Aside from the text messages which were the whip cream with the cherry on top, Showdown Sundae virginity has been broken for this girl!

Showdown 6, held at Hollywood's Knitting Factory was a steam sauna of Rockabillies weaving their way back and forth from room to room... minus the air conditioning. Ouch! It was hot, but not so bad, because you could escape to the secondary room where there was cool air, until all the bodies piled in there and then you had to leave again. Ah....and then there was a special place in the vendor room, where Papa Crash showed me the exact spot to stand for a blast of cold air! We love Papa Crash.

So, it was on with the show. I saw several bands whose names I unfortunately didn't hear near the beginning, but the evening highlights were Chuy and the Bobcats (oh, traditional RAB bands get ready for stiff competition), these guys are going to take it over. I'm not exactly sure why....maybe it was Chuy's demeanor, but he made me think of Ritchie Valens. He had that clean cut innocent thing going on. The freshness of a new band when they first start out and all their dreams are seeping off their cuffs.

I'd never seen Rip Masters in all these years. My friend, Tony, stood in on the bass this night, and they're a band I'd go see any time - my kind of music any day of the week.

Also, the Hellzapoppers put on a very impressive set. It was a change of pace from the normal RAB and leaned a bit more towards swing. Nice and refreshing!

Lance Lipinsky is the prodigy of Jerry Lee Lewis's young ghost. If you didn't know better you'd think "time travel" was a thing of the past. He had a few minor electronic piano issues near the beginning, but once that was fixed, he gave us a show of shows - bouncing, singing, kicking, piano playing genius. The grand finale had almost all band members on top of that grand while piano wailing to their hearts content. Amen.

And, then....there was Linda Gail Lewis, sister of famed Jerry Lee Lewis. Oh, the giggles I had under my breath when she sang one song in particular where the lyrics echoed - you can take my husband, but you can't have my man! YES! I had to wonder how many women would identify with those words, and I found myself feeling lucky not to be one of them. The lady has a lot of dynamic and it was really great to see her live after all I've heard. A friend of mine drove her to San Diego earlier last week where she was doing some recording.

Little Rachel, hailing from Kansas City, was all a-glitter in a lovely silver evening dress and she belted out tunes that told you she wasn't with Toto in Kansas anymore. This lady can sing! It was a pleasure to finally see her after all this time.

I don't need to tell you that the crowd went crazy to see Kim Lenz and her Spanish Jaguars. She is a Rockabilly favorite throughout the states and this was my first time seeing her live as well. The room was so crowded I didn't stay for more than three songs, but it was obvious the crowd loves Kim Lenz, over and over again.

Of course, I couldn't leave without seeing those Cumbia loves, The Moonlight Cruisers. Original in their sounds, I don't know anybody who doesn't like their music. For those of you who missed them at the Showdown, you can catch them on September 24th at El Cid where they'll be doing a show with Joe Houston and CC Jerome Combo.

And last but not least, because the music world would not be complete without the two - I'd like to pay homage to all the audience friends I saw there: (I know I will forget someone, and I apologize. And, if you weren't there you were still in my heart)

Derek
Tom
Ricky
Sean
Cameron
Gaby
Veronica
Nancy
Juliana
Crash
Rory
Tony
Suzanne
Lindalu
DJ
And also, my friends from MySpace (my former abode)