The Hillbilly Casino is hard to classify. Does the band play punk? Rockabilly? Or are they just some manic bluegrass musicians with a penchant for black clothing and colorful tattoos? A listen through their catalog hardly clarifies things. Yet even the most cursory of listens makes one thing clear: these guys have ridiculously eclectic palates and world-class chops.
For more than 15 years now, the Casino, as the group is affectionately called by its legion of diehard fans, has been scorching stages with a high-octane, highly-idiosyncratic take on what has come to be called “psychobilly,” a mix of rockabilly and punk. But the term psychobilly hardly does justice to the Casino’s music. Mixing punk, rockabilly, bluegrass, and honky-tonk with a touch of jazz and a dose of hard-driving Southern rock, the Casino has never fit snugly into any box.
In the early 2000s, when many Nashville bands were harboring cookie-cutter-clean dreams of placing a record on the charts or catching the ear of some fat-cat label exec, the Casino was hitting the stage—hard. Led by dizzying and dazzlingly charismatic lead singer Nic Roulette, formerly of the rockabilly stalwarts the Blue Moon Boys, the Casino made a name for itself with sweat-slinging, bass-slapping, stomp-inducing live shows.
When not on Lower Broadway tearing through another blistering set at Layla’s, they were in former drummer Andrew Dickson’s garage recording, mixing and engineering their own albums, of which they now have five, including 2014’s Live in the USA, recorded live at the Exit/In in Nashville.
The persistence paid off and Hillbilly Casino took its punk-rocking DIY approach to rockabilly on the road. Whether opening for acts as diverse as Rancid, The Brian Setzer Orchestra or one-time Eminem protégé Yelawolf, the Casino’s manic stage show and deft musicianship has garnered international acclaim.
Nearly 15 years later and Hillbilly Casino is still grinding it out on the road, playing upwards of 175 shows a year and traveling as far afield as Norway and Ireland to spread its revved-up sounds.
Some musicians judge success by sales and chart positions. Not Hillbilly Casino. As bassist Geoff Firebaugh, formerly of BR5-49, told enigmaonline.com, “To me, as a musician, the measure of success is you don’t have to go work a day job. The rest of it is sort of gravy after that point.”
From that perspective, the band has been wildly successful. Its four members are making the music they want to make, and they’re making a living doing it. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
If you’ve never experienced the Casino before, or if you just want to add a little bit more gravy to their plates, get to The Boro Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 23. The show kicks off at 8:30 p.m. with support from the Nashville Non-Prophets and Animal Season.
