The Frantic Flattops “Hi-Fi Honey (Revisited)” 2003, Get Hip Recordings. Originally released in 1993. A CD post today since we don’t have the original vinyl. This week in March 1994 we were in Austin seeing The Frantic Flattops at South by Southwest.

Pictured here are Frantic Frank, Hot Rod Mike (who replaced Pistol Pete on bass) and Too Tall Paul along with Joe and our friend, Matt, at that off-SxSW show in March ‘94. SxSW was a whole different game back then – we just drove down Route 66 from Milwaukee, WI with not much of a plan, other than to stop in Dallas for a couple of days and then head to Austin for the showcase and stay with my friend, Carrie. (We knew the Flattops would be playing as we had seen them play The Unicorn in Milwaukee in February; we knew the guys fairly well as they stayed at our friends’ house when they performed in Milwaukee.) We didn’t need tickets for anything and could basically just wander in and out of venues (except for the very big deal that year which was an invite-only keynote showcase performance by Johnny Cash – we didn’t get to go to that).  Also playing at this SxSW show that night were High Noon and Herman the German, and a guest appearance by Rosie Flores (seen here boogieing down to the Flattops).

I don’t listen to much rockabilly anymore: I still enjoy it in small doses but its formulaic structure does get very repetitive after a short bit. That said, I’m still very fond of a few tracks from Hi Fi Honey including “Feelin’ Cheap,” the brush-drummed bluesy “Dressed Up,” “Go Man Go” and “Slippin’ In.” The best tracks on the album are the ones where Ronnie Dawson steps in for the vocals: “Crazy Mixed Up World,” “Buzzard Luck” and “It Should’ve Been Me.” The CD reissue comes with a few bonus tracks – live versions of “Juke Joints Jumpin’,” “Baby Come Back” and “Feelin’ Cheap” recorded for WMAX plus a cover of Gene Vincent’s “Teenage Partner.”