- New Times, November 2006
Angels Descend
Good Lord! The Cadillac Angels section on my CD rack just got one CD wider. "I can't believe it myself," said head Angel Tony Balbinot. "Hell, I've put out more records than The Beatles!"

Sure enough, Men Don't Disco makes lucky number 13 for the Santa Barbara roots rock act, and damn if it's not one of the best records yet. As usual, it's a stripped-down little number filled with rootin' tootin' rockin' tunes. Tony's guitar continues to act as a second voice, and Tony's own voice has evolved into a '50s crooner dreamscape.

The CD kicks off with countryesque rockabilly number "Marie," a song that sounds like it could have been recorded in 1955. A lot of tunes on this record have a real country tinge old-school style, that is. "Cruel Game" could have been written and sung by Chris Isaak.

Tony turns up the heat on "Somebody," a driving rockabilly number with dark lyrics that match its muscular guitar riffs.
One of the biggest surprises is Tony's innovative take on Bruce Springsteen's classic "I'm on Fire," which the Angels totally make their own. Overall, this is a helluva good record, a collection of songs plucked from the American roots rock idiom, spot-on perfect!


New Times, San Luis Obisbo 20th November, 2003 -- Glen Starkey
The Cadillac of Angels
There's no stopping the Cadillac Angel Tony Ridge, who's just released Illinois Boy, his tenth album. The roots rocker has delivered another CD filled with greasy guitar riffs (the opening track, "Love's Heavy Chain," sounds like Southern Culture on the Skids), smokin' road house boogie ("My Little Jenny" sounds like a freight train a-comin'), swamp boogie ("Sheila Shakes"), hand-jivin' ("All Night Long"), prom date slow burners ("What Love Is"), instrumental exotica ("$80 Geetar"), wailing vocals ("Ann Lee"), and three great covers: Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't"; Bill Monroe's "Rocky Road Blues"; and Link Wray's "Ace of Spades."

What's different about his band The Cadillac Angels is longtime bassist Micky Rae Johnson has taken something of a hiatus from the band's constant touring, and Ridge has had to tap other players to fill her bass-slappin' shoes. Jules Verne of local act !Tres Gatos!, a former student of Micky Rae's, has joined Ridge at several gigs, and she'll play the Angels' shows this weekend: Thursday, Nov. 20 at noon at Backstage Pizza on the Cal Poly campus; Friday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at Boo Boo Records; and Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22 at Cayucos Tavern at 9:30 p.m.

All the dates are meant to promote Illinois Boy, which features Ridge's penchant for strange guitars.
"I'll be bringing three guitars to these shows, and one of them is the $80 guitar of '$80 Geetar.' Another one I found in garbage can. It's the one on the inside photo in the CD. And there's one I bought in Cincinnati for big bucks. I paid $100 for that one! The one from the trash can and Cincinnati are both from an Italian company that made accordions. The $80 guitar is one they used to sell at stores like Thirfty's and Woolworths for $40, so I guess that one's gone up in price. These instruments have some unique tones. Like everything else in America, people get used to the same thing, like always driving Fords and Chevys, but some of these company in the '60s, while trying to make a cheap instrument, hit on something good. There's something inspiring about finding a guitar in a trashcan and getting it up and running. Anyway, I sometimes find that when I play one of the more expensive guitars like a Stratocaster or Fender, I get distracted by their beauty. These other guitars are like a girl I can take fishing," said Ridge.

Illinois Boy is quintessential Ridge: great guitar work, gritty and soulful singing, and real rootsy Americana songwriting.


Port Halcyon July, 2005 ......Becky Feldman
Spanish Train
Put on your "Rawhide" boots and get ready to hop aboard the Spanish Train, a whirlwind adventure of firebrand roots and good ol' Rockabilly beats that will keep you grooving and moving all night long. Bandleader Tony Balbinot has done it again, producing a record that appeals to all kinds of people across the retro-music spectrum. With their California roots and surf-infused beats, this Train will be on the "Fast Freight" to the top of your playlist.

I didn't know what to expect the first time I saw the Cadillac Angels perform. It was a rather warm day in San Luis, close to their home base of Santa Barbara, they looked like the classic bunch-leather-clad with hair slicked into place.

But the minute they began to play, they had an energy that was undeniable, simultaneously smooth and rough, catchy and soulful. These men were made to perform and to entertain, and they bring that into the recording studios. You can feel the excitement of the crowd in the words, the soft breeze in the instrumentals, and the packed dance floor with every song.

Starting off on a strong drum beat, "Julie Baby" soon settles into subtle, addictive rhythm. Soon enough you find yourself singing along to the enticing lyrics that keep every song unique and enjoyable. But it is not only the lyrics that keep you interested-you soon find yourself swept away with the upbeat instrumental tracks. The Cadillac Angels are a beautiful intertwining mix of tantalizing lyrics and catchy melodies-no need for words when the music speaks for itself.

With fast-paced song such as "Johnny and Mary" and or the lullaby-soft "Tripped on a Feather", you can find something that fits almost any mood. The music has a warm, inviting feel to every song which will drag you in and make you keep coming back for more. It will transform you into the "Rockin' Daddy" that you are.


Coast Weekly, Monterey 9th September, 2003 -- Stuart Thornton The Retro Hip
Cadillac Angels roots-rock Viva
Tony Ridge found his favorite guitar in a trash can inside a Santa Barbara music store. Ridge says he named the guitar Frankenstein "cause it's one of those things we brought back to life." Frankenstein is not the only thing that Ridge wants to bring back to life. Ridge's band, the Cadillac Angels, has spent the last 12 years trying to revive the spirit of early rock 'n' roll and rockabilly. The group has performed all over the United States including a show at Austin's South by Southwest Music Showcase, where the band won an award for its roots rock.
In addition to the sold-out show at South by Southwest, the band was featured as the backing band for Wanda Jackson, one of the first female rock 'n' rollers.
For the band's upcoming 10th release, tentatively titled Illinois Boy, Ridge is going to steer his band down some darker back roads. The album features covers of songs by Carl Perkins, Link Wray and Gene Vincent, along with a handful of Ridge's dark originals. "I like to take songs that might be sad in content and apply a rock n' roll uptempo beat to it," he says. The Cadillac Angels will be at Viva Monterey, 414 Alvarado St., Friday and Saturday nights. 646-1415.


LA Weekly 31st January, 2003 -- Falling James
Let's Have a Party
WANDA JACKSON, CADILLAC ANGELS at the Derby, January 24
"I guess all these songs are for the women," Wanda Jackson said before launching into the original riot-grrl anthem, "Mean Mean Man." Later she praised the gal who designed her acoustic guitar for thoughtfully leaving plenty of room for cleavage. A spitfire diva who toured with Elvis and wrote many of her own classic rockabilly hits, Jackson was refreshingly humble and down-to-earth at the Derby. She thanked the crowd for "letting" her have a quick, sanctimony-free run through the old-time gospel of "I Saw the Light." It had a good beat; most of the artfully decked-out extras from Happy Days kept dancing. Although her radiant voice soared unbroken throughout the too-short set, she stroked her throat and apologized "if I sound a bit Ferlin in the Husky."

Truth is, she sounded wonderful, with backing trio Cadillac Angels kicking up a driving, rootsy ramble that subsided for a precious few country ballads. "Country music and rockabilly are kissin' cousins," she explained, alluding to the days when critics from bothcamps insisted she choose only one style. (You don't want to fence in a woman who introduced "Riot in Cell Block #9" by declaring, "I've never been to prison - that's one joint I've missed.") Despite the thrilling closing fusillade of "Let's Have a Party" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," the show's highlight came earlier on a casually tossed-off performance of Charlie McCoy & Kent Westberry's "Tunnel of Love," one of those haunting, soul-baring tunes - like "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" and Peggy Lee's "Fever" - that linger timelessly, beyond genre.

As the fillies' skirts whipped on the dance floor, Jackson was momentarily framed by a funnel of synchronized spinning limbs. A guy held his partner's hand behind her back for a quick moment, stealing a kiss when they paused midtwirl. Jackson looked down knowingly, teasingly, and sang, "The tunnel of love . . . it's gonna get you someday."


SLO New Times June, 2002 -- Glen Starkey
The Cadillac Angels release eighth album!
"I read the other day that most bands record an average of something like 1.62 albums," said Cadillac Angels frontman Tony Ridge. "That's why our new album is called Buckin' the Odds. It's unheard of for a band to record eight records. Usually they break up or implode or some record company does them in."

Not the Cadillac Angels, which has featured Ridge and co-founder Micky Rae since their inception is Santa Barbara about a million years ago. For the record, Ridge's real name is Balbinot, but he changes his stage name on every album. Why?

"To confuse the record collectors years from now when I'm gone. I picked the name Tony Ridge the movie 'Band Wagon,' a film about four guys from Raleigh, North Carolina who go on tour in a van. One of leading characters is Tony Ridge, and a couple friends who've seen the movie said, 'Oh that guy reminds me of you.' Ridge is the quintessential prototype rock'n'roller: lanky, dark, and just a little dangerous looking. Recently he's gotten a lot more famous because his band backs up rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson, who was featured in "Women of Rock," a documentary about early female rockers Jackson, Brenda Lee, and Janis Martin. The film aired on PBS with lots of shots of Ridge playing guitar behind Wanda at a Jackson, TN gig.

"That's been an interesting thing to me, because the last time I was in L.A. a total stranger walk up and said, 'I saw you on TV.' But we were a little disappointed because we weren't listed in the credits and there were no shots of Micky Rae. We signed wavers and releases, so there wasn't anything we could do, but I couldn't believe that filmmaker Beth Harrington totally blew off Mickey Rae! I mean, this was a documentary about how women were neglected and ignored in the early days of rock, and then the filmmaker did the same thing to Micky Rae, one of the few female upright bassists."

Micky is a saucy and slap happy player who's wont to stand on her bass while she plays. Together she and Ridge are one of the hardest working acts on the roots rock circuit, criss-crossing the country and playing in Europe too. "We've been invited to go back to Great Britain in the fall," said Ridge, who also mentioned that former DJ Mike Destiny is interested in signing them to his new label, Cracked Piston Records. "He's coming down and we're going to talk about it, and I have to say I'm excited because we'll get the kind of distribution we need to move some more records."

Most of the Angels sale come off the stage, but they also have CDs in independent stores like Boo Boo Records and Cheap Thrills. As for the new CD, Buckin the Odds, Ridge's proto-rock and rockabilly tunes have taken on a slightly darker edge.

"Even though the sound is rocking and upbeat, some of the songs like 'Black Cadillac' have a sad message. Another tune is called 'Darsita.' I met a girl in Flag Staff whose name is Darsita, and I thought it was a beautiful name. She grew up on the Tuba City Navajo reservation. She was about 30 years old, but she lived at home and helped her parents out. Turns out Darsita in Spanish means little giver."

Check out Cadillac Angels this Thursday, June 6 at Mother's Tavern. They're playing an album release party from 8:30 to 10 p.m.


VC Reporter August, 2002 -- Solomon Bass
DISCOMBOBULATED
The Cadillac Angels - Buckin' The Odds
Eight albums and million miles down the road on that endless roadtrip, these Angels still can't afford a Cadillac; but more importantly, they play with the intensity of one of their four wheeled namesakes barrelling down the Conejo Grade with the pedal to the metal.

Guitar player Tony Balbinot and bass player Micky Rae have the cool voices going on as they plough through their twangy surf-flavored Americana thang. Imagine Link Wray at the beach buying sun block from Carl Perkins for Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline. As usual, nothing close to a bad cut, and live, this Santa Barbara-based trio is tighter than your boss. You'll buy a shirt.


The Tribune, San Luis Obispo June, 2002 --- Joe Brekke
Discussing the Cadillac Angels’ new CD, "Buckin’ the Odds
"Lead guitarist Tony Balbinot quoted Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata: "It’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees."

It’s a motto Balbinot and his Santa Barbara-based roots-rock trio have taken to heart over the past decade while driving more than a million miles to perform 200 shows a year from San Francisco to New York.

Balbinot, upright bassist Micky Rae and percussionist Scott Ernest express their interpretation of Zapata’s words with a stunning rendition of Link Wray’s instrumental "Viva Zapata" on the album. Wray’s haunting melody is invigorated in Balbinot’s deft hands. Swimming in thick reverb and tremolo, the song conjures up contrasting images of revolutionaries on horseback and bronzed beach boys catching gnarly curls on 1960s-era long boards. "Buckin’ the Odds" is the band’s eighth studio efforts in as many years and reflects a revitalized conviction in their passion for rockabilly and the good-times beats of 1950s rock ’n’ roll.

"This album marks kind of a turning point for me," Balbinot said. "I know I’m not the only musician that goes through a period of time wondering what the hell you’re doing especially when you’ve been on the road for 800 miles to play a gig and there’s nothing in the papers and four people show up. But I’ve learned there’s nothing I can do about that, and I’ve started paying more attention to what those four people say about what our music does for them. "I’ve come to terms with the fact that I don’t have to feel guilty anymore for enjoying what I do, for feeling that when I get onstage and grab a guitar, that’s the only place I want to be."

Recorded at Painted Sky Studios in Cambria, highlights of the CD include driving tunes such as "Jolene" and "Rock It Little Mama!" which could transform the most subdued parlor into a raucous roadhouse. At times, Balbinot’s vocals sound so much like early Elvis that only the smoking guitar licks distinguish him from the King.

In addition to pulling the boys along with her bass runs, Rae reveals a sultry side while singing the slow-stroller "Wouldn’t That Be Nice?" and a cover of Hank Williams’ "I Can’t Help It."
Ernest lays down a steady backbeat throughout, keeping time on the tender "Darsita" and dropping a heavy chain in time for an ominous effect on the concluding instrumental "Big Myke."
It’s Balbinot’s guitar work, however, that carries this CD. His commitment to the music that meant so much to him as a child keeps the Cadillac Angels on the road.
"Growing up in a small Illinois farm town, my mom was a single parent and had to raise four kids by herself," Balbinot said. "She always loved music. Poor as we were sometimes, we always had a second-hand record player. She knew a guy with a jukebox at the restaurant in town, and he would give her the old 45s of Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and Duane Eddy when they got too worn out. "That music wasn’t just a recreational thing for us, it was our way of hanging on."


Ventura Star June 2002 -- Bill Locey
Night Out: Cadillac Angels
Cadillac Angels' frontman and guitar player Tony Balbinot is hearing noises in his head, but it's not an X-File or something weird you may soon be reading about in the tabloids. It's much simpler than that. He hears stuff in his head and you can hear the result with your own ears when those Angels have a CD release party Saturday night at Wine Lovers in Ventura. That's the place with the small dance floor and free pizza.

As relentless as a classic Cadillac rolling wherever the hell it wants with fins so tall it decapicates pedestrians on the sidewalk going by, the Cadillac Angels have been around for about 15 years, actually making a living in the music biz, touring endlessly and making cool music. The new one is "Buckin' The Odds." Once again, the nuts and bolts of this band is the dynamics of Balbinot and the bass player, Micky Rae. Meanwhile, Scott Ernest hits the drums. With a vast repertoire, they even play songs about their favorite car. The frontman, discussed the latest.

So Tony, are you guys rich rock stars yet?
Oh yeah - that's why we play benefits for reporters - we don't need the money anymore.
Well, thank you very much. Eight CDs? Is this true? Do you know how many bands do not have eight albums?
The Beatles didn't have many more albums than that. We've been around longer than the Beatles have.
That's true and no one wants to shoot you guys - at least, not yet. So how does the new one fit in with what came before or does it?
I think it's a little more on the rock side as opposed to the rockabilly side. I think that's pretty much the big difference, but after eight CDs, I outta know my way around the studio a little bit better, so I was kinda able to experiment and kinda have a better idea of how wanted things to be that I heard in my head.
You're hearing voices in your head? Man hears voices, does not go berzerk, but rather makes cool album - something like that?
The problem has always been in the past, especially if you haven't done much recording, is to capture what you're hearing in your head, and that isn't easy to do. You're working with foreign material when you record - it's nothing like playing live.
What is the basic difference?
The basic difference is that recording is one dimensional compared to live. When you're playing live, you have sound bouncing off walls and you have people in there giving back, and blond girls with long legs crashing into the bass player. So when you're recording, you have to picture the drunk blond girl with long legs or else it's going to come off kinda flat. And also since recording is sort of one dimensional, you're not cheating by adding a little bit of this or that to sort of compensate for the fact that it's a dry format. So, I think I had more fun recording this record than I did any of the others because I was more relaxed about trying new things and worrying how it was going to sound. We just went in there and did it.
When famous rock stars make an album, there's a serious lag time, but for your band, you're not so far from real time are you
We recorded this one over a three day in late spring of this year.
And also, in what is a veteran move - why just have one CD release party when you can have a million?
That's right - why not have a different one in every town where we play? We're at Mother's Tavern in SLO on June 6, then the Blue Cafe in Long Beach on June 9. Our next Santa Barbara gig is June 29 at Rocks. There's certainly room to celebrate because eight CDs is a landmark. I think Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan are the only ones in the county who come close to eight CDs.
What's up with Wine Lovers?
We used to play there once a month, but we've been really busy lately. That place is kind of a challenge to sing without not getting hit in the mouth, but I like that place for that in some ways. It's a little uncomfortable at first because people are just starring at you, but then after they've had a few glasses of wine, then we're rockin'. The pizza is good and people come in there, let loose and have some fun. It's not that yuppie of a place although it comes across that way at first - anyway, a drunk yuppie is the same as a drunk anything else.
So is this all fairly strange to you since you don't drink as you get to see this alcohol fueled transformation night after night? Is this fairly amazing, a constant source of amusement or what?
Honestly, I don't give in a whole lot of thought. Basically after all these years, I've realized that people that work jobs that they hate everyday need to have a couple of glasses of wine to try to get back into a better place, then combine that with the music then "Hey, my life's not so bad afterall." That's the greatest gift I could ever have and that is if our music gives someone peace of mind. How many people can say that about their jobs?
Do they dance or stare - how does that work?
Well, in a small place, you have to kind of break down their inhibitions - you can't hide in a place like that.
The DIY (do-it-yourself) thing obviously works for you guys, despite the fact that it works for so few others. What's your secret?
I think the secret is that we run the band like a business. We've never run it any other way. When we make a CD, nobody gets any money until all the money it took to make it is paid back, so that way, there's always a fund to draw from to make another one. We run it like a record company and all expenses get covered before anyone sees any money. And we've made money on every record we've put out which is another reason why we've been able to put out eight.
How has the music changed over the years?
I hope it's getting better - if it hasn't, I better stop now. There's more social statements going on in my songs than there was before - and by social, I just mean the human condition. When you first start off, you pattern yourself after other people, and that's a great place to start. Then you try to fight the fads so you can do what you want to do - and I've survived a number of fads - and you try to develop your own sound which you kinda do unconsciously. So when I listen back to my first album, I think "That's a pretty good song, but I could do this, this and this to make it a better song." But I don't go back too much and listen to the old stuff, I just keep moving ahead.
With eight albums, three sets a night - that's a lot of songs.
That's right. The band is still way behind me. There's still songs I wrote in '91 or 92 that we haven't recorded yet. Yeah, I have binders full of stuff. That's the advantage of traveling - you get exposed to so many different people and situations. There's a real fertile garden out there. I got that idea for the song "Black Cadillac" by listening to a guy talk in a booth behind me at a Denny's about three in the morning. I think that's how it works when it comes to writing music - keep your eyes and ears open.
As to the nuts and bolts of this thing - how much for a CD?
We still have 'em at ten bucks, man. I see that the prices of CDs keep creeping up in the stores, and that's ridiculous - I know how much it costs to make 'em. The record companies are just shooting themselves in the foot. I guess they figure one guy's buying it, then burning it for four or five friends. I think as the technology becomes cheaper, then the CDs should get cheaper.