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The Headers / Blog

"TURN IT UP!" Album Review - Vintage Guitar Magazine

Vintage Guitar Magazine Oct. 2007 issue By Eric Shoaf

"A rockabilly/dance/pop trio fronted by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Bobby Lebel wielding a big Gretsch, with Scott Freilich on upright bass and Dan Stoll on drums, they romp through an assortment of original songs with red hot guitar, quirky melodies, and a revved up rockabilly sensibility. Their cover of the Steely Dan classic "Bodhisattva" is inspired and original."

"TURN IT UP!" Album Review - Freetime Magazine

From FREETIME MAGAZINE by Michelle Picardo www.freetime.com

The Headers sent us their new CD, Turn It Up!, and that's just what we did! Tailor-made for fans of Brian Setzer, Stray Cats, Duane Eddie and the like, this rockabilly trio, led by charismatic guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Bobby Lebel, is a top-notch band that must be heard. These guys rock with abandon, as expert players and stellar songwriting combine. Check out stand outs like the infectious "Lovin' Stuff," the cinematic surf-guitar tune "Riptide,' and the jazzy cover of Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva," for a taste of what The Headers have up their sleeves. While there isn't a current Rochester date booked yet, we've got our fingers crossed.

"TURN IT UP!" Album Review - BestOfWNY.com

From BestOfWNY.com

Good music will never die no matter what the record companies force feed the public. Sometimes you have to search for it but it can be found. Sometimes right in your own backyard - such as the outstanding new release from The Headers titled "Turn It Up!" This is true rock and roll steeped in The Sun Records tradition of guitar, upright bass and drums. The band (Buffalo Music Hall of Famer's Bobby Lebel-guitar/lead vocals & Scott Freilich-bass and Dan Stoll - drums) are amazing musicians in their ability to sound new and exciting and not formulaic. Perhaps they have even formed a new genre of music Jazzabilly for it melding of Rockabilly with Jazz elements. The guitar work of Lebel is nonpareil with great tone and clarity. Not since the late Danny Gatton have I heard a guitarist sound this good. Freilich and Stoll are no slouches either as they keep things running smooth in the engine room. Ten original tunes and an out of this world cover of Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva" that you have to hear to believe comprises the disc. Highlights are hard to pick out as there are many but I'm going with "Pretty Good Shape", "Hard Man To Love", "How High The Sky", the title cut "Turn It Up", the aforementioned "Bodhisattva" and "Blue Highway". --- bobsilvestri@bestofwny.com

"TURN IT UP!" Album Review - Buffalo Spree Magazine

THE HEADERS - TURN IT UP

By Bruce Eaton - Buffalo Spree Magazine MAY/JUNE 2007 buffalospree.com

OVER TIME, VIRTUALLY EVERY MUSICAL GENRE GENERATES ENOUGH STYLISTIC CLICHES UNTIL IT ALMOST BECOMES A CARICATURE OF ITSELF. You'd no more expect George Strait to perform in baggy jeans flashing a mouth full of shiny grills than you'd expect 50 Cent to rap in tight Wranglers and a ten-gallon hat. Perhaps no musical genre is more stylized than rockabilly. With Quiff hair-dos shellacked high and back (a souped-up forerunner to the lower-maintenance mullet), retro zoot-suits, twangy guitars, and songs about cars, girls, rumbles, and the Saturday night dance, rockabilly is fun but not very deep. Even the Stray Cats, smash revivalists of the eighties, pretty much admitted that after two albums, they had run out of ideas. However, the Buffalo-based band The Headers prove that it's still possible to dig into the early days of rock and roll without becoming a Grease-y, cartoon-ish character. Led by Bobby Lebel, Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee and one-time member of the Road, the high-octane trio has been turning heads with its debut disc, Turn It Up!, and live performances that showcase the band's ability to venture beyond rockabilly yet not lose sight of its roots. Whether it's with a touch of the British Invasion or Western swing, a nod to surf guitar god Dick Dale, flat-out futuristic pickin' in the style of Les Paul, or a Steely Dan tune filtered through a roadhouse combo, the Headers know how to keep the recipe fresh. And while Lebel's fluid guitar work is front and center on the bandstand the rhythm section of vintage guitar maven Scott Freilich on bass - who performs like Bill Black channeling Derek Smalls - and Dan Stoll on drums keeps the band motoring like a fine-tuned hot rod. Whatever your age, if you're not too old to rock and roll, a Headers show is a perfect evening out, especially given that many of their gigs have early start times that accommodate those of us for whom 11 p.m. is closer to bedtime than start time. Sipping a fine micro-ale at the Pizza Plant bar while the band soared through a tune that sounded like Elvis's original trio was jamming with Les Paul, one could only conclude that rock and roll is indeed here to stay.

Bruce Eaton regularly writes on music and other topics for Spree.

"TURN IT UP!" Album Review - The Amherst Bee

The Headers "Turn It Up"

By ROBERT E. KUPCZYK Entertainment Associate Editor The Amherst Bee

One thing is certain after listening to The Headers' debut CD "Turn It Up!" - you'll do exactly what the title says.

The band, consisting of Bobby Lebel (guitarist/vocalist), Scott Freilich (upright bass/backing vocals) and Dan Stoll (drums/backing vocals), offer high-octane rockabilly that's ready to blow a gasket. According to the band's website, The Headers infuse a style that includes rockabilly, jazz, country, chicken pickin' and rock.

Lebel's songwriting for "Turn It Up!," according to the website, was influenced by Sun Records era Elvis, Eddie Cochran's rockabilly, Bobby Darin's swing style, Dick Dale's surf wave and the picking of Les Paul and merle Travis –which all come through loud and clear on "Turn It Up!" But, while using these influences, the band also has a clear identity.

The CD revs up with the boogie-woogie blues-based "Pretty Good Shape," featuring Lebel vocally sounding like Elvis/Brian Setzer. The solo is scorching, as are all the solos on "Turn It Up!" Surf rock is featured on "Lovin Stuff." "Eloise" could have been a Stray Cats song, ala "Rock This Town," highlighted by Freilich's upright bass and Stoll's solid playing, punctuated by another Lebel solo.

"Riptide" is a surf rock instrumental in the Dick Dale vein, featuring a pure rock solo, which is a nice combination. "How High the Sky" is a shuffling jazz song that shows off everyone's abilities, especially during the solo section: Lebel is chicken pickin', Stoll is playing the rims of his drums with his sticks and Freilich is walking the bass at a brisk pace. "Hard Man to Love" is a driving country song with a hard-hitting drum solo by Stoll.

"Cajun Sugar" is a bit different from the other tunes on "Turn It Up," with a verse that musically sounds like Little Feat and a chorus like ZZ Top. "Hey Ruby" is a swing song featuring guest drummer Doug Ackman. "Blue Highway" is "the one that's paved with broken hearts," sings Lebel in this shuffle that I pictured being used in a movie. "Turn It Up" is a blues swing. Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva" bring the CD to a emphatic conclusion with an extended solo section, highlighting Lebel's guitar work, and also solos traded among Lebe, Freilich and Stoll.