Gothabilly

Gothabilly (sometimes hellbilly<ref name="Hendrickson"/>) is music genre influenced by rockabilly and the goth subculture. The name is a portmanteau word that combines gothic and rockabilly, first used by the Cramps in the late 1970s to describe their somber blend of rockabilly and punk rock.<ref name=Hendrickson/><ref name="Uutela">Template:Cite news</ref> Since then, the term has come to describe a fashion style influenced by gothic fashion, as seen in its use of black silks, satins, lace and velvet, corsets, top hats, antique jewellery, PVC and leather.<ref name="Hendrickson"/>

Characteristics

Gothabilly is distinctly different in sound from psychobilly. While psychobilly fuses 1950s rockabilly with 1970s punk rock in a faster, more aggressive sound, gothabilly fuses bluesy rockabilly with gothic piano and guitar, and is defined by having slower tempos and emphasizing mood over aggression.<ref name=Hendrickson>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The Cramps have been credited with coining the term "gothabilly".<ref name=Hendrickson/> The term was not popularized until the release of a series of international gothabilly compilation albums released by Skully Records in the mid-1990s.<ref>Valarie Thorpe: Interview with Ghoultown's Count Lyle, reallyscary.com. Retrieved on April 14, 2009</ref><ref name="Kirst">Template:Cite news</ref>

Gothabilly is particularly active in the western portion of the United States, with many of today's bands originating in California.<ref name="Johnson">Johnson, Daniel (April 9), "The Growth of Gothabilly", RSEE, Riverside County, CA.</ref>