Bettie Page Shoot Featuring The Lovely Nentini

You may remember our buddies from Medellin, Colombia, The Dorados Rockabilly Trio, one of the few, true rockabilly bands in the entire country (there is an emerging pyschobilly scene in Bogota).  I was really impressed with Dorados’ passion for rockabilly music, in a country where rockabilly music is a very foreign concept.

My rockabilly friends in California and New York have often told stories about the looks and questions they get when they travel outside the “culture zones” of Cali and NYC in areas less familiar with Rockabilly music and subcultures, like the midwest or deep south.

Well, imagine if you can being in a place like Colombia… so long isolated from the rest of the world, where even being a punk, is bound to draw some stares (or a Gringo, take it from me), much less rockabilly with the pompadour hair, retro clothes, tattoos and the 1950’s and 60’s Americana look.

Yet these guys and a few others like them persevere. We signed Dorados to Punk Outlaw Records when they released their first CD “Conflicto de Espacio Blanco” (White Space Conflict), a Spanish / English mix of 6 originals including their trademark song “Bettie Page”. The CD is out now on i-Tunes, Amazon Music, etc.

While we recognize the excellent rockabilly bands in the UK, U.S. and other parts of the world we felt like music like this from a country like Colombia should be heard.  I feel like we should support music from artists who are the lone voices in their home country.

With that all said, I really loved their tune, “Bettie Page”. I, like most people, wasn’t alive when Bettie Page’s brand of cheesecake photography was so popular. But I became fascinated by her life story when I found she was from Tennessee (where I’m from) and moved to NYC (where I moved to) and then California (where I now live) and later in life returned to Tennessee and became very religious and secluded in her dying days (the similarities stop there, I hope… oh and I’m not really as hot as Bettie Page either… and I’m a dude).

Say what you will about Bettie Page and her art, the reality is that she was a pioneer and has inspired many, many photographers and models in the current pin up and burlesque scenes, which are a big part of rockabilly culture.

I don’t want to get any hate mail and flames from people who don’t agree with pin up and burlesque.  If you don’t like it, don’t read this blog or view the Bettie Page video or videos coming up on Punk Outlaw, because we’re going to feature more of it on the site. Why? because it’s a big part of the culture and we cover the culture, ALL of it. It’s that simple.

Miss Nentini is a burlesque dancer and pin up artists who hails from El Salvador but lives in Los Angeles. She’s got legions of loyal fans on her Facebook Profile and is actually able to make her living  performing burlesque and modeling throughout the Los Angeles area. After the video shoot, we interviewed Miss Nentini for our documentary “Punktology” and she filled us in on some of the challenges facing burlesque and pin up girls.

We asked her to channel Bettie for the video shoot last month at Venice Beach for the video we are producing for the Dorados Rockabilly Trip single “Bettie Page”. I think she did a good job and below are some behind the scenes photos of the shoot.

It was a cold, windy day at Venice Beach. I was sick and Nentini in her retro bikinis was not appropriately dressed for the weather. But like the pro that she is, she carried on and made it look like just another summer day on the beach. Thanks again to Miss Nentini and thanks to Tim & Snik, the Russian interns who provided production assistance for the shoot.

The un-retouched photos below are for your viewing pleasure. Look for Bettie Page video featuring Dorados and miss Nentini to come out later this month. And if you live in the LA area or are visiting, look for a Miss Nentini show. I haven’t had the pleasure of taking one in just yet, but I hope to bring one to you guys soon.

EDITOR’S NOTE:
We’ve been receiving loads of hate mail every time we mention the word burlesque, show a female in the posts, or talk about Bettie Page. Thing is, it’s ALL (and by all I mean 100%) from the same person.  We finally figured out that the person was not mentally stable, as evidenced by their polar opposite rants on the emails and we figured out how to delete the emails before they ever even arrive to the inbox. Such a cool tool for stalkers who can’t take a hint when you don’t respond. NOW I think I’ll respond:

1) Covering burlesque dancing or pin up models is NOT promoting prostitution or pedophilia. It’s actually an art from that is very tied into rockabilly culture and since we cover rockabilly, we cover burlesque and pin up. Get over it or start your own blog or better yet, don’t read this blog.

2)  The women who do this, at least the ones I’ve met, do this because they love it. Not because any one forced them to do it. Not even because it was the only way they could make money, they often make little to no money from it. It’s a form of expression for them (and for us to cover it) and since last I checked living in the U.S. and most civilized countries protect legal freedom of expression, then that is what we will do.

3) We won’t be censored by one person. Tens of thousands of people read this blog each and every month. So one person complaining and sending hundreds of hate filled emails not only doesn’t matter, it doesn’t do anything but make me more committed to telling what I believe if everyone’s right to express themselves. One person does not a movement make. Pretending to be more than one person like you did on our you tube channel is just pathetic. Either get a legitimate movement together or may I suggest, NEVER reading this blog again. Nothing would make me happier. Go away already.Take a hint.

4) Perhaps you’d prefer if Nentini posed in a thong bikini? the likes of which infiltrate the web already? You think this is catering to guys who are exploiting women? Check these stats: Guys don’t even like retro bathing suits like Nentini wore. This recent research was showcased on yahoo’s news site.

The Retro Pin-Up

Vintage-inspired bathing suits have been quite the comeback in recent summers. One-piece bombshell suits and high-waisted two-pieces allow women to show off their curves while still remaining more than a bit demure.

Of course, demure is not a look most men have come to expect poolside, so only 21 percent gravitate to this ’50s-era style. The rest, 79 percent of guys, want to see more skin.

That’s right, a grand total of 21 percent of men like this style of bathing suite (compared to 93% for the standard bikini).

I’m not sure what planet our insistant email queen is from, or why she has nothing better to devote her energy to (starving people, REAL human rights abuses, not perceived, etc.)  than emailing us 2 – 3 times a day for months on end to tell us how much we suck, we’re pimps, promoting pornography, etc. etc,

But take comfort in this.. her emails haven’t been read for at least 3 months now. And even before then only one per blue moon made it through. Now 0% do.. so if she wants to keep typing useless emails that no one but herself  reads.. that is her right and I’ll respect it. But burlesque, pin up and anything else I care to put on this blog will continue to run on this blog until I don’t feel like doing it anymore.