Th'Empires

This is just a cool rockabilly/psychobilly trio from south Indiana. they say on their bandcamp that since 2008 they "have been tearing around the country playing shows in basements, bars, and on top of cars."

they play a modern take on rockabilly (or psychobilly more oriented toward rockabilly than punk ).And they do it right.

so check them out and enjoy your daily amounts of rock'n'roll!

you can listen to their records (last one released in march 2012) on their BC page.

Eddy Price, composer, singer and guitarist of Th'Empires agreed to answer to the questions I sent him about his band (thanks Eddy!). Read it below :

-can you present Th’empires, its birth and its evolution until now ?

th'EMPIRES began as a personal return to punk rock and a bit of a response to all the bullshit modern rockabilly.  I started the band November of 2008 just a month after my previous band expired. The band started out as a two piece with a bit of a Flat Duo Jets sound and setup. My friend Mandy Marie introduced me to Dex Romweber about a year after th'EMPIRES were started.  It made me feel good to know that someone else out there had done that garage-a-billy sound. My goal from the beginning was to play every opportunity presented, the drummer that I had at the time wasn't quite as roadworthy as I had hoped. Spring of 2009 I lost my home along with most of my personal possessions. This situation pushed me to go ahead and start booking us on the road as much as possible. We set up release of our first album and a short two week tour for support. Three days before this tour kicked off my drummer broke up with me via text at 7am. With three days notice I was not able to find a replacement drummer. My solution was a bass drum and hi-hat that I found in my Dad's barn. 

I practiced several times a day for three days and headed out, channeling Hasil Adkins. The tour was a success and I sold out all copies of "th'EMPIRES Go Crazy" (our first EP). As soon as I returned from this tour I hit the studio and recorded "th'EMPIRES Strike Back!" as a one man band. A few weeks after this album was completed I was back on the road with my friend (and amazing photographer) Molly Burkett, who joined me live on keyboard. 

here is a slideshow Molly put together from that tour:

http://vimeo.com/21327617

At this point I had realized that life on the road was much easier than couch surfing around my hometown. So, I headed back out again still supporting "Strike Back!"  Up to this point I had experienced amazing luck on the road. My "tour bus" at this time was a 1985 Pontiac Parisienne. The Pontiac had enough room for my equipment, sleeping space, and room for a couple passengers. On this run however the Pontiac started to wear out and show it's age. The transmission went out in Fort Worth TX. I left the car behind and took a bus to Austin to try and play some shows and raise money to have it fixed. About a month later I returned to Indiana on a train, drunk, but precisely on time to play the last show of that tour. After a couple months in Indiana raising money, my cousin and I set out hitchhiking back to Dallas where the car was being held and repaired. We made it back to the car (alive) after about a week and a half on and off the road. The entire trip was filled with amazing and completely terrifying experiences. The car was returned safely home and retired. Shortly after this trip my buddy J moved back from Austin and joined me on Upright Bass, then we added Zachary Jetter on Drums and headed back into the studio to record "We Are th'EMPIRES". We toured with the three piece and I toured separately, as a one man band on the road with Pretty Things Peepshow. In between those tours we returned to the studio again and re-recorded and compiled our originals from all the previous EP's and Singles. In addition to those we included two unique originals. This is the format we plan on using for the life of this project, mimicking the comic book format I suppose. We will be releasing singles on 7" Vinyl on a very regular basis then compiling everything after every few releases for a full length.  I don't know that evolution is the proper term for what this project has gone through. I believe adaptation would be a more fitting description. 

-do you play or have played in other bands?

I have been playing live since I was 16, mostly in shitty local punk bands that never made it out of the basement. My most recent before th'EMPIRES was a more traditional Rockabilly project called the Phantom Cruisers. In addition to th'EMPIRES, I am working on some solo projects including a lo-fi gospel project thru my record label Auris Apothecary. Also I am doing a bit of DJing and working on a project to create a kind of DIY "American Bandstand".  

-to me your music sounds rooted in rockabilly, but with a fresh, modern and more aggressive twist, a bit like psychobilly but without sounding as punk. Do you agree?

My favorites were always the artists who were pushing the limits and getting really wild. I love Gene Vincent, Little Richard, Benny Joy, Hasil Adkins, a lot of the classic jump blues artists like Wynonie Harris and Piano Red. Rockabilly, in my opinion was the first wave of punk rock. True punk rock always pushed the limits. I am an aggressive performer, I like my music in your face, sweaty and dangerous. 

 -what is the kind of gig which you prefer playing? Do you play sometimes in Kustom cars shows, tattoo conventions or things like that?

I like playing in basements, dive bars, garages, outdoors in unconventional spaces, anyplace dirty that has soul and a personality of its own.  Those are my preferences.   

-how did you get into rock’n’roll? What does rock’n’roll means to you?

While growing up living in Israel we only received two radio stations. They played a lot of Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Iron Maiden. I dug it. 

-I’m not completely convinced by the remixed version of th’march, but at least that’s a try. what is the story of this remix?

My buddy Wally Wonder (a local hip-hop DJ) did this dub of th'March. It came out exactly the way I wanted it. 

-Are there a lot of people into the rockabilly/psychobilly scene in your area? Which band (in any kind of music) would your recommend from your area?

We don't have much of a rockabilly/psychobilly scene around here. The town I am currently living in has a decent garage scene which works well with the style of rockabilly that i play. There is a fella by the name of Nate Gibson who is currently playing in the area, he is top notch. Also I can highly recommend Indianapolis native (and Rockabilly Hall Of Fame) Art Adams. He is the real deal, not into the politics, has always delivered real raw rock'n roll.  Chicago seems to have a lot of good stuff going on. 

-I read that you played as a one man band, do you still do that? How was it?

Read about it in the answer to the first question. It was really fun, very tiring but very fun. 

-have you started writing new songs, how will be the next record?

I have a few new songs ready for the next album. I can't say anything about it except that it will be recorded at the legendary Sun Studios and will be available on 7" Vinyl this fall 

-When will you tour Europe?

I'd do it tomorrow if someone were willing to set it up! Hopefully really soon. 

-what is planned for Th’empires in 2012? What can we expect?

We're gonna crash the party and get really wild! 

-tell us a joke.

Nashville TN

-want to add something?

folks should head over to our website and check out our music. The website address is www.thempires.com 

while they are there, they should pick up a copy of our newest album "Volume 1" on limited edition cassette tape. They come with all kinds of bonus materials and are only $10. 

Also, sign up for our mailing list by sending your email address to eddy@eddyprice.com