Jimmy Tremor of The Tremors Interview

When I started back toying around with the idea of starting my own label again there was one band specifically that I really wanted to work with – The Tremors! I met them eons ago when I was combing the net looking for cool bands to review. I’ll never forget Jimmy Tremor’s reply – sure we’d love to get a review but from the looks of your site I’m not sure you’d like what we’re doing. I quickly replied that I was into Rockabilly, but I just couldn’t drum up any interest from other Rockabilly bands to get anything in for review. A few days later the band’s Sophomore effort “Invasion of the Saucermen” hit my box and nothing has been the same since. I’ve followed the band’s every move and I’ve reviewed every release they’ve put out since this fateful encounter. By the time I met the band their debut release Scourge of The South had already sold out, so I wasn’t able to get it and that never sat well with me, I looked everywhere for it with no luck! Thanks to the genius of eBay and the advent of the search/save/email notifications I was able to land the CD a few years back – for 40$! A small price to pay for a band that I’ve admired for years. And now here we are a few weeks from the 20^th Anniversary Remastered Reissue that I couldn’t be more excited and prouder of! It just goes to show you that sometimes those high prices you pay for things you love can turn into so much more. So, in honor of this reissue, we wanted to catch up with Jimmy and talk some smack about gear, the band and the upcoming reissue!

Good to have you here with us Jimmy, let’s start with some of the oldest questions in the book. What made you want to pick up the guitar and learn to play? How old were you? Did you take lessons/study, or did you pick it up and just start twangin’?!

I started playing at 13. My older sister had a Yamaha classical guitar and that's what I started on. When I heard the Rolling Stones, I knew I wanted to play electric guitar in a Rock 'n' Roll band. I took enough lessons to get off the ground from a brilliant guitarist named Jim Ryan, but soon learned that playing by ear was the way to really learn the kind of music that I wanted to play.

Did you start singing when you started playing guitar or was that something that came with time?

I sang in chorus in grade school, mainly to get out of class, so I’d already been singing some. As soon as I could sing and play at the same time, I was doing it.
 
When did you start playing live/doing shows? Any recordings floating around from that era that our readers go out searching for?

I played some talent shows and battle of the bands in high school but didn't start playing clubs until 1989 with a band called Rocket 99. Other than some demos that I have somewhere around the house, there's no recordings or videos from that time.

Vocally, who are your biggest influences? I hear a lot of Lux Interior influence, but I’m probably looking hard for it since they’re a favorite band of mine.

Hard to be a Rockabilly musician in the 21st century and not be influenced by the Cramps. I definitely love Lux's over the top stylized Rockabilly vocals. I guess the biggest influences on vocals would be Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis.

Guitar-wise and musically who would you say are your biggest influences?

Musically, Jerry Lee Lewis is a huge influence even though he plays a different instrument. My first memories of music is my mom's 45 of "Great Balls of Fire". A few of the guitarists I've really been influenced by are Scotty Moore, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Grady Martin, Keith Richards, Marc Bolan, Johnny Thunders and Johnny Ramone. So many great guitarists, it's hard to narrow it down.

Are there any other genres of music outside of Rockabilly that you spent a lot of time chasing and playing in the early days? Any Jimmy Tremor stories that involve big hair, aqua net and lip stick?!

Rocket 99 and Ubangi Stomp were pre-Tremors bands that had a touch of sleazy glam. It was my take on what I thought modern Rock 'n Roll should be about.

You were in a Punk N’ Roll/Psychobilly band, Ubangi Stomp at one point and something happened with the members, and you were looking for replacements, but you decided to put the Tremors together instead. What inspired you to go full on Rockabilly as opposed to staying in the Psychobilly lane?

I just wasn't getting much traction with Ubangi Stomp; heavy music seems to be a hard sell in North Carolina. Rockabilly has always been a large part of my style, so one day I thought that doing my songs in a straight Rockabilly style with a traditional Rockabilly ensemble might go over better. Also, because of the internet and cd technology, tons of Rockabilly that hadn't seen the light of day for years became available, so I was able to really immerse myself in the style.

I know we’re speaking about the Tremors here, but for our readers at home, is there a specific site or place they can go check out Ubangi Stomp and possibly grab a cd direct from you, since the band is no more. And let’s cut the BS, the self-titled Ubangi disc is awesome – it’s the Tremors on SPEED! I’d hate for our readers to miss out on a chance to hear it/pick it up!

I don't have it up on the net, but anybody that's interested can shoot an email to jimmytremor64@gmail.com and I’ll get a copy to them. One of these days, I'll post it on band camp.

What inspired you to name the band the Tremors?

When Ubangi Stomp broke up, I had an informal transitional Rockabilly band called the Flies with former Ubangi members. I started calling myself Jimmy Tremor on the booking demo for that project. When the Tremors were ready to perform, we wrote down a couple hundred possible names and the Tremors was the one that got picked. This was in the early days of the internet, so we didn't search to see how many other folks have used the names through the years. Oh well, there was another Rolling Stones before THE Rolling Stones.

The Tremors had the same line up for several years, but the band has added a new Stand-Up Bassist, Luke Lowbrow in the last 7-8 years. I find it hard in my area to find bassists who can play or even have interest in playing a Stand-up bass. How hard was it to find him? Was he already aware of the band?

Luke had been coming to shows for years, we even played his wedding. He'd been in a band called Transylvania Transport previously. He'd seen us so many times and had the CDs, so he came in knowing the songs and style. So, he fit right in.
 
How’s the camaraderie and the vibe in the band like now that Luke has joined up?

Great, He's a really nice guy and has a great sense of humor.

What’s the song writing process in the band nowadays? Do you just come in with riffs or do you have lyrics and go from there?

Most of the time I have a full song, and we work out an arrangement together. But we also come up with riffs at a practice that become songs.
 
Here in a few weeks, we’ll be reissuing a remastered edition of the band’s Long out of print, debut album, Scourge of The South, which will also feature a FULL live radio performance. Can you share with us what you all were doing/thinking and hoping for when you were working on the album?

I’m just glad to have it back in print, this CD sold out fairly quickly when it first came out. I'd never been happy with the mixes on the 2 songs that I recorded myself, so we remixed them and those are the mixes on the new CD. I'd basically forgotten about the live radio show. It's great that we had those live recordings that were made right around the time that "Scourge" was released to include on the new edition. And the remastering really makes those old tunes jump off the cd.

The radio performance section of the disc is 19 tracks which is a humdinger of a show, you get everything the band can give on one release. Looking and listening back to the performance what is your takeaway from this era of the band?

We recorded that show in a storage room at WUAG, which is the radio station at UNCG. It was so hot, and they turned off the air conditioning so you couldn’t hear it on the recordings. But we did great, no dead air or cussing. We were all so psyched to have the new CD out and to have so many great things happening for the band so fast. 

What are you most excited about on this reissue?

I’m excited about the great sound of the remaster and the new mixes. I wish it had sounded like this 20 years ago!

Are there any other live performances and leftover tracks stored away in the Tremors vault that might see the light one day?

We did a recording of Johnny Cash's "You're my Baby" when we were recording "Invasion of the Saucermen" that's pretty good, we might mix that one day and do something with it.

Is there a specific track or two that has been recorded that you were disappointed in?

The alternate take of "Pill Popper" that's on the cd version of the "Uranium Rock" ep that we recorded in the studio didn't make it onto "Scourge" because the demo version that I recorded was a far better performance.
 
Share with us a favorite memory from your time with the band, it can be anything, a special show or a time you were in the studio sweating it out trying to flesh out a song? 

So many great memories in the long career of the band, but one would be the first time we opened for Reverend Horton Heat. Probably the biggest crowd that I ever performed in front of. What a blast!

Do the Tremors have plans to record and release a new album any time soon? We’re all anticipating a recording of the new line up!

Yes, we have some new songs to put down. My wife thinks that one of the new tunes is my best song ever. 

Let’s talk shop and get the scoop on your gear! Every time I’ve seen you play or in pictures, you’re always playing a Gibson. I’m sure you have several guitars; can you share with us what you have? Do you have a special guitar that you use to record but opt not to play live.

The main guitar that I've used throughout the time of the Tremors is a 1962 Gibson ES-125TCD. I've also used a 1958 Gibson 225TD live and on the "Uranium Rock ep" and "Invasion of the Saucermen". I really love the thin-line hollow bodies. I've also got a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Junior, a 1953 Gibson ES-125, a 1965 Gibson Firebird III, a 1961 Gibson ES-125TD and a 2012 Epiphone Sorrento that I customized to make it more like my 62 125TCD. 

What size and brand of strings do you prefer and why?

I use D'Addario Chromes flat wound strings. A local guitar store owner named Sam Moss recommended that I use flats, and then I read an interview with Scotty Moore where he said that if you want the rockabilly tone, use flat wound strings with a wound G string. Took a little while to get used to. but they were right, flats really give you that authentic tone. 

Pedals, Amps and effects – what do you use and prefer?

I use a Fender Pro Junior amp, a MXR carbon copy delay for a splash of slap-back and a Peterson tuner.

Here at B.A.P. we’re die-hard Horror movie geeks, do you have a favorite Horror movie, if so, would you mind sharing a little bit about it?

I think my favorite is the Mummy. Karloff is spectacular in this role. Great original story that wraps up in less than an hour and 15 minutes. Masterful storytelling.

When the Tremors aren’t playing, you play guitar in Kelley and the Cowboys. How long have you been playing with Kelley? Have you all recorded any albums that our readers can go and pick up? If not, do you all have plans to record any time soon?

I've been playing with Kelley and the Cowboys for 16 years now. She's a very talented singer and musician. We recorded earlier this year and should have a release out soon.

Let’s do some word association – I’ll toss out some names, feel free to share your thoughts with a few words/sentences or just one word. Whichever you prefer.

Carl Perkins - The rockin' guitar man, exceptional singer, guitarist and songwriter, should have been far bigger than he was.

Lux Interior - Amazing frontman with a great knowledge of what Rock 'n' Roll is all about.

Johnny Ramone - Leader of the last great American Rock 'n' Roll band during the age of Rock 'n' Roll. Less is more!

Jerry Lee Lewis - The Killer! Possibly the greatest single musician of all time.

Johnny Thunders – Rock 'n' Roll personified. Made 3 of the greatest Rock 'n' Roll albums ever. (New York Dolls, Too Much Too soon and LAMF) 

Johnny Cash - American hero. Combined different genres of music into simple songs that can only be described as "Johnny Cash Music".

Johnny Burnette - Great vocalist and early Rock 'n' Roll hero, too bad more Rock'n'roll Trio sides weren't cut.

Hasil Adkins - Bought "Peanut Butter Rock 'n' Roll" because he looked cool and had a cool name. Blew me away. Rock 'n' Roll outsider. The Tremors were lucky enough to open for him twice on his final tour.

Vincent Price - Class incarnate, great all-around actor

Peter Cushing - Love me some Hammer Horror

Boris Karloff - What can you say, one of the kings of Horror. Check out "The Body Snatchers", along with "The Mummy", one of my favorites. 

Rockabilly - Irresistible rhythm, fun music.

When Jimmy Tremor isn’t up on stage shakin’ with fever and melting the crowd’s faces what would we be surprised to find him doing?

Nurse-maiding a house full of animals. My wife Tracy and I have 4 cats, 2 dogs and right now a couple of foster kittens.

We know you’ve played all over the U.S. with The Tremors at all sorts of places, is there a venue/festival that you’d like to play, that you haven't had the chance to play yet? Has the band played overseas yet, any chances of that happening any time soon?

Lots of places, I wouldn't mind playing Viva Las Vegas or Viva East one day. The Grand Old Opry would be nice! Haven't played overseas, would love to of course, but right now, no plans for it.
 

Aside from the reissue of Scourge of The South, what’s next for the Tremors? Any shows, upcoming releases you’d like to share here?

Well, like I said, we're going to do some recording. I've got to book some shows, been out of it with a broken leg and thyroid problems this year, but ready to get back at it.

Where’s the best place for fans to pick up your merchandise?

https://thetremors1.bandcamp.com/

Last question and we’ll let you go. Of all the songs you’ve written, if you could, pick one or 3 that best represent you as a complete musician.

"Pill Popper" from "The Scourge of the South", "(I ain't no) Two-Timin' Man" from "Invasion of the Saucermen", and "Cabin Fever" from "Old-Fashioned Hillbilly Feud"

And that's a wrap folks! Jimmy Tremor has unloaded his secrets on gear, his thoughts on a few of our monster and musical heroes, he also dished on his old band Ubangi Stomp, he still has CDS to sell, don't miss out there! He has also given us a preview into what's in store for the Tremors!

Don't forget to swing back through here in a few weeks to grab up the Scourge of The South 20th Anniversary Reissue on CD - they'll be hand numbered and only 100 are being pressed, there's no plan to press anymore, so don't miss out! And here's a secret I've been holding onto - 2 lucky fans will receive a test press of the disc at random. I spent close to 80 hours remastering these 32 tracks, so I made a few test presses to spin in the car, the stereo and at friends houses, I really wanted to experience the album in different atmospheres to see how it held up. As opposed to tossing them, I thought a few fans might enjoy having a piece of Tremors/BAP history!