dex romweber Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Flat Duo Jets “Red Tango”

sfilzen — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 19:41:53 +0000

Flat Duo Jets “Red Tango” 1996. Norton Records. Super-bummed to hear about the passing of Flat Duo Jets’ Dex Romweber this past weekend at age 57 (b. 1966, d. February 16, 2024). He’s considered the “godfather of the power duo” garage rock revival of the 90’s/early 2000’s and was a major influence on musicians like Jack White (the White Stripes performed the Jets’ “You Belong to Me” or “Apple Blossom Time” in their live shows and more recently-ish White’s Third Man Records released Dex Romweber Duo Live at Third Man, 2010) and The Black Keys. We saw the Flat Duo Jets perform – Dex on guitar/vocals and Chris “Crow” Smith on drums – at least twice in the 90’s, one was particular memorable: around ‘95 at an in-store at the original, smaller RushMor Records location in our Milwaukee neighborhood of Bay View. Dex and Crow wedged themselves in between record aisles, plugged into a lone amp, closed the cymbal case to use as a bass drum and let loose their version of rockabilly garage blues crazy. We were standing so close to Dex that it was really uncomfortable – I could have picked Dex’s nose without unbending my elbow. The other time was at The Rave (Milwaukee), I think December ’98 when they opened for Reverend Horton Heat and Royal Crown Revue (now called Amazing Crowns due to legal issues with RC Cola). My memory is super-murky from this show but fortunately Joe’s mind is a steel-trap so I’m quoting his recollection here: “These were comp tickets from WMSE because the Shellac show we originally won tickets to was a benefit show for animal rights or something and they wouldn’t let us in. Flat Duo Jets were not listed on the bill and we weren’t crazy about the Royal Crown Revue so we decided to take our time. Well, either we got the time wrong or the Rave was running late because as we were walking in I recognized Dex’s singing and I said ‘I think the Flat Duo Jets are playing.’ They were and luckily we caught most of their set. We talked to Crow after because I had recently found a second copy of their first album and I remembered he didn’t have one from last time I talked to him at the Rush Mor in store at the old location. He gave me his address, somewhere in Florida I think, and I sent him the record but I never got a reply.”

Red Tango was Flat Duo Jet’s 7th studio release. It’s garagey rockabilly overall, with some stomping instrumentals (opener “Tell Django“), crooning, tear-in-my-beer ballads (“Don’t Ask Me Why“), roof-ripping psychobilly tracks (“Lonely Wolf“) and Latin-flavored numbers (the title track “Red Tango“). My top pick is “Baby Are You Hiding From Me” which has a killer beat and hook and leans slightly more to the garage end of rockabilly-garage.

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Dex Romweber Duo featuring Jack White “The Wind Did Move”

sfilzen — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 16:12:56 +0000

Dex Romweber Duo featuring Jack White “The Wind Did Move” b/w “Last Kind Word Blues” 2009. Third Man Records. Earlier this week Dex Romweber Duo’s drummer, Sara Romweber (Dex’s older sister) died at age 55. In the 80′s she was part of Let’s Active who were popular on the indie/college radio scene and opened for R.E.M. “The Wind Did Move” is a blues/Americana-leaning rockabilly scorcher with backup whoops and hollers, as well as “sawing wood” by White. “Last Kind Word Blues” is a more sedate and soulful bluesy number with an old-timey saloon flavor. It’s a cover of the song originally recorded by Geeshie Wiley, recorded in Grafton, WI for Paramount Records in 1930. Whether it was Dex or Jack who chose this, I don’t know, but Jack White has had a fascination with Paramount Records, putting out a couple of massive and expensive box sets: The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records – which I’d like to note is the same title as a grad school paper I wrote about Paramount back in the late 90′s that was published in the Wisconsin Magazine of History Vol 82, #2, Winter 1998-1999. (Doubt he read it, but maybe!)

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Flat Duo Jets “Introducing the Flat Duo Jets”

sfilzen — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 19:35:11 +0000

Flat Duo Jets “Introducing the Flat Duo Jets” 1995. Norton Records. The album’s title is misleading – Introducing the Flat Duo Jets is the band’s sixth LP since they formed in ‘83; it was recorded on one day in ‘94. I like this description of Introducing on Norton Records’ website “A heaping low-fi helping of the raucous subterranean sludge that first made these goofballs semi famous.” At times frenetic retro rockabilly (“Whoa Blue Baby,” “That’s The Way I Love,” “Breakout” and a fantastic cover of Bo Diddley’s “Pretty Thing”) or forlorn and lonesome ( “Is Life Real,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”), the two-piece Flat Duo Jets pack in 20 bite-sized lo-fi punk blues and country-tinged tracks.

We saw Flat Duo Jets around ‘95 at an in-store at RushMor Records smaller, original location in Milwaukee. Dex Romweber (guitar, vocals) and Chris “Crow” Smith (drums) wedged themselves in between record aisles, plugged into a lone amp and let loose their version of rockabilly garage blues crazy. I may not remember this correctly but I think that Crow may have played his drum case in lieu of a bass drum. We were standing so close to Dex that it was uncomfortable – like eye contact would have been at a level of intimacy you save for only close friends and family and even then it’s weird. That said, it was amazing to be so close that we could see the vibration of the guitar strings as Dex ripped through the set.

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Dex Romweber Duo “Live at Third Man Records”

sfilzen — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 21:45:53 +0000

Dex Romweber Duo “Live at Third Man Records” 2010. Third Man Records. Roots rock/rockabilly revival with deep scratch Cash vocals. Dex, formerly of the influential (if not commercially successful), Flat Duo Jets, and his sister Sara, former drummer of Let’s Active, team up for a live performance of bluesy, surfy and country-infused songs at Jack White’s Third Man Records in Nashville, recorded live to tape on February 4th, 2010. Especially manically surfy is the instrumental “Curse of the Little Bastard,” which Dex introduces as being named after James Dean’s car. “Homicide,” which would appear on their 2011 release Is That You in the Blue? is a cover of Myron Lee’s classic rockabilly tune. “Is It Too Late?” is a twangy weeper ballad off of the 2009 album Ruins of Berlin. “Grey Skies” and “Love Letters” also appear on Live at Third Man but sadly Cat Power (Chan Marshall) does not feature on “Love Letters” as she does on the studio release.

Run off grooves: Side A – “That guys gotta stop. Hell see us” (I think a missing apostrophe?) Side B – “Twas a rainy February night”

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