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| Photo by Rodney Bursiel |
Renowned rockabilly
vixen Rosie Flores only knows how to do things one way. “I like to do things
right. I don’t like to do things half-ass,” Flores said. “I don’t let any
recordings out until they are 100 percent Rosie approved.” This is just part of
the reason Flores finds herself currently on tour promoting two new releases:
her own Working Girls Guitar and the late Janis Martin's The
Blanco Sessions. Marti Brom & Rosie Flores make a stop at the Tip
Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on Nov 4. Flores recently wrapped up the Janis
Martin project which had consumed her life for 4 years. In 2011 she finished
the recordings she produced with rockabilly pioneer Martin in 2007. Of course,
the process couldn't go smoothly. The disc idea had to be turned down by
numerous labels at first. “Most record labels are resistant to taking the risk
on an artist who has passed on and who didn't have a name since the
1950s," Flores said while waiting on last minute repairs to her touring
van. She recounted how she worked tirelessly with no money and then had to
raise more money to see it done. She said she had to get Cow Island Music
involved so she could actually do things the right way. In the end, Flores
friends were there to help. "A lot of people put their time in for free on
this project," Flores said. "A lot of my good friends donated time
and money because they saw how difficult it was because I had to do a lot of it
by myself." She was able to get the recordings done with the help of
Kickstarter. "I'm just glad this whole thing didn't kill me," Flores
said wryly. "Now I can get out there and tour." Sticking together
with the girls in her life is more than just a motto for Flores. She talks
fondly of the friendship she shared with both the late Martin and Wanda
Jackson. After all it was Flores who brought back Martin and Jackson from the
brink of obscurity in the 90s. Now with the release of Martin's CD The
Blanco Sessions she is able to spread the gospel word about Janis Martin,
who died 4 months after the tapes rolled. "We’re promoting this record for
her and getting her name out there,” Flores said. “Part of it is for her to
have a voice on the radio now. It’s also for the Kickstarter people who pitched
in to see the record completed. I just wish I could call Janis now and let her
know how well we're doing." In between all this she recorded and produced Working
Girls Guitar, the first one on which she plays all of the guitar parts.
The Rockabilly Filly has a twang of her own and—among a crowded field of
guitarists all chasing the same thing--that’s saying something. Her notable
Texas vibrato comes courtesy of her latest custom turquoise guitar: a
Telecaster body with a metal plate on top called a SteeltopCaster. "It
looks like it's ready for battle," she said laughing. Ever modest she
finds the whole experience a big privilege. “I get to play behind Marti who is
a great singer," Flores said adding that she feels they're pretty unique.
"There’s nothing like us out there at all." And with a finger on a
dimple and one heel up, she might be right. "This ain’t the Judds,"
she said with a laugh."There's a little bit of naughtiness involved. It’s
not clean country." Once a rockabilly kitten, always a rockabilly kitten; this wouldn't be true rockabilly if it didn't have a little dissenting attitude
about it. "We’re bringing that rebellious flavor back," Flores said. "It’s
rock n roll. It’s sexy. And it’s really great to dance to." Rosie Flores,
a true American original, seems to have her heart in the right place. "We
really just want to show how much we care about what Janis did in the past and
what she did recently before she died," Flores said. "And to show
what we have in our back pocket today.”
Marti Brom & Rosie Flores and band wsg Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on Nov 4. Doors at 6 pm.
Ticket information: http://www.ticketweb.com/
Click here purchase and listen to samples of The Blanco Sessions at the Cow Island Music website:
http://www.cowislandmusic.com/
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