Doug Perkins & The Spectaculars

The story of Doug Perkins and the Spectaculars starts a long time ago... In the mountainous city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on the now nearly forgotten Indian Gap Trail, a young cow poke named Billy Joe Perkins met a young woman of Cherokee descent named Salali. They married and in mid July of 1934 gave birth to a son they named Douglas. During the harsh winter of '52, Billy Joe and Salali went into town and were never seen again, leaving a young Doug to fend for himself. All that was left to him was a pair of Aviator sunglasses, a watch with a leather strap and an arch top semi-acoustic guitar. His father had been a prominent jazz guitarist, and came close to shooting a man who once changed a string on Django Reinhardt's guitar, a story which Doug still regails. Doug grabbed these possessions and hit the road, teaching himself basic chords and fashioning a style of playing that would later become known as Rockabilly. One night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A young Carl Perkins (no relation) was about to play a show, when Doug asked to play on stage with him. Carl's band at the time consisted of Capt. Chet "Spangle" Banner on lead guitar and a shady bespectacled bass player known only as D.B. No one was prepared for the sound that came from the stage that night. The night Rockabilly was born. Carl Perkins, who is relatively unknown as a witch doctor, embroiled with rage, banished all three there and then to a time when everyone would have forgotten about them... or have they... Chet "Spangle" Banner was born to American parents in the Bad Lands of New Mexico, before moving to the Japanese province of Hokkaido. Spending his early years dealing with a rare affliction known only as "The Fear", he was initially a shy and reserved young man. He joined the Japanese Imperial Navy at an early age and fought in WWII, reaching the rank of Captain on the Japanese Heavy Cruiser, Kumano. During an attack on the Kumano from the USS Ticonderoga, Chet made a break for it and swam for the US Navy ship, where he stowed away and made it back to his rightful homeland. Having learned to play a mean guitar during his years in the navy, Chet quickly found work as a guitar for hire before meeting Doug that fateful night in Albuquerque. There is not much known of D.B. Not even what the D.B. in his name stands for. A very mysterious quiet character who rarely has anything to say. His routes can be traced back to Nashville Tennessee where he was said to be born wearing his trademark shades and clutching an empty bottle of Czechoslovakian lager. A trait which he seems to have carried throughout his entire life. However, if D.B. is not holding this, then he IS holding the only other thing he knows... His Bass. Carl had hired him that fateful night as a dep for his regular Bass player Jeff "Cotton-mouth" Smith who had been lynched the previous evening. Jesus ‘Slim Ramone was born to parents of Mexican decent in Austin Texas which is where he spent most of his days as a child. He learned to play the drums on a sofa cushion with a pair of old drumsticks he found buried in a cupboard, drumsticks his Father still swears were given to him by “the jazzer” Papa Jo Jones. Despite this he felt his passion was for design and rose to a prominent position in the motor car industry. One fateful day after returning from a coffee break, Slim noticed some of his sketches for a new style of tail fin had gone missing from his desk. 6 months later the General Motors Cadillac was released with his tail fin designs on the back and an icon of the 1950’s was launched. Slim got none of the credit. Down trodden and bemused, Slim went back to his roots as a child in Austin, Texas. The drums. One night at his local pub's open mic night in walked three fellers who he had never been seen before. They asked if there were any drummers in the joint… Doug Perkins & The Spectaculars were born. "Doug Perkins & the Spectaculars... If you saw that name outside a pub, you'd probably go in wouldn't you." - Mark Radcliffe - BBC Radio 2