About Me
Next big gigs:
Most of you know me as DJ Lori Lee - the gal from Robot. But it’s not like being from a real robot, like say, the bumbling bubble-head in Lost In Space. I’m from Robot International, the entertainment company that brings you events such as the GreazeFest Kustom Kulture Festival, the Johnny Cash Tributes, the Gram Parsons Tribute , the Mods’n’Rockers, the Jailhouse Rock, Flashback, the Custom Rockabilly and the Rockabilly Psychosis.
The Early Years of Robot
Not content with the entertainment options in my home city of Brisbane, Australia, I formed Robot International in 1999 with the intent of putting on quality rockabilly shows. The first show I ever organised was The Paladins, who played their first and only ever show in Brisbane in November in 1999. The second show I organised was just a few weeks later and was the Texas Troubadour Dale Watson.
Both of these artists were in my top ten, so it was uncanny to be working with my heroes almost immediately. More shows followed - Wayne Hancock, Teddy Morgan, then the GreazeFest with Big Sandy, Deke Dickerson, The Planet Rockers and so much more. So how did this love affair begin?
Early Influences
It was The Cramps that turned me onto rockabilly and hillbilly. I had always been into alternate music, way before the term became pop-speak. I never liked what was on the radio or on the tv, I was always twiddling the dial late at night searching for sounds that made sense to me. By the time I reached the tender age of 15, I discovered the simmering embers of punk rock movement and started listening to bands such as The Cramps, Magazine and Dr Feelgood. I was also sneaking into venues to see live bands that played in Brisbane, such as The Scientists, The Saints, The Birthday Party, The Johnnys and Iggy Pop.
One fateful day I found a second hand Charly Records compilation called ‘Rockabilly Rules OK’ sporting a Teddy Boy on the cover and with songs such as Hank Mizell’s 'Jungle Rock' and Warren Smith’s 'Ubangi Stomp'. Wow – how could you not like these great songs! I won’t bore you with more details, but that was it – that album opened the door to allow many more wonderful sounds to follow through – Johnny Cash, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent - all the pioneers. Then I started searching for current rockabilly bands such as The Polecats and The Shakin’ Pyramids, Levi Dexter and Robert Gordon. I’ve been listening to rockabilly ever since and I now run my business around rockabilly, putting on rockabilly shows wherever and whenever I can.
It Aint Just Rockabilly
Never wanting to be stuck in any one genre, I also dug deep into rhythm’n’blues with bands like The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Anson & The Rockets, Ronnie Earl, Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan and many other wonderful Texan artists from the 1980s.
Speaking of Texas, my ideal evening would be spent two stepping in an Austin honky tonk bar to someone like Dale Watson, Roger Wallace, The Derailers or Cornell Hurd - hey, you name the honky tonk, I’ll bring the beer.
Other music that I dig includes 70s sounds including punk, rock and glam, stuff like Suzi Q, Marc Bolan, New York Dolls, The Ramones, etc, I remember seeing Gary Glitter perform when he toured Oz around 1981 and I'm glad to have seen The Ramones each time they toured downunder. I dig The Faces. I also dig Australian rock – bands like Radio Birdman, The Exotics, The Beasts of Bourbon, Gentle Ben; I dig the sounds from the 60s – The Sonics, Question Mark, Love, Them etc, plus many current bands who have stemmed from that genre – The Maggots, The Swinging Neckbreakers, The Detroit Cobras, The Dirtbombs. I can’t overlook mentioning surf and instrumental music – Al Caiola, The Revels, Huevos Rancheros, Los Straitjackets and any band that Eddie Angel hangs his face mask in.
More About the Robot
If you want to read more about Robot International, DJ Lori Lee, GreazeFest or any of the great gigs coming up for you, check out the web sites at www.robot.com.au and www.greazefest.com
o-[*_*]-o
