Often it’s a struggle to define what theRockin45s are. People ask what kind of music we play and the answers we have never seem sufficient or truly explain the experience of a 45s show. The truth is we are something that we never set out to be. We’ve been defined by our circumstances and events and rode a wave we weren’t looking for. We are senior citizen punk rockers.
The notion of senior citizen punk rock is hard enough to come to terms with given the repertoire we offer can often seem like muzak compared the what most people think of when considering punk. It’s more about the delivery than the song list. Imagine the Ramones doing Daydream Believer or the Sex Pistols rendition of These Boot Are Made For Walking and you’re pretty close to what the 45s deliver.
This has caused a lot of struggle for some excellent players that have subbed with us and even some that have been in that band for a time. You really can’t prepare and woodshed the music because if you think you’re lost. You have to really turn off your brain and completely ride the energy, which more often than not is driven by the fans more than the band.
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Recently we’ve had a number of subs fill in on either drums or bass, and most of them have been the type that really like to do their homework and com prepared. This even after I’ve mentioned many times that they should forget that approach. I understand that approach and would go that way myself if I was subbing with another band but for theRockin45s it’s a recipe for failure. You can’t predict how a wild animal may attack you, you just have to be tuned in and react quickly. Don’t they to think like the bear, become the bear.
I’ve seen guys come with iPads, or hand written notes and immediately think “oh no” they didn’t hear me when I said forget all that.
We started out to be a Rockabilly band and were for the first 2 years or so. The punk edge mostly came from the fans on the nautical Mile who just kept pushing us to play louder and faster and gave the band a manic edge that kind of took over the spirit of the band. I was never a big fan of punk and most musicians that came of age in the classic rock era probably had the same perspective of punk being less than something to aspire to. I certainly never imagined I’d grow up to be a punk when I was a grandfather. At some point you have to accept what you are and what you do best, and especially what resonates with your audience. A lot of people love what we do and that’s reason enough to leave the music school mentality for other things and to celebrate the uniqueness of what we have.