Jackie & the Cedrics.
The Scamp loves music, loves to dance, and he’s never been shy about letting me know it. In utero, Sam Cooke could set his feet and elbows a-stirring like nothing else. I’ve been fond of playing what The Hub refers to as “rot-gut music” for him — Leadbelly, Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf — as well as the dusty road heroes, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams (”Jambalaya” is, predictably enough, a favorite, the source of my tendency to call The Scamp my “ma-chazz-a-mayo”). The Scamp’s tastes are eclectic, from Dean Martin to Public Enemy (preferably on vinyl). Recently, he has become totally addicted to a 7″ in my collection: “Go Honda Go” by Jackie & the Cedrics.
And I do mean hooked: The Scamp plays it again and again (as well as the B-side, “Velocity Stacks”), hugging his blue teddy bear and rocking passionately from side to side, even giving it his extra-special nod of the head and deep crouch (that’s how you know he’s really in the groove). I’m afraid he’s going to wear the record out; that 45 — purchased in 1994 — is nearly impossible to replace, as Jackie & the Cedrics are an underground phenomenon in the States, being a Japanese ’50s-style garage band and all. They clearly have a loyal following in Japan, though, judging by the swooning ladies in this video. After scoring three new 45s from Brooklyn-based Norton Records, I had to find out if I could hope to take The Scamp to a live Jackie & the Cedrics show sometime in the near future.
I contacted Rockin’ Jelly Bean, the group’s bassist, who is also a talented illustrator and has collaborated with Pharrell Williams and Nigo. (Note: If you don’t like drawings of naked women, bypass the link. NSFW. Robert Crumb comes to mind.) Along with guitarist Rockin’ Enocky and drummer Jackie T-Bird, RJB is a veteran at driving the kids wild. He very kindly agreed to answer a few questions about Jackie & the Cedrics; get the scoop after the jump.
Q: How long has Jackie & the Cedrics been playing music together? How did you meet?
A: We started to play as the Cedrics July 7th, 1990. 17 years ago? We were made basically as a band for commerce, for the music business. We were gathered by a producer. We were confined, and forced to do the surfin’ music that had begun to be popular in those days. But we stole costumes and musical instruments, then we became independent.
Q: Who are the musicians that inspire you?
A: Of course the Beach Boys and Trashmen, but I like Barry White.
Q: In Japan, it seems that Jackie & the Cedrics has very many excited female fans. Do many young children attend your live shows as well?
A: Do you mean “are we popular with children”? Children usually don’t come to the clubs, but children dance when we play at wedding parties.
Q: Is the garage/surf-rock scene still very popular in Japan, as popular as it was 10 years ago?
A: No – same as the U.S. garage scene.
Q: When you visit America, is the audience here much different than your audience in Japan?
A: Umm… That is the same, too. I was surprised that music did not have a border.
Q: Do you have any plans to tour the United States again soon? Will you play in New York in the near future?
A: I hope that will be next year. We have some friends and Norton Records in NYC. (Do you know Billy and Miriam???) I wanna go back to NYC!!!
You can find Jackie & the Cedrics 7″s at Norton Records (item nos. 45-036, 45-048, and 45-054). Rockin’ Jelly Bean maintains a list of upcoming shows on his website (also the source of the photo above). Crown Dozen also has an interview with RJB, focused more on his juicy graphics — again, NSFW, dudes.