The Matadors (band)
Encyclopedia
The Matadors are a psychobilly
band based mainly in London, Ontario
, Canada
. Their music fuses traditional rockabilly
with punk rock
.
Parkins wrote and recorded four songs in 1998 one of which was "Let's Ride" which can be found on subsequent Matadors recordings. Following these recordings Parkins became unsatisfied with being a cover act and then fired the other people in the band, took over on vocals and raised The Matadors to international attention. The Matadors play a fusion of blues, swing and southern rock boogie they have defined "horrorbilly." Parkins invented the term after reading a book called The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by authors Al Ries and Jack Trout which states that "if you cannot be first in your category, set up a new category".
The Band's song writer and driving force has been Parkins throughout its history with many line up changes over the course of the 5 albums.
The Matadors have been on the forefront of the Canadian psychobilly scene since their inception. They are most noted for their 'larger than life' live shows which have included giant stage-blood shooting puppets, foam launching machines and dancing girls. The band claims to be part of the Luciferian Brotherhood of Baphomet who are one of their inspirations. They also claim to have sold their souls to the devil in exchange for musical talent.
The Matadors' first Canadian tour was in 2005. They were packaged with Canadian veteran psychobilly band The Dead Cats. The Matadors are currently the largest grossing Canadian psychobilly act to date in terms not only of record sales but audience attendance. Although not given the recognition of their peers, The Matadors are the largest act in their genre in Canada.
The band recorded their third full-length album, Horrorbilly 9000, in only ten days.
During the recording of their fifth release, Sweet Revenge, the band had no permanent bassist. Former singer of The Creepshow
and Hooch's girlfriend, Jen "Hellcat" Blackwood, does guest vocals on the eleventh track on the album, If You're Gonna Bitch.
Brett Hueston - bassist/vocals
Shiraz - drums
Steve Crew - Drums
Archie Gamble -Drums
Rob Carvell - Drums
Iain Mckena - Drums
Steve Murphy - Drums
Shiraz Ebrahim - Drums
Steve Ormerod -Drums
Neil Devereaux- Drums
Eugene Burda - Organ
Chris Hart (in 1994 when they were a rockabilly revue band only,not when they made the leap to an original act) - Vocals
Jason Haladnyuk - Bass
Jeff Sheppard - Bass
Julienne Morrisette - Bass
Danny Deville - bassist/vocals
Neil Devereaux- Bass
Psychobilly
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...
band based mainly in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Their music fuses traditional rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
with punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
.
History
Joel "Hooch" Parkins and former bassist Jeff Sheppard formed The Matadors in 1995. They began as a rockabilly cover band of sorts playing mostly classic country and older 1950s rockabilly. In the beginning The Matadors played clubs, corporate events and even weddings. Joel "Hooch" Parkins, as The Matadors story goes, then supposedly signed a deal with the devil, and from there The Matadors evolved into what it is now a highly theatrical, humorous, high energy rock and roll show.Parkins wrote and recorded four songs in 1998 one of which was "Let's Ride" which can be found on subsequent Matadors recordings. Following these recordings Parkins became unsatisfied with being a cover act and then fired the other people in the band, took over on vocals and raised The Matadors to international attention. The Matadors play a fusion of blues, swing and southern rock boogie they have defined "horrorbilly." Parkins invented the term after reading a book called The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by authors Al Ries and Jack Trout which states that "if you cannot be first in your category, set up a new category".
The Band's song writer and driving force has been Parkins throughout its history with many line up changes over the course of the 5 albums.
The Matadors have been on the forefront of the Canadian psychobilly scene since their inception. They are most noted for their 'larger than life' live shows which have included giant stage-blood shooting puppets, foam launching machines and dancing girls. The band claims to be part of the Luciferian Brotherhood of Baphomet who are one of their inspirations. They also claim to have sold their souls to the devil in exchange for musical talent.
The Matadors' first Canadian tour was in 2005. They were packaged with Canadian veteran psychobilly band The Dead Cats. The Matadors are currently the largest grossing Canadian psychobilly act to date in terms not only of record sales but audience attendance. Although not given the recognition of their peers, The Matadors are the largest act in their genre in Canada.
The band recorded their third full-length album, Horrorbilly 9000, in only ten days.
During the recording of their fifth release, Sweet Revenge, the band had no permanent bassist. Former singer of The Creepshow
The Creepshow
The Creepshow is a band from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The band formed in 2005 when the four original members got together with the purpose of starting a psychobilly band. The Creepshow writes the majority of their songs about horror films....
and Hooch's girlfriend, Jen "Hellcat" Blackwood, does guest vocals on the eleventh track on the album, If You're Gonna Bitch.
Discography
- Hellblazin' (2002)
- The Devil's Music (2004)
- Live at Call the Office (2005)
- Horrorbilly 9000 (2006)
- Sweet Revenge (2008)
Members
Joel "Hooch" Parkins - vocals, guitarBrett Hueston - bassist/vocals
Shiraz - drums
Former members
Jason Westman - DrumsSteve Crew - Drums
Archie Gamble -Drums
Rob Carvell - Drums
Iain Mckena - Drums
Steve Murphy - Drums
Shiraz Ebrahim - Drums
Steve Ormerod -Drums
Neil Devereaux- Drums
Eugene Burda - Organ
Chris Hart (in 1994 when they were a rockabilly revue band only,not when they made the leap to an original act) - Vocals
Jason Haladnyuk - Bass
Jeff Sheppard - Bass
Julienne Morrisette - Bass
Danny Deville - bassist/vocals
Neil Devereaux- Bass
External links
- Official site
- Myspace page
- The Matadors on CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...