Preview: Dan Sartain

Dark glasses, quiff, leather jacket, vintage guitar. Dan Sartain knows how to use them all. Looking like he could have just walked in straight from a knife fight behind a Fifties’ diner, Sartain, the rockabilly underdog, is heading to town. During his young career, he has opened for The Hives and The White Stripes, bands, like him, with a definite emphasis on the sartorial. In fact, self-confessed groupie Jack White recorded the well-received ‘Bohemian Grove’ with Sartain.

Stand-out tracks from recent years include ‘Young Girls’, ‘Voodoo’ and ‘Flight of the Finch’. All of which contain a fine concoction of garage, punk and rockabilly. His version of Roy Rogers’ ‘Dust’ has a real stripped-down country blues sound but there’s an inherently pure rock ‘n’ roll essence in Sartain, which permeates everything he does. The energy and power of his sound is such that you feel like you’re watching a reincarnation of Gene Vincent, Iggy Pop and Ritchie Valens all thrown into one. John Lennon once said “There was nothing before Elvis” but Dan Sartain is proving there’s definitely something after him.

The current tour is to support a 7” release and the launch of album Legacy of Hospitality. This compilation of rare tracks (songs from his early, self-released albums) was released on April 25th and comes as a CD/DVD bundle. The documentary Dan Sartain Lives is part of the deal and is said to contain early demos, outtakes and some great live footage. For some live footage of your very own get yourself down to Sidecar. It’s sure to be a classy slice of retro pie.

Dan Sartain, May 18th, Sidecar