ROCKIN' across America with the Four Slicks (those wild and crazy dudes from France)

In late August / early-September, 2006 a French greaser-punk band, The Four Slicks, toured America in a 1963 Ford Falcon Deluxe 4-Door Wagon, making friends all along the way. The schedule called for stops in 17 cities, beginning in Hollywood, CA and ending in Brooklyn, NY.

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Here's their description of the vehicle, and photos, from their website http://fourslicks.free.fr

(unclear where it was initially purchased, but the band notes "Pancho was shipped by boat after the tour to Le Havre, France, and is now zooming around Paris, attracting lots of strange looks.")

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"It was updated with a stock 1967 289 V-8 Motor [with] a 2-barrel Autolite 2100 carb, C-4 three-speed automatic transmission, 5-bolt suspension, 3.20 rear end, and original California plates. Sometimes known as "Pancho.'"

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"Gas mileage was approximately 16 MPG. The car was badly overloaded with us, beer, records we bought, equipment, etc., including shit strapped to the roof, to the point where the rear was really sagging. But the Falcon rolled at 75 mph all day. During the 5,300 mile (8,500 km) tour, we had one major problem: the generator and regulator both fried in Sacramento and had to be replaced. We unfortunately missed the Salt Lake City show because of that--otherwise, we did not miss any shows due to car (or other) problems.

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Meet the band (and, apparently, their own rides in France):

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Charlie (vocals) - 1956 Dodge

Mark (drums) - 1950 Ford

Jon (guitar) - 1963 Ford

Ben (bass) - unclear

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The bandmembers have two EP's, one split 7" (with the Pneumonias), and one CD (on Slick Records, distributed in the US by Rapid Pulse). They are former members of French bands No-Talents, Creteens, Rip Offs, Real Gone Daddies, and the Dragueurs.

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Now, what do they sound like? According to www.nobrainszine.com, "cool, primitive, trashy rock & roll garage punk, like the Cramps meet the Radio Reelers." But a longer, and quite inspired, review appeared at www.geocities.com/nowwave/records/fourslickscd.html, penned by one Lord Rutledge:

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"As much as I love 7" vinyl, there are some bands that just work better for me on CD. A case in point are France's Four Slicks. The group's self-titled CD compiles songs from three vinyl [EP's] plus a split with The Pneumonias--and for me the entire collection is a lot more fun than any of the singles were by themselves. Maybe that's because this is the kind of band I like to listen to while I'm driving. I turn up the volume, roll down my windows, put my foot to the gas pedal, and just let the music rip through me. It's just got that feel, ya know? When you're listening to this shit, life's about open roads and endless possibilities and all the pretty girls who are just dying to ride next to you.

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"There aren't any obvious "hits" that would jump out at you in the single format. But as a whole, this disc totally smokes in the band's patented "garage-punk-meets-greasy-'50s-rock & roll" vein. The charmingly rough-hewn songwriting style of Mr. Jon Von Zelowitz is unmistakable, and songs like "Veronica" may bring to mind long-loved Rip Offs gems from way-back-when. But for the most part, the band is most reminiscent of all the Eisenhower Era hot-rod staples--Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran, et. al. And the cover selections (Junior Gravely and the Rock-a-Tones, Darrell Felts and the Confederates, Gene La Marr and his Blue Flames) demonstrate just how deeply the Four Slicks have delved into the recesses of slick-haired, car-crazed rock & roll.

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"Nowhere on this disc will you notice any attempts at deep meaning or concessions to the past 40 years of musical progress. One song after another blazes by in a flash of revved-up guitars and breakneck drumming--and not one tops the two-minute mark. This dance party's short and sweet, brother!

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"Society's guardians of morality used to call stuff like this "the devil's music." If you like to shake your ass to a rockin' beat, if you dig hot guitar leads, if you're smart enough to know that rock & roll was already as complicated as it would ever need to be by 1957, if you enjoy oldies radio but crave louder guitars and higher-powered drumming, then the Four Slicks are the band for you. This is great, stupid rock & roll, nothing more, nothing less.

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The poster at the top of the blog was done for the band by Chuck Sperry at the Firehouse Kustom Rock Art Company in San Francisco.

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