"Hardcore Americana" is how Exene Cervenka, the former punk goddess of X, describes him. Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, bought her first guitar because of him. And Jack White, who might just be his biggest fan, says simply, "There's nothing fake about him."
There are a lot of people who consider Dex Romweber the real thing — a living legend, if you will. The former frontman for Flat Duo Jets has always been about putting himself out there on the front lines in relentless pursuit of the holy purity of three-chord music. He's a self-professed primitive "doing old music in a way that's new," pumping out a raw, furiously stripped-down take on Elvis, the Coasters and the Cramps. He's been called a psycho-surf-rockabilly-punk artist par excellence, but feel free to make up your own label.
Two-Headed Cow, the definitive Romweber documentary, began life over two decades ago, when director Tony Gayton and producer Lisa Fincannon began following around Dex and his bandmates, capturing them playing some of their earliest gigs, clowning for the camera and engaging in goodly amounts of self-destructive behavior in motel rooms. The project was abandoned when the Flat Duo Jets broke up and Romweber went into an extended funk, but Gayton picked up a camera a few years ago to put things in perspective and chronicle what Dex is up to now. Two-Headed Cow is the happy result.
The black-and-white, Don't Look Back-styled footage of a lean, mean, manic Dex in '86 stands in stark contrast with the 2004 footage of the pudgy, middle-age guy standing before the mirror taking his mood-stabilizing meds, but both are essential components in the fascinating puzzle laid out in Two-Headed Cow.
And if you're wondering how the music sounds now, you can see and hear for yourself when Dex Romweber stops by St. Pete's Beach Theatre for a special one-time-only screening of Two-Headed Cow on Sat., Feb 9, after which he'll be on hand for a Q&A and a special live performance.
Two-Headed Cow (NR) Stars Dex Romweber, Chris Crow Smith, Sam Sandler, Neko Case, Jack White and Exene Cervenka. Plays 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 9, one time only, at the Beach Theatre, 315 Corey Ave., St. Pete Beach, 727-360-6697. 3.5 stars
This article appears in Feb 6-12, 2008.