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Rockabilly trio revs up its sound, touring schedule

Dan Thomas / Lake Tahoe Action

A rising Bay Area rockabilly band is revving up its sound and its touring schedule to include Tahoe.

Marcus “Hot Rod” Edell grew up in the Bay Area and has been coming to Tahoe for 30 years, but Friday, March 20, will mark the RevTones’ South Shore debut. Tickets for the rockabilly trio’s 21-and-older show at Whiskey Dick’s Saloon are $10 in advance or at the door.

“Tahoe’s kind of like a second home to me,” said drummer Edell, whose family had a cabin on the South Shore when he was growing up.



In addition to guitarist and songwriter Randy Schmidt, the newest member of the RevTones is 22-year-old Rob Shaw on upright bass. Shaw’s presence has helped push the RevTones’ sound from traditional rockabilly toward psychobilly and punk material.

“We started out on the more traditional side, but we’ve found ourselves leaning more toward the psychobilly thing lately,” Edell said. “He gets crazy onstage, so the whole thing kind of fits for us.”



The RevTones released a new album last September and are working on a new one, so they’re focusing on new material. When the band plays covers, they’re novel: Cheap Trick’s “California Man” or the Misfits’ “Hybrid Moments.”

The band won some new fans opening for Stray Cats double bass player Lee Rocker in January and hopes to establish a foothold in Tahoe.

“They’re always blown away by what we do: our stage presence, our tightness, and the range of songs we play is definitely very unique,” Edell said.


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