by Robert Medley

He wore a cap on his head and played a snappy orange Gretsch guitar, low down and full of echo. The wristband with the words "Geronimo Productions," was still around his wrist. Bill Rankine, the lead guitarist of  The Satellites, had travelled with his band all the way from Australia to a little club in a bowling alley along historic Route 66. It was a spring  night in Oklahoma City. Inside 66 Bowl, the Satellites were set up in a corner.  The blonde singer with a pin-up purr, a hiccup, a growl and a heart stopping stare, bounced on her toes  and swayed on her heels, strumming a vintage six-string guitar. The Australian rockabilly band was on  their first world tour. The Australian Arts Council had helped send the outfit to California. They’d delivered their tasteful twist on the roots of rock  at Tom Ingram’s Fourth Annual Viva Las Vegas Festival in Nevada. Rankine  still wore the wristband issued at Viva Las Vegas for all of those who paid to see the bands. It was a full four days after the  event was over. Maybe it gave him strength. It sure sounded like it. The light bulbs above  the stage were blue and red. A public address speaker was on top of a trash  receptacle. This was 66 Bowl on a Thursday night.  The guitar riff of the song Rock Boppin’ Baby, had been going  through my head all afternoon. I’d never even seen nor heard The  Satellites. I had just had a hunch. The  Satellites were featured on a Sunday afternoon at Viva Las Vegas. I’d been there for three days of the festival,  but I had to leave on Sunday and miss them. I spent Easter night in a quiet  room in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a television on, fighting through  Viva Las Vegas rockabilly withdrawal. I was down, but not lost. Luckily, the  Satellites were going to trek across the Western United States to save me.  This is how I found them. The day before leaving Oklahoma City  with the Poison Okies on a mini-tour to Viva Las Vegas, I’d looked on the Internet  and read up on The Satellites. With a gal like  Belinda Hartman in the band  they turn heads. But could they play?  Were they for real? I knew they were for some reason. It is as hard to  explain as why "Rock Boppin’ Baby", started playing in my head on a  Thursday before even seeing The Satellites."She’s my rock-boppin’ baby and I don’t mean maybe, she’s doin’ it up  right tonight. ." I’d told Mike Haynes, 66 Bowl show promoter, that I would find the Satellites in Las Vegas and get them to come to Oklahoma City to play.  "Try it, try it. Good Luck," Mike had said before I left April 10. At Viva Las Vegas, two days went  by and I had not detected any signals from The Satellites. I was down, knowing I’d miss them on Sunday as I strolled through a thousand people in  the Gold Coast casino. I’d just lost $40 I’d won on horse-races by trying to win more on slots. Why didn’t I stick  to my horses? I was kicking myself. Then I looked up.I stood in the direct path of The Satellites. Bass slapper  Steve Mitchell walked close enough for me to grab his  arm. "Are you the Satellites?" That would be correct. Make no mistake. I told them about  Mike Haynes in Oklahoma City. Steve said a show at Club Clearview in Dallas had been cancelled. So they  drifted my way after all. At least seven hours before seeing The Satellites for the first time, I started hearing Rock Boppin’ Baby in  My Head. Their cell telephone might not have always worked travelling in America, but they were sure sending off a powerful rockabilly signal.  I saw one of the best rockabilly shows of my life with a small crowd of  people in the 66 Bowl lounge on Thursday, April 19. Belinda Hartman knows how to rock. She’s more than a  pretty figure in tight, cuffed jeans and a white sleeveless blouse. Mitchell can sing. Rankine can  sing. Drummer Jad Green stands with his black hair and gangly arms, going wild on a snare drum and a high-hat, his foot  keeping the bass drum a pumpin’. The Satellites "belt-it-out" at  various venues during the tour.

It is incredible how American sounds can bounce around the atmosphere, come down in a place like Australia, and then turn out as smooth and sexy as The Satellites. Just try to save some film for the end of a Satellites set. That is when one of  them may take a stand on an upright bass. They send out renditions of old  country standards from Faron Young and Hank Williams in their mix of  standard rockabilly, covers that don’t sound like anyone else’s version, but are like an AM radio tuned to 1956,  mixed up with a dash of an Australian Brenda Lee. My hunch was right 

By Robert Medley. 

Contact The Satelites this way.

Management: Steve Mitchell.

PO Box 444, GREENACRES SA 5086

Ph: (08) 8262 2825 or 0419 169 350

www.satellites.on.net

Steve Mitchell (Double Bass & vocals)

Belinda Hartman (Rhythm guitar & vocals)

Bill Rankine (lead guitar & vocals)

Jad Green (Drums)