The Chop Tops
Encyclopedia
The Chop Tops are a rockabilly
trio from Santa Cruz, California
consisting of Sinner (vocals
/standing drum
s), Shelby (guitar
), and Brett (upright bass
). The band was formed by Sinner in 1995, Shelby joined in 1999, and Brett took over bass duties in 2008. The band coined the phrase "Revved-Up Rockabilly" to describe their wild, upbeat blend of rockabilly
, psychobilly
, old punk
, teddy boy
, and surf music
genres. The Chop Tops headline their own national tours, have toured with bands like Mad Sin
and the Nekromantix
, and have opened for many great talents including the Dead Kennedys
, Dick Dale
, John Lee Hooker
, and Chuck Berry
.
Other accomplishments include having three of their songs featured in the video game WET
, performing at several Warped Tour
s, and many years of playing the annual rockabilly festival Viva Las Vegas. The Chop Tops are sponsored by Murray's Pomade
.
Murray's has sponsored only two bands in its 86-year history, the Stray Cats
and the Chop Tops. The group is also sponsored and endorsed by Gretsch
guitars and T.U.K.
shoes.
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
trio from Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
consisting of Sinner (vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
/standing drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s), Shelby (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), and Brett (upright bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
). The band was formed by Sinner in 1995, Shelby joined in 1999, and Brett took over bass duties in 2008. The band coined the phrase "Revved-Up Rockabilly" to describe their wild, upbeat blend of rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, psychobilly
Psychobilly
Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
, old punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, teddy boy
Teddy Boy
The British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
, and surf music
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
genres. The Chop Tops headline their own national tours, have toured with bands like Mad Sin
Mad Sin
Mad Sin is a German psychobilly group that began in 1987.-Style:Mad Sin, formed in 1987, have been inspired by horror punk and B-movie, with a theatrical style. Without abandoning the psycho-horror lyrical content, their musical arrangements have widened to incorporate other variables...
and the Nekromantix
Nekromantix
The Nekromantix are a Danish-American psychobilly band formed in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their music is generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", a custom-built double bass with a body in the...
, and have opened for many great talents including the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
, Dick Dale
Dick Dale
Dick Dale is an American surf rock guitarist, known as The King of the Surf Guitar. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.-Early life:Dale was born in South Boston, Massachusetts and lived in nearby...
, John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, and Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
.
Other accomplishments include having three of their songs featured in the video game WET
Wet (video game)
Wet is a 2009 third-person shooter action video game, developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and published by Bethesda Softworks for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The game puts heavy emphasis on killing a large number of opponents while engaging in stylish acrobatic moves...
, performing at several Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
s, and many years of playing the annual rockabilly festival Viva Las Vegas. The Chop Tops are sponsored by Murray's Pomade
Murray's Pomade
Murray's Pomade was a pomade developed by C.D. Murray in 1925. He believed that it could be a quality, inexpensive, successful product. Murray began to sell it out of his Chicago barbershop. In 1959 a pharmacist named Harry Berlin began to sell it from his Detroit pharmacy. He worked closely with...
.
Murray's has sponsored only two bands in its 86-year history, the Stray Cats
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American Rockabilly band formed in 1980 by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer , upright bassist Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in the UK, Australia and the U.S...
and the Chop Tops. The group is also sponsored and endorsed by Gretsch
Gretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
guitars and T.U.K.
T.U.K.
T.U.K. is a British boot and shoe manufacturer, who has maintained popularity with the British punk scene as they are on of the few remaining boot makers who are based in the United Kingdom....
shoes.
Discography
- Revved-Up Rockabilly (1997) Swillbilly Music
- Tales of Hot Rods, Hot Broads & Lucky Odds! (1999) Swillbilly Music, Producer: Deke DickersonDeke DickersonDeke Dickerson is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.After playing in several local rockabilly bands, Deke formed The Untamed Youth at age 17 in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri...
- Always Wild (2000) Rollin' Rock RecordsRollin' Rock RecordsRollin' Rock Records is an American rockabilly record label founded by producer Ronnie Weiser. Initially created as music magazine Rollin' Rock in 1969, the magazine became a full-fledged record label in 1970...
- Evil Six (2001) Swillbilly Music
- Triple DeucesTriple DeucesTriple Deuces is the fifth studio album of the California-based rockabilly band The Chop Tops. It was released in July 2006.-Track listing:-External links:*...
(2006) Split 7 Records - Deadly Love (2010) Swillbilly Music, Producer & Assistant Engineer: Kim NekromanKim NekromanKim Nekroman is the bassist and lead singer for the psychobilly band Nekromantix and the lead guitarist of HorrorPops. He is married to Patricia Day, lead singer and bassist for HorrorPops.-On tour:...
Compilation Albums
- Hicks with Sticks – A Town North Of Bakersfield (2005) Cracked Piston Recordings
- Revenge Of The Hot Rod Zombies (2008) Boss Beat
- Rebels of Rock 'N' Roll, Vol. 1 (2008) Straight Razor Records
- Rebels of Rock N Roll #2 (2009) Straight Razor Records