POP MUSIC REVIEW : PALADINS’ BLUESY ROCKABILLY

Yes, Virginia, there are still rockabilly fans out there--people who don’t seem to care if their absorption in this brand of American roots music is pretty passe, at least by the fad standards in trendy Los Angeles. As Dave Gomez of the Paladins told the small audience at the Lingerie on Wednesday night, “There’s only a few of us left.”

A good few, if this trio from San Diego is any indication. The Paladins give off the retro-romantic appeal of a humble-hearted, slightly faceless workingman’s (and workingwoman’s) band--the kind of group you’d find rocking around the clock in some small-town roadhouse. Except these days the roadhouse bands go through (George) Strait country rather than Stray Cat-ting around.

Actually, the Paladins’ nice ‘n’ greasy set of honky-tonkin’ tunes leaned more toward Stevie Ray Vaughan’s brand of Texas prairie blues than strict rockabilly, especially on a gritty shuffle called “Hold On.” But what do you expect from a group whose guitarist has a prized instrument autographed by Sid King of the vintage Tex-a-billy combo Sid King & the Five Strings?

Even if the Paladins are leaning toward blues, there was enough of the old Carl Perkins-style Memphis bop mixed in between the slow-dance romancers and the swamp-rock grooves to satisfy the most avid rockabilly diehard. And this tradition is definitely dying hard, no matter how small the crowd gets.

However, if the Paladins really want to get over, they might consider picking up on a stronger frontman--someone like the evening’s headliner, James Intveld, who joined the trio at the end of its set, turned on the flame and transformed a routine smolder into a bonfire.