Interview with The Suicide Shifters
May 9, 2014
If you love the thought of being surrounded for miles and miles by cornfields without end in all directions -then you'd probably love the state of Iowa. Nestled snugly in the heartland of America, Iowa is home to 3.1 million citizens and roughly the same number of cows. but for a state that's thoroughly entwined in agriculture and manufacturing, Iowa is also a surprisingly rockin' place for one weekend out of the year. The Vintage Torquefest draws crowds of classic car and motorcycle enthusiasts, as well as Rockabillys, Greasers and Bettys from all over the US. I got in touch with one such group of motorhead rockers, The Suicide Shifters, as they returned home from this year's Vintage Torque Fest. Here's what they had to tell me about their own brand of "Live & Rippin' Rockabilly."
Where did you come up with the name The Suicide Shifters?
Well, not only are we rockabilly music fans…66.6% of us are motorcycle enthusiasts too…so it seemed natural to pair the two interests together. Basically the thought came from old school 50's and 60's motorcycle culture. A “suicide shifter” is slang for a hand-shifter that was mounted onto the side of a motorcycle. The term refers to the shift operation which requires a rider to perform this risky maneuver by removing one hand from the handlebars while shifting and of course the bike being in motion at the time. The name seemed raw and edgy and a good pairing for the music of the rockabilly era.
How long have you guys been playing music?
Brad (guitar and vocals) and Michael T. (drums) played together since they were teenagers. They have been involved in many projects of different styles (80’s influenced, punk, rock’n roll and such, pretty much have run the gamut). Fer (bass) started playing bass in cover bands around 10 years ago, mainly 60’s garage rock and surf.
There's a heavy dose of surf riffing and reverb in your music. Is that a conscious sound that you specifically aim for, or a happy coincidence? Because it doesn't seem like you play yourselves up as a combination set, rather, a straight forward rockabilly group.
Yes, surf music has a huge influence on our sound. It is not a coincidence since our bass player (Fer) is an avid listener of instrumental rock’n roll music, an style that’s deeply connected with the early rock’n roll sound. Link Wray, Duane Eddy, the early Dick Dale, they all played some raw rock’ n roll with an intensity and ferocity not seen before.
What other musical influences do you draw from?
We all love the classics -Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Sun Studio Sound, etc. But then, each of us has our own personal interests. Michael T. (too many influences to list) connected to the rockabilly sound as a young pup through the influence of his older siblings who always had classic vinyl spinning while he was growing up. Stylistically Michael T. also follows a handful of progressive drummers that have inspired him along the way. Brad also digs Setzer and Scotty Moore, and Fer has a penchant for the bizarre: Screaming Jay Hawkins, Lord Sutch, Hasil Adkins, aside from his surf music fetish.
Where did you come up with the name The Suicide Shifters?
Well, not only are we rockabilly music fans…66.6% of us are motorcycle enthusiasts too…so it seemed natural to pair the two interests together. Basically the thought came from old school 50's and 60's motorcycle culture. A “suicide shifter” is slang for a hand-shifter that was mounted onto the side of a motorcycle. The term refers to the shift operation which requires a rider to perform this risky maneuver by removing one hand from the handlebars while shifting and of course the bike being in motion at the time. The name seemed raw and edgy and a good pairing for the music of the rockabilly era.
How long have you guys been playing music?
Brad (guitar and vocals) and Michael T. (drums) played together since they were teenagers. They have been involved in many projects of different styles (80’s influenced, punk, rock’n roll and such, pretty much have run the gamut). Fer (bass) started playing bass in cover bands around 10 years ago, mainly 60’s garage rock and surf.
There's a heavy dose of surf riffing and reverb in your music. Is that a conscious sound that you specifically aim for, or a happy coincidence? Because it doesn't seem like you play yourselves up as a combination set, rather, a straight forward rockabilly group.
Yes, surf music has a huge influence on our sound. It is not a coincidence since our bass player (Fer) is an avid listener of instrumental rock’n roll music, an style that’s deeply connected with the early rock’n roll sound. Link Wray, Duane Eddy, the early Dick Dale, they all played some raw rock’ n roll with an intensity and ferocity not seen before.
What other musical influences do you draw from?
We all love the classics -Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Sun Studio Sound, etc. But then, each of us has our own personal interests. Michael T. (too many influences to list) connected to the rockabilly sound as a young pup through the influence of his older siblings who always had classic vinyl spinning while he was growing up. Stylistically Michael T. also follows a handful of progressive drummers that have inspired him along the way. Brad also digs Setzer and Scotty Moore, and Fer has a penchant for the bizarre: Screaming Jay Hawkins, Lord Sutch, Hasil Adkins, aside from his surf music fetish.
You guys have been playing shows regularly for a while. How's life on the road treating you?
Ha, ha. We don’t stay on the road much, since most of our shows are at prudent distance from our home. The worst experience was driving back from Chicago under one of the worst snow storms we’ve ever seen. I think we’ll never try that again (and neither should you, kids!).
You guys just played the annual Torquefest show. How did you enjoy being part of a big event like that?
Great experience! We can’t recommend it enough. Bands are great, organization is fantastic and the cars and vendors are rare, unique and awesome. We had a blast playing and walking around, catching up on some of the old car races and drinking beer in the open.
Good crowd response there?
We were the first band so there weren’t a lot of folks at that point. However, the people who came to see us really dug it…was very receptive and complimentary. You can check the video we put together after the event on our Facebook page.
Do you have a favorite venue?
We like to play festivals and organized events. Crowds are very appreciative of our style of music and they really know what to expect.
Ha, ha. We don’t stay on the road much, since most of our shows are at prudent distance from our home. The worst experience was driving back from Chicago under one of the worst snow storms we’ve ever seen. I think we’ll never try that again (and neither should you, kids!).
You guys just played the annual Torquefest show. How did you enjoy being part of a big event like that?
Great experience! We can’t recommend it enough. Bands are great, organization is fantastic and the cars and vendors are rare, unique and awesome. We had a blast playing and walking around, catching up on some of the old car races and drinking beer in the open.
Good crowd response there?
We were the first band so there weren’t a lot of folks at that point. However, the people who came to see us really dug it…was very receptive and complimentary. You can check the video we put together after the event on our Facebook page.
Do you have a favorite venue?
We like to play festivals and organized events. Crowds are very appreciative of our style of music and they really know what to expect.
Any plans on taking the group out internationally?
Our bass player is from Spain so we would love to play there. We’ll see, at this point it’s not feasible but you never know. Maybe in the future.
Your three song EP is hosted on Reverbnation for everyone to have a listen to it. Do you plan on recording a full length album soon?
Yes, indeed. We are taking the rest of the year to work on a full album. Still in the process of writing some new tunes. We hope to have it done by December.
You guys list yourselves as a rockabilly trio, but with songs like Redhead Mortician and Bloodhound, your music has a bit of a dark undertone to it. Not that there's a damned thing wrong with that! But I wonder, do you guys shy away from the psychobilly label?
Well, we started as primarily as a cover band working towards originals, so our initial sound was mainly of early rockabilly tunes. Our main gigs were as a cover band here in Bloomington for a mixed interest crowd so we didn’t want to scare them away. Most bar owners don’t even know what rockabilly is, imagine if we tell them that we do psychobilly! As we were adding songs to our set lists, we started to introduce some elements of psychobilly and punk. But you are right, the original tunes offer a mix of our influences including surf, psycho and 60’s frat rock.
I asked The Alder Kings where's the best place to get a Chicago style pizza outside of Chicago...I pose the same question to you cats.
Not sure about Chicago style. However, the best place for pizza in town is Lucca’s Grill. Love the pizza (and the beer). Not sure if you are allowed to have one without the other!
Our bass player is from Spain so we would love to play there. We’ll see, at this point it’s not feasible but you never know. Maybe in the future.
Your three song EP is hosted on Reverbnation for everyone to have a listen to it. Do you plan on recording a full length album soon?
Yes, indeed. We are taking the rest of the year to work on a full album. Still in the process of writing some new tunes. We hope to have it done by December.
You guys list yourselves as a rockabilly trio, but with songs like Redhead Mortician and Bloodhound, your music has a bit of a dark undertone to it. Not that there's a damned thing wrong with that! But I wonder, do you guys shy away from the psychobilly label?
Well, we started as primarily as a cover band working towards originals, so our initial sound was mainly of early rockabilly tunes. Our main gigs were as a cover band here in Bloomington for a mixed interest crowd so we didn’t want to scare them away. Most bar owners don’t even know what rockabilly is, imagine if we tell them that we do psychobilly! As we were adding songs to our set lists, we started to introduce some elements of psychobilly and punk. But you are right, the original tunes offer a mix of our influences including surf, psycho and 60’s frat rock.
I asked The Alder Kings where's the best place to get a Chicago style pizza outside of Chicago...I pose the same question to you cats.
Not sure about Chicago style. However, the best place for pizza in town is Lucca’s Grill. Love the pizza (and the beer). Not sure if you are allowed to have one without the other!