Rooted deep in rock ‘n’ roll, and branching out into everything from punk to metal, Blazing Haley have been around Santa Barbara for years. This Saturday, however, the boys of B.H. will perform in Paramount, California (just south of Long Becah), on the bill to support good friends, The Meteors. And since decent psychobilly performances are becoming few and far between, this local band – a relatively big fish in the small Santa Barbara pond – is more than worth the drive to CC’s Roadhouse.
Blazing Haley is probably one of the best named Santa Barbara bands currently gigging – and it all began more or less by accident. Lead singer Matt Armor (also a deejay in S.B.) was on his way to meet the other three members of the four-piece band one night in back in 1996. It was then he ran into another friend who told him his house, on Haley Street in Santa Barbara, was ablaze. Armor sprinted home, grabbed a few valuables, and left just before the roof caved in. Unfazed, Armor charged on to meet his band (though a wee bit late). The delay, however, gave him an idea for what would become his band’s moniker: Blazing Haley. “It felt like the past burned down in order for me to move on to the next chapter in my life,” Armor recalled. “And Blazing Haley? The name was right in the ashes!” A night or so later, Armor had a dream where he avenged the pyromaniacs who torched his homestead, and awoke to write the eponymous song, “Blazing Haley.”
Blazing Haley goes on at 11 p.m. on Saturday, so you’ve got plenty of time jet down south and catch the band post-work. The foursome is supporting The Meteors, a UK band with a similar haunting, pirate-infused rockabilly sound, who Blazing Haley has toured internationally. The show is 21+ and ticket information is available online at myspace.com/nochedelospsychos.