Saturday night April 14 was the night of the 2018 Psychobilly Brawl. I’ve attended the Psychobilly Brawl many times but I think this one was the best attended in a long time. Psychobilly is not dead in Seattle. This event was headlined by Detroit’s Koffin Kats, but any of the eight bands who played could have easily been headliners. No sooner did I think no band could upstage the previous band, I was proved wrong. The show began at 6:30. It ended at about 1:30 a.m.
When the Koffin Kats came on stage they set the place on fire and the entire dance floor became a raging inferno. I was slammed against the stage so many times I wondered if I’d ever recover..
The Koffin Kats performed many of their favorites including Splatterhouse, Koffin Kat Rock and my favorite, Sleep. The frenzied moshing never let up. Vic Victor, stand-up bass player and vocalist, often combined acrobatic moves by standing on his bass while keeping it upright or laying it on its side while never missing a lick. At one point he switched instruments with guitarist Tommy “T-Bags” Koffin in a move that was nothing short of sleight of hand, before switching back again. Eric “E Ball” Walls completed the sound with his manic, psychotic drumming. Since the show ended around 1:30, there was no encore, but I think after seven hours of great music with non-stop slamming, everyone was ready to go home. I have no doubt everyone went home happy. This was a wild but very fun night.
Playing prior to Koffin Kats was Goddamn Gallows. This scruffy looking lot also hails from Detroit. Goddamn Gallows is guttural punk, psycho hillbilly with a bit of a Celtic flair. Vocalist/guitarist Mikey Classic – Guitar, Vox wore his beard in two braids that dangled like tusks from his jowls. His facial contortions were a performance in and of themselves. Jayke Orvis, musician extraordinaire constantly switched instruments between mandolin, banjo and guitar. He was all over the stage, often switching sides with stand-up bass player Fishgutzzz, who also kept the audience riled by leaning over the stage to goad them in between adding screams to the vocals. Their drummer, who goes by the name Baby Genius, played shirtless and sported intricate illustrations covering his body, face and head. The green spotlight gave his skin a green hue and made him look like some sort of science fiction space alien. Goddamn Gallows was nothing short of amazing.
Before Goddamn Gallows was a band called Gutter Demons. This Montreal trio definitely lived up to their name. Their music reminded me of what might churn up in gutters during a howling storm. Their gritty, grungy sound was saturated with demonic overtones. Bass player Gutter Flipper was all over the stage, often straddling his stand-up while singer TöxiK played a white Flying V and strutted about when he wasn’t yelling and growling into the mic. Drummer R-1 (no relation to R2-D2, I’m sure) definitely added to the band’s demonic sounds with his manic slams. Every time one of these guys shook off a spray of sweat I was sure I saw demons emanating from them before dissipating in a frenzied howl. I loved Gutter Demons.
Prior to Gutter Demons was another Motor City band, Against the Grain. These guys were more frenzied psycho than the billy part, but they turned the entire club into a raging tornado. Besides their hard grinding sound, these guys are as much appearance with lots of long hair that they constantly whipped about during their non-stop stage gyrations. This was my third time seeing these guys and I like them more each time. Chris Nowak (Bass & Vocals) and Nick Bellomo (Guitar) could have been Plant and Page, not only with their fierce metal sound, but their hair also. The other guitarist (Kyle Davis) sported shoulder length hair and thick sideburns giving him a resemblance to Kurt Cobain. Drummer Rob Nowak fiercely adding to the frenzy. By the end of their set I’d been slammed against the stage so many times my back felt like a bag of crushed potato chips.
Before Against the Grain was Seattle’s Hard Money Saints. I’ve seen these guys play mellow shows and I’ve seen them play shows that packed more of a punch. This performance resembled the latter. They pulled the spikes out of the coffin and let the demons fly. Singer and guitarist extraordinaire Jack Rainwater belted out songs with a guttural growl while bass player Armondo Nienhuser Slapped his bass and a couple times climbed on top of it in perfect balance. Nich Scott filled out their sound with some solid drumming. I think Hard Money Saints have performed at all or most of Seattle’s Psychobilly Brawls. I remember seeing them at the brawls years ago when it was held at Studio Seven. They are always a pleasure.
Another Seattle band, Raw Dogs riled up the demons prior to Hard Money Saints. It’s always Halloween when these guys are on stage. With painted faces resembling circus clowns from a B horror movie and brightly colored mohawks, this trio burns up every stage they perform on. Singer Jerry ” H.J. Loveshaft” DeVille was all over the stage, never staying in one place for more than a second as he grunted, shrieked and growled into the mic. Skwerll, the barefoot, shirtless upright bass player, was every bit the showman too. He sported a bright green paintbrush mohawk, freakish makeup and endless tattoos. He straddled his bass, climbed on top of it or rode it without ever missing a lick. With his ghoulish white makeup, Joey Bones (Guitar/Vocals) looked like Chucky from the series of horror films of the same name. He often stared demonically into the crowd while churning out shrieking power chords. Drummer Ian “Bam Stroker” looked normal by comparison. He wore no makeup and looked like your average next-door neighbor. This was a total disguise, however, because he slammed as if possessed. Raw Dogs are always sheer entertainment and I always enjoy their shows.
Gracing the stage before Raw Dogs was a psychobilly trio from Portland, OR called Brainiax. These guys came on stage wearing matching white lab coats with leopard print trim on the cuffs and colors. The coats were shed early on, but the fun didn’t stop. Bass player Awful Olli wore steam punk glasses either over his eyes or on his head as he slammed away while Andy Hell on guitar and Grody Cody on drums rounded out their sound. I really loved these guys and hope they play Seattle again soon.
Opening the entire night was band from Ventura County called Cigaratz. This trio (David: Guitar/ Vocals, Eli: Bass and Steven: Drums/ Vocals). I was impressed with their slam and grind raunchy set. They definitely warmed the stage for what was to come.
By the time the night ended I felt like I’d spent seven hours tumbling around inside a cement mixer. My feet hurt so badly that the one block walk back to my car felt more like ten miles as every step I took was wrought with excruciating pain. Would I do it all over again? In a heart-beat. As I said, I’m glad psychobilly is still going strong in Seattle.
– All photos property of Holly Homan, all rights reserved.
Koffin Kats
Holly has photographed the Koffin Kats many times over the years. Here are the Koffin Kats in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018
