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The Pinstripes
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The band
A long-standing friendship and various mutual musical projects in the past have joined together the three members of this Neo Rockabilly band who come from the South of Germany and have played together since 2001. Headed by the lead singer and lead guitarist Artur "Spike" Gramm, who composes most of the band's original material, the trio is completed by Hagen Offterdinger on drums and Dennis Sauter on double bass.
In the past few years, the Pinstripes have appeared at numerous major Rockabilly festivals such as the Walldorf Weekender or the Brandenburg Festival, and have played a whole heap of gigs in clubs all over Germany, thus acquiring an ever growing fan base.
They have shared the stage with well-known Rock 'n' Roll and Rockabilly artists such as Bill Haley's Comets, Paul Ansell's Number Nine, Restless, Mad Sin, Mad Heads, Evil Devil, to name just a few. And not least because of their wild stage show the Pinstripes are also a frequently booked act for popular commercial events. In 2004, for instance, they supported "Juli", one of Germany's chart toppers, at major festivals. And in December 2005 the band had the opportunity to present some songs of their new CD on the occasion of a national handball league event before an audience of more than 6000 people.
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The music
Apart from classic Rockabilly songs and a large amount of self-penned material, the band's repertoire also includes songs from other areas of Rock Music, such as Jimmy Hendrix' "Voodoo Chile", Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" or "Whole Lotta Rosie" of AC/DC, which they convert into their own style, which they themselves refer to as "Kick-Ass Rockabilly". The Pinstripes' special sound results from more than 15 years of experience with different bands and from the stylistic influences associated with these musical experiences. Although the trio definitely stands in the tradition of the great bands of the Rock 'n' Roll Revival of the early 80s such as the Stray Cats or Restless, they stylistically tread their own path and manage to transfer the Rockabilly Music of the 50s into the third millennium in an impressively vivid and powerful way. With their professionalism and their outstanding musical skills combined with a wild stage performance, the Pinstripes also manage to convince the audience at their live shows.
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The Pinstripes in 2005 when recording the songs for the CD
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The album
The songs for the "First Kick" CD were recorded in summer 2005. At that time, Oliver “O-Lee” Hyttrek (Red Back Spyders) played the bass, as the band's bass player had left the band shortly before the recordings at the studio started. The album contains – apart from some versions of well-known Rock 'n' Roll songs from the late 50s / early 60s such as "Please Don't Touch" by Johnny Kidd or "Funnel of Love", which is best known in the version by Wanda Jackson – mainly original material composed by the lead singer, Artur Gramm. The songs are characterized by fast drum beats, a pounding bass and frenetic guitar riffs, and cover the whole range of modern Rockabilly. Swinging, melodious tunes such as "I Don't Want You" round off the musical repertoire, adding some interesting counterpoints. The selection is completed by adaptations of songs from other areas of Rock Music such as "Voodoo Chile" by Jimmy Hendrix and "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead.
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Discography
“First Kick” CD (CHER-CD 512114)
Cherokee Records (2005)
VA / “Hot & Wild Vol. 2” CD (CHER-CD 504113)
Cherokee Records (2005)
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