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The last time this writer caught rockabilly and western swing guitar virtuoso Paul Pigat at the Rickshaw, back in 2025, burlesque artist Melody Mangler joined him onstage to do a saucy strip. So we figured we'd start there: What's his history with Mangler (interviewed here), and wasn't she just a bit distracting, given she was half-nekkid while he was playing? 

"I've known Melody for a long time and we've done a few things together," Pigat tells the Straight.

Having her join him on stage made good on a longtime wish he'd had.

"As a young musician, I played with a lot of older cats that all had played for dancers back in their day," Pigat continues. "I'd always wanted to do it and now I have. Making it look like I'm not distracted is harder than you think!"

There will be no burlesque this Friday, when the local guitar legend returns to the Rickshaw to celebrate his 57th birthday. He'll be appearing there, as every year around this time, with his trio Cousin Harley (y'know, "The  Motörhead of rockabilly"). This year's bash will include support from Sinéad X Sanders (interviewed about her most recent album here). 

"I love her and everyone in her band," Pigat notes. Like Pigat, Sanders is, as one might expect, also a huge fan of her band, which includes Dave "Double D" Dykhuizen on guitar, Bob Petterson on bass, and Sandy "Bone" Smith on drums.

Friday will be the first time she's performed live with the group since the sold-out release party for her album Them Shadows at the WISE Hall earlier this year. She's especially looking forward to playing Pigat's birthday party.

"I've been going to Cousin Harley's shows since high school days," she recalls, "long before I started performing around town or met Paul personally!"

Expect the show to feature plenty of material from Cousin Harley's latest album, Cousin Harley Plays the Blues Vol. 1, which is available on vinyl. The record sees Pigat, bassist Jeremy Holmes, and drummer Jesse Cahill joined by a larger-than-usual cast of local jazzsters taking on a Louis-Jordanesque, West Coast "jump blues" style, which we'd talked to Pigat about here. 

Recent Pigat shows have been "swing-oriented" with a large band, befitting the material on the record. But for his birthday bash this year, he's going to do something different and get to the very core of what he does.

"I figured we'd strip it back down to the trio and concentrate on the more rockin' side of the band," he says. "I've picked a bunch of tunes from our early records that are a bit more on the punk/surf side of our sound. Some of these tunes haven't been performed in 20 years, so I'm really looking forward to bringing them back!"

We're not clear what songs he's planning on, but we'd suggest going back to his 2006 East Side Records release, Hillbilly Madness!, for starters. That sounds like it's about the right timeframe!

Pigat is excited for the gig. Asked to sum up the year that has passed since he celebrated his 56th birthday at the Rickshaw, he explains that it has been a total blur of activity. He's put a few more miles on the odometer, but the memories made along the way have been good ones.

"Touring Germany again was awesome, this time solo with another songwriter, Michael Friedman," Pigat shares. "Playing with my buddies down in California and hitting the road with my guys is always a pleasure, and I had the great chance to play with other artists like Billy Bragg, Tami Neilson, and Ruby Singh. I thought this was going to be a quiet year. I was wrong!"

Cousin Harley plays the Rickshaw on Friday (September 18).