Bent Eight

Posted by Ingrid On August - 16 - 20104,547 views

Bent Eight has been setting the rockabilly scene in Lethbridge, Alberta Canada on fire since 2007 and rockabilly fans everywhere won’t want to miss out on their edgy yet classic sound. This self proclaimed neo-rockabilly band is a rockin’ roaring good time that’s sure to get you out of your seat and up on the dance floor! I had the opportunity to ask Bent Eight frontman and guitar player Dino Caravaggio some questions recently, this is what he had to say:

Your band is fairly new; can you tell me a little about how you got started?

Bent Eight was formed a little more than three years ago.  I was managing a music store back then and met up with my first bass player Chris Bullock. I sold him a bass and we started playin’ together. We then got enough music together to start playing some shows. We had the pleasure of opening up for Ronnie Hayward ( Canadian Rockabilly Hall of Famer). Chris got work in eastern Canada and had to move. I then brought on Evan Douglas to play bass and started opening for bands like the The Tennessee  Three, Big  Jon Bates & the Voodoo Dolls and Paul Pigat & Cousin Harley. We are currently looking for a new drummer…which is as hard to find as upright  bass  players in this city…lol.

How would you describe your sound?

Bent Eight is a 50’s term used to describe a V8 engine so that in mind I wanted the style of rockabilly we played to be loud like uncapped headers but still have have traditional sound…I guess we are kinda neo-rockabilly.

What have been some of your influences musically?

As a kid my Dad used to sing around the house and play records like…Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Burnett and Bill Haley…I guess that got me started. I guess my influences are guys like Charlie Feathers, Eddy Cochran, Johnny Burnette, Gene Vincent, Art Adams, Scotty Moore and Brian Setzer.

What do you think has been your biggest challenge yet as far as getting a band together and building a fan base?

The biggest challenge getting a band together is finding people that want to play the music…they seem to like it but don’t really get it ( around here). It’s been hard finding musicians that actually liksten to the music and understand it. As far as building a fan base I think that goes hand in hand with keeping consistent players in the band. Whenever we play people hit the dance floor…how can they not? It’s Rockabilly! We do have a good fan base I guess considering we are the only rockabilly band in Lethbridge…lol.

What is the rockabilly scene like out in Canada?

The rockabilly scene in Canada overall is pretty good. We have the Red Hot and Blue weekend in Montreal which  is like our version of VLV.  There seems to be more rockabilly scenes in larger cities though…heck just 2 hrs north of us in Calgary there are at least 6 bands not including the punkabilly bands, which is pretty good. We got to play up there once and got good feedback.

You call yourselves Bent Eight, what’s your idea of the ultimate hot rod?

I’m a Ford guy and of course I like flathead rat rods but I got to say my favorite car would be a 1963 Ford Thunderbolt!

Any plans to go on tour soon? If so when and where?

Well if I checked our myspace mail more often we could have had the opportunity to play the Ink N Iron show…dang! Well because the band has kind of been through a few changes in the last 3 years I’ve decided to let Bent Eght rest and reform the band as Dino & the Haymakers. Evan Douglas will stay on as bass player after leaving for a bit. We are going to be writing some more songs and then do some recording. After that we’ll start booking some gigs and I’ll be sure to let you know!

Bent Eight is definitely a band well worth checkin’ out, hear them for yourself at www.myspace.com/benteightrockabilly and be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for even more tunes when they come back as Dino & the Haymakers!


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