By Scott Pam
It’s impossible to not start tapping your feet when listening to the Deadbeat Daddies. It’s also very difficult to dance when loaded down with camera gear and easy to forget that one is on assignment while watching the people in the “scene”.
Their unique mix of swing, Jump Blues and Rockabilly has an incredibly upbeat tempo and a constant driving beat that kept the crowd moving through the Deadbeat Daddies 55 minute, 17 song set. The five originals that were played during the set showcased their impressive and unique creativity. While they only played five of their originals, “Livin Doll” had time changes and impressive lyrics that are truly memorable and will continue to keep the crowd paying attention to the band.
The crowd, dressed for the scene in vintage clothing, pompadours and other hairstyles from the Fifties, appears right out of a movie scene – you feel like you have travelled back in time. Some of the women attending the show looked like they walked straight out of a 1950’s magazine complete with eyeglasses, dresses and handbags from that era.
Phil Maag, the lead singer and rhythm guitar player, fronts the band with superb vocals while Patrick Sakamoto handles the lead guitar and backing vocals. Aaron Mercado handles the sax and backing vocals and Sheridan Lundy plays the upright bass.
Phil originally started on the upright bass when the group was started. “We got the name from a friend of a friend of a friend who said we could use it. Deadbeat comes from a Jazz term,” Phil said. The group started as a three-piece band roughly 17 years ago. They recorded one CD back then. “It’s hard to sing and play upright bass,” he said. “It’s like slapping a two by four for an hour.”
From the three piece original lineup, they went to a five piece band adding in saxophone and an upright bass player so Phil could dedicate more time to being the front man for the band.
Singing in his truck, Phil gets in as much practice as he can. His dedication to The Deadbeat Daddies is evident as each song is packed with energy and a fast tempo sure to challenge any lead singer from any genre. Genetics may play a role as well as his mom was an opera singer who in 1947, left opera, when the family moved to the Coachella Valley to farm.
Some performers still get nervous before they take the stage. “I don’t get nervous anymore, but I did when Brian Setzer walked into one of the shows,” Phil mentioned. As one of Phil’s biggest influences, the Stray Cats brought a good deal of attention back to the revival of Rockabilly, who’s roots go back to the 50’s and 60’s.
At the heart of the beat of the band, is Chuy Cuellar. Ten years ago, while on the way home from playing a party, Chuy was involved in a car wreck – the driver of the vehicle was drunk – leaving him wheelchair bound since. Chuy is the drummer.
Chuy started playing on the pots and pans in his mom’s kitchen before he was five, and got his first drum set shortly thereafter. “I joined my first band in high school, and we played mostly metal like Slipknot and System of a Down,” said Chuy. “We never made it out of the garage though.”
For the first couple of years after the accident, Chuy was able to use his lightning speed to cover the inability to use the kick for the bass drum. About three years after the accident, “I woke up in the morning and kinda kicked down a little bit and my leg responded,” he said. After doing some strengthening exercises, he started bringing the kick drum.
Chuy has speed and timing. The pace of the set would challenge any normal drummer, but Chuy never misses a beat. Getting to the drum riser takes more effort for Chuy than for most other drummers – he has an assistant that helps him with getting the wheelchair on to the drum riser.
Rockabilly has its own legacy going back to 1950s and is a combination of “rock” from “rock ‘n’ roll” and “hillbilly”. Country music back in the 1940s and 1950s was called hillbilly music. The genre also takes its influences from western swing, boogie woogie and rhythm and blues.
Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, is also mentioned as influential in the development of Rockabilly as is Elvis Presley, who recorded “That’s All Right Mama” in 1954. It’s credited with being one of the early Rockabilly songs.
The guitarists from those eras played straight into the amps, sometimes with just reverb turned up. Today many of the Rockabilly guitarists use a digital delay, a volume boost for solos and a tremolo. Any distortion is done through the amp, not through a pedal.
Playing a hollow body Gretsch, Patrick used only two pedals. For most of the set it sounded like it was being played straight through the amp. Patrick’s leads were crisp and played with the styles that have influence the band.
Together the Deadbeat Daddies have a sound and style that is completely their own in the Rockabilly genre.
To track down the DeadBeat Daddies at one of their shows:
December 7, 2013, GATE OPENS at 6:00AM
MOONEYES XMAS PARTY Show & Drag 2013
IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY – 500 SPEEDWAY DR, IRWINDALE, CA 91706
December 7, 2013:
The Hood, 73850 Highway 111, Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 636-5220
Monthly Rockabilly Show, Doors open at 8
Booking Information:
Phil Maag: 760-333-0010
The Deadbeat Daddies, PO Box 3211, Cathedral City, CA, 92235
http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-DEADBEAT-DADDIES/120840411206
https://myspace.com/deadbeatdaddies
