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With photographs by Christopher J. Worden
On The Crest
Velvet Blue Music psychobilly sensations The Calicoes attempt to redefine the term "praise band."
By David Reynolds
August in Texas can be brutal. As an oppressive, unrelenting sun beats down on a parched, dry land continuously baked over the course of what has been an unusually rain-free summer, I wipe the sweat from my forehead for what seems like the thousandth time that day – and it isn’t even noon yet. I’m sitting on some farm outside Kaufman, Texas, a small town about an hour southeast of Dallas and the home of the inaugural Texas version of TOM Fest. This is a place where merely walking a few feet can kick up a dust storm of enormous proportions. Everything in this sweltering heat is soon covered in an ever-growing layer of Texas grit.
In the distance I spy a moving cloud of dirt that signals an approaching vehicle. Soon I am able to distinguish the vehicle as an immaculately restored - or preserved - Chevrolet Bel Air that looks to be circa 1956. As the vehicle comes to a stop near the tent where I sit repeating my now-habitual ritual of mopping my forehead with my shirt sleeve, out steps an individual obviously distinguished from the rest of this crowd of festival attendees. Most people here are clad in as little clothing as decency will allow. This lanky, mysterious character’s hair is greased and combed straight back on his forehead. He is wearing a white tank-top style shirt. His dark blue jeans sport cuffs rolled up a good three to four inches. His arms display a number of tattoos. His belt is heavily studded, and a long chain dangles from his wallet to his belt. He is wearing heavy black eyeliner. He looks every bit the part of a greaser juvenile delinquent from a ‘50’s movie. He look’s like he’s looking for a ‘rumble.’ I instantly think, "That must be one of The Calicoes."
When I first talked to Velvet Blue Music label chief Jeff Cloud about interviewing The Calicoes, I asked how I would recognize the band members. "You’ll know them when you see them," was Cloud’s response. The Texan I first saw at TOM Fest was The Calicoes’ 18-year-old guitar wizard, singer, and primary songwriter Erich Jackson.
The Calicoes are the latest in a growing string of inventive young bands on Velvet Blue Music who are attempting to stretch the boundaries of music made by Christians. The Calicoes play a brand of rock and roll that owes a large debt to the genre’s very roots in such artists as Elvis, early Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton. The lineage takes a brief detour through late ‘70’s punk, but it continues to Bryan Setzer and The Stray Cats, Flat Duo Jets, and Reverend Horton Heat. One thing that should be made perfectly clear: The Calicoes aren’t a gimmick – this is the way they live.
The nucleus of what was to become The Calicoes developed a couple of years ago at a church camp where Josh Yeats, who was working as a youth intern, first met Jackson. "We started out playing Weezer and Starflyer type stuff - some mellow stuff - and it slowly melded into rockabilly, somehow," explains Jackson of the band’s beginnings. Yeats clarifies, "Erich was all into Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I introduced him to Reverend Horton Heat, and the rest is history." "Yeah!" exclaims Jackson at the mention of "The Rev". Among other influences, Jackson and Yeats list Man or Astroman?, Bryan Setzer, and Southern Culture on the Skids as particular favorites.
Both Jackson and Yeats come from musical backgrounds. Jackson’s roots in music can be found in the music of his grandparents. "Both of my grandparents played in western swing bands - Bob Wills, that type of stuff - ever since they were young. I kind of adapted from that I guess." Yeats, the bass player for The Calicoes, first learned guitar from his father. "My dad taught me to play guitar when I was, like, 12. It was 12-string, acoustic guitar. I later found I was more comfortable on bass."
Yeats and Jackson needed a drummer to fill out the band, but finding one that fit The Calicoes sound and style proved to be a more difficult task until Rodney DeMeglio came along. "I played in a different band for about two years," DeMeglio explains, "We had played the same scene as The Calicoes. I got axed from that band about the same time they [The Calicoes] were looking for a drummer, so it fell into place perfectly." DeMeglio has now been with the band for about five months, and has greatly improved the band’s sound. "Their first drummer just played basic backbeats," DeMeglio explains. (Yeats’ brother-in-law, Jason Weaver, filled the drummer role on the Rumble EP and at early shows.) "We have reworked the songs since those early days to reflect my drumming style more."
One notable aspect to attempting to interview The Calicoes: getting a serious answer out of these guys can be a daunting task. When asked about their musical influences, Jackson names Hootie and the Blowfish with a snicker. Yeats suggests Rancid as an influence, a move that causes both Jackson and DeMeglio to erupt in laughter. "Hey man, that dude can play bass like crazy!" exclaims Yeats. "Okay." was Jackson’s droll response. When asked if Jackson was the primary songwriter, the conversation went as follows:
Jackson: "The majority of it, yeah."
Yeats: "Come on Erich…"
Jackson: (laughs)
Yeats: "I’ve written a couple of hits..."
Jackson: "You wrote…one."
Yeats: "…the first two radio hits."
The Calicoes acknowledge Darryl Mitchell, bass player for both Upside Down Room and Pony Express as the impetus behind their signing to the Southern California indie label Velvet Blue Music. ("Uncle Darryl" as DeMeglio somewhat affectionately calls him, or "DARRYL MITCHELL OF UPSIDE DOWN ROOM," as the band members repeatedly refer to him, was present during the interview.) "I gave a demo tape to DARRYL MITCHELL OF UPSIDE DOWN ROOM, and he passed the tape along to Jeff [Cloud], who is his next door neighbor," Yeats explains. "He thought it was ‘fresh’" DeMeglio adds sarcastically, invoking an oft-used Cloud term (another common practice among The Calicoes). Cloud, who was standing nearby, interrupts the interview at this point and jokingly instructs Yeats to "make it sound more rock star, like I had to come to Texas to see you guys play live." Yeats adds his own embellishment as everyone guffaws: "Jeff rode a mule from California to Texas to see us play live, and then he signed us."
Like most of the bands on Velvet Blue Music, the members of The Calicoes have a great appreciation for Cloud and his support for the artists on the roster. "We would like to see Velvet Blue get big," Yeats says. "Yeah. Good label." Jackson adds. "We’re sticking with Jeff, whatever happens," Yeats adds emphatically.
In October, The Calicoes embarked on their first major tour as an opening act for Starflyer 59. The trio was accustomed to playing shows in the Dallas area in front of rather large crowds, and had played a few larger single shows as an opening act. There was some question as to how the band would adapt to playing smaller venues in front of smaller, and perhaps less enthusiastic crowds. "It’s a lot more fun than I expected, really," says Jackson about two weeks into the tour. "I thought I would get tired of it really quick, but, so far, it’s going a lot smoother and easier than I thought." "We’re getting a lot more comfortable on our instruments," Yeats interjects. "…and with each other," adds Jackson.
Watching the band play live, it is actually hard to believe The Calicoes are not a veteran band. Jackson is an amazing guitarist, especially when one considers his age. ("I’ve been playin’ guitar for five or six years," Jackson says matter-of-factly.) He displays a certain bravura and swagger on stage that belies his usual off-stage quiet demeanor. All of the members seem very comfortable and relaxed on stage – despite the lukewarm reception they have received at a few of the shows on the Starflyer 59 tour. At one of the shows I attended, Yeats encouraged a mostly sitting, lackadaisical crowd to stand and move closer to the stage. After a few awkward seconds of blank stares from the uncooperative crowd, Yeats quickly adds, "Or just sit there…that’s cool too."
When asked what fans should expect when The Calicoes perform, Jackson is quick to offer his analysis: "Elvis on fire." DeMeglio adds, "Crazy…insane." Yeats describes the shows as "total destruction." "We play wild and crazy. We try to personify the struggle against evil through our music." While the shows are made up primarily of original songs, an occasional cover, such as Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, is thrown in from time-to-time – done, of course, as only The Calicoes can do it.
The Calicoes are anxious to go back into the studio to record their full-length debut at the conclusion of the tour in early November. The addition of DeMeglio on drums has significantly changed the band’s sound - to such a degree that they feel the first EP no longer entirely accurately reflects the band’s style. Yeats is also excited about a change in his role on bass: "The new album is going to be mainly done with a standup bass. It’s going to be really wicked." Jackson quickly interjects: "…thanks to DARRYL MITCHELL OF UPSIDE DOWN ROOM, who is letting us borrow the bass," as more laughter ensues.
The band is also going to record a song for a split seven-inch record with Upside Down Room. "It’s going to be kind of like what Reverend Horton Heat and The Supersuckers did a while back," Yeats explains. "We are going to cover an Upside Down Room song, and Upside Down Room is going to cover one of ours."
The Calicoes represent the first real organized band in which Yeats and Jackson have participated. After all, the average age of the band members is only 21. (Yeats is 24 and DeMeglio 22.) "We’ve played in some praise bands for church and stuff," Yeats explains, "It was never really like your ‘traditional’ praise bands. It always had our touch." A psychobilly praise band? "Yeah," Jackson snickers. "We’d like to see our music become praise music someday," Yeats continues in an uncharacteristic serious mode. "Not necessarily that ‘Kum-ba-ya’ cheesy stuff, but something that gets people excited about Christ and what Christ can do in their lives – what Christ has done in our lives. That’s the only reason we’re playing – to spread the gospel in our own style."
"We’re just looking forward to seeing what God wants to do with the band. Just really to seek His will out, and to just do whatever He wants us to do. We aren’t going to be disappointed when things aren’t happening as fast as we want them to. We want to be content with whatever God gives us, and just use it to the best of our potential."
As if he has suddenly become aware of the serious tone the interview has taken, Yeats quickly changes directions: "Make sure you say our new record should be out early in 1999, and it will be good. If it’s not, you can come beat us up."
On a warm, breezy Sunday morning the crowd slowly makes its way into the church sanctuary. Just outside the doors they notice a vintage Chevy sitting in the parking lot. Conversations slow to a whisper and eventually fade completely as the people prepare for worship. Front and center in the sanctuary are three unassuming Texas greasers. One sits behind a drum kit, one holds a bass guitar, the third – the one with all the tattoos – holds a hollow-body guitar. The bass player leans into his microphone and calmly announces, "We’re The Calicoes from Dallas, Texas." He immediately begins to play a throbbing bass line. Next, the drummer kicks in to provide a solid, frantic back beat. The guitarist’s fingers begin to move like lightning over the strings. He begins to sing, "Well, I’m headed down that same old road again. Trying to find a life that’ll take me away from this sin…"
