Frankie Tease Blog

Stew Pannaman and Si Cranstoun at Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, Las Vegas, 2013. Before Viva Las Vegas 15 (Rockabilly Weekend held April 5-8, 2012 in Vegas), I had never heard of Si Cranstoun (Si is short for his birth name Simone). It turns out I had heard of a 50's style singer from the UK who worked with a Portland, Oregon area Pin-up a few years back, though I never new there was a connection. I stumbled into the Bienville Room for the first set that Si Cranstoun played at Viva Las Vegas, and to my pleasant surprise I found a man with the ability to belt out tunes with utter style and control, backed up by a masterful band. Oh, and the man can dance. He played his voice like the instrument so many 50's Rock N' Roll stars used to do. Vocals weren't auto-corrected by top-notch producers in a studio, back then they were laid down clean.  By Sunday of his visit to Viva Las Vegas at the Orleans Hotel, a mass amount of people had heard about Si Cr

The Big Six photo courtesy of the band. Part of the decision for me to attend this year's Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender was pushed over into reality by the fact that the Big Six of England would be one of the headliners. They have a very fond place in my heart, and hearing they'd be back in the states was exciting. You see, several years ago (perhaps in the teen count) this fiery band appeared at a little club I was at on the regular called 'The Derby' in Hollywood, maybe you've heard of it? It was an amazing night, and it converted me into a Big Six listener, as well as enthusiast. I wore those perfectly-measured-for-Swing-Dance albums out. Make that album. Back then, they had only the first album available 'Ready to Rock', chalk-full of 20 tunes, both top-notch covers and originals. Part of what I took from their live performance was their insane antics, like standing on the bass and lighting the piano and the bass on fire. Would the Big Six sti