Rock ‘N’ Wheels Dukes Auto Club Dances Away Its 50th Anniversary With The Spokane Rockers

Hot rod clubs aren’t supposed to turn 50 and neither are rockers.

But age takes a back seat to enthusiasm Saturday night when the Dukes Auto Club celebrates its 50th anniversary with a dance and car show at University City Mall.

No self-respecting hot rod club would throw a party that didn’t include rock ‘n’ roll, so the Spokane Rockers will headline the event. The Rockers are a group of musicians whose history dates to the glory days of Northwest rock ‘n’ roll - and we’re not talking Nirvana.

You can bet there won’t be a soul on the bandstand Saturday that hasn’t long since speed-shifted past the five-decade marker. These guys have been playing in local and regional bands since the hot hairstyle for guys was the DA (don’t ask).

The public (at least 21-only) is invited to join the festivities, which begin at 7 p.m. in the former Newberry’s store at University City.

“We’re calling it the Newberry’s Ballroom,” said Joe Felice, a longtime Dukes member and drummer in the Spokane Rockers.

The Dukes, which may be the oldest hot rod club in the country, is enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

“We have 142 members now,” Felice said. “That’s most ever.”

In the beginning, before there was sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, the unholy trinity of youthful rebellion was sex and cars and rock ‘n’ roll.

With a case of beer thrown in for good measure.

Nothing sparked more living room battles than a young man’s wheels.

As Spokane’s Charlie Ryan sang it in his national hit, “Hot Rod Lincoln,” “Son, you’re gonna drive me to drinkin’/If you don’t stop driving that hot rod Lincoln.”

Rock music ran a close second in the teen wars, as parents gritted their teeth against the noise-some barrage of all those young punks - Elvis, Jerry Lee, Little Richard - but despite the fondest hopes of parents, neither cars nor rock ‘n’ roll went away.

Now the kids that used to bash their knuckles on balky brake drums and bopped to Chuck Berry on the juke box are grandparents themselves, worrying about their grandkids’ passion for rap.

But you can’t count out Saturday night’s show as just another nostalgia gig - these folks aren’t in it to relive the good, old days. Hot rods and rock ‘n’ roll are as valid today as they were four decades ago.

In fact, the particular strain of R&B-influenced rock mined by the Spokane Rockers still finds its way into the set lists of contemporary bands. Such songs as the Sonics’ “The Witch,” Jerry Lee’s “‘Whole Lotta Shakin’” and the Wailers’ “Louie Louie” continue to be recycled and reinterpreted by succeeding generations.

Other pieces - “Dirty Robber,” “Granny’s Pad” and “Sweets for My Sweet” - are mainstays of the traditional Northwest rock songbook and there seems always to be someone willing to breath new life into them.

The Rockers are a perfect vehicle - its members are themselves mainstays of Northwest rock. Their resumes bear the names of some of the region’s most popular bands of the past 40 years. They promise a set of real Northwest rock ‘n’ roll, not some warmed-over old hits done lounge-style.

Doug Robertson, who sings and plays guitar with the Rockers, had a regional hit in the mid-‘60s with “Sweets for My Sweet,” which he sang as the front man for the Good Guys.

Joe Simmons, who sings and plays lead guitar, played in the Bandits and the Good Guys as well as the key ‘60s and ‘70s bands United States of Mind and Season Street.

Keyboard player and singer Gabe Lapano played with the Bandits and the Cascades and the hit instrumental band, the Cobras.

Kim Eggers, who plays saxophone and sings with the Rockers, used to play in the Bandits, Surprise Package, Lance Romance and the Viceroys, one of the biggest Northwest bands of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Joe Felice, drums, was a member of the Bandits, the Blue Jeans and the United States of Mind.

Likewise, the Dukes have a history that’s both rich and varied. Originally the town’s North Side car club, its rules for entry were steep, and its members built their own rods - unlike the South Hill boys who often paid to have the work done.

Of course, not everyone lived in an “American Graffiti” blur of hot rods, hamburger stands and teen dances at the old Coliseum, but the idea has come to stand for the era - and the hot rods and the rock ‘n’ roll have weathered the test of time.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: The Dukes Auto Club 50th Anniversary Dance Location and time: University City Mall, Saturday, 7 p.m. Tickets: $7 at the door only; you must be at least 21 to attend