Bettie Page in 3-D…

…and the 2-D inspiration…

First AVATAR, then ALICE IN WONDERLAND… and now BETTIE PAGE… everyone’s going 3-D! Best of all, to see Bettie in 3-D, you don’t have to shell out for a movie ticket, wear smudgy glasses or struggle to find a seat.  Popcorn is also optional.  That’s because Bettie’s conversion to 3-D can be found coming soon at your local comic book shop in August of 2010. Conventioneers at the Toy Fair got a sneak preview of the new 3-D Bettie Page… in the form of a statue, sculpted by fan-favorite Kent Melton, inspired by an iconic pin-up by the late, great Dave Stevens and produced by DARK HORSE. For the uninitiated, Dave Stevens was a highly celebrated comic book and pin-up artist who became obsessed with drawing Bettie Page, a woman who he felt represented the paragon of bewitching feminine beauty.  He even held “Bettie Parties” in the lunchroom at Hanna Barbera early in his career, screening any “loops” of Bettie he could find.  When he was given the opportunity to create his own comic character, to star in a back-up feature of Mike Grell’s STARSLAYER, published by FIRST COMICS in 1982, he created a melange of his personal obsessions… ROCKETEER.  The pulp-infused adventure also featured, as the female lead, a “character” named Bettie.  Bettie’s “appearance” in the comic introduced a younger generation to the queen of pin-ups and helped lead to Bettie’s real-life re-emergence.  More fascinating, still, when Dave learned Bettie was alive and well… and in his Southern California backyard, he not only led the charge to ensure that all Bettie Page merchandise was authorized and financially benefited Bettie, he also helped her personally, taking her to appointments, the grocery store and the like.  For more on Dave Stevens, read our tribute to him on the occasion of his passing, here. Now, one of those beautifully rendered images is being brought to life in the form of a LIMITED EDITION STATUE OF BETTIE PAGE, AS ENVISIONED BY DAVE STEVENS by the trusted team at DARK HORSE, who have already offered over 150 other officially licensed, high-quality Bettie Page products and were one of the original publishers of Dave Stevens ROCKETEER comic.  Sadly, neither Bettie Page or Dave Stevens are here to participate, but those who knew both are doing their best to uphold their desire for quality. “Dave was a tough critic, especially when it came to his own work. We knew we had to satisfy him, so we were meticulous in every detail. I think we might have succeeded,”  said friend-of-the-blog, David Scroggy, DARK HORSE’s vice president of product development.  He went on to explain that DARK HORSE approached Kent Melton not only because of his skill, but also because he was a close friend and previous collaborator of Dave Stevens.  “We have enormous respect for both Dave and Bettie, and we felt an obligation to make this piece a home run.” Melton studied all of Dave’s key portrayals of Bettie to pick his favorite and ensure an overall fidelity to Dave Stevens’ interpretation of Bettie.  Kent Melton observed, “Dave and I talked frequently about how female anatomy should work in sculpture. When I started to sculpt, it felt almost as if Dave were there guiding me. The piece came together quickly, almost as if we’d rehearsed it over the years.” The thirteen-inch “Bettie Page by way of Dave Stevens” statue (including the base) will come in “deluxe packaging” and include a “certificate of authenticity” in the form of a large print of Dave Stevens pin-up artwork that inspired Melton’s sculpture.  DARK HORSE is still in the process of determining how many statues will be made.  Fans can start saving now, so they can pay the $150 for one of these limited edition beauties when they hit comic book store shelves this August.

#rockabilly

JASON AND THE PUNKNECKS ride through Heaven and Hell with new release, DRINKIN DRUGGIN JESUS.

A good love story uplifts the spirit… and it’s the sonic love story between the married couple Jason and Polly Punkneck that elevates these rough n’ ready acoustic tunes. The heavily tat’d neo-Johnny-and-June meld punk and rural folk blues. Like dancers, Johnny, “leads” the listener through the songs, his likable abrasive voice powering through the sloganeering choruses, while Polly often playfully dances around him… sometimes harmonizing, sometimes working as a “call-and-response”, sometimes bantering with him. The interplay adds to the immediacy and the authenticity of the tracks, making you feel like you are in the same room, or barreling down the same highway with a wild couple who are in love and ready to raise a little hell together.

The warmth and “live feel” of the recordings add to the effect, as do the direct and personal lyrics… some of which aren’t PC, but seem to reflect a unique point of view and a unique life experience.

Jason also seems to speak to an inherent tension within the whole punkabilly/redneck worldview…. it’s a kind of guy who wants to rebel and ramble, but resists moving beyond the roots of his raising. It leads to conflicted feelings about immigration in the story-song, “Mi Tornillo” and echoes throughout the album’s numerous tracks that address religion, specifically “I’m So High” and “Heaven and Hell”. He’s an outlaw, a rugged individualist, but believes that, as much as he defends his right to do things his way (as he does on the rebel anthems “Birthright” and “My Life”) he seems to feel that he may still have to answer to a disapproving higher power. Like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, who’s spirits haunt Jason’s persona, Jason Punkneck has lots of charm, lots of blood-and-fist-pumping choruses, but is still struggling to figure out what it means to be an American outlaw, lost on the road between Hollyweird and Music City, USA.

Pop in the CD and hitchhike along with Jason, Polly and the rest Punknecks through their America. Whether they arrive in Heaven or Hell is anybody’s guess, but it’s a cool ride.

www.myspace.com/jasonandthepunknecks

#rockabilly

It’s a tough economy – how ’bout some free and legal music that will rattle you into the stratosphere?

Chunklet Magazine has posted an in-depth interview with the reformed and re-energized Man or Astroman?

Better yet, they’ve posted ten “John Peel” tracks from the 90′s for you to hear and download.

For the uninitiated, Man or Astroman? blends cheeky grade-z sci-fi theatrics (such as their trade-mark flaming helmet) with hopped-up, high-octane surf instrumentals in a totally winning combination.  As great as they are on vinyl, they are even better live.

#rockabilly

BBC2 Radio‘s excellent 6-part audio documentary, “The Elvis Trail” stops at Graceland for Episode 4 — my favorite episode so far. Maddeningly, the streaming audio expires after a few days, so listen NOW. The episode is a well-spent 30 minutes for casual Elvis fans, covering his transition from Sun Records to RCA, the recording of “Moody Blue”, the Memphis Mafia (and the Mafia defectors, Red and Sonny West), Larry Geller, The Colonel Tom Parker, Dr. Nick and the story about Elvis and his family being exhumed and re-buried at Graceland.

#rockabilly

I read about 500 different blogs and newsfeeds and post whatever I find interesting in the whole Retro Kustom Honkytonk universe on Twitter and my Google Reader/Share feed.

I’ve been light on blog posts – so sue me! Technical difficulties, blah blah. But the reposts from other blogs have been pretty fast and furious. I invite you to click the Twitter symbol up above and follow me for just that reason!

Here are some of the tidbits from across the net I’ve shared this week:

Svengali – Tim Armstrong of Rancid/Op. Ivy fame and the big kahuna at psychobilly-friendly Hellcat Records is starting a 70′s-retro-vibe detective series as webisodes. Noted Bettie Page fan and Go-Go/solo artist Jane Weidlin is also co-starring. Catch a preview now and episodes starting Feb. 1st at www.svengaliworld.com. (via PunkNews)

Haiti Tax Deduction – Just wanted to let everyone know that if you used my handy-dandy Red Cross link to donate to Hati relief, you should be able to deduct that THIS April 15th instead of NEXT April 15th, thanks to a special act of Congress. A good article in the Chicatgo Tribune has details.

Exene Cervenka of X and The Knitters fame is touring behind her new country/folk album,Somewhere Gone, released on Bloodshot Records. Her tour support has been the wild and wooly Dex Romweber, of Flat Duo Jets fame, now touring with his sister, herself a music vet, as The Dex Romweber Duo. Fuck Simon Cowell. America, these are your REAL American Idols.

Bela Fleck/Throw Down Your Heart Unreleased Tracks – In 2005, Bela Fleck released a special project in which the virtuoso banjo picker toured Africa, to go to the root of the stringed instrument. His collaborations with African musicians in Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and other places offered visions of hope and despair, a sense of the triumph of human will in the face of heartbreaking tragedy (all hinted at in the title of the project). I guess there was a documentary, as well. Now, Fleck is self-releasing additional tracks from the project on his own website, according to the Bluegrass Blog. You can buy the fourteen new tracks for $10, directly from Bela Fleck at the following website: Throw Down Your Heart – Unreleased Tracks.

Mark Mori and Bettie Page Babes On the Red Carpet! I don’t know if he’s looking to promote his sure-to-be-fabulous upcoming authorized documentary about everyone’s favorite pin-up, BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL, or if he’s just trying to make all the boys jealous.  In any event, here’s director Mark Mori, flanked by two “Bettie Babes”, Reina Terror and Vintage Vandalizm:

“Bettie Page Reveals All” Director Mark Mori, Reina Terror and Vintage Vandalism attend the Brand In Entertainment Integration Auction at Christie’s, on January 20, 2010 in New York City.

Reina Terror, a popular New York based burlesque performer, is wearing a Bettie Page inspired leopard print bathing suit, and Vintage Vandalism, a New York based model and designer, is wearing a Bettie Page inspired lingerie ensemble.

“The Clog”, a blog I really enjoy, focused on Bettie right before Christmas.  Check it out.

Bluegrass Books Online is offering “teaser” lessons and MP3 backing tracks for guitar and mandolin.

“Free tracks” offers PDFs of “Old Joe Clark” and “Temperance Reel” in TAB, as well as fast, slow, and “jam” versions of the song as MP3s to help you along.

Here are the links to free lessons from Bluegrass Books Online’s “free lessons” page:

Big Sandy River

Deck the Halls

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Blackberry Blossom

The Gold Rush

Dixie Hoedown

Interstate Rag and Lonesome Fiddle Blues

It’s 2 am… do you know where your bluegrass is?

Log on to the site World Wide Bluegrass and you’ll always find some mandolin and fiddle music waiting for you.

And if that doesn’t sate, PopMatters has compiled their “Best Bluegrass Albums of 2009″ with loads of audio samples.

#rockabilly BBC2 Radio is still airing their audio documentaries about Elvis.

Currently, The Elvis Trail: Episode 2, focusing on Tupelo,  is airing.

Friday, the next episode beings airing for a few days.  The Elvis Trail: Episode 3 moves to Memphis.

The Inventor of Rock and Roll: The Alan Freed Story is no longer airing, but the page has lots of interesting info about this influential DJ (in a time when being a DJ mattered).

If anybody knows if previous audio documentaries are available, email me, as this whole “we stream for 5 days and then kill thing link” thing is bullshit.