OKAW
E-Mail Contact: ss@seatbeltsounds.com
Check out our NEW MySpace page: MySpace

NEW CD “Modern Sounds in Pagan Love Songs” available now at CD BABY and iTunes, and NOW: IndieRhythm.com

I RECKON :


Mar 25, 2009 We have a

Apr 1, 2009 We are playing THIS THURSDAY, APRIL 2 at Ray Carf’anos Studio 478 at 478 7th St. in San Pedro from 9-11 pm.

Mar 25, 2009 We have a show THIS FRIDAY MARCH 27 at PETES PLACE in Lomita. Our last two shows have been two of the best we have done, we are on a roll! W’ell be playing a bunch of new tunes so come on out!!! —SS

Mar 19, 2009 Hello! Trying to update this site. Wiillie Makeit? Betty Wont!!!
Well whaddaya know. Check them tech chops. Seatbelt is back. Although I would say I’ve grown to love the ease of the MySpace site to upload videos, tunes and pictures, I still can’t get it to look any good, but all the info is there. We’ve got another show coming up Friday March 27 at Pete’s Place in Lomita. There is a poster for the show on our shows page. We enjoyed the two shows we did opening for Pat Todd and the Rankoutsiders, hopefully we’ll play together again soon! Yee-Haw!! —SS

Jan 5, 2009 Happy New Year, Yall! Hope the hangover wasn’t so bad. We woke up to find we had a show THIS FRIDAY, Jan 9, 2009, at GODMOTHERS, 302 W. 7Th Street, San Pedro from 9 PM to 12 AM. Phone number there is 310-833-1589. Start the New Year out um, rockin ’!!! We will actually show up and play so you know what that means! The flyer is on our Shows page. I’ve been a little more current on our MySpace page, so if ya git a chance, check it on out and look for the new Seatbelt and The Pecking Order CD THIS YEAR!!! —SS

Dec 3, 2008 We have a show coming up SATURDAY DEC. 13 at HAROLD’S PLACE, that’s right, good ol’ Harold’s. We’ll be playing with our ol’ pals The Danbury Shakes and their friends, Fourkiller Flats from Tucson, Arizona. Should be a rootsy good time! Come Home to Harold’s! Hey, didja check our MySpace page yet? I’m kinda sorry I resisted so long, although I still think visually MySpace stinks! The uploading of pictures and videos, and the networking capabilities make it all right. Leave us a comment and be our friend!!! See ya in the unemployment line. —SS

Nov 26, 2008 Check out our BRAND NEW MySpace page: MySpace

We also have our CD, Modern Sounds in Pagan Love Songs for sale at Indie Rhythm. And we are hard at work on the tunes for our next CD, working title They Call Me Mr. Tibbs. Happy Turkeys. —SS

Oct 14, 2008 I sat in on guitar with my friend’s surf band, the Reef Rammers last week. Since our drummer, Flowbee “Tex Aubergine” Reichstagg loves the surf music more than life itself, this photo is for him, with love. Thanks GIYF!—SS

Oct 13, 2008 Had a great time at the Rockabilly Rave in Las Vegas last weekend. A lot of good music at night and a lot of fun hangin’ at the pool during the day. The Orleans may not be the Bellagio, but it’s a pretty cool pad to hang out and listen to rockabilly music, better than the Gold Coast. Looking forward to Viva next year in the Spring. Omar and the Stringpoppers started things off Friday night, they were great. Miss Maryann sounded as good as she looked, I only wish that gal would smile once in a while. The big draw Saturday night was the Stars of Sun Records show, and it was great even though Billy Lee Riley had to cancel due to illness. Carl Mann was first, and sounded good, then came Jack Earls who looked like a cranky old man but rocked hard and sounded good, with his own unique sense of time. Hayden Thompson is still a big man and his voice still sounds big. Sonny Burgess closed the show, and he played a mean Tele and sounded really great, making you forget the years that his white hair and beard belied. They were capably backed by Deke Dickerson and his band, who were great as always. Luis and the Wildfires played late Saturday night and were worth waiting for. Big Sandy also played one of the best sets of the weekend, and that isn’t just the Newcastles talking. Below are some pics to illustrate my babbling. (Omar and guest, Miss Maryann, Sonny Burgess, Big Sandy, Sonny Burgess and Crazed Fan.)—SS

Sep 26, 2008 When I was “performing” at Soundwalk, on the corner of First and Elm in Long Beach, there was a “group” across the street by the garden, playing the Star Wars theme over and over. I was playing guitar and tape echo devices and loops doing a tribute to the Sun Records Echo sound, but after hearing Star wars fifty times, I started playing it. This brought cheers and applause from the group. They then proceeded to do “Hound Dog”. It was the highlight of Soundwalk for me. The lowlight came a while later when the homeless drunk who had been sitting in a wheelchair “enjoying” my “performance” all night finally lurched at me out of his chair, spilling his styrofoam cup of coffee/whiskey all over my gear, knocking my mike over and almost me as well, and sprawling on the sidewalk like an overturned bug. It took the police to shoo him away. Star Wars, indeed.

We have been working on new tunes in preparation of recording our second CD. More info soon. See ya at the Rockabilly Rave in Vegas next week. —SS

Sep 18, 2008 I’ll be doing a thing at Soundwalk this Saturday, Sept. 20, in front of Pates Fraiches restaurant at 400 East 1st Street in the Village Arts District of Downtown Long Beach. My Friends Richard and Allard are having their closing night for the restaurant this evening also so it should be bittersweet. I’ll be playing a couple of guitars and using various echo tape units and loops in a tribute to the Sun Records echo sound, titled “Echoes of Elvis”. I may start playing a song but it will quickly devolve into sonic madness with echo laid upon echo for as far as the ear can hear. The thing that inspired me to do this was reading about how when RCA records bought Elvis’ contract from Sam Phillips’ Sun Records, they had to call Sam to ask how he got the echo effect on Elvis’ voice and Scotty’s guitar. Sam used an ingenious tape loop just a little behind the original to create an iconic sound, and my “installation” is a testament to the fact that echoes are like memories that float down through history. Well, it IS an ART project after all, please bear with the fruity prose.—SS

Sep 12, 2008 Above is another pic from our show opening for the great Ray Campi. at Blue Cafe. Thanks, Grace! There is a clip of us playing at the Taste in San Pedro here. Our show last Friday at Godmothers was classic. I guess it started with the eye make-up, glam damage if ever there was any. Then there was the tip jar, a large trash can with an 8 1/2 x 11 sign saying “tips” taped to the front. It was funny to see people walk up with some tip cash in their hands and then go, “WTF?” and then either set the cash down or throw it in the “tip can”. The Kid and I gingerly dug the ones and fives out later between bits of broken glass and empty bottles. The topper, however, was the girl who fell over while dancing during “TIMBER!” and actually sheared off my mike stand right at the base! After I stopped ;laughing, I grabbed Flowbee’s mike and tried to finish the tune but we were all cracking up pretty hard! Drink Up and Go Home! —SS

Aug 19, 2008 After reading this review of the Ray Campi show at Blue Cafe last Saturday night, things became much clearer. I mean, I realized as I watched Ray Campi that I was getting schooled, but who knew it was TRAFFIC school? I know Ray has been a teacher for a long time, here’s wishing him success in his new venture. As for Seatbelt and The Pecking Order, we had a lot of fun opening for Ray Campi. Some of the other bands, like the Honkys and especially the Hot Rod Trio were great. Some bands cancelled, and I was asked at the last minute by the promoter if we would go on after Ray, like at 12:30. Since we’d already sold tickets and told people we’d play at 7:00, I tried to compromise and say maybe we could play another set after Ray, but we would like to play our early slot. I guess the love of the music only goes so far; after our set and sitting through three more bands, we were toast. Hot, drenched, and wrung out like a dishrag, we stumbled off toward home in the warm summer air, our pockets a bit lighter but our spirits a bit higher. Thanks to Jen for the great pictures, more are here.—SS

Aug 15, 2008 SEATBELT and THE PECKING ORDER wil NOW be playing at 7:00 PM SAT AUG 16, that’s TOMORROW! with RAY CAMPI, The Hot Rod Trio and others!
Here is a link to the Story the music writer dude at Random Lengths News did on us!

Aug 11, 2008 SEATBELT and THE PECKING ORDER will be playing at 6:00 PM on the main stage at BLUE CAFE in LONG BEACH on SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 with RAY CAMPI and THE HOT ROD TRIO. Advance tickets are $12 and are available at GUITAR SAFARI, 424 West 6th Street, San Pedro, California 90731 Phone: 310-547-9355. If ya scroll down their page, you can see a couple of photos from the Flowers and McLean show at Sacred Grounds last Thursday. I’d post some photos but don’t have any yet. Thanks to Bob from RANDOM LENGTHS for writing a very nice piece about SEATBELT AND THE PECKING ORDER in the latest issue. Nice layout, too. It doesn’t seem to be up on their website yet, though.—SS

Aug 6, 2008 Just came across this photo of me with Deke Dickerson at this past year’s VLV. I, of course, am completely sober. —SS

Aug 5, 2008 I’ll be playing a set at Sacred Grounds as part of the acoustic Cosmic Country duo Flowers & McLean this Thursday, Aug. 7, at 7 PM. This is part of the Guitar Safari Presents series of First Thursday shows at Sacred Grounds Coffee House, 468 W 6th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731
Phone: 310.514.0800. We’ll play our own songs and a few classics from the likes of Gram Parsons and Hank Williams. Should be a yippin’ good time! Oh, yeah, I just had to do a new poster for the Rockabilly Revenge at Blue Cafe Sat. 16. Graphic designer-itis, fer sure. —SS

Aug 4, 2008 What a swell time we had at the Taste in San Pedro yesterday. It was a nice sunny day, the crowd was having fun and the rockabilly pirates were out in force. It was truly a good time. We shoulda recorded a live album. Thanks Gerit for the photos. We were interviewed after the show by Bob the Music Guy from Random Lengths, that was fun too. Look for us in an upcoming issue.— SS

July 21, 2008 Some new photos are posted on the Photos page. Check ’em. Besides The Taste of San Pedro show, Sunday August 3 from 4:15–5:30, we’ll be playing a show at Rockabilly Revenge 4 at Blue Cafe in Long Beach on Saturday, August 16, with rockabilly legend Ray Campi, and also the Hot Rod Trio. Not sure of the time yet, more info as details arrive. This will be an all-day event at the Blue Cafe, going from 4 in the afternoon until 12 at night. The last one of these had Wanda Jackson and was a lot of fun to attend. In other news, my beloved Gretsch Country Club needs a neck re-set and will be out of commision for 4–6 weeks. Bummer! In still other news, we will be announcing our new MySpace page soon! In still more other news, I, Seatbelt, will be doing a thing at Soundwalk in Long Beach on Sat., Sept 20. My proposal was to do a show called Echoes of Elvis where i will mix loops of Sun Records stuff with live echo-laden guitar and viocal sounds. Using tape echo and looping devices, this is meant to be a tribute to the Sun echo sounds and how they echoed through music history. More details soon soon soon . . . —SS

July 2, 2008 We played a couple great shows over the weekend with new Doghouse bass player JimBob “The Kid” who did a fine job on short notice. We have wanted to have an upright bass player for a long time, it really is the definition of rockabilly. We would like to thank Smitty for a great run as bass player and wish him all the best with future band projects. He really is a great guy and a great pal.

Seatbelt and the Pecking Order will be playing at The Taste of San Pedro this year, Sunday August 3 from 4:15–5:30. Here is a link to our bio on their site. Come on out, it should be fun.—SS