Jackie and the Cedrics
Retro Rockers Take the USA by Storm
Three Japanese dudes in baby blue bellhop uniforms play loud-fast surf rock music for a crowd of wild moshers at a dive bar in San Francisco. Definitely the place to be on a late Friday night in a barrio called the Mission, low on funds and ‘shroomed to the bajeebas. Jackie and the Cedrics, a trio of former art school students from Tokyo turned retro rockers finish their explosive jam, “Red Baron” and immediately roll into what they later describe as “The Scream Song.” Jackie T-Bird, the seventeen year old drummer leads the band on this ear bone shattering assault that sends the most hardcore moshers scrambling for auricular safety. Then, as if goaded into some deranged, machismo challenge, Enocky and Jelly Beans (lead guitar and bass respectively) strum madly in a reckless attempt to match the deafening roar of Jackie’s straining vocals. The moment is electric.
At this point, a few sips from a complete blackout, I feel the surreal vibe of the West Coast Go sound defying time and space. It’s as if it’s suddenly 1963 on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The unique ambiance created by the Far East madmen combined with the retroactive décor of the bizarre Chameleon Bar made for a multicultural, time warp experience extraordinaire, sans Rod Serling.
Finally, a few minutes after the band finished their last cut, “Little Coup”, I quickly bullshit my way downstairs to where the band is frantically packing up their gear. The room is cramped, smoky and full of activity. Suddenly, in a botched attempt to avoid an angry roadie, I stumble over Jelly Beans long stem bass and come face to face with Enocky. I start a short-lived conversation hoping for a brief interview, but unfortunately, based on the confusing, nonsensical babble, I quickly surmise that the language barrier presents a serious, if not insurmountable obstacle to gaining any useful information about the band. Luckily, Akio, the band’s manager steps in and refers me to Mary Riccio (her affiliation with the band is unknown). Mary hips me to the fact that the group is in a serious rush but she is kind enough to set up a phone interview for the next day.
After slowly emerging from my booze induced coma the next morning, I groggily recall the interview request and begin digging through my clothes to find Mary’s number. Nothing! After some self loathing and two cups of strong java, I suddenly recall that Akio had scribbled the number on the back of a their latest 45 record, ‘Thunder Struck” that she gave me right before I was booted out of the Chameleon Bar.
The “interview” is eventually conducted after a few hours of phone tag with Mary Riccio. The whole process seems ludicrous. I speak on a conference line to Mary who translates my midwestern cadence into West Coast vernacular to Akio, who in turn relays my questions in Mandarin to the three Japanese delinquents, Jackie, Enocky and Jelly Beans. The ridiculous endeavor seems destined to go south in a hurry, but fortunately due to some linguistic acrobatics from Akio this isn’t the case. I’m able to extract some vital information about Jackie and the Cedrics.
For instance, according to Jackie, the leadership role was established by determining which band member was the most sexually well endowed, although there is some heated discussion among the group concerning this issue. Jackie and the Cedrics is a young band. The average age of the three members is only eighteen, yet they have already toured in Japan for two and a half years. Their tour of the United States and Mexico (with the Phantom Surfers and the Trashwomen) includes stops in New York City, Washington D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, Tijuana and a score of cities across California. Jelly Beans mentions that Los Angeles was the highlight of the tour because the band was invited to perform an Elvis Presley tribute concert. He emphasizes that this was a great honor for the trio of faithful fans of the King. Enocky also points out that while they were influenced by classic rock n’ rollers like Bill Haley and the Comets and Fats Domino, they also groove on James Brown and most Doo-wop and early R&B groups. Basically, all three were hardcore music fanatics since they stopped crapping their diapers. Jelly Beans also mentions that shopping for records with Enocky and Jackie is like, “swimming with sharks in a frenzy.”
The trio agreed that California is a hotbed of exciting music and Jackie said he finds the local cultural phenomenon of “buttsex and Mexican food” to also be very unique. Jackie and the Cedrics was on the last leg of what had been a successful tour. When I ask if the band might consider swinging up to Minneapolis, Akio chimes in and says that it’s a good possibility because the band very much wants to check out the other midwestern cities of Chicago and especially Detroit, the home of Motown Records. Yeah right, Detroit, the city where “the weak are killed and eaten”.
Motown won’t know what hit ‘em.
Originally published in CAKE magazine circa 1993.bb
