Gamblers Mark - storytelling masters of psychobilly, ska, surf, and rockabilly. Tonight @ Spike's!

Gamblers Mark (from L to R): Danny (bass), Dave (guitar), Ricky (drums)

Now this is a psychobilly band that can really carry a tune. I got a chance to check out Gamblers Mark on January 23rd at The Surf City Saloon and January 24th at the “Veteranos del Underground” music festival at Self-Help Graphics in East Los Angeles.

Lead singer/guitarist Dave Gambler has one of the best voices I’ve heard in the billy scene in a long time – great tone and sustain with a crooner style that doesn’t overdo the vibrato. His brother Danny Exito (on upright bass) and Ricky Lobo (on drums) add sweet-sounding back-up harmonies that fully round out the awesome vocal skills of this band. Listen to “Rockahula FiveO” or “Down a Highway” for great examples of their clean, crisp, tuneful melodies and harmonies. Plus, there’s an honorary fourth member: Dave’s son, Jacob Dean (aka “Jake the Ripper”) earned his nickname by showing off his shredding skills at the Veteranos show while his dad threw merchandise to the screaming crowd.

Then there’s their unclassifiable mix of music genres – a little rockabilly here, a little psychobilly there, and a dash each of punk rock, ska, and surf music. Their influences range widely across the musical spectrum. Take, for instance, the first two concerts that Danny ever went to see - Dick Dale and Reverend Horton Heat - or the fact that they listened to early Jamaican ska on the way to the show. And sometimes Dave gets ready for a show by listening to industrial goth music, or surf, or 1940s jazz, or Spanish rockabilly, depending on his mood. Then Ricky brings more punk rock to the equation, which adds an extra edge to the basic rockabilly drum pattern. Put together, you get a band that can cater to any crowd.

Gamblers Mark live at the Surf City Saloon in Huntington Beach (photo by Kim Kattari).

As Dave told me: “Depending the show, we can come in and do a full rockabilly set, or a full psychobilly set, or a full surf set, an instrumental set, a slower country set, or even a ska set. We have enough songs to accommodate to any crowd – whether it’s young or old. For example, we played the Pomona Fair and we had every age in the crowd dancing…. That’s why now we write the set list when we get to the show, because we see what people are getting into, and we pick appropriate songs.”

For instance, at the Veteranos del Underground show that featured a gang of skacore and punk bands, Gamblers Mark brought up a guest artist - the trombonist from Voodoo Glow Skulls - to play several songs with them (including their ska song “Rude Boy” and a Specials cover). So they really do cater to any crowd.

Dave's son Jacob Dean ("Jake the Ripper") ripped it up (photo by Kim Kattari).

Another refreshing aspect of Gamblers Mark is their storytelling talent. If you’re a little worn out on the typical subjects that many psychobilly bands write about – i.e. zombies, ghouls, monsters, graveyards, necrophilia –you’ll really enjoy Gamblers Mark’s songs. It’s not that they’re against writing about horror subjects (there is a song called “Invasion of the Spacemen” which touches on sci-fi B-movies and a quick reference to a zombie taking a stroll in “My Guitar”). But “the whole horror thing just isn’t really our feel,” as they put it.

Instead, you’ll hear stories about life experiences, particularly renditions of stories they’ve heard from their friends – about good times and bad times. For instance, Ricky helped come up with the idea for “A.D.I.T.S.” (short for “Another Day In The Sand”). Dave explained: “We wrote that song about my buddy who was in the Marines - he was in Iraq three times. And we’ve seen the life that he’s gone through with his wife and kids, and him not being there, and is he going to get killed in Iraq, and when’s he going to come back? The way we see it, it’s basically like a story.” Ricky adds: “We’re not trying to be political or anything. The song is just about what we hear. Our friends come back from Iraq and they tell us stories, and it’s not what you hear on TV… It’s a narrative about our friend’s experience.”

But, of course, not all their songs are that heavy. Mostly they sing about good times. And speaking of good times, one person who sounds like he had plenty of fun was Dave and Danny’s beloved grandfather, a noted gambler and ladies man. In fact, the band name actually comes from a song that Dave penned after his grandfather passed away: “He was our biggest fan. He used to sit at our practices, and say ‘oh, that sounds good’ or ‘I used to jam to music like that.’ He was really cool. And we look at it like my brother and I are a mark that the gambler, my grandfather, left behind.” Coincidentally, Ricky’s grandfather was also a betting man, so the name really is appropriate to all the bandmates.

Vegas Vic on Danny's bass (photo by Kim Kattari)

Don’t let their name fool you – these guys don’t actually gamble much themselves (shhh… don’t tell anyone), but the spirit of Vegas still looms large – even on the back of Danny’s bass where a skeleton figure of Vegas Vic stands tall and proud, thumbing people on into the bright lights of the city.

There’s plenty more to tell you – like how you might not know that Dave was seriously involved in breakdancing as a teenager, or how Ricky got his first drum at the age of 6 (a Muppets snare drum with Animal’s picture on it), or how their song “First Cabin” has to do with the Arcadia bar where they like to check out Pat O’Brien and the Priests of Love, or that Danny loves carne asada fries from Alberto’s, or that they get their tattoos from Johnny at The Ink Shop in Arcadia. So check this site soon for the complete backstage interview.

Be sure to add them on MySpace because there is a lot in the works. They’re about to re-release one of their albums on vinyl and they’re also hitting the studio for a new CD/DVD album (from a producer who has worked with H2O and The Misfits) that will contain live footage of their clowning around.

So next chance you get, definitely go check out a Gamblers Mark show. You’re bound to hear something you like in the diverse sound that they’ve created.