md plays
rockabilly
bat
9
By RANDY WALKER
Fifteen-year-old John Romweber
coils over his guitar, tapping his boots
to the rockabilly beat. As vocalist
Hunter Landen leaps into the air,
Romweber spins on his toes and strikes
into the first notes of his solo.
The Kamikazees, a teenage time
warp out of the '50s, are going in for
the kill.
"First, they see us and say, 'You
can't play, you're a bunch of babies,' "
bass player Tony Mayer said. "But
then they hear us play. It freaks them
out."
The Kamikazees play a totally
American form of music called
rockabilly.
"It has the jump of hillbilly and the
rock of rock 'n' roll," Romweber said.
As true rockabillies the Kamikazees
believe in cheap equipment, both as a
concept and for the sound it gets.
"It's made in Japan, I got it for $35,"
drummer Mike Krause said of his set.
"I don't know who makes it. The main
reason I use it is because it's so dinky."
As for the PA system, "It's kinda
cheap but we can play at parties,"
Landen. said.
Romweber's favorite guitar is a
black and white 1959 Sears Silvertone
with one pickup.
"I hate Gibson Les Pauls, just
because of what they stand for'
Romweber said. (The Les Paul is an ex
pensive guitar favored by hard rockers
and heavy metal guitarists.)
The band's affinity for cheapness
extends to their wardrobe, which
comes courtesy of the PTA Thrift
Shop, Garrboro. On stage, Romweber
and guitarist Erik Peterson wear fake
leopard skin shirts from the thrift shop.
"It's where we buy all our clothes,"
Romweber said. A lick of hair droops
into Romweber's eyes, and he tilts his
head back to see when he speaks.
Romweber's pointy-toed black boots,
which seem two sizes too big, are PTA
specials. -
The group's appearance helps set
them apart from their classmates in
school.
"We're so much different from the
; other people at school, it's hard for
them to accept us," Landen said.
"Music influences how we act ... I'm
not that good at school, but I'm not
stupid."
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The Kamikazees at a recent performance at The Station In Carrboro. From left to right, Hunter Landen, Mike Krause
and Tony Mayer. Photo by Randy Walker.
"It has more to do with being preoc
cupied with different things," said .
Peterson, who goes to Carolina Friends
school along with Krause.
"Maybe because we're so weird, we
don't really have any girlfriends,"
Landen said.
"I go along with older girls better,"
fifteen-year-old Mayer said. "None of
them our age are that cool." .
As the band's elder at age 18, drum
mer Krause is in charge of beer.
Although he is the oldest by two years,
Krause was the last one to join the
band.
The nucleus of the group came
together about two and a half years
ago when Romweber and Landen
started playing together. Landen's
mother suggested the original name,
Crash Landen and the Kamikazees.
They later dropped the Crash Landen
part because it put too much emphasis
on Landen.
"We don't have a leader in the band
or nothin'," Mayer said. Later, as if try
ing out the idea, he said, "Hunter's the
leader."
"No I'm not, man. We don't have 3
leader," emphasized Landen, who
seemed to know all the responses for a
textbook rock 'n' roll rebel.
Landen, who looks like a young Jim
Morrison, said his influences were
Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Mick
J agger.
Romweber said he was influenced
by Elvis's guitarists.
The Kamikazees flew out of the '50s
and crash-landed in the '80s, slightly
warped by the trip:
never made it to the silver screen
I guess that's not my suriin' scene
I'd rather go shoot the curl
And kill that little surfer girl.
John Romweber and Hunter
Landen, I'm the Phantom Surfer
Like a kamikaze plane without a
pilot, this band without a leader flies
into the teenage American night, guid
ed only by the dim red light of a
rockabilly dance hall. q
Randy Walker is a staff writer for The
Daily Tar Heel.
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April 3, 1982 (Charlotte, NC) April 17, 1 982 (Raleigh, NC)
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Spotlight, April 1, 1982
7