Jan 15, 2012

Johnny Love and Speed - Mobtown Swing




Band members:
Johnny Love - guitar and vocals
Wedge - bass
Billy "Bam Bam" Speed - drummer

"Fast and furious, this hard-rocking (and, more importantly, hard-swinging) trio can mount a defense of its right to the title of its debut any old time.

South Baltimore is currently the world's leading supplier, per capita, of hot turbobilly bands, and JL&S clinches it. Johnny Love and Speed brands their type of music psycho-billy, a mixture of punk and rockabilly with a bit of swing mixed in. According to Johnny Love, they have an unusual appeal and sound, playing at venues with a mosh pit in front and fans swinging in the back. Together since 1995, they are based out of Baltimore, playing the local clubs and touring on the East Coast and Down South. They recently released their first CD, Mobtown Swing (Love Wedge Recordings), and are currently working on their second one.

One of their fans actually entered them into the Battle of the Bands in Baltimore, which of course they won. "We were out on the road, got back, and found out we were playing," said Love. "We loved playing in the first battle and can’t wait until round two!" They were recently elected best local band in the Baltimore City Paper. "  http://www.rockabilly.net/johnnylove.shtml


 Mobtown Swing is one of my treasured collection because it is, by far,  the rarest records that I have. This one is released in 1997 and is the only output from Johnny Love. I found a Facebook page of JL&S with 2 entries dated March and October 2011, trying to sell the last 10 copies of Mobtown Swing. That...is kinda sad i think. It's a great record though, with awesome numbers like 'Date with The Devil', 'The One in My Dream' and 'Spanish Surfer' are some of my personal favorites.









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