Rumble Daddy leads the rockabilly revival

By Guy D’Astolfo

“We don’t spend a lot of time agonizing over our art,” said Steve Trent of Rumble Daddy. “We do it for fun.”

It’s a philosophy that perfectly suits the rockabilly-psychobilly trio, which has earned a reputation as a fun act to catch live.

Take their song “Truckstop Pornshop,” the subject of which is self-explanatory.

“That one goes over big,” said Trent. “Everyone loves it.”

Yes, Rumble Daddy is a little offbeat. But more importantly, its sound is fresh.

The band — Trent (vocals, guitar) of Canton, Fred Purnell (upright bass, washtub bass) of Salem and “Rockabilly” Ray Kollar (drums) of Canfield — plays a 50:50 mix of original tunes and cover songs. But the covers inevitably come out with an sound that is 100 percent Rumble Daddy.

“We call it ‘Rumblizing’ a song,” said Trent.

Rockabilly, of course, never really goes away. It tends to flare up on a regular basis with bands such as the Stray Cats, and more recently, Rev. Horton Heat, leading the revival.

Rumble Daddy has been riding its own unique rockabilly-punk wave, which it stirred up when it formed last April.

The band came together when Trent answered a Craigslist ad for a rockabilly guitarist that had been placed by Purnell and Kollar.

“Ray’s been obsessed with rockabilly his whole life,” said Trent. “I’ve played just about every genre, but I like it because it touches on all the styles I like to play ...blues, rock, country — but not the newer stuff ... even bluegrass is in there.”

Trent has a long resume of playing in Canton-Akron bands. He said playing with Rumble Daddy is the most fun he’s had with a guitar in a decade.

The band has recorded a 17-song demo CD which it has been distributing, and is making plans to get back into the studio.

As a co-writer with Purnell, Trent said the act is going with the “Truckstop Pornshop” flow and “getting weirder” with its songs.

“People seem to like it,” he said.

In the meantime, Rumble Daddy is keeping up the heavy performance schedule of a band that finds itself in demand.

The act will be at Mojo’s in Austintown Friday and Blue Magoo’s in Warren on Saturday.

The conception of Rumble Daddy actually dates back to about four years ago, when Purnell answered an audition ad that had placed by Kollar. The two intended to form a rockabilly band but never could find the final piece of the puzzle. The arrival of Trent put the project in drive.

“The band has evolved a lot since those days in Ray’s basement, with a lot of new original material, the addition of the washtub bass and electric cello in my bass arsenal and our eclectic songwriting styles,” said Purnell. “We are no longer just a rockabilly band from Youngstown. We’ve got to open shows for some of my favorite artists like The Hillbiily Hellcats and Wanda Jackson and met a lot of really cool bands that are not yet so famous.

“We have the advantage of not fitting the mold with our music.”