Almost 20 years ago, the Flat Duo Jets pulled off a neat trick: The
duo from Chapel Hill, N.C., emerged with a debut album in 1990 that
established it as one of the few bands helping to make primal
roots-rock a mainstay within the alternative-rock community.

Rumbling through breakneck surf-abilly and super-charged country
blues, guitarist-vocalist Dexter Romweber and drummer Chris “Crow”
Smith also set another significant precedent: Bare-bones roots-rock
duos with guitar and drums have continued to be successful, in such
groups as the White Stripes and the Black Keys.

The Flat Duo Jets disbanded around 1999, but Romweber has continued
to record, broadening his musical horizons with each subsequent, if
infrequent, solo album. He even recorded an excellent version of Tom
Waits’ “Romeo Is Bleeding” for the 2000 Waits tribute album New Coat
of Paint—and Romweber boasts the widescreen scope and
potential to become as influential and respected as Waits.

There’s a new album in stores now, credited to the Dex Romweber Duo,
which consists of Dex and his sister, drummer Sara Romweber. Music
aficionados will recognize Sara as a former member of alternative rock
acts such as Let’s Active and Snatches of Pink.

A couple of months ago, the Dex Romweber Duo released the album
Ruins of Berlin to great acclaim, and they’ve toured in the
recent past with such artists as Southern Culture on the Skids, Th’
Legendary Shack*Shakers, Reverend Horton Heat and the White
Stripes.

This past March, the duo drifted through Tucson for a relatively
unheralded gig at The Hut. If you missed that gig, or even if you
didn’t, the Romwebers will be back in town on Tuesday, May 26, at
Plush.

The bill that night also will feature the critically acclaimed
Detroit Cobras, who combine raw garage rock, proto-R&B and
girl-group melodies; and Tucson’s the Mission Creeps, a dark and moody
goth-abilly trio.

On Ruins of Berlin, the Romwebers don’t simply stick to their
ferocious trademark jungle drums and rockabilly sound. In the midst of
that tornado, they incorporate classic jazz, pop standards, soul,
country and blues. They go cabaret on the title track, and “Polish Work
Song” lurches like a band at an Eastern European wedding.

The album also demonstrates that Romweber is defined in part by the
company he keeps. It features guest appearances by singers Cat Power,
Neko Case and Exene Cervenka, proof that Romweber bridges the worlds of
punk, alternative rock, soul and alt-country.

As noted above, his influence is everywhere, but notably so in the
ever-evolving worlds of roots-rock and alternative music.

Evidence of this can be found in the fact the Dex Romweber Duo
recently recorded a 7-inch single with alternative-rock icon Jack White
of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather. The single,
to feature the songs “Last Kind Word Blues” and “The Wind Did Move,”
will be released late in May on White’s new label, Third Man.

Unfortunately, Dex Romweber wasn’t available to talk to the
Tucson Weekly at the time arranged by his publicist this past
weekend. However, White has been widely quoted about his reverence for
Romweber.

In the 2006 Flat Duo Jets documentary, Two Headed Cow, White
said, “Dexter Romweber was and is a huge influence on my music. I owned
all of his records as a teenager. … His attitude toward music is
remarkable. And his songwriting, along with his love of classic
American music from the South, be it rockabilly, country or R&B, is
one of the best-kept secrets of the rock ‘n’ roll underground.”

The lineup for the show at Plush features acts that seem to be on
the leading edge of the ongoing back-to-basics revolution in garage
rock. Miss Frankie Stein, who plays bass with the Mission Creeps,
concurred.

“In this computer age, when so much music is über-slick and
overproduced, hearing the natural sound of reverb that is just
downright dirty and raw is quite refreshing,” Stein said. “You
can’t emulate that with a computer. And it seems to me like this show
has dirty-reverb-to-the-gills garage-rock written all over it.”

Stein’s partner, guitarist-singer James Arr, said the Mission Creeps
are honored to be on the bill.

“Artists like Dex, Flat Duo Jets and Detroit Cobras—they paved
the way for bands like us. If it wasn’t for folks such as these,
including the Cramps, I don’t think there would be a Mission Creeps, or
it would probably sound a bit different.”

The concert on Tuesday, May 26, at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., will
begin at 9 p.m. with the Mission Creeps, followed by sets by the Dex
Romweber Duo and the Detroit Cobras. Tickets cost $10 in advance, or
$12 on the day of the show. Call 798-1298 for more information.

This article appears in May 21-27, 2009.