Rattlesnakes

Rattlesnakes is a Russian rockabilly group formed in November 1995 by guitarist, singer and songwriter Yuri “Odnozub” Sutkova. Sutkov was born in Smolensk on 8 April 1970 and later studies at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Trade Unions. He becomes interested in rockabilly at the end of the 1980s and begins performing in earlier groups before forming Rattlesnakes.

Style and formation

The band develops in the St. Petersburg and wider Russian rockabilly scene and is associated with neo-rockabilly rather than roots rockabilly. Its sound combines rock and roll with elements of swing, surf, country, garage rock, Latin music and even jazz. The group is also noted for writing its own material in a scene that is often dominated by cover versions, while keeping all of its lyrics in English.

The original line-up comes together after Sutkov’s earlier work with The Eyeballs, Attrackars and Rockin’ Chair. Oleg Khudkin, on guitar, and Alexander Karnazov, on double bass, both previously play in The Sunstrockers, while drummer Alexei Gubin has a background in punk rock and hard alternative. After one season working together, they adopt the name Rattlesnakes.

Recordings and releases

The band records its debut album, El Caballero, in 1997. It is released in Sweden on DCM Records, and the title track becomes its first hit, with a video shown on Muz-TV. The group also performs a live hour on the same channel.

In 1999 it releases its second album, Lady Wild. Later releases include a split 7-inch with the K-Nobs, a split 12-inch with The Switch, and the full-length album I, Explosion!. In 2003 the group records the ska-based project C4 - Explosion is Inevitable. Its earlier albums are reissued on a double CD in 2004, alongside the compilation 1999-2001 To Be Continued ..., all on BRP Records. Tombstone Records later issues the live album Moscow Gig in 2006, recorded at the Bunker club with Mark Harman. The band also adds Tornado to its discography in 2006.

Line-up changes and activity

The original line-up breaks up in August 2001. Sutkov then assembles a new version of the group in September, bringing in Andrey Bitulev on guitar and vocals, Alexander “Harry” Volkov on double bass, and Sergey Kalinin on drums and vocals. In December 2002 Dmitry “Jess” Ilyin replaces Volkov. During this period the band continues to perform actively, including a set at the Rock’n’Roll Ruby 2 festival with Finnish group The String Beans.

Over the following years Rattlesnakes plays festivals and club dates across much of the European part of Russia, including Petrozavodsk, Penza, Yaroslavl, Pskov, Vologda, Rybinsk and Yekaterinburg, as well as venues in St. Petersburg and Moscow. It performs at Rock’n’Roll Jamboree 58 in Finland, headlines the Kosmodrom festival in Petrozavodsk, appears at RockBomBilly in Ivanovo, The Global Battle Of The Bands and Smolensk Project, and joins the Russian tour of the German band The Tony Montanas. The group also plays international festivals in Finland and the Czech Republic in 2005.

Collaborations and related projects

The band tours several times with the American surf group Red Elvises, organised in Los Angeles by Russian immigrants. In December it accompanies British neo-rockabilly pioneer Mark Harman of Restless in Moscow. In 2004 the band appears at a Moscow 4 Rooms club party with Quentin Tarantino and David Carradine, who are in Moscow for the film Kill Bill 2.

Sutkov also works on other projects, including Los Barrancos with members of The Silvertonez. Los Barrancos performs mainly in Spanish and describes its style as surf latino rock. Sutkov divides his time between St. Petersburg and Moscow for several years, and also studies at the Architectural Institute in Moscow.