WAKEFIELD, Quebec — Local rockabilly scene member and ex-smoker Dewey “Hepcat” Henderson recently rolled a pack of Nicorette up into the sleeve of his t-shirt, according to sources who still smoke.
“I quit smoking—Or at least I’m trying to. The not smoking part is always a struggle, but I really find myself missing a lot of the smoking-related rituals too, sashaying a pack of cigarettes under my sleeve for all to see,” said Henderson as he tuned an upright bass. “Not getting cancer is good. But this stuff just doesn’t hit the spot after I change the struts on a ‘57 Chevy, or when I take my best gal up to lover’s lane. Why, I’d trade all the Carl Perkins records in Memphis for just one Lucky Strike. On one hand my sense of taste has never been better since I quit smoking darts, which is good, but on the other hand I have to always chew Nicorette, so that’s a drag.”
Henderson’s new habit was noticed by others in the local rockabilly scene, whose members often adhere to a strict dress code.
“He looks like a total square,” said local greaser Steve “Blacktop” Ballard as he gave someone a homemade tattoo with oil he wrung from a rag. “Especially since he always walks around with a stick of gum behind his ear. Makes me embarrassed to be seen at the drive-in with him. He’s a tough kid, great fighter, but he’s always chomping away at that gum like some bad movie villain. Plus he’s been messing up his pre-rumble dance numbers, which I’m sure is also related.”
Experts say that adapting counterculture values from the 1950s to modern society is a challenge for many of today’s rockabillies.
“Mixing yesterday’s rebellious values with today’s focus on physical and mental health can be a fine line to walk,” said pop culture expert Samir Athi as he browsed songs on a jukebox. “Sometimes they can be loyal to outdated, damaging values and misinformed, rose-colored nostalgia. Sure we love the sock hops, pompadours, and classic cars, but people forget that rockabilly has deep roots in the appropriation of Black culture, incest, and illegal street racing that’s claimed countless lives. But hey, I for one praise ‘Hepcat’ Henderson. Good on him for modernizing old rockabilly tropes, even if in this case he’d look way cooler if he just started smoking again.”
At press time Dewey “Hepcat” Henderson was seen lighting a piece of Nicorette with a Zippo.