Ton-Up Boys race to the stage

Ton-Up Boys race to the stage
Rockabilly group pays tribute to Cash, Presley in shows
By Emma Downs
The Journal Gazette

Courtesy photo
The Ton-Up Boys will perform at midnight Saturday at Pro Bowl West.

If you're riding around town on a Triumph Thunderbird 6T – sporting Levi's and a pair of Lewis Leathers boots – chances are good you're not listening to the toothsome tunes of Jessica Simpson.

If you're really worth your swept-back exhaust and rear-set footpegs, you probably consider yourself an Eddie Cochran admirer. A Carl Perkins devotee. A Gene Vincent buff. And a fan of the local rockabilly band the Ton-Up Boys.

"Motorcycles and rock 'n' roll go hand in hand," guitarist Joshua Wade says. "Back in the late '50s and early '60s, the Ton-Up Boys were these leather-clad motorcycle enthusiasts. And these guys would go to a café, put a nickel in a jukebox and see if they could race around the city and end up back in the café before the song ended."

Back then, this achievement – called "record racing" – wasn't easy to accomplish. Pushing a motorcycle such as a Café racer to 100 mph (nicknamed "the ton") would cause the bike to rattle and shake, Wade says.

"Only the baddest of the bad, the coolest of the cool, could call themselves a ton-up boy," he says.

The local (and musical) version of the Ton-Up Boys – Wade, bassist Patrick Borton and drummer Jon Hartman – play every Thursday at Chaps Western Bar and Grill, where diehard fans of the band's hepped-up melding of country music and early rhythm and blues, come to dance, swill beer and sing along with original tunes such as "Fast Old Betty" – Wade's valentine to the 1955 Chevy.

"That song is more of a fantasy," he says. "I've always wanted a '55 Chevy, but I could never afford one. A black one. Black is the color."

The song, one of only a few original tunes the band plays, stays true to the roots of rockabilly – slap-back bass, twangy electric guitar and a jumping beat. But when the Ton-Up Boys take the stage, they prefer to pay tribute to artists such as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.

"There are so many elements that go into rockabilly music," Hartman says. "Rock, country, blues. It's just hard to sit still when you're listening to it. And I've always loved it. I remember hearing Chuck Berry at a wedding reception when I was a kid – and I was a shy kid – and tearing out onto the dance floor pretending to play guitar."

" Wade says. "The first time I heard that 'Johnny B. Goode,' " song, that was when I knew I wanted to play rock and roll."

The band is scheduled to perform at midnight Saturday at Pro Bowl West, 1455 Goshen Ave. The show, which also features Left Lane Cruiser, will follow the Fort Wayne Derby Girls' first bout of the year. Those on hand can expect plenty of Johnny Cash and manic three-chord energy, Borton says.

"Lately, everyone's been yelling for Johnny Cash," Bordon says. "Not that that bothers us. So, there'll be plenty of Cash, a little swing dancing, a lot of yelling and at least three chord in every song."