News

When Ibanez needed a test-pilot for their latest

6-string hotrod, they knew just the man for the job. Their sleek metallic “Roadster Green” machine was barely out of the paint booth when they asked Robert to put the AFS80T hollow-body guitar through its paces.

The AFS series of guitars has the same shape

and full hollow-body as the legendary AF

series, but is one-inch thinner for comfort and

more mid-range punch.

Standard equipment includes set-in neck,

large frets, Vintage-style vibrato with

roller saddles, body/fretboard/f-hole

bindings and is available in new

go-fast finishes.

To see how this baby handled on

the track, check out the video

and click on the guitar for

more info!

www.straight8s.com

contact@straight8s.com

Thanks for checking out the Straight 8s website. The Straight 8s have been delivering their combustible blend of high-octane rock-a-billy music for over a decade. Based in Chapel Hill, NC the band has performed countless shows throughout the Southeast, birthplace of our beloved rock-a-billy.

Continuously in demand, the Straight 8s captivate audiences with their exceptional musicianship and dynamic stage presence. The band has released two full-length records and has been featured on several compilations.

In addition to performing at regional top-tier music venues, festivals, restaurants, honky-tonks, and private engagements, the Straight 8s traveled to Seattle, WA to “Shake the Shack” in 2005 and the legendary Continental Club (Austin, TX) in 2010. Their music has also been featured on radio programs in the US, Canada, UK, and the Netherlands.

The Straight 8s are honored to be playing a show at the famed Continental Club on South Congress St. in Austin TX. This venus has been a hot-spot for swing, rock-a-billy, country and rock since 1957.

Need to catch up on the Straight 8s? Check out the News Archive

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The series is being produced by Alan Ball ("True Blood" and "Six Feet Under") and directed by Greg Yaitanes (emmy award-winning director for "House" and "Lost"). The story takes place in the fictitious town of Banshee Pennsylvania, but the majority of filming happened in and around Charlotte, NC. One of the scenes in the pilot episode features a rock-a-billy band, and Straight 8s were approached about appearing and performing 3-4 of our original songs. So, we told them to have their agent call our agent and maybe we could do lunch. Yeah, just kidding.

Straight 8s Go Hollywood - Earlier this year Straight 8s were contacted by the production company for "Banshee", a new Cinemax action-drama television series set to air on Friday, January 11 2013 @ 10:00 pm

The band headed down to Charlotte (actually Waxhaw), to film the outdoor scene from Friday night (6/29) through Saturday morning (6/30). Despite temperatures in the 90s and enough stage-lighting to roast a flock of chickens at a time, we had a blast. As of this writing, "Banshee" will feature three of our songs in one scene, and possibly a fourth in a second scene. The pilot just finished post-production, but we won't know how much of our performance is sitting on the cutting room floor until January. Bear in mind our role was to add ambiance to the scene, but to have our music contribute to the overall soundtrack of the pilot is pretty exciting.

It's been a long, steady process but Straight 8s have written and refined enough material to warrant a session with our friend and producer/engineer extraordinaire John Plymale at Overdub Lane Recording. The band spent the weekend of November 10-11 tracking instruments for 9 songs and vocals for a duet with Robert a special guest star.

We're genuinely excited about the material and have some surprises in store, both from a composition and instrumentation standpoint. Some of these songs you've heard at live shows, but we've been keeping a number of them under wraps.

We're still evaluating the best means of releasing these songs and have been kicking around the idea of doing an EP on vinyl (with digital downloads), a series of singles, or possibly the old faithful album/CD format. We’re heading back to Overdub first week of December to finish the 9 tracks we started, with a follow-on session likely in early 2013. in the meantime click any of the following photos to check out more pictures from our first session.