A MERRY ROCKABILLY CHRISTMAS

Here's wishing you all a rockin' rockabilly Christmas from Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers.

GAMBLERS SONG USED ON YOU TUBE

Upon surfing the net we found a home video of the Gasoline Gallery art show "California Screamin" that takes place in California once a year and the creator used the Mystery Train Gambler's song "Burning Fire" for the backing track. Very Nice!

WHAT A WAY TO START THE WEEKEND

If this video from Brian Setzer does not make you smile then you got no soul!
Hope you all have a killer weekend!

THE MYSTERY TRAIN GAMBLERS COFFEE TABLE BOOK

Check out this one of a kind hard cover coffee book featuring photos of Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers live and on stage.
A huge thanks must go out to the two photographers, Brad and T.J who followed the band around and were present and shooting at almost every single Mystery Train Gambler's show.

The book features over 50 photos of the band live on stage as well as some great comments from some of South Africa's top musicians such Jay Bones (Fuzigish), Garth & James (Martin Rocka And The Sick Shop), Lord Zoltan (Fuzigish) and Kevin (Death Valley Blues Band).

You can view and download a low res version of the entire book HERE.

VIXXEN REVIEW

Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers got a great review write up in the latest issue of online magazine Vixxen. Do yourself a favor and check it out HERE.

PRETORIA'S LAST KUSTOM BUILT ROCKABILLY

Hope you've all had a great week so far.

Here's just a little reminder of TONIGHT's gig (4 Nov) at Tings 'n Times, Pta with Martin Rocka And The Sick Shop. It promises to be a great evening with good friends, good food and great music!

This will be the Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers last Pretoria show as the Reverend is heading back to California for an undetermined time. So don't miss your last opportunity to catch some Kustom Built Rockabilly and get your hands on the last few remaining "Steppin' On The Gas" CD's

If you're stuck in Johannesburg then do not fear, Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers will be playing at Woody's Pub in Edenvale this Saturday the 6th of November alongside PistolWhip 45 and Swivelfoot.

TATTOOS AND ROCKABILLY

Don't forget this Saturday is the big Cool Inc Tattoo Convention at Cool Runnings in Fourways. The convention is on from Friday to Sunday and you can catch Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers, along side Martin Rocka And The Sick Shop, Black Cat Bone and Fuzigish on the Saturday afternoon playing live.

The doors to the event open at 10h00 and The Mystery Train Gamblers will be going on first at 14h00.

The band also has a little surprise with a guest artist on the drums for this show. So you do not want to miss it.

See you there!

REVEREND HORTON HEAT IN AUSTRALIA

It is no surprise that the Mystery Train Gamblers are fans of Reverend Horton Heat and we thought we'd let you know about the Reverend Horton Heat's tour in Australia. So click on through to this website to find out more.

The main reason for the post is the awesome illustration on the website, and an excuse to play some Reverend Horton Heat music…enjoy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHUCK BERRY

Once again, a very Happy Birthday to Mr Chuck Berry…one of the greatest rock-n-rollers of all time.
And not only was today Chuck Berry's birthday but it was also two years ago to this day that Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers had their first live show at the Rockabilly Rumble at Cafe Barcelona in Pretoria.

So Happy Birthday to Chuck Berry and The Mystery Train Gamblers.

HOT ROD HAVOC 4

It's no secret that Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers are huge fans of the Hot Rod Havoc DVD's and the band is pleased to announce that the latest DVD "Hot Rod Havoc 4" is about to be released and launched on the 20th of November in California. If you live anywhere near by make sure you pop on round.
Check out the trailer below.

FOUR GREAT LIVE SHOWS COMING UP

Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers have 4 great shows coming up at the end of October / beginning of November. Check out the dates below for details:

Fri 22 Oct - Cafe Barcelona, Pta (with Black Cat Bone)
Sat 30 Oct - Cool Inc Tattoo Conv, Cool Runnings, Jhb (start at 14h00)
Thur 4 Nov - Tings 'n Times, Pta (with Martin Rocka And The Sick Shop)
Thur 11 Nov - Woods Cafe, Jhb (Free Entrance)

THE KILLER "JERRY LEE LEWIS"

For those of you who know who Jerry Lee Lewis is then make sure you get a copy of his new album "Mean Old Man". That's right, the Killer has released a brand new album and the title track is enough to get your feet a tappin'.
Check out some of his songs along with several well known artists in collaboration at his MySpace site HERE.

LIVE PHOTOS FROM THE BOH

Thanks to our great friend Brad, we have a couple of great photos from the band's live show at the Bohemian a couple of weeks back. Thanks again to everyone who came out and rocked out with The Mystery Train Gamblers.
Enjoy...

LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE

Gone are the days where you can't find good rockabilly music. With every Mystery Train Gambler's show we meet more and more people getting into this great style of music and the lifestyle that goes with it.
If you are stuck in South Africa and such 3rd world countries then do not fret. There are two great online stores that sell almost every rockabilly album, 7", book and DVD.

It's like being a kid in a candy store when you visit these two websites and trust me, it's way too easy to get your credit card out and start ordering loads of music. But do yourself a favor and pay a visit to the two following stores and make sure you tell them that Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers sent ya!

Raucous Records - http://www.raucousrecords.com.
Goofin Records - http://www.goofinrecords.com.

ROCKABILLY ROUNDUP

Because Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers are playing this Thursday night the 9th at Tings 'n Times we're going to throw some rockabilly videos your way to get you in the mood...cause nothing gets a weekend started like some good 'ol rockabilly, that's for sure!

We're going to mix it up with some classic rockabilly from Scotty Moore (Elvis' original guitarist back in the day) and Eric Clapton doing "That's All Right Mama" and a bit more of a rocker from the good old Reverend Horton Heat with "Rocket Of Love".
Enjoy and we hope to see you all at Tings 'n Times this Thursday night!

THE DEVIL AT YOUR FEET

If you're a hot rod fan then you should know about The Alter Boys and The Burbank Choppers car clubs. Two clubs with some of the best rides and owners in the world.
Although it has been out for quite some time, Atomic Hot Rods have released an awesome documentary on the two clubs called "The Devil At Your Feet". You can purchase this DVD online and we strongly recommend you do so. Check out the trailer below.

MYSTERY TRAIN GAMBLERS LIVE THIS THUR NIGHT

Firstly, a huge thanks to everyone who made it out to the Mystery Train Gambler's show at The Bohemian last friday night. The band had an amazing time and yet once again, the Johannesburg crowd did not disappoint!

If you missed Friday night's show then you can catch the Gamblers live this Thursday night (9th Sept) at Tings 'n Times in Hatfield, Pretoria alongside Black Cat Bone. It promises to be a great evening of good food, booze, rockabilly music and like minded folk! Don't miss it!

CARL PERKINS AND FRIENDS

We are fast approaching the weekend again and it's going to be another kick ass rockabilly bash this Friday night at The Bohemian!
So to get the weekend started and to get you into the mood check out this awesome clip of Carl Perkins live on stage with some of, if not the best, musicians in the world from Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ringo Star, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom.
Enjoy!



And if you're looking for something with a bit more of a kick then check out the Hillbilly Casino live as they do a great cover of Motorhead's "Iron Fist".
Now are we ready to Rock This Town Johannesburg?

ROCKABILLY MADNESS THIS FRIDAY

Don't forget to catch Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers live this Friday night the 3rd of September for the band's first show in Johannesburg in over a year.
It promises to be one hell of an evening!

MAD SIN LIVE

A band that we don't mention too often here is a band from Germany called Mad Sin. We have been meaning to review their latest album "Burn & Rise" for some time but for now all we can say is "Wow!" It has to be their best album to date and in terms of the psychobilly genre they have got to be one of the, if not the best bands in the field.

We have just discovered a gem of a video clip of Mad Sin performing the song "Nive Lives" from their new album at the Ramones Museum in Berlin. A sort of "unplugged/acoustic" set, which is quite different to their loud and fast set.
Check it out below:

MORE PHOTOS FROM CAFE BARCELONA

Thanks to another one of our great photographer friends, T.J. Lucas, we have some more photos from the Mystery Train Gamblers show at Cafe Barcelona last Friday night! Enjoy.

THE GAMBLERS ALIVE ONCE MORE

Well, the first Mystery Train Gamblers show since the Reverend Wright has been back from California has finally taken place and what a turn out it ended up being.

Cafe Barcelona was packed to the rafters with new and old friends and the atmosphere was electric.

A HUGE thanks must go out to everyone who came out and bought the new EP "Steppin' On The Gas" as well as all the hot rod guys, everyone from Johannesburg and of course, The Death Valley Blues Band. It could not have been a more exciting evening.

Check out some of the photos from the evening below (thanks Brad). Keep posted to this blog and the website for more photos from the evening.

START YOUR WEEKEND RIGHT

Another painful week of work behind us all...and to start you off on your rockabilly weekend watch Sweden's greatest rockabilly outfit The Go Getters.

See you guys tonight at Cafe Barcelona!

MYSTERY TRAIN GAMBLERS LIVE TONIGHT

Don't forget to catch Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers live TONIGHT at Cafe Barcelona in Pretoria. Death Valley Blues Band will be sharing the stage and it promises to be one hell of an evening with killer drinks, great food, rockabilly cats and great rockabilly music all night long.

MOTORBILLY - ONLINE ROCKABILLY RADIO

We all know that radio today is pretty bleak and even worse in South Africa, but there is some light at the end of this dark tunnel for all you rockabilly fans out there.

Point your mouse to Motorbilly.com and get listening to the best rockabilly radio station to date.

DJ Del Villarreal plays an always interesting set of rockabilly songs, introducing the listener to something new every time and he has some great interviews and stories too.

BE A PART OF HOT RODDIN' MUSIC HISTORY

Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers were fortunate enough to be approached by the owner of Gasoline Gallery in California and offered two spots on two of his latest compilation CD's entitled "The Sounds Of Gasoline".

The compilations consist of rockabilly, hillbilly, psychobilly and punk rock...all killer music to drive to!

Now is your chance to be apart of this hot roddin' music history and have your very own copy.

So bring some extra cash to this Friday night's show at Cafe Barcelona (R50 each to be exact) and get one or both compilation CD's. You won't be sorry.

BRAND NEW VIVA LAS VEGAS ROCKABILLY WEEKEND WEBSITE

Do yourself a favour and check out the newly designed website for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend at www.vivalasvegas.net.

GAMBLERS LIVE ON MIDRAND RADIO

We all know how boring radio has become these days and unless you listen to some of the great rockabilly stations online we're sure your radio dial has collected some dust.

But now you have a reason to turn on your radio and dial in...Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers will be interviewed on Midrand 93.8FM this Sunday night (15th Aug) at 8PM, so grab a whiskey and turn your radio up to find out what's been happening with The Gamblers, what will be happening and to hear some tracks off the "Steppin' On The Gas" EP.

WIN FREE TICKETS & CD’S

Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers are GIVING AWAY some awesome prizes over the next couple of weeks for those who will be attending the upcoming show at Cafe Barcelona on Friday the 20th of August in Pretoria.

Here is your chance to win one of two CD/Ticket combo prizes.

All you have to do is join the “Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gambler’s Facebook Group” by clicking HERE.

Once you have joined the group paste the following line of text in your STATUS bar on your personal Facebook page: “Rockabilly mayhem this Friday the 20th of August at Cafe Barcelona (Pta) with Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers...who’s going? (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135069096531379&index=1)”.

Make sure to include all text between “ and ”.

Once you have done the above send an email to info@mysterytraingamblers.com with your Facebook name and email address and we will let you know if you won one of the two prizes.

THE PRIZES:

Each prize consists of one free ticket to the Cafe Barcelona show and one “The Sounds Of Gasoline” compilation CD. Both which must be collected at the door on the 20th of August at Cafe Barcelona.

THE GAMBLERS LIVE IN JOHANNESBURG

If you live in Johannesburg and am not able to make it to the Mystery Train Gambler's shows in Pretoria then you are in luck. The Gamblers will be playing live with Ramblin' Bones on Friday the 3rd of September at The Bohemian.

The Bohemian has always been a favourite venue of The Gamblers so it promises to be a killer show.

See you there!

WILD RECORDS

For those of you who visit this website often, you will by now know of the killer band "The Delta Bombers". Well, we thought it only right to showcase the record label that puts this band's music out on CD and vinyl. The label is Wild Records and run by Reb Kennedy from Hollywood, California.
If you're looking for new, original rockabilly and rock-n-roll then look no further than Wild as they have some of the best bands in the world.
Do yourself a favour and head on over to the LA Times Magazine website and read the article on Wild Records to see how Reb runs his label. Then head on over to his website at www.wildpresents.com and his myspace site to hear all the amazing bands he represents.

NEXT SHOW LIVE AT CAFE BARCELONA

It has been a pretty crazy couple of weeks and once again apologies for having to cancel the previous show. But we now have the next show to look forward to, so mark off Friday the 20th of August in your calendars and get ready to catch The Mystery Train Gamblers and The Death Valley Blues Band live at Cafe Barcelona in Pretoria for a night of Kustom Built Rockabilly and Dirty Rockin' Blues...

REMEMBER SUN STUDIO'S SAM PHILLIPS

There's a name that gets mentioned more than often on this website, and that name is "Sam Phillips".
There's a reason his name gets thrown around alot and that is because without Sam Phillips, there would be no rockabilly, there would be no blue or rock-n-roll, there would be no Elvis, there would be no Johnny Cash, and well, in a long and windy way, there would be no Reverend Wright And The Mystery Train Gamblers.

This Friday the 30th of July in 2003 is the day that Sam Phillips passed away, one day before Sun Studios was designated a National Historic Landmark. And who better to remember than the man that helped give birth to the music we all love so much.
Watch the short video interview with Sam Phillips about Sun Studios below and there after get out your Elvis record and put on "That's All Right Mama" or "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and have a drink on the man that made it all possible...Sam Phillips!

CALIFORNIA SCREAMIN' 5

One of the events on the hot rod / kustom kulture art calendar that every respectable hot rooder and artist does not want to miss is the "California Screamin'" event that takes place every year around May at the Gasoline Gallery in El Segundo in California.
May 15, 2010 was the date and Reverend Wright was fortunate enough to catch the last couple of hours of the show and filmed the few remaining hot rods and artists that were still putting rubber to tar and One Shot to primer.
Check out Gasoline Gallery's website at www.gasolinegallery.com.

THURSDAY SHOW CANCELLED

Due to a death in the family The Mystery Train Gamblers and Martin Rocka And The Sick Shop have unfortunately had to cancel this Thursday night's show at Tings 'n Times.
We are extremely sorry but need to take care of our family right now.
We will try to rebook another show at Tings in the future.
The next show will be at Cafe Barcelona in Pretoria on Friday the 20th of August.
Thank you to everyone for the kind words and wishes!

THE DELTA BOMBERS

Although the Reverend did not get to see these guys live it's a band that has been getting heavy rotation on the Rev's jukebox.

The Delta Bombers are from Las Vegas, USA and consist of Chris "Johnny Vulture" Moinichen on guitar/vocals, Andrew "Benjamin Andre" Himmler on lead guitar, Ozzy "Possum Jenkins" Chong on bass and Nick "Dookie" Lopez on drums and the band has their first album "Howlin'" on the famous label Wild Records.

For those of you who like the traditional rockabilly but with a bit of a kick-in-the-ass to boot then take a listen to The Delta Bombers.

You can find the band at their MySpace page HERE or their facebook page HERE.

Check out the videos below of The Delta Bombers!

VIVA LAS VEGAS ROCKABILLY WEEKEND

If you have a slight bit of rockabilly blood in you then you will know of, or have attended, the yearly Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend that takes place in Las Vegas at The Orleans Hotel round April/May of every year.

Upon arrival the parking lot and streets around Las Vegas are filled with hot rods, rat rods and choppers of all sizes and mutations. It is as if the normal "modern" folk have left Las Vegas and given way to every rock-n-roller, greaser and rockabilly fan.

The hotel is filled with the sounds of slot machines, upright basses and gretsch guitars, with an irish pub downstairs and two function rooms blaring live bands almost 24 hours and two rooms filled with vendors selling records, vintage clothing, instruments and kustom art you are engulfed in what I hope heaven looks like when I go (or hell, which ever way I may go).

Saturday is the day that the Shifters Car Club put together the associated hot rod show with more bands, more vendors and a display of all those hot rods and rat rods you saw cruizing the Vegas Strip.

With cars coming from as far as Canada you are treated to the top builds and ideas from the hot rod community.

The Rev was fortunate enough to attend Viva Las Vegas 2009 and will be attending next years Rockabilly Weekend from the 21st to 24th of April. Check out his photos below and make sure you attend next year's event as it promises to be one hell of a rockabilly shindig!

For more information visit the website at www.vivalasvegas.net.