03/09
Slick Vic
Dead Boy Productions Interview with Levi Dexter
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Alright Levi, introduce yourself to our readers.
I am Levi Dexter.
What has Levi Dexter been doing lately?
I have been playing live shows in America, England, Germany, Finland and Japan. When I am at home I am photographer for super-pin-up model Bernie Dexter (my wife for 10 years).
Most of us that follow your career remember that Magical Night @ the Merv Griffin Show W/ the Rockats performing "Note From The South" in 1979 tell us about that night?
It all happened SO fast! Levi & the Rockats were playing a show in Santa Monica with the Go-Go's and Merv sent a scout to come check us out. After we played a guy came back stage and asked if we'd like to be on the Merv Griffin T.V. show and of course we said yes. He said "Sound check is at 8am" and left his card. We were there at 7am. "O.K. Gimme' your tape" the stage manager said. "We don't have one" we said."O.K. Gimme' your record" he said. "We don't have one" we said "We wanna' play live"! They guy flipped out shouting "Live?? Oh God! Microphones! Heaven help us"! We set up quickly and ran through "All Through The Night" but felt pretty stupid doing all the panting and false endings so we left them out. We were too young to know they were timing the songs. Adding two false endings during the taping really messed up their timing.
After the rehearsal Merv called me over to a grand piano that he was playing tinkering lounge music on. "I started many an English career" he said, "Hermans Hermits .. I had them on first .. Dave Clark 5 .. I had then on first too" he rambled on. Then he asked me "What do you think of the set? Is there anything else you'd like"? "It's a bit disco with all the flashing lights" I said and then asked "Can we hang our flag at the back"? "Hang the kid’s flag" he yelled at the stage manager without even asking what kind of flag. Needless to say.. Playing rockabilly music live.. let alone singing "A Note From The South" with a confederate flag hanging at the back of the stage on national T.V. on an Easter Friday caused Merv quite a bit of flack. Merv showed old time good faith and trust in his gut feelings. He sent his scouts out to find talent and then he gave them a chance on T.V. T.V. shows don't even have scouts out nowadays checking bands at clubs or shows.
I could see in that performance that I saw on YouTube you had some very happy feet.
Yeah! I live for bopping! I have a little jive with Bernie once in a while too! When I'm on stage and start feeling it .. I gotta' bop!
Thirty years later do you still have the moves that drive the kittens crazy?
I have more moves and energy now than I did then. I'm in much better physical shape now. My moves are enough to make Bernie purr and meow. That's enough kitten for me!
You were part of the 80's rockabilly revival scene w/the Stray Cats, the Polecats, the Blue Cats and the Blasters. What was your experience in that era any fun or bad moments you remember?
It was like a comedy ALL the time! There are so many moments I couldn't tell. Levi & the Rockats were sitting around the hotel in Hollywood back in 1979 and Joan Jett was there and she said "I'm thinking of experimenting with anal sex"! Everybody's hand went up in the air in the hopes of getting picked. "O.K. Smutty .. Let's go" she said leading Smutty Smith (my bass player) into a bedroom and shutting the door. Only minutes later Smutty came out and I asked him why he was back again so quickly. He said "I thought I was the one who was going to be doing it .. When I saw that big rubber thing I was outta' there"!
Do you miss England?
Yes. VERY much! I was just there for Hemsby #40 this summer and it was so wonderful to see some of the countryside, London and Essex where my Mother lives. It's such a shame that it's so expensive there. It took 2 dollars to get 1 pound and it was worth about 60 cents! I love the enthusiasm and vivaciousness of the English people. It's so easy to have a good time there. I'll be there in July to play the Americana Festival. Can't wait!
What’s the origins of Levi Dexter Where did it all begin?
Leee Black Childers was living in London managing Johnny Thunders Heartbreakers. They had just released the L.A.M.F. album. Leee saw me jam with Shakin' Stevens band one night and just walked up and said "Let's get you a band"! We formed the all English version of Levi & the Rockats with my friends and cool people we met in clubs. Our first show was November 10th 1977 opening for Steel Pulse at the Royal College of Art end of term party (Johnny Thunders jammed a Chuck Berry medley on the encore) The rest is history.
How long have you been a hepkat?
I don't remember not being rockin' though I didn't have cool hair 'till I was 15 and moved to Essex and became a Teddyboy. I was a big Elvis fan as a kid and have local newspaper clipping of me as far back as 1973 when I used to run a local Elvis fan club. I still feel like the same kid today. Rockabilly & rock 'n' roll still thrills me the same and just as much. Rockabilly has been my lifestyle, job, hobby and what I do for fun and I wouldn't change a thing.
I notice you’re married. The reason I ask is because there’s a lot of disappointed kittens out there. How long have you been married and have you started a family?
Sorry kittens! Me and Bernie Dexter have been hitched for a decade now and have no plans to unhitch. We can't leave each other alone! We consider ourselves a family of two but hope to make it three in the next year or three.
What other things do you do besides music?
I'm working on DVD production as I do that too. For fun, I go thrift store shopping with Bernie. Go surfing (long board only) once in a blue moon. Play tennis (badly) with Bernie. We are lucky to have a studio where we live. The most fun is shooting photos and video of Bernie and when we're done we're home already!
Does Rockabilly pay the bills?
Our rockabilly lifestyle pays for the wonderful place we live in in San Diego and yes pays the bills and we get to fly all over the place, but Bernie has her own online store and ever her own line of clothes, lingerie and shoes so there is an awful amount of working long hours,but we get to do most of the work from home and yes rockabilly music is playing.
Any hobbies, cars, antiques, etc.?
I live to make music or photos or video. Everything in my life is vintage or cool and I still buy more props every week for photos. I'd like a Caddy one day, but I'm not the type to go buy a magazine to look at them. I do collect switchblade knives.
Levi you remind me of another artist I had the pleasure of interviewing, one of your fellow countrymen from Southampton by the name of Matt Hole from the Texan rockabilly band called Matt Hole and the Hot Rod Gang. He told me that living there was very difficult that he decided to leave England and try to make it work in the U.S. Is that what happened to you?
When we left England in 1978 and headed for the U.S. it was unheard of! We knew there was "no future" playing for punk rockers and not much adventure either. We didn't know if we could make a living playing rockabilly but we were happy to be in America trying. I met (and jammed with) Matt Hole a few years ago in Hollywood and I still play the "Rockabilly Express" CD. He's a close friend of Joe Walters from Champagne Velvet. Matt Hole is a really nice guy and the band is fun to go see and hear.
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What do you think of Psychobilly and Rockabilly?
If something survives underground long enough it mutates. First the original 50's rockabilly the primitive basics for all rock 'n' roll. Then in the 70's bands begin to play their own new rockabilly songs (neo-rockabilly) and increase the volume. Then in the 80's came the Meteors with their style much like the Cramps, but with more upbeat rockabilly rhythms and upright bass. Last year I played the Calella 3 day Psychobilly Festival in Spain with the Caravans. It was brilliant! There was also Frenzy (huge band from the 80's) and Mad Sin and the Meteors. There were thousands there going crazy! Psychobilly is huge in Europe. The psycho scene is great fun, but you've got to have an open mind and some ear plugs!
So, there you have it, the three ways to go. Pure and vintage, modern and produced, or loud monster/horror themed. They are all rock 'n' roll blues based and easy to play. Three chords and you're on your way! There is great and shit in all these styles. It's great hear the best of them all and to hear even some bad ones sometimes. Rockabilly is the ultimate alternative to the alternative.
What huge acts have you had the pleasure of sharing the stage with?
Wow! Little Richard, The Clash, Johnny Thunders with 2 of the Sex Pistols, Jerry Lee Lewis, Boz Boorer, Link Wray, Ike Turner, Slim Gaillard, Steel Pulse, Adam & the Ants, The Cramps, The Blasters, Hardrock Gunter, the Crickets, and The Meteors are some that come to mind.I could go on and on. There are 30 years of gigs to look back on.
What are your influences?
Anything! I listen to anything that is music. My choice is anything (but mostly non hits Rockabilly, Rock 'n' Roll, Rockin' Blues and Doo-Wop) from 1952 - 1959. After that anything goes. When I shoot photo's I like the music of Danny Elfman if I'm not in a rockabilly mood. I listen to music from the early 20's to what's going on today, but I live for my Rockabilly music. I am influenced by everything I have listened to and seen with an open mind and sometimes I am influenced by things I have seen and heard with a closed mind.
What was it like being a Teddyboy in England back in those days?
Great fun once I was accepted in. It was the greatest camaraderie ever, living every moment for rock 'n' roll or mischief. Of course the violence went along with the territory. It's easy to spot the long jacket and greasy hair. In the 70's the punk/Ted wars were bad for a while too but there was just as much violence with the Teddyboy circles as guys fought over their girlfriends, youngsters who were acting too flash, pay-back of some kind etc. etc. Just like any other gang. If you saw a Teddyboy getting beat up by a gang of smoothies or skinheads you just jumped in without asking questions. Even if you didn't know the guy! You just hoped he would do the same when you were getting jumped. It was like stepping into another dimension when everything was real and rockin' and everything on the outside was square and fake. We did have rules of honor. If you were gonna' fight another Teddyboy you walked up to them and said "I'll see you outside"! Then you and the other person would have to go outside like it was a duel with their mates standing around. No guns, No knives, no kicking a guy when he was down, but if it was not a Ted anything went!
Compare the Rockabilly Scene now and back then?
There was no internet. There were no CD's yet. It was harder to discover killer rockabilly tracks unless you went to one of the small stores that had bootleg vinyl. If it wasn't for Dan Coffey who discovered and hunted down all those tracks from the 50's rockabilly in all it's forms wouldn't be where it is today. It's not such a thrill to go to a vendor or store that has EVERYTHING you've ever heard of and ten times more that you haven't heard of. We felt we were discovering this rare music to be preserved for future generations and I guess we were in a way. We were handed up lost songs from the 50's one at a time like gems. Today you must go through an ocean of discs or listen for the DJ to play ones you like. The music is the same but the hunt is different because the world is available on a screen and contact is instant, the rockabilly scene is growing worldwide. I'm looking forward to a day were Rockabilly music is getting the same respect and airtime as country, blues and jazz. It the last great American music form to be acknowledged by its own people. I'd like to give away the very first award for a Rockabilly song. On a country award show, a blues award show or eventually a Rockabilly awards show. We can dream!
What artist would you like to share a bar or two?
I would jam with anyone if it's gonna' be rockin' and fun. I've played with my very favorite players so I don't crave other players much. The BlueCats, The Shakin' Pyramids, The Comets, The Caravans and WFace (from Japan)
I don’t know if this is a touchy question, but what caused the demise of Levi Dexter & the Rockats. Do you still talk to Smutty?
Like I said before, Levi & the Rockats went as far as we could with our careers and music ability. It was the right band at the wrong time and when it became the right time the Stray Cats became the right band. They advanced on every level as Levi & the Rockats declined. The guys in the Rockats wanted to blame Leee for us not getting signed. They also wanted to move to New York and base themselves there. I wanted to stay with Leee who had formed the band, given us shelter and food and transport and support as a manager for years that had in turn led to a life in America and a career as a rockabilly performer. Yes, I still see Smutty once in a while. We did the Levi & the Rockats reunion in Green Bay but I also see him when I'm in the U.K. He would let me stay at his house in London. Smut is the closest thing I have to a brother. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him and visa versa.
Why is it so hard to find a Levi Dexter CD with Note from the South on it? I have the CD Levi Dexter rockabilly idol which is a very difficult CD to find I cherish that CD every time I play it because I was lucky to find it.
Just like the 1950's a lot of good rockabilly music is available but mostly on small labels. The "Rockabilly Idol" CD was on a tiny label and was limited to only the first pressing of 1000 copies. I guess that's why it's considered a collector’s item and goes for around $100 for a used copy on Amazon. It's a loaded CD with 32 tracks that cover 1978 to 2005.
Is “Live From the Louisiana Hayride” the only album from Levi Dexter and the Rockats?
Yes there are a few tracks on the "American Neo-Rockabillies" compilation LP on the Rockhouse label. We never made a real studio album because we couldn't get a record company to commit and sign us, pay us and promote us. Even the singles were on the Kool Kat record label. I designed the cat face on the label. It was a home made label we made only to release our own records on.
Are you a big soccer fan? What’s your favorite English premier league team?
I grew up in Chelsea in England as a kid and lived very close to the Chelsea stadium, but no I have no interest in sports. Watching or playing. I like solitary sports like fishing, archery, skating etc. not a game where I have the ball and everyone wants to get the ball from me! Ha ha!
Do you think yourself and other artist who were doing rockabilly at that time don’t get enough credit due to the Stray Cats rising in the 80s with their brand of rockabilly?
Well, time moves faster than we can see. In 1980, the Stray Cats were hugely hyped up in the press. There were the record company guys pumping up the music press and even the daily papers in England. Press agents were in overdrive. The Stray Cats hit the covers of all the big papers right when Levi Dexter & the Rip-Chords were arriving in England. We had just had our debut in Berlin at the Metropol with 5000 people and when we arrived in London EVERYBODY was asking about the Stray Cats. This was a pivotal moment for the scene. The public were primed and ready for a big movement around the same size and significance as punk rock had been only 3 years before. Instead the Stray Cats wanted to be the whole scene as if there were no others. They were not allowing anything rockabilly on their tours and even banned upright basses for non-rockabilly bands. They didn't support the scene or mention other rockabilly bands or the scene in interviews. They had convinced the people around them and even themselves that it was as if there were no other neo-rockabilly bands or a prior scene to their arrival. They got it all and the door slammed shut for everyone else. It was like being told that they were the Beatles but there was nothing else worth mentioning from the Mersey Beat scene in the mid 60's. This one move made it a big Stray Cats party, but actually made it worse for the whole scene. I once told Slim Jim "The Stray Cats are like Louis Armstrong was to Jazz. A name bigger than the music style itself". Even in the mid 80's I was trying to get albums released and was being told "We don't want to compete against the Stay Cats after their label has pumped eight million pound on them"! This proved to me that even record company executives had been suckered into this narrow way of thinking. I knew what their deal REALLY was and it was nowhere near that number. The Polecats were also produced by Dave Edmonds and their first album was awesome, but they could only get a small deal in the small Mercury label with little support. In fact there was a term people in the business gave to people on that label. We called it "Mercury poisoning".
In answer to the question I'd say yes. Nearly all rockabilly bands both originals from the 50's and new rockabilly bands on the scene didn't get the deserved credit or attention. On the other hand millions of smoothies now knew the word Rockabilly and had heard of the Stray Cats. Ha ha!
Has My Space help your fan base?
Yes MySpace is where I got to post news, meet new fans, answer questions and have new people discover my music (or photos). As I do just about all the photographs on the BERNIE DEXTER MySpace page and her website a lot of new people discover my music when they go to look at Bernie's page or website that would never have gone to my MySpace page. Fans chat and the next thing you know there are more fans that have discovered rockabilly music. I love it!
Any new material that your working on like a new album ,new songs, etc.?
I've always got new songs ready to go, but it's almost impossible to get Hot Rod Lincoln to take time off to figure them out. They just got back from the final Stray Cats tour (I guess it's o.k. to include others on the way out). Buzz backs up Lee Rocker in his band too! I get a few months 'till Lee goes out on the road again. Just like old times there is zero interest from any label on any level to invest in recording a new album. If I want to do it I must pay all the expenses including the players and only then will a label pick it up for cheap. Even Raucous Records in the U.K. will release my previous releases, but would not be interested in the cost of a new recording. I will get into the studio with H.R.L. but it will take some time and money to do it right.
What’s your signature song?
"The Other Side Of Midnight" I've recorded a version of it on just about every album.
Do you have any ink?
Nope! None! I didn't see the need as Smutty was covered in tattoos. I don't dislike it. It's just not part of my image.
What does the future hold for Levi Dexter?
I'm focused on (my wife) Bernie Dexter's career as a pin-up model. I like it because we can work independently and have control over the images from beginning to end. We also own them all so we do a lot of business taking pictures for vintage style clothing companies in the U.S. and Europe. She now models for large companies like ARS Vivendi in Germany and Bettie Page Clothing Co. out of Las Vegas. She does all the other rockabilly labels too. She also has her own line of lingerie, full fashioned stockings, high heel shoes and vintage inspired clothing. There's a lot to photograph. I will go and perform at weekenders around the world as well as shows around California. I'll record when I can. The rest of the time I'll be at other rockabilly shows with Bernie.
Do people recognize you and Bernie when you’re out on the town on a average day running errands?
Not so much with me unless I'm in Japan or something, but Bernie get approached ALL THE TIME! But she is so sweet and considerate she always gives them their moment.
How would you and your contributions to rockabilly like to be remembered?
From the records, CD's, DVD's, photographs and from word of mouth. I want to be immortal.
Is there anything else you would like to say to all those hepkats who are reading this
interview?
I'd say, do not doubt the work that has been done or the groundwork that has been laid by others. The best days, The Golden Age of Rockabilly is still ahead of us. The next generation is already here. They will have easier access to rockabilly music and style than we did. New bands are coming along and the rest of us will keep on rockin'. We carry the flag but must pass it on at some time. Prepare for the best times ahead and future where rockabilly music is given the respect and attention it deserves. Let the drum machine become a thing of the past and let's get down to some good ole' rock 'n' roll and rockabilly music.
Thanks A Million for your time with us Levi
My pleasure Vic. Thank you for supporting rockabilly music and the rockabilly scene. Sincere thanks also to all my fans who have been so supportive over the past 30 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVQDK_dw97k