„I was eleven. I took a few lessons, but not many really. I used to hide from my guitar teacher. Maybe I didn’t feel he was teaching me the right stuff or something.”

In the mid-80s under the influence of 50’s rock and roll Dex Romweber founded his legendary „hardcore Americana” band Flat Duo Jets – as if it came from the grave

Then they went US tour with The Cramps. Their records were released by roots and authentic rock and roll specialist Norton Records and others. 1998 brings the major label contract to them but the album Lucky Eye (with unusual horn and strings arrangement) was the swan song. After the break-up Dex made some solo records and founded the Dex Romweber Duo with his drummer Crash LeResh. In 2007 he was replaced with Dex’s sister, Sarah, who was member in indie pop band Let’s Active in the 80s. She says: „there are few things that me and Dexter absolutely agree on 100% – like Chopin, reincarnation, UFO’s, ghosts…”  „and psychology” – Drex completes the list.

„There is a real film noir quality to what we do. Really man, you see the darkest alleys. You see the most haunted streets. You see the wildest prostitutes. You come across drugs. You come across incredibly long drives. You come across band arguments. You come across mysterious people. You come across great people. You come across tremendous assholes, you see this real weird part of America that most people don’t really see on that level. When each record comes, I’m trying to figure out what’s going to fit at this time and what’s a picture of the last two years I’ve lived. The songs that come to me are very much a mirror of what my life has been like since the last record.”

The next chapter is Images 13 with repainted versions of Who (So Sad About Us), Rachmaninoff (Prelude in G Minor), Henry Mancini (Blackout!), Harry Lubin (composer, 60s sci-fi series, Outer Limits, One Step Beyond) and there is a deadly love ballad We’ll Be Together Again, which was written by Eddie Cohran’s girlfriend Sharon Sheeley after the fatal car accident. She also was in the taxi. The song was never released formally but recorded by Jackie DeShannon in the early ‘60s.

Images 13 – new Drex Romweber Duo album on Bloodshot Records. Two intelligible, post-edited sentences from my notes about it: Dynamic roots rock’n’roll with surfy garage rock feeling. There’re some reminiscence of Elvis, Bowie, Iggy Pop.

source of quotations