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September 19, 1997
ROCKABILLY BAND LIVES IN THE '50's The Flint Journal
By Shawn Humphrey
Contributing Writer
To see the Swingin' Demons perform live, you'd swear
you had just stepped into
the '50s. But that's just where the band wants you to
be.
Right down to the retro suits they wear on stage,
these four musicians are
serious about rockabilly, the country-and
blues-infused rock 'n' roll style
pioneered 40 years ago.
"When people come to see us, we want to give them a
show," lead guitarist
Eric (Eric J.) Reischling says about the look. "It's
period music. Our philosophy
is we don't want to wear the same thing as the people
in the audience. That
was Carl Perkins' and Elvis' style."
"All of our homes are in
mid-century decor, and we
buy vintage clothes. It's a
lifestyle."
These "four cats" - billed as
J.P., Eric J., Rudy and
Loney - have good day jobs. Singer
Jeff Reischling
(J.P.) is a tool-and-die maker for
AC, and his brother
Eric is an occupational therapist
at Hurley Medical
Center.
In the rhythm section, Craig
(Rudy) Varner plays
stand-up bass and works for
Aerotech as a systems
technician, and drummer Jeff
(Loney Charles) Erwin
delivers for RPS Inc.
Would they give up the rat race
for music?
"Depends," muses Eric Reischling.
"If someone can
pay us what we make at our day jobs, then we might
consider (changing). Both
my brother and I are married. We're basically weekend
warriors. We just love
keeping the art form (of rockabilly) alive."
"My ulterior motive is that rockabilly is still the
real alternative music." says J.P.
Reischling. "It's high-energy, foot-stomping,
beer-drinking music, danceable
music."
Eric agrees. "I became disenchanted with modern
music," he says. It all got so
negative."
The Demons are working overtime to promote their new
17 song CD, "Radio
Rock," cut at the Recording Institute of Detroit. It
was recorded live in five hours,
a difficult feat. Theirs is a hectic workweek, but
they say they've sold 350 CDs
in two weeks. "Radio Rock" is available at Wyatt Earp
Records.
The Demons are a mean rockabilly band, by any standards. I have seen them up against some Detroit acts, which was
pretty big on that scene the last few years. They held their own.
I was at a party that my ex-boss Julie and Loney were throwing. They were roomies... small world, AGAIN. My band
was supposed to play, so I brought my bass. I was the only one who could make it. There I am, alone, with
about fifty swing and rockabilly people, all gel, leather, and retro. I stuck out BAD. Loney took the time
to talk music with me, making it a point to talk about acts I would know, like U2, R.E.M., stuff like that.
At his insistence, I was given time to play a bass solo that I have lyrics too... no one understood it, but
he was very encouraging.
I remember genuine kindness when I pick the bands I want to interview. All musicians should be
so uncompetitive.
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