The Headers
Buffalo, New York, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Vintage Guitar Magazine Oct. 2007 issue
By Eric Shoaf
"A rockabilly/dance/pop trio fronted by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Bobby Lebel wielding a big Gretsch, with Scott Freilich on upright bass and Dan Stoll on drums, they romp through an assortment of original songs with red hot guitar, quirky melodies, and a revved up rockabilly sensibility. Their cover of the Steely Dan classic "Bodhisattva" is inspired and original
- Vintage Guitar
THE HEADERS
TURN IT UP
By Bruce Eaton - Buffalo Spree Magazine MAY/JUNE 2007
buffalospree.com
OVER TIME, VIRTUALLY EVERY MUSICAL GENRE GENERATES ENOUGH STYLISTIC CLICHES UNTIL IT ALMOST BECOMES A CARICATURE OF ITSELF. You'd no more expect George Strait to perform in baggy jeans flashing a mouth full of shiny grills than you'd expect 50 Cent to rap in tight Wranglers and a ten-gallon hat. Perhaps no musical genre is more stylized than rockabilly. With Quiff hair-dos shellacked high and back (a souped-up forerunner to the lower-maintenance mullet), retro zoot-suits, twangy guitars, and songs about cars, girls, rumbles, and the Saturday night dance, rockabilly is fun but not very deep. Even the Stray Cats, smash revivalists of the eighties, pretty much admitted that after two albums, they had run out of ideas.
However, the Buffalo-based band The Headers prove that it's still possible to dig into the early days of rock and roll without becoming a Grease-y, cartoon-ish character. Led by Bobby Lebel, Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee and one-time member of the Road, the high-octane trio has been turning heads with its debut disc, Turn It Up!, and live performances that showcase the band's ability to venture beyond rockabilly yet not lose sight of its roots. Whether it's with a touch of the British Invasion or Western swing, a nod to surf guitar god Dick Dale, flat-out futuristic pickin' in the style of Les Paul, or a Steely Dan tune filtered through a roadhouse combo, the Headers know how to keep the recipe fresh. And while Lebel's fluid guitar work is front and center on the bandstand the rhythm section of vintage guitar maven Scott Freilich on bass - who performs like Bill Black channeling Derek Smalls - and Dan Stoll on drums keeps the band motoring like a fine-tuned hot rod.
Whatever your age, if you're not too old to rock and roll, a Headers show is a perfect evening out, especially given that many of their gigs have early start times that accommodate those of us for whom 11 p.m. is closer to bedtime than start time. Sipping a fine micro-ale at the Pizza Plant bar while the band soared through a tune that sounded like Elvis's original trio was jamming with Les Paul, one could only conclude that rock and roll is indeed here to stay.
Bruce Eaton regularly writes on music and other topics for Spree.
- Buffalo Spree
From BestOfWNY.com -
Good music will never die no matter what the record companies force feed the public. Sometimes you have to search for it but it can be found. Sometimes right in your own backyard - such as the outstanding new release from The Headers titled "Turn It Up!" This is true rock and roll steeped in The Sun Records tradition of guitar, upright bass and drums. The band (Buffalo Music Hall of Famer's Bobby Lebel-guitar/lead vocals & Scott Freilich-bass and Dan Stoll - drums) are amazing musicians in their ability to sound new and exciting and not formulaic. Perhaps they have even formed a new genre of music Jazzabilly for it melding of Rockabilly with Jazz elements. The guitar work of Lebel is nonpareil with great tone and clarity. Not since the late Danny Gatton have I heard a guitarist sound this good. Freilich and Stoll are no slouches either as they keep things running smooth in the engine room. Ten original tunes and an out of this world cover of Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva" that you have to hear to believe comprises the disc. Highlights are hard to pick out as there are many but I'm going with "Pretty Good Shape", "Hard Man To Love", "How High The Sky", the title cut "Turn It Up", the aforementioned "Bodhisattva" and "Blue Highway". For more on The Headers go to www.theheaders.com
--- bobsilvestri@bestofwny.com
- Best of WNY
FREETIME MAGAZINE
by Michelle Picardo
www.freetime.com
The Headers sent us their new CD, Turn It Up!, and that's just what we did! Tailor-made for fans of Brian Setzer, Stray Cats, Duane Eddie and the like, this rockabilly trio, led by charismatic guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Bobby Lebel, is a top-notch band that must be heard. These guys rock with abandon, as expert players and stellar songwriting combine. Check out stand outs like the infectious "Lovin' Stuff," the cinematic surf-guitar tune "Riptide,' and the jazzy cover of Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva," for a taste of what The Headers have up their sleeves. While there isn't a current Rochester date booked yet, we've got our fingers crossed. See the headers.com for more info.
- Freetime
Discography
Turn it Up 2007, Bring Home the Headers for the Holidays Christmas album 2008, Don't be Talkkin' Smack 2009. All vailable at CD Baby and at www.theheaders.com. Airplay on several Buffalo and Toronto radio stations and internet radio worldwide.
Photos
Bio
“High Octane Rockabilly.” Those are the words that best describe the music and showmanship of The Headers. The Headers stage show includes a fun, danceable mix of originals, select covers and onstage antics that hearken back to the days of the sock hops but propels the style into the future by adding infusions of jazz, country, chicken pickin’, and rock. With nominations in the last 6 Buffalo Music Awards, 3 well received CDs (and a 4th in the works), local, regional, and national airplay, and countless well attended shows at venues that seat as many as 20,000 enthusiastic patrons, these cats are a party looking for a place to happen.We tore it up in Tampa as one of the headliners for the Feb. 2010 WMNF Rockabilly Ruckus, and the band was asked back for a 2nd year at Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA, this time as a headliner. We've been on venues that have featured Pat Benatar, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, George Thorogood, Big Sandy and the Fly Right Boys Kim Lenz and The Jaguars, etc.
All of The Headers CDs feature the enviable singing, songwriting, guitar playing and producing talents of Bobby Lebel. The Sun Studio inspired "one take" approach Bobby uses in producing their CDs truly represents the intense energy of a Headers show and will surely inspire you to hit the dance floor, buy a hotrod or run out to find a hula-hoop.
Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Bobby Lebel fronts the Headers. Gretsch guitar artist endorsee and a two time inductee in the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, Bobby’s numerous album projects and publishing deals have earned him notoriety and a record deal in Italy. He has jammed on stage with such greats as Edgar Winter and band members of Ted Nugent, Chick Corea and Robben Ford. He has backed up stars like Kathie Lee Guifford and opened shows for Rare Earth, America, Three Dog Night, Head East, Twisted Sister and James Cotton. Lebel’s songwriting for this project is heavily influenced by Sun-Records-Era Elvis, Eddie Cochran’s rockabilly, Bobby Darin’s swing style, Dick Dale’s surf wave and the picking of Les Paul and Merle Travis.
Links
