Haywire

Cathy Jo Petti and Dennis Petti made a good move by ditching folk music in favor of rockabilly. Not that the siblings might not have been a fine folk-singing duo, but there's a glut of those in Cleveland -- and a dearth of roots rockers. So with friend Rick Santon, an upright-bass player, the Pettis plunged into the world of Carl Perkins and Duane Eddy.

Haywire's debut CD has this rockabilly thing down pat. Nine of the 14 songs are covers, including the infectious Eddie Fontaine jewel "Nothin' Shakin' (But the Leaves on the Trees)." It's the stuff Dennis and Cathy Jo wrote themselves, however, that gives this outfit such promise. Cathy Jo's "Bad, Bad Baby" could easily have been recorded by (dare we say) Elvis Presley in his pre-Hollywood, pre-Vegas days. Let's hope that Haywire is in the rockabilly biz for the long haul.