Jerry Sikorski and American Patrol: Rockin' 'round the Juke Machine
Golden State jump maestro Jerry Sikorski founded American Patrol in the early 1980s. He'd lifted the name from a tune Glenn Miller made famous as a WWII-era USO club skirt-snapper.
Jerry's earlier credits included time in Ray Campi and the Rockabilly Rebels, in the U.S. and overseas; backing Colin Winski on his 1980 Rock Therapy; and, two years on, recording with Jimmy and the Mustangs on Hey Little Girl.
Already applauded for his six-string Rockabilly talent by both U.S. and overseas fans, Jerry cast back to the '40s for further inspiration. He studied the volatile teachings put to wax by masters like Louis Jordan.
By joining bounce-stepped Boogie Woogie to wildcat Sun methodologies, he and the Patrol fashioned a high-spirited and magnetic whole. Their jive-time concoction of Swing, Rockabilly, and Jump Blues inspired dancefloor denizens to abandonment, long before such genre admixtures became profitable.
An intended 1980 demo, cut in a single day, was ultimately issued independently as the 1000-copy Prowler LP. Even on that primitive effort, potential was manifest: jubilant material swung. The hep-to-it players nimbly alternated hot and cool passages, always keeping the solid proceedings trucking around the totem pole.
The inadvertent debut was strong on covers. Noteworthy were the blast-off readings of Jimmy Preston's 1949 "Rock the Joint," 1956 Rover Boys malt shop-hop ditty "16 Teens," and a smoldering take on the Tiny Bradshaw's "Train Kept A-Rollin'."
Also given raucous reinterpretations were numbers by Louis Jordan ("That Chick's Too Young To Fry," "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens") and Sonny Burgess (Red-Headed Mama"), as was Chris "Big T" Tyler's 1957 "King Kong."
The ominous, pulsing title track, a Sikorski original, offered the disc's most contemporary nod.
Jerry and realigned troops recorded album Backseat Boogie for Berverly Hills' Vanity Records. The new record was every ampere as electrically dashing as had been its predecessor. Plus, it boasted great poise.
Arrangements were direct, that edges not be obscured, and songs were brisk. Hurtling Swingtime finger-snappers were jazzed up by a winkingly fluidic guitar/sax cooperative that was, as needed, supportive and assertive. The sometime inclusion of rollicking, good-time ivories lent piquant Jazz accent. Chairs remained unoccupied all night.
This time, originals predominated. Jerry's "Shake the Roof" was a freewheeling dance-party anthem. "Give It All You Got" erupts with clever dynamics, including a lullingly cool breakdown that bubbled its fervor.
"Wildcat Shakeout" was a holdover from Jerry's days with Ray Campi. Co-written by Jerry and Campi drummer Steve Clark, it simply rocked like nobody's damned business.
Extra points were deserved for fine, obscure cover choices. Roy Hall's juke joint tale "Three Alley Cats" sped with knowing delight. And Louis Jordan's "Texas and Pacific" was a leisurely train song that afforded soloists capacious legroom.
In 2013, Jerry hoisted the American Patrol banner anew, with the invaluable allegiance of Jim Leslie. Their version, as infectiously swinging as was before the case, leaned more heavily on western guitar voicings.
"Truth, justice, and liberty, good folks stand by what they say," reads the liner, articulating the general traditional values-vibe. That this uplifting, Western Swing 'billy is true to early rockers' patriotic spirit - and that twang-committed co-captains Jerry Sikorski and Jim Leslie number Ray Campi and Stevie Ray Vaughn among previous colleagues -- are blue-ribbon selling factors.
The fresh and unique coolness of harnessing traditional values sensibilities with unerring, old-school rockin' - sporting cowboy carriage - sends one reeling down familiar Bop Street.
Today, Jerry's patrolling continues. The imminent release of a brand new American Patrol CD was recently broadcast. The foregoing, then, is but the story thusfar.
The train keeps a-rollin'...
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