Echoes of rockabilly ring through Loplops (10 photos)

Jeff Webster is afraid of spiders.

Ryan Weber is afraid of mice.

Sam Weber has really good hair.

And Shane Pinchen's grandparents drove eight hours from Hamilton to catch the Weber Brothers' performance at Loplops Gallery-Lounge Monday night.

Although the members of the Weber Brothers are surprisingly young, ranging from 20 to 26 years of age, they hold an honour previously bestowed upon music greats like Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson.

They've been taken under the wing of Ronnie Hawkins and back him as the Hawks.

The two Webers have been a part of Hawkins' world for about five years after contacting him via e-mail and sending a demo for his review.

After Pinchen and Webster joined the Hawks about a year ago, Hawkins saw an opportunity for the young lads and encourages them to pursue their own avenue, always pushing them to fine-tune their abilities.

They count themselves lucky to have found each other, all four of them passionate about old-school rockabilly and able to write in that style, completely uninfluenced by current trends on the radio.

Or anything that has happened in music the past 25 years.

They're a band without day jobs.

When they're not playing, rehearsing or writing music, they're thinking about, talking about and watching movies about music.

This current tour, a first for the Weber Brothers, is taking them to Vancouver and back, giving them ample opportunity to get to know each other.

The boys know the lengthy drives between gigs, which are necessary when touring this vast country, are worth the effort.

"It will tighten us as musicians and as friends. Or as enemies. We'll find out," said singer/bassist Ryan Weber.

"I always find it more fun to play for new people," added singer/guitar player Sam Weber.

They played three charged sets of swingin' rockabilly and soulful roots ballads at Loplops Monday night to an almost nonexistant audience.

This did not stop them from treating the gig like it was a sold-out concert hall as they donned their black suits and ties and gave it their all.

Ryan Weber slapped, beat and climbed on his stand-up bass like a man possessed.

"I've never seen anyone play bass like that in my life," said Steve Alexander of Loplops.

Their own throwback compositions like Struggle Struggle Struggle, Lose Em' on the Highway and Enough is Enough fit perfectly with the Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Leon Russell and Ronnie Hawkins covers.

The vocals of both Webers and Pinchen, despite their tender age, embodied the influence of Hawkins who is three times their age and experience.

Like a scene out of American Graffiti, they seem to have been born in the wrong decade.

Or the perfect decade to keep what they refer to as "real music" alive.

The Weber brothers will be returning on Saturday December 9 for a second performance at Loplops.

Tickets are $5 and are available at Loplops.

Bring your dancing shoes.