Deadbolt is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. Fusing

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

and

surf music Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

with tongue-in-cheek horror-themed lyrics, Deadbolt has called itself the "scariest band in the world", classifying their musical style as "voodoobilly".

History

The band originally formed in 1988 as a trio, featuring guitarist and vocalist Harley Davidson, bassist and vocalist Robert "RA" MacLean and drummer Les Vegas. Both Vegas and MacLean have since left the band. Vegas' departure is chronicled in the song "Po' Boy" on the album ''Hobo Babylon''. The other current members of the band are bassist Gary "3rd Degree" Burns (part of the band's "Wall Of Thunder") and drummer Tank Johnson. Tank Johnson died on January 11, 2015. Former members of the band include The PhanTom (bass and guitar), Claymore Mines (bass), The Coroner (bass), Coffin Boy (bass), Moose Cutter (bass), and Mark Davidson (Harley's brother) aka Lord Von Crappo who still occasionally plays with the band. Vocalist/guitarist Diana Death occasionally contributes. Three members of the band were also in a short-lived offshoot group called Strangers 1800, which performed music from

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

films and TV westerns and released one EP, ''When Men Were Men and the Sheep Were Scared'' and one split record with Deadbolt on Goldenrod Records.

Musical style and influences

Bassist Gary Burns described the band's music as "voodoobilly—the darker side of the

family." The band's music fuses

and rockabilly with horror-themed lyrics. Vocalist Harley Davidson performs spoken vocals. Ian Trumbull, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, compared the band's music to "

the Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...

playing spooky surf music behind a dry, '' Dragnet'' style narrative". The band has called itself the "scariest band in the world" as part of its tongue-in-cheek humor. The band uses power tools during their live performances, showering their audiences with sparks.

Discography and videography

Albums *''Creepy World'' (cassette only) –

Mondo Records Mondo is an American company known for releasing limited edition screen printed posters for films, television shows, and comics, as well as vinyl movie soundtracks, clothing and apparel, toys, and re-issues of VHS releases. Founded in 2004 as Mo ...

, 1992 *''Shrunken Head'' – Cargo/

Headhunter Records Headhunter Records is an American rock music record label distributed by Cargo Music.Hustwit, Gary (1995)Hard Work and Non-Hype Characterize The Bands And Labels In A Super-Active Underground, ''Billboard'', February 25, 1995, p. 82,86, retrieve ...

, 1994 *''Tiki Man'' – Cargo/

1994 *''Tijuana Hit Squad'' – Cargo/

, 1996 *''Zulu Death Mask'' – Cargo/

, 1998 *''Voodoo Trucker'' – Cargo/

, 1999 *''Hobo Babylon'' – Cargo/

, 2002 *''Haight Street Hippie Massacre: The Best of Deadbolt'' (compilation) – Cargo/

, 2003 *''I Should Have Killed You'' – Cargo/

, 2005 *''Live at the Casbah'' – Re:Live, 2005 *''Friday the 13th Massacre'' (Live) – Hod Rod Surf, 2009 *''Voodoo Moonshiner'' – Voodoobilly Records, 2010 *''Live In Berlin at The Wild At Heart November 21, 2009'' (2 CD & 3 disc album) – Knockout Records (German Import), 2010 *''Buy a Gun – Get a Free Guitar'' (CD & LP) – Deadbolt Records, 2011 Singles *"Down in the Lab" – ''Smells Like Grease for Peace'', Standard Recordings, 1992 (split with

Rocket from the Crypt Rocket from the Crypt is an American punk rock band from San Diego, California, originally active from 1990 to 2005, then active during 2011 and again from 2013 to the present. The band gained critical praise and the attention of major record ...

's "Cha Cha Cha") *"E Frank" – ''Trip 3'' – Trademark Records, 1993 (split with Creedle's "Bicycle Moto-Cross") *"Cockeye" – Goldenrod Records, 1995 (split with Strangers 1800's "Rawhide") *"One Day I Will Kill You" / "Rockabilly Funeral" – Ewing Records, 2001 *"Telephone the Dead" –

TKO Records TKO Records is an independent punk rock record label in Portland, Oregon. The label is primarily known for its role in the late 1990s American street punk scene and has continued its notability as a source of new releases, reissues, and archival ...

, 2007 (split with Demented Are Go's "Sickness in Truth") Videos *"Down in the Lab" (''Shrunken Head'') – Director: B. Bosler *"Who the Hell is Mrs. Valdez?" (''Tiki Man'') – Directors: A. Collins and M. Peterson *"Last Time I Saw Cole" (''Tijuana Hit Squad'') – Directors: A. Collins and M. Peterson *"The Second Solution (voodoo horror short)" – Director: G. Zuccarini Compilation albums featuring Deadbolt tracks *''Staring at the Sun, Vol. 2'' (Blindspot Records, 1992) – "Who the Hell is Mrs. Valdez" and "Edie" *''Musica del Diablo: Live from the Casbah'' ( Cargo Records, 1993) – "You Don't Want to Know Me" *''Staring at the Sun, Vol. 3'' (Blindspot Records, 1993) – "Listen to the Messages" *''Saint Doug: San Diego Local Music Soundtrack'' (91-X, 1994) – "I Saw the King" *''91-Xmas'' (91-X, 1994) – "Post Office Christmas Party" and "I'm the One Who Gunned Santa Down" *''Secret Agent S.O.U.N.D.S.'' (Mai Tai Records, 1995) – "James Bond Theme/You Only Live Twice" *''Halloween Hootenanny'' ( Zombie-A-Go-Go Records, 1998) – "Psychic Voodoo Doll" *''Tigermask: Trash Au Go-Go'' (Dionysus Records, 1998) – "Magimbu" *''Hotter Than Hell: An Injection of Psychobilly Madness'' (Hairball 8 Records, 2000) – "The Interview" *''Monster Party 2000'' (MuSick Recordings, 2000) – "Billy's Dead" *''That's New Pussycat! Surf Tribute to Burt Bacharach'' (Om Om Records, 2003) – "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head" *''Dear Johnny... A Tribute to CASH'' (Hairball 8 Records, 2004) – " Orange Blossom Special" *''Kicked out of Purgatory'' (Hairball 8 Records, 2004) – "Billy's Dead"

References

External links

Official MySpace pageDeadbolt's unofficial photo siteDeadbolt Interview in Horror GarageDeadbolt Music – The scariest band in the world
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deadbolt American psychobilly musical groups American surf music groups Gothabilly groups Musical groups from San Diego Rock music groups from California