ne of the most underappreciated combos in the early-to-mid-'90s indie roots-rock movement".
Style
Praised by Trouser Press for "celebratory party rawk", the band's psychobillyPsychobilly
Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
approach to music garnered comparisons to The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
, '68 Comeback
'68 Comeback
68 Comeback is an American garage rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1992 by singer, songwriter, and musicologist, Jeffrey Evans. For the purposes of the band, Jeffrey Evans is frequently billed as either "Monsieur Evans" or "Monsieur Jeffrey Evans." The group contains a revolving cast of...
and Southern Culture On The Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
." In 1992, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described the quintet as "a skunky country-rockabilly outfit", noting in 1993 that "[t]here's nothing quaint, cute or five-and-dime about Bodeco's brand of rockabilly. Greasy as a truck-stop burger and bumpier than a high-speed ride in the back of a pickup, this band of Louisville wild men eschews retro contrivances in favor of gristle, marrow and the occasional backwoods yowl".
Personnel
- Ricky Feather – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Jimmy Brown - bass
- Gary Stillwell - percussion, keyboards
- Gene Wickliffe - drums
- Freddy "Southside" Wethington – guitar
Former members
- Wink O'Bannon - guitar
- Brian Burkett - drums
- Rick Mason - guitar
- Nick Reifsteck - guitar
Studio albums
- Bone, Hair & Hide (1992)
- Callin' All DogsCallin' All DogsCallin' All Dogs is a 1995 album by Louisville, Kentucky rock band Bodeco. This, the rockabilly band's second album, made a considerable impact on the Louisville music scene, finding a place at #80 on WFPK's "top 100 albums of all times"...
(1995) - Crazy Wild (2003)
- Soul Boost (2009)
Additional sources
- Bodeco at Trouser PressTrouser PressTrouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...