The 7th Annual Rockabilly Riot captures all aspects of Kustom Kulture, including hot chicks, cool cars and cool haircuts. For the last several years professional barbers from across the city have been pompadouring, slicking and shaving male festival-goers. The event highlights the revival of old-school, vintage barbering techniques, which some barbers have taken to artisanal levels.
“We’re going to have barbers from across town,” said the Riot’s barber curator, Arturo Romero. “We’ll be out there displaying our diverse talents.”
Romero, a professional barber who currently offers his services at MD Barber Company, explained the barbering done at the riot is vintage style, which employs techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation.
“I can remember going to the shops in Juárez with my dad, and seeing the way the barbers would treat their customers,” he said. “You’d meet important people there; cops rubbing shoulders with drug dealers. To me a barber shop is a place for the community to come together.”
He said Riot attendees can expect that same community feel and special treatment that they would get at the shop. Barbers will offer all services, except for shampooing. A hot towel and razor shave, Oster shoulder massage, haircuts and styling are on the menu. Festival founder Jake Baca, owner of Vintage Barber Shop, will have some of his guys out there. Romero will lend his talents as well.
If images of mile high greaser pompadours and psychobilly hair-dos are conjured when you think of vintage barbering, you’re on the right track. However, that’s only part of the magic. Romero said professionals can pull off any style, a bonus for guys who are seeking so-called modern styles while enjoying superior craftsmanship.
“If you look at kids’ cuts now, it’s pretty much what barbers have been doing for years” he revealed. “It’s like the same style but on steroids.”
The art of vintage barbering involves much more than cutting hair however. In its truest form, it encompasses different aspects, not the least of which is customer service and rapport-building. At these last hold outs of “men only” sacred spaces, you’ll likely hear conversations about women, sports and cars, all pertinent ingredients to many men’s daily lives and a throwback to 1900s era establishments. Romero added beyond that the shop is a place for some important life lessons.
“Our shop has an old school feel,” he said. “The way we interact with our customers and their kids . . .it’s where a man brings his son to teach him how to be a man in front of other men.”
Stop by the barbering station at this year’s Riot to get a rockin’ cut and to shoot the shit. Stay greasy El Paso!
facebook.com/GreatAmericanRockabillyRiot
