Frankie Tease Blog

I n 2012, Si Cranstoun came to Las Vegas and played the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender as his first ever U.S. gig. (It was love at first tune for both fans and band, and he's billed again for 2013). That's when I saw the wild audience response to the man and his band.  Is it possible to experience instant nostalgia for that which you have never heard?  Such was the case for me with Si Cranstoun (UK). His live show is like a recording of Doo Wop or Swing Music by Jackie Wilson, Nat King Cole, or at times the power vocals of Sammy Davis Jr.  Si Cranstoun  has just released his new album "Dance Halls & Supper Clubs, Limited Edition" (2012 Galley Music) featuring ten songs and two bonus tracks. What's fascinating about it is that Si is the Composer, Vocalist, and Producer [Engineered by Jon Radford and Si Cranstoun, Mastered by Guy Davie of Electric Mastering], and with all that autonomy, it still sounds amazing. His fifth album effort includ...

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...