Psychobilly? What the heck is that? A unique blend of rockabilly and punk, psychobilly has had a huge following for years in Europe, giving birth to bands like Nekromantix and The Meteors. Here in the United States, the band at the forefront of the movement is Southern California-based Tiger Army who are back in the United States after the Canadian leg of their tour, The Daily Cardinal caught up with lead singer Nick13 to talk about what it means to be psychobilly.
How do you feel about being labeled a psychobilly band? Have you ever felt restricted by being labeled?
We really are [comfortable with the label] because it's not a restrictive genre. There's a lot of freedom to explore different areas. If you want to do something that's more roots-oriented, you can. If you want to do something that's really aggressive, you can. There's so much that's been done in psychobilly in the last 20 years that I really don't feel too restricted at all.
How did you first get into the psychobilly scene?
For myself, it was something that I gradually got into in the early '90s. It was probably '94'that was the year I decided that this was the style of music that was for me. I think that it was just because it was a combination of a lot of different things I was really into, those being rock, rockabilly and '50s rock 'n' roll and just any music in general that had a darker feel to it.
Are there any particular authors or artists that you draw inspiration from?
Edgar Allen Poe, definitely, H.P Lovecraft, Robert Block and Yukio Mishima, who is definitely another favorite author of mine.
Other than The Damned, what are your musical influences?
Definitely The Meteors, who were the first true psychobilly band, The Quakes and The Misfits, which is kinda obvious. A lot of stuff really, a lot of old punk stuff, a lot of old '50s rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, old hillbilly honkey-tonk and bluegrass stuff.
You just released The Early Years EP. Any idea when your next album is coming out? Do you have any songs written for it yet?
We're hoping around next summer. After we finish the U.S. tour, we go to Germany for a little while, and when we get back in the end of November, we'll just be concentrating on writing and practicing for that. It's about half-written at this point.
Is there a particular sound the new album is going to have?
That's something I like to take shape on its own. If people liked the first two records, I think they'll be happy with it. It's a little bit of a progression, but it's definitely staying true to our past.
