FEATURE
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Photo illustration by Ryan McGeeney
Rockabilly enthusiasts like Sarah Lockhart, Kansas City resident, say they like the lifestyle because of its values: honesty, hard work and friendship.
It wasn't long before the two were married, and you guessed it—they even had a rockabilly wedding. Despite the nontraditional nature of the wedding, the universal appeal of the music ensured that all their guests had a blast. Since then, Rikki has even officiated a few other rockabilly weddings, while The Rumblejetts played the receptions.
show at the Jazzhaus that they discovered they had far more in common.
The punk rock retirement plan
"You can only live that lifestyle for so long before you need to slow down a little." Walker says of her earlier years in punk rock. "It's fun to get dressed up and go out for the night. All the girls have their dresses and their stockings and their hair done. All the guys have their suits and ties. Going out for cocktails like that is just fun."
Walker found rockabilly by way of punk rock, as many kids do today, citing the longstanding joke that rockabilly is "the punk rock retirement plan."
For many, with maturity also comes the opportunity to explore the rockabilly culture further, to get immersed in the lifestyle and trappings—especially the more expensive items like classic cars.
Kansas City's custom car club, Los Punk Rods, hosts an annual car show and concert called Greaserama, every Labor Day weekend. The show attracts young and old alike, and was most recently held at the Boulevard Drive-In Theatre in Kansas City, Kan. The drive-in setting only further sets the mood for this event by putting movies like Marlon Brando's The Wild One back up on the silver screen.
The steady growth rate of the region's rockabilly community has even sparked a second car and rockabilly show. This one is called GearGrinder, and will take place at Knuckleheads Saloon in Kansas City, Mo., on April 17 and 18,2009.
In an age of $3 gasoline, the appeal of classic cars known more for their horsepower than their gas mileage seems a bit illogical to the uninitiated. Then you get behind the wheel of one, and it all makes sense.
From the curves and lines of their design to the pure muscle of their V8 engines, those cars are as much a work of art as they are a means of transportation. Driving and customizing such a car instantly shows something about who you are, far more than the homogeneous cars of today ever could.
It's no wonder, then, that hardcore rockabilly enthusiasts place so much value on their cars. More than ever, watching a classic car roll down the street evokes a powerful feeling of nostalgia for that era when cars were less complex under the hood.
That lack of complexity meant you could
maintain a car yourself, rather than having to take it to a mechanic. They weren't all computers and microchips, or engineered in a way that you had to remove 15 parts to get to the oil filter. That made bonding with a parent or grandparent under the hood of a classic car possible. This is a memory that many rockabilly kids cherish and hope to repeat someday with their own children.
The pin-up girl
While the 1940s saw major changes in the gender roles of women when the "Rosies" went to work in factories to support the war effort, it was the Hollywood starlets and pin-up girls that would take empowerment and sexual redefinition to the next level in the 1950s.
Blonde bombshells like Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Mae West planted the idea that women could be more than the domestic roles that had previously defined them. Then-pin-up girls like Bettie Page, and burlesque stars like Lili St. Cyr took such rebellion to the extreme.
Today, the pin-up girl is making a comeback.
Just as pin-ups and burlesque shows were a rebellion against the 50s social construct of the obedient housewife, the pendulum is now swinging back in rebellion against the way "sexy" has been reduced to "slutty"—the empowered, sexy woman reduced to a powerless sex object in everything from pornography to fashion.
There's a growing desire to once again leave a little something to the imagination while still being sexy and fun, and a return to the pin-up makes that possible.
McColey says she appreciates the empowering nature of pin-ups, and their ability to take the stereotypical roles and defy them or redefine them.
"Things are so out of control, it's a way to kind of tame it down a little again." McColey says. "You can be sexy or you can be powerful, but you don't have to give everyone everything. You can hold on to your dignity."
Racheal Major, Lawrence freshman at Johnson County Community College, is studying to become a photographer, and plans to specialize in pin-up inspired portraiture. She says pin-up photography appeals to her because it encompasses the rockabilly lifestyle with its use of the era's clothing, cars and charisma. Whether it's the Alberto Vargas pin-ups of the '40s, or the Suicide Girls on the Internet today, Major says pin-ups really speak to her.
"I love that it shows a different side of a woman. I love that a pin-up girl doesn't have to be a size 2. I love that it gives women a way to express their sexuality tastefully. You can be goofy or classy or sensual. It's how women really are" Major says.
Girls who want to get that glamorous pin-up look-or guys considering their first
pompadour hairstyle have several options to choose from. In Lawrence, the best-known rockabilly stylist is Galadriel McAdams at Headmasters. Heather Kneaream at Salon Hawk in the KU Memorial Unions also specializes in the genre. And in Shawnee, Kan., an entire hair salon specializing in the rockabilly look called ChopTops is now catering to greasers and pin-up girls.
The genuine article
Known only as "Outlaw Jake," this Lawrence musician and bartender has taken the rockabilly lifestyle to such a degree that it completely defines him.
With his greased back hair and his pin-up girl tattoos, at first glance, Jake looks every bit the greaser stereotype. When he picks up his guitar and tears into a Johnny Cash tune or one of his own compositions, his passion for the music lets you know that he's the
genuine article.
"It's a commitment," says Jake of his highly visible tattoos, including the knuckle-tats that let you know just who you're talking to. "I have to bartend or play music. I can't be a computer programmer or a bank teller now. This is who I am."
The recent popularity of clothing lines like Ed Hardy shows the growth of rockabilly chic. Dominated by traditional tattoo and rockabilly-inspired art, these shirts give anyone the ability to "wear" the tattoos, without the permanence or pain.
To guys like Jake, rockabilly is more than just skin deep, so he finds the commercialization of his chosen lifestyle a little annoying.
Jake retorts with a smirk. "Everyone follows trends. The difference is that I'm following a trend that never goes out of style."
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December 4,2008