Richmond - Saturday, March 12 was going to be a pretty big night for the guys in Psychobilly Cadillac.  This was going to be their first night playing on the stage at the National as a group, and even greater was the fact that they were opening for ZOSO, a group that brings you as close as possible to experiencing Led Zeppelin without transporting you back to the 1970s.  ZOSO always brings a large crowd wherever they are performing, meaning that the guys in Psychobilly Cadillac were in a great position to have a lot of people hear their music first the first time.  The trio has been playing together for a little more than a year, and has wasted no time writing music and working on refining their sound as a group.  They have patiently compiled a list of songs that is as impressive as it is long.  I was able to join the guys during the week before their performance at the National and found out very quickly that these guys are serious about what they are doing, and they are ready to show Richmond they don’t plan on letting up any time soon.

As a writer I relished the opportunity to sit down with these guys while they were preparing for their show.  For me, there is nothing cooler than getting to see the whole production come together, and to see the look of excitement on the faces of all three of them.  Their practice space, a garage in a suburban neighborhood in Chesterfield, was not what I expected at all, but when you enter the room it is easy to see why the creativity seems to come naturally.  There is inspiration everywhere, with vinyl album covers from the past plastered all over the walls.  The amps and pedals are stacked up everywhere, and heavy blankets are placed in front of the doors in an attempt to keep from pissing off the neighbors.  Each member has their own space to do their thing, and when the power goes on the work begins.

This was the second time that I had gone to their practice spot to watch them play.  The first time I stopped by because I had heard their name around town and wanted to see them for myself.  I left that night having no doubt that people needed to hear about these guys.  Not only are they three of the nicest guys you will ever meet, but the music they play puts them in a league all their own.  The band is made up of three members, Scott Harris (lead vocals, guitar), John Keefe (bass), and Mark Whitesides (drums).  Each of the guys individually has their own style and demeanor, but as a whole it truly works.  When I met them the first time, I had to ask where they got the name.  Scott Harris’ answer was so good that I brought a recorder to my second meeting for the sole purpose of being able to put the explanation in his own words.  I will let him take it from here:

“We were having trouble with the name, and I can’t remember how it came to this, but John was like 'anything with the word Cadillac,' but Mark wasn’t having anything to do with that.  It just came to me, and I was like, 'What about Psychobilly Cadillac?' which made John flip out!  Mark still wasn’t in love with the word Cadillac, so I started to explain my reasoning.  There is a Johnny Cash song 'One Piece at a Time' where he gets a job at a car manufacturer.  He realizes that if he sneaks out one piece at a time, over ten or fifteen years when he puts them all together he can have his own car.  He sings that there are two headlights on the left, and one on the right, but when you pull the switch it all works.  The very last thing you hear is Johnny Cash saying, 'Ten-four Red Rider, this is Cottonmouth, driving the Psychobilly Cadillac.'  For me, that best described the different styles that we are doing.  We are a little funk, a little rock, a little metal, but it’s all good when it comes together.  It’s a tip of the hat to Johnny Cash, and I think people will get it as soon as they hear the music.”

It is important to note that the name Psychobilly Cadillac has nothing to do with the genre of music that the guys play.  In fact, their music is anything but psychobilly.  Scott plays the guitar with a refreshing ease and has a voice that lends itself perfectly to their “funk rock” style.  The first time I saw John play the bass, all I could say to him was “Please don’t stop beating the shit out of that thing,” advice that probably didn’t need to be given.  Even while practicing, he plays with an intensity that most would reserve for the biggest stage in front of the largest of crowds.  Mark provides the backbone of the songs on the drums, and although he is seemingly the quietest member of the band, there is certainly something to be said for the way he slaps the drums and cymbals with a sort of calm ferocity.  When put together, each of the three members is the perfect complement to the others.  There is an incredible feeling of mutual respect between the three of them, and this cohesiveness shines through when the music comes together.

I mentioned above that the band has a very long songlist to choose from for a couple reasons.  Each of the three of them has a gift for songwriting, and writer’s block seems to have been absent for quite some time.  I asked them between songs just how much music they have been working on, and the answer came back as something in the six-hour range.  While that might not sound like a lot, when you put it in perspective, and factor in that each song runs somewhere in the four- to six-minute range, you can see just how much music they have come up with.  The other reason that I mentioned the amount of music is because I got to see firsthand just how hard it is to choose what songs to play when you are given a time limit and have that much music to pick from.  The order of the songs is also something that takes a lot of thought and planning.  You want to make sure to put your best foot forward, especially when playing in front of your hometown.  The great thing about Psychobilly Cadillac is that their music was written to accentuate the talents of the individuals, all while blending together in a metal harmony that seems to be a destiny set in motion long before these three guys found each other.

I left the practice space on this particular night when the band had decided that it was time to shut everything down.  Although I felt confident that they were going to stand out when given the opportunity, I could tell that each of them still felt like there was something that could be done to improve the set that they had come up with.  This type of hunger and dedication is incredibly inspiring and gave me the feeling that this is going to be one of the bands that comes out of Richmond and really makes a name for themselves.  There is a profile of the band on their Facebook page that lists three goals that they have as a group.

  The first is to gain a following in Richmond.  The second is to put out an album that has local success, and the third is to have that same album gain attention on a national level.  The local scene is certainly starting to hear their name, and it seems that the album is just a matter of time.  For now, they are focused on playing as much music as possible, and in time they know the rest of the puzzle pieces will come together

.  Richmond is steadily coming out with great bands that are getting their chance to shine, and I would certainly put the guys in Psychobilly Cadillac on that list.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds, but I am cert

ain that my story for the future is going to begin with, “I saw them practice in a garage for the first time, and knew that one day it was going to be this big.”

PsychobillyCadillac.net

Facebook.com/Pages/Psychobilly-Cadillac

By Director and Correspondent: Brandon Samuel

Brandon is a native of the Richmond area, having lived here for the past 15 years.  He attended Longwood University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science.  Brandon’s dream has always been to get into the music industry, and he decided that his love for writing and music would be the perfect foot in the door.  Brandon enjoys going to as many show as possible and has a strong desire to see local bands succeed.  Seeing both local and mainstream bands is the best way to truly enjoy their music, and Brandon wants to bring the whole experience of seeing a live show to the loyal readers of Magazine33.