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Could you introduce us the member
of the band ?
Robin Cady on upright bass
and Mike Geglia on electric
guitar
What did you grow up
listening to ?
All kinds of music. My mom was a
Bing Crosby fan, my brother, 9
years older than me, was into the
Beatles and the Beach Boys. I
used to dig through all their
record collections. My dad was a
clarinent/saxophone player in the
late 40’s/early 50’s
for small swing combos. He didn’t
play much by the time I was
growing up, I think that made the
idea of playing music live more
intriuging. Since then, I’ve
been into a lot of different
things, garage, punk, early
country, western swing, early
rhythm and blues. I dig country
blues from Son House, Mississippi
Fred McDowell, Sleepy Johh Estes,
Arthur Crudup to name a few. I
like Muddy Waters before he moved
to Chicago and started playing
the kind of music I think most
people stereotypically think of
the blues. I’ve always liked
rockabilly in one form or
another, from my mom’s 8-track
tape Elvis collection to the
Stray Cats when I was twelve to
when I first saw Johnny Cash in
London in ‘94.
In your biography, you’re
talking about punk bands you’ve
played with. Could you tell us
more about this period?
Sure, I grew up in Orange County,
California. The punk scene was
doing really well in that area
with bands like Agent Orange,
Adolescents, Social Distortion
and DI and great all ages venues
like Fender’s in Long Beach
and LA’s Olympic Auditorium.
There was also a DJ show on a
local radio station, Rodney
Bingenheimer… The label Posh
Boy released these compilations
called Rodney on the Roq (KROQ -
I think it’s a top 40
station now). Anyway these were
my first punk records, with bands
like Black Flag, the Minutemen,
Circle Jerks and a bunch more. I
dug it and started a band when I
was 15, Red Scab, with my two
best friends. We played shows,
mostly crazy parties, including a
house wrecking party, for two
years and recorded two demo tapes.
It was a lot of fun and I still
see some of the people from those
days at rockabilly weekenders
here and there.
You were a drummer at
that time ?
No, I started the band singing
and playing bass guitar. I moved
to bass guitar/backing vocal when
a friend of mine wanted to become
the singer. I started playing
drums in 1999.
Do you still play drums ?
Yes, occasionally. It’s a
really cool instrument. The last
project I played drums in was a
40’s rhythm and blues bands
with some good friends in Seattle.
When did you first start
playing rockabilly? How did you
discover that style?
In 1999, I played drums for a
short lived band called the
Knocked-Outs. I was just learning
drums; it was great at the
beginning. After a year, I really
wanted to play music with fewer
people and less instruments, so
in 2001 I decided to start the
trio. As far as discovering the
style, like I mentioned before, I’ve
always known about it, but I
really started being serious
about it after I saw Johnny Cash
in London. It was a great show in
a small club and I’ll never
forget it.
Did you record things
before the Roy Kay Trio ?
Yes, lots of stuff. One punk demo
still survives from 1986 and the
rest are from various bands from
‘87 til ‘98. Mostly
experimental lo-fi blues.
How did you meet Robin
and Mike ?
I met Robin in the Knocked-Outs
and I met Mike through a
guitarist wanted ad!
You formed the trio in
2001, did the line up remain
steady?
Yes, I’m thankful for that.
Robin and Mike are great to work
with and a lot of fun to hang out
and travel with.
Then you met Deke
Dickerson and he produced your
first album. Who approached who
at first?
I asked Deke if he was into it
and he said yes. I had met him a
few times before through mutual
friends in Los Angeles. That
recording session for Wanderin’
Mind was a great weekend. He was
really easy to work with.
Lance LeBeau said about
Sun studio (where he recorded
with Go Cat Go) « Sun studio is
an amazing place, the vibe in
that room is chilling; there’s
a definite air to that place. To
me the room felt alive of energy».
Was it the same at Electro-vox ?
Not really, the studio has been
through a lot of changes, even in
the last two years. The building
is interesting, the location is
great and the room has really
good accoustics, but that place
is more about the current people
involved. Wally Hersom is a great
engineer. For that session he
used mostly his own equipment and
it worked out great. Knockin’
Em Back was Ashley Kingmans first
job as a producer. He did a
fantastic job. We all had a blast
that weekend !!
You have a 45 out. What
about this one. Is this a preview
of the forthcoming album, or will
they be available only on vinyl ?
No it’s not really a
preview, and yes, this will be
only released on vinyl for now.
We recorded this in a couple
hours at the same place we
recorded Wanderin’ Mind.
Travel Bound is a wild song that
we wanted to record for Tex who
runs Miz. Liz Records. The B-side
is an old western swing song and
we added our own arrangement.
And what about the new
songs to appear on compilations ?
Where ? When ?
There are a few compilations
coming out, one on KamiKazi
Records and another that our
local radio station put out for
Seattle’s Shake the Shack
Rockabilly Ball, but both of
those use previously recorded
material.You’re
back from Berlin, where you
recorded your next album, how was
it?
It was great, it’s always
fun going over there. The tour
was great. Good crowds at the
festivals in Waldorf and Berlin.
The Voodoo Bar in Goettingen once
again was incredible. Small club,
but one of the wildest crowd
anywhere. The recording was real
cool. Working with Axel at
Lightning Recording was a great
experience, he really works for
the right sound for every song.
He puts a lot of heart into what
he does.
What can you tell about
us this new recording?
I think it’s real cool, we’re
all really happy about the way it
came out and can’t wait to
release it. It’s different
from the second record (Knockin’
Em Back) just like the Knockin’
Em Back was different from
Wanderin’ Mind. This record
is very inspired by music from
the early fifties especially the
work from artists like Tillman
Franks, Faron Young, Webb Pierce,
Jimmy and Johnny and Curtis
Gordon. We’re currently
mastering the record right now.
It will have 14 songs with 11 to
12 new originals.
Did you record stuff only
for the album, or also for
compilations and 45 rpm?
We recorded 18 songs all
together, we may or may not use
them for something else. We
definitely want to do a few more
singles, we’ll see what
happens.
Do you have a release
date?
Not exactly, but it should be out
by the fall of this year! Look
for it and we hope you enjoy it!!
I saw that it will be out
on Rhythm Bomb records. Do you
stop the activities of Lur Liner?
No, LurLiner will continue to run.
Have you been approached
by other labels ?
Yes, other labels have made us
offers, but Rhythm Bomb worked
out the best for us. We had a
great time touring Germany last
year and this is a great reason
to go back.
You toured europe last
year, do you have special
memories. And will you come back
?
D-Day was a blast! But along the
whole tour all the people were
great. We made a lot of friends
and I’ll be glad when I get
to hang out with them again.
Later in the year we are planning
a longer European/England tour in
October.
You’ll be at the the
next Hemsby ?
Yep, it looks like Sweden and
Finland too, but we’re still
working out the details!!
Talking about festivals,
how was Oneida?
I had a real good time at Green
Bay, different from other
weekenders I’ve been to.
Great for seeing music with 120
bands, but not nearly as many
people dancing during the DJ sets
as other weekenders. One of the
reasons might have been there was
always a band playing at one of
the 4 stages, so lots of people
were moving around trying to see
as much as they could.
What is your best memory?
One highlight for me was to see
so many friends from all over the
world in Green Bay, Wisconsin!
Best music memory, if I had to
pick one it would be Jimmy
Cavello’s set, especially
singing Rock, Rock, Rock. To me
it sounded like little time had
passed since he originally
recorded it.
Did you back «original»
artist?
No, got to see our good friends
back up plenty though. The
Ragtime Wranglers, The Fly Rite
Boys, Deke and Wally all did a
fantastic job.
Your cd’s are very
well designed. They are credited
to GiantRoybot.inc. I guess you’re
the « Roy « in Roybot…
Yep, that’s me.
This is your job, or do
you play music full time ?
I’m happy you dig the
designs, because that’s what
I do when I’m not playing
music. I’ve been doing
graphic design for 10 years.
What about the rockabilly
scene in Seattle ?
Lately it’s been good, not
too many touring bands in the
last year, but the local shows
are crowded.
Johnny Burnette, Carl
Perkins and Hank Williams or
Texas rockabilly a la Budy Holly
are obvious influences (among
others). Did more recent bands
like High Noon influence you ?
I would say inpire, more than
influence. The real influence
comes from the original 50’s
artists, like Charlie Feathers
and Jack Earls, but when I hear a
new band do something really
cool, it reminds me that there is
a lot of great ideas still in
Rockabilly.
What is for you the
ultimate rockabilly singer ?
I’m not sure if I have one.
I really like Charlie Feathers
especially the country songs, and
the way the Burnettes sing with
intensity. I like Webb Pierce,
althought he wouldn’t be
classified as a rockabilly singer.
If I had to pick one, I’d
choose Carl Perkins or Curtis
Gordon. They both can sing with
heart in a subtle way from a
rockin’ tune to a country
ballad.
A last word to conclude ?
Thanks for the great questions
and I hope we can make it to
France this year!
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