April Birthdays 
Yeah, I realize Iâm over a month late with this report, but here goes.
The Penetrators were scheduled for a rare appearance on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta on Saturday, April 8, 2006, and naturally the word spread fast among S3 agents in the area. Eddie Katcher of The Surge was the first to start pounding the tribal drum, and soon we had a bunch of us committed to attend. The S3âs finest were gonna play in the middle of a three-band bill, with The Bluejays (a much-loved local country band) opening the event at 8:30 p.m. and The Broken Spokes (a young new country/surf band) closing the show late that night. The bill was irresistible.
The hitch, though, was that Techâs on-campus music venue, a cozy little room called Under The Couch, has a strict no-alcohol policy. Hey, itâs not like weâre all alkie-hollicks or anything, but it is like this: After sundown on a Saturday, most of the S3 crowd truly enjoys pulling a cork or three. We decided to do our best to work creatively around this restriction.
The fun began for much of the Atlanta crowd when we rallied on the outdoor porch of Meltonâs App & Tap for some pre-show libations. Apparently S3 operative Rex Reverb was among those who showed up and left right away because he didnât see us in the outdoor seating area, which underscores the need for more thorough recon work on the part of some of our operatives.
After getting a nice start on the eveningâs buzz (and after stocking my Jetta with a cooler fulla Beckâs), we carpooled down to Georgia Tech under the expert navigational guidance of Greg Germani, who had ridden past the venue and scoped it out for us earlier that week on his S3-model stealth-equipped velocipede. Good thing too, as Under The Couch proved to be concealed deep within a Byzantine tangle of one-way streets that must have been laid out by M.C. Escher after drinking a gallon of cough syrup. (Never mind the jointâs Carrie Nation attitude toward adult beverages. Iâd cross this place off the list of potential venues based solely on its maddening inaccessibility.)
We parked on the far end of an athletic field and, after issuing each agent a loaded cylinder of Beckâs, I followed Germaniâs lead deep into Yellowjacket territory. About this time Eddie Katcher and Mitch from The Surge showed up, Rev. Rex Reverb made an appearance, and The Penetratorsâ fleet of Blackhawk helicopters landed on the athletic field, dispersing Spanky Twangler, Trace Luger, Sticks Stechkin, and all their gear.
First on the bill were The Bluejays, who wasted no time in laying down a sweet country vibe that sounded like the more laidback side of Gene Vincent, fused with the Gram Parsons-era Byrds. Frontman/bassist Jay Murphree sang the lead most of the time while playing bass, ably assisted by second guitarist John McLean as well as a former member of The Cigar Store Indians. Drummer Matt Spaugh (who also plays with John McLean in Sonoramic Commando) rolled out the easy beats; look closely in photo below and you can see him sniffin' John's armpit. The Bluejays have got a CD forthcoming soon, entitled A HUNDRED SONGS, and Iâm sure looking forward to it.
Bluejays
[image](http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2333/mvc005f2zq.jpg)
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During The Bluejaysâ set I made a run out to the parking lot, where Eddie Katcher shared with me a bottle of his homemade âHooch.â Well, thatâs what it said on the bottle cap. It was actually his superb homebrewed re-creation of Anchor Liberty Ale, and did he ever nail it! His tasty concoction had all the spiciness and hoppy zing of the real thing, proving this fine gentleman can tweak homebrew beers as expertly as he tweaks vintage Fender guitars. Dang!
Unfortunately the management of Under The Couch got wise to what we were all doing and asked us to pour out our beverages. So naturally we all stepped around the corner and, in full compliance with their request, discretely poured out the contents of our bottles. Into our mouths.
By this point The Penetrators were rigged and ready, ripping into âShut Up and Danceâ in classic form. Strictly from a sartorial aspect, these three-of-the-S3 were the sharpest ensemble of the night. Decked out in matching red tunics with white racing stripes, as well as matching white slacks, they cut a fine collective figure on the darkened stage. But even a blind man would have loved their set, which was a satisfying mix of classic Penetratorsâ tunes, some pleasantly familiar covers, and several much more recent numbers including a couple of all-new songs. Iâll include a photo of the set list here for the curious.
Spanky wailed away on that gorgeous sunburst Jaguar all night (the same instrument that his big brother, Rip Thrillby, used in his final years), manfully leading the trio while Sticks kept the surf beat pounding and Trace thundered out the bass lines. The sound was rich, full, and reverberant -- and of course totally instrumental (there wasnât even one vocal mike on the stage) â with only a couple of minor missteps, due to the combo being under-rehearsed. The notes on their set list are particularly interesting in this regard, offering a reminder after âLast of the V8 Interceptorsâ that the next song, âHalfway to Vegas,â should be âheavy sounding,â and that âall startâ on the following number, the as-yet unnamed âWoggles Riff.â (Spanky explained later that this latter tune had started life sounding like something The Woggles would play, but it has since taken on a new character and now needs a fresh name.)
A big highlight was definitely The Penetratorsâ reading of Dick Daleâs âThe Wedgeâ (a song theyâd actually recorded quite a while back for that DICKHEADS tribute album), which they morphed into a tribute to another instro legend by ending it with a few bars of Link Wrayâs âRumble.â Nicely done.
Late in the performance, after playing â50 Buck a Midgetâ (another of my faves), they offered up another unfamiliar number called âRaeâs Song,â which appears on the set list with an admonition that, âLuger starts.â I have to say I really dug all the newer songs, which suggest to me that Spanky seems to be taking the band in a somewhat lighter, more Los Straitjackets-ish direction than they were heading under Ripâs leadership. Significantly, though, they shut down their set with Ripâs own âSouthern Surf Syndicate Themeâ instead of their once-traditional show-closing romp through The Pyramidsâ âBikini Drag.â Altogether it was a very satisfying and commendable set. Bravo, lads!!
Penetrators
[image](http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1152/mvc008f8bb.jpg)
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[image](http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2365/mvc013f0la.jpg)
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[image](http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/7144/mvc011f1fq.jpg)
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Penetratorsâ set list
[image](http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/1866/penetratorssetlist040820067oy.jpg)
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A lot of the crowd vanished during the set change (and a number of us ducked out for surreptitious brew-slurping in the parking zone), so the late evening audience had thinned considerably by the time that The Broken Spokes rolled out their sturdy twang to cap the evening. These guys are quite impressive, not only because theyâve got such a great old school country vibe, and not only because they can launch into a stunning surf instrumental at the drop of a Stetson, and not even because they make the combination work so well together. No, what REALLY blows my mind is how YOUNG they are.
Just when Iâm about ready to give up and assume that nobody under 30 still knows what â50s and â60s roots-music actually sounded like, along comes a fresh-faced green outfit like The Broken Spokes to play just the right cover songs, and to stir up memorable originals in precisely the same spirit, and by doing so to remind me that thereâs still hope for rock and roll, thereâs still hope for roots-country, and that there will always be a place for twangy and reverb-drenched instrumentals. The Spokesâ smoldering surf rendition of âHouse of the Rising Sunâ managed to keep me smiling until the sun actually did rise, just a few hours later. Way to go, boys!
Broken Spokes
[image](http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/4216/mvc020f4bx.jpg)
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Dutifully reported (albeit ridiculously late after the fact),
—GREGORY NICOLL, Southern Surf Syndicate Agent # 44
Last edited: May 20, 2006 12:27:36
