"Headin' For Vegas"
60 sec. - 118 Kb.
song : Sin Alley
Year : 1995
Record co. : C.O.C.K.
"Detroit 442"
60 sec. - 118 Kb.
song : Sin Alley
Year : 1996
Produced : Walter Broes
Record co.:
Demolition Derby
"White Trash Mama"
60 sec. - 118 Kb.
song : Sin Alley
Year : 1996
Produced : Walter Broes
Record co. :
Demolition Derby
The oldest traces of the band Sin Alley can be found in Franky
& The Rednecks, a rockabilly band that had an ever changing set of musicians
between 1983 en 1992, including Alain van den Brande (earlier with The
Rowdies) and guitarist Ruben Block. In 1992, they decided to form the band
Tiny Tinne & The Texas Jumpers together with drummer Koen Verbeek
(who had been playing in a number of bands together with Filip Casteels - later
El Fish - such as Shakey & The Hunting Tones, The
Grasshoppers and The Crawlin' Kingsnake Rhythm & Blues Band ) and the short
but spectacular female singer Martine Vanhoof. After a couple of months
Tiny Tinne and her outfit changed the name of the band to Sin Alley.
After a first EP "Let's Dance", they recorded a CD/LP
"Headin' For Vegas" in 1995. The sound of the band had evolved
from rockabilly to rockabilly with psycho-, garage- & surf-influences (eg.
the surf-instrumental "Dale's Dick", which was described by an adept
of the genre from the USA as "A tribute to the big guy himself. This track
shreds mercilessly, with big glissandos and major double pickage, plus an over
all evil sound. Big twang and plenty of speed. It ain't no Fender sound, but then
it doesn't seem to matter. A real grinder").
Within the psycho-rockalilly-surf "subculture", the
CD was eagerly accepted. Zine Cosmic Debris for example wrote about "Headin'
For Vegas": "This CD is, simply put, one of the most insane, balls-out,
kick-ass Rock 'n' Roll records I've heard in a while! Put Wanda Jackson circa
1959 and Reverend Horton Heat in a blender and you'll get Sin Alley. Hailing from
Belgium, they are fronted by the gorgeous and strong-voiced Martine Van Hoot,
Sin Alley create a whirlwind of rockabilly, blues, country and punk that rarely
lets up...".
More conventional sources such as Mvs in Humo on the contrary
said things like : "The members of Sin Alley do have the looks it takes
in these circles (royally applied brilliantine, finely trimmed sideburns, goatees
at the right spot and one of grandad's wrong shirts around the shoulders) ánd
really know how to move about in the shadowy underworld where bands like The Cramps
have been roaming for ages. Sin Alley's sound is swinging and even exciting, but
after about four songs we found out that the hideous squeaking and noise coming
from the speakers wasn't a technical malfunction, but the voice of singer Martine
Van Hoof. ... When they would give this singer to de Lama's,
maybe something good would come from this band. If not, Sin Alley runs a terrible
risk of becoming a blind alley."
At the end of 1995, drummer Koen Verbeek left the band (he would
start a new band named Los Fabulous Frankies and would also feature in
Runnin' Wild), and his place within Sin Alley was taken by Batmobile's
drummer Johnny Z (Batmobile is the main Psychobilly band of the Netherlands,
and also at the cradle of the Count Orlock label, on which the Headin' For Vegas
CD was issued).
In 1996, the band issued a double single "Detroit 442" (in
transparent blue and red vinyl) with 5 tracks - featuring a cover of song "Money"
of the Sonics, in a production by Walter Broes (the singer of the great
rootsrockband The Seatsniffers).
News about the band after this got very scarce, and the band died
a subsequent silent death. A few years after these last life-signs, Ruben Block
appeared on the scene with Trigger Finger (together with Noordkaap's
Mario Goossens and Wladimir Geels) and together with Sin-Alley singer Martine
van Hoof and Ashbury Faith's Axl Peleman in the
poprock band à la Garbage AngeliCo. Martine
(about 1,50 m. and sometimes labeled the Debbie Harry of Lier) about this in Gazet
van Antwerpen : "I don't think we are going to conquer the world any longer.
The years in Sin Alley have tought me experience and a sense for putting things
in perspective".
Band members :
- Ruben Block (guitars, 6-string bass, backing vocals)
- Alain van den Brande (bass)
- Martine Van Hoof (vocals)
- Johnny Zuidhof (Johnny Z) / Koen Verbeek (Drums)
Buy CD's of this band at
Albums :
- Let's Dance (EP, Demolition Derby 1994)
- Headin' For Vegas (Count Orlock (CD) / Nitro (LP), 1995)
- Detroit 442 (double single, red & blue vinyl, Demolition Derby, 1996)
Websites :
- the Sin Alley photo page
- Sin Alley at Psycho
Bands
- the career of their first drummer Koen
Verbeek, now in Los Fabulous Frankies
- the homepage of Batmobile
(met Johnny Z)
- Trigger Finger, one of the current
bands of Ruben Block
- Angelico, the current band of Ruben &
Martine
- Demolition Derby, the label that
published the Sin Alley LP's & singles.
Watch it : This site pays royalties, and was built and maintained in
accordance with the terms and conditions negotiated with SABAM,
the Belgian society of copyright-holders. Consultation of this site is free, but
this exludes downloading, reproducing or public performance of any part of this
site. Please do not copy. Link!