Style Weekly
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Even if Dexter Romweber didn't exist, it might be necessary to invent him. The hero of the recent documentary “Two Headed Cow” has been a big influence on the likes of Neko Case, Cat Power and especially the White Stripes (he taught Jack White how to be Jack White, so the saying goes). One part teenage romantic, two parts guitar-slashing whirling dervish, Dex emerged from the Athens, Ga., music scene like a raging puppy dog in the mid-'80s. His 10-year collaboration with the drummer Chris “Crow” Smith in the two-man Flat Duo Jets started off as sloppy garage rock and synthesized into a raw and emotional exploration of early rock 'n' roll in all its many facets, from the croon to rave-up. The band sizzled live and delivered the goods on disc too. 1992's “Go Go Harlem Baby” was produced by kindred soul Jim Dickinson and holds up masterfully, as does “White Trees,” released the next year. With his sister Sara Romweber on the skins (you remember her from Let's Active, don't you?), Dexter is still “saving rockabilly.” And how fitting that a stellar Cramps tribute band, Sux Inferior, will open for him Jan. 3 at Banditos (in a free show!), because Romweber did the same for the Cramps, a huge influence, early in his career. What comes around goes around, don't it? The fun starts at 9 p.m. 2905 Patterson Ave.,
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