Dolls + Dead Boys = Punk Supergroup!

They're bats! Cheetah Chrome and Sylvain Sylvain form Batusis - official debut at SXSW to be followed by an EP.

By Fred Mills

It's a punk rock supergroup that'll make your inner Tim Stegall weep tears of joy: Batusis is the brainchild of erstwhile Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome (spotted in recent years as part of the reunited Rocket From the Tombs) and New York Dolls founding member/guitarist Sylvain Sylvain. The band - which includes bassist Enzo Penizzotto and drummer Thommy Price, the rhythm section from Joan Jett's Blackhearts - will issue a colored wax 7" EP (and digital download) on the Smog Veil label on May 4. Prior to that Batusis will make its official debut at SXSW in Austin (featuring a different bassist and drummer tba).

"I've known Sylvain since 1975," explained Chrome, in a statement. "The Dolls were a huge influence on me." Sylvain adds "We're just nuts about rock ‘n' roll. We knew that's what we'd come up with, no matter what!"

"We really had no idea what we were gonna do until we got together and jammed," added Sylvain. "We're just nuts about rock and roll, and we knew that's what we'd come up with."

Producer Ken Coomer (late of Uncle Tupelo and Wilco) cut the EP with the band last November in Nashville, where Chrome had relocated not long ago.  "I asked Ken for a sound that would peel paint and piss people off, and I got it," said Chrome.

Songs on the EP: "What You Lack in Brains," billed as "a salacious, piano-spiced workout"; instrumental "Big Cat Stomp"; "Bury You Alive"; and a cover of Davie Allen and the Arrows' Wild Angels soundtrack classic "Blues' Theme."

Incidentally, sharp-eyed readers might note the curious choice of band name: it's derived from "The Batusi," the Watusi variation that Adam West, as Batman, danced in an episode of the ‘60s TV show Batman. "We kicked around a lot of names," said Chrome. "My favorite at that point was The Uncalled Four.  We were listening back to ‘Blues' Theme' and Syl started doing this dance where he drew his fingers across his eyes.  I immediately asked him ‘What is that?'"

"I said, ‘It's the dance Batman does!'" recalled Sylvain. "The next thing you know, Cheetah gets his laptop out and starts to Google it and then tells me the dance is called the Batusi. We immediately looked at each other and said, ‘Cheetah, that's the fuckin' name!'"  

Catch ‘em at SXSW March 18th at the Prague, followed by Cheapo Music at 5pm on March 19th. In May the band will be doing a tour of the UK.

More details here.

[Photo Credit: Anna O'Connor]