Deke Dickerson and Los Straitjackets...

Saw Deke Dickerson and Los Straitjackets play at the Continental Club in Houston. I have been many times to the Continental in Austin but my first time to this location. It's a good venue. We met Anne there in what is becoming some sort of week day music scene club crawl celebration for us. 

Los Straitjackets are a surf band that wears Mexican wrestling masks, all instrumental with all announcements made in Spanish. I have one cd of their music. Deke is a big old hillbilly boy I have been following for a while. I have about 4 of his cds, two books on rare guitars and I bought the collaboration between these two performers which is Called something like Deke sings the instrumental surf hits. Turns out all the old 60s surf tunes including Hawaii 5-0 had words. They have dug these words out to sing them. 

Me and Deke are friends on facebook. He is a good historian and preservationist of 50s-60s hillbilly/rockabilly/surf/western swing/guitar/Americana culture. I recently spotted a notice of a gig by this group in New York published in the New Yorker magazine which I subscribe to. I was afraid Deke might miss it if he did not subscribe and it said "Los Straitjackets with the powerhouse guitar of Deke Dickerson." I scanned and emailed to Deke. He responded "sweet!" Here's a photo of the kind of guitar show off stuff you can see at a Deke show.

Drummer's name was Sugarballs. and he was quite the showman. 

They used Fender amps and Del Pino Guitars which gets the good surfy Fender clean sound when paired together. That'a a road warrior of an amp there, silverface Fender Super Reverb, late 60's or 70s played by black mask. He had the reverb cranked. I'll never buy another guitar that is not all blingy, sparkly and it must have a talent lever. 

Here's a clip. Get into some Deke.