High Octane
Rockabilly, a fusion of Blues and and up-tempo R & B, was one of the original forms of Rock N’ Roll, and is best witnessed (in its infancy) in the early recordings of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. The style, characterized by twangy guitar lines, spare, visceral drumming, and percussive stand-up bass lines, later grew to absorb the rawer elements of Country, with musicians like Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and the inimitable Johnny Cash moving it forward down new avenues of popularity.
As much a musical style as a personal aesthetic (signified by pompadour hairstyles and slick ‘50s fashions), Rockabilly failed to generate record sales by the beginning of the ‘60s, but a few groups from the early ‘80s, in search of synth-freedom, breathed new life into the genre.
Comprised of William Cooley (guitar and vocals), Charlie Zayas (bass and vocals), and drummer Stephen “Atomic Clock” Plotnick, High Octane carry on the august, and very energetic Rockabilly tradition by emphasizing the style’s buried roots. With Zayas and Plotnick having played with Central Florida bands like Rocket 88, the Midnight Ramblers and the Hindu Cowboys and Cooley’s involvement in several swing and big band orchestras, the trio bring rare energy and a sense of professionalism to the stage. What they create together is both swingingly familiar and stompingly all their own.
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