Cousin Harley a.k.a Paul Pigat

Hometown
Vancouver, Canada

Music Style
Hot-rod rockabilly crossed Western Swing and blues with a splash of  bebop jazz.

Fun Facts

• Known as the “Motorhead of Rockabilly” in by many fans in Europe
• Cousin Harley has been performing internationally for over 20 years and have been featured in numerous publications such as Guitar World, Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar, and Fretboard Journal
• Pigat has been an endorsee and a clinician for Gretsch Guitars since 2009
• Paul Pigat guitar playing was recently was featured in the television show “the Last of Us”
• Their music was featured in the movie “Sausage Party” among others.
• Pigat is a very versatile musician who is influenced by a wide-range of music, and performs in several bands to capture the essence of each genre.  Some of the artists he has worked with are Neko Case, Jakob Dylan, Jim Byrnes, Michael Kaeshammer, Kevin Breit among many others.
• Paul received the moniker “Cousin Harley” while playing in “the Fixins” with Vancouver Island chanteuse Carolyn Mark which was later changed momentarily to “Cussin Harley” while a member of Victoria Cowpunk band “The Metronome Cowboys”
• All members of Cousin Harley are multi instrumentalists and educators.   Jesse and Jeremy are talented bluegrass musicians and have a tendency to break into a jam session whenever there is a moment to spare at a gig!!!
• When Paul isn’t rockin the guitar he’s making them!!!

Influenced By
Les Paul, T Bone Walker, Bob Wills, Danny Gatton, Link Wray, Charlie Christian, Lemmy

Quotable
“Being a well-rounded guitar player also means that you can sit in on almost any kind of gig. Up until a few years ago I had a jazz trio, a rock band, a cowpunk band, and all sorts of other things. If I had a chance to play everything I like, I’d be playing in 50 different bands.” – Pigat to Guitar Player magazine

What others are saying…

“I think it is unlikely that I’ll review a better CD than “Jukin’” this year. It’s simply terrific and virtually every track is a highlight. Pigat is a ballsy, confident vocalist, at home equally with the forceful rockabilly that accounts for half of the CD, a trio of more laid back Western Swing tunes, a couple of unusual covers and the collection’s only slow ballad, “Louisa”. His lead guitar is stunning and the generous breaks bristle with invention and at times are lightning fast.”
Harry Dodds, Now Dig This magazine (UK)

“Cousin Harley plays a mean guitar”
Michael Kissinger, Pier magazine

“This collection could fit into any of Quentin Tarantino’s films… if you get a chance to hear Cousin Harley, you will dig it!”
Monte Nordstrom, Cosmic Debris

“Cousin Harley holds court … belting out warp-speed rockabilly sounds with occasional surf and klesmer overtones… likely to awaken the sleeping reptile within us all.”
Ron Forbes Roberts, Monday Magazine

“You’d think I would have heard of somebody as good as Cousin Harley before this but this is my first encounter with his music and it couldn’t be more of a pleasure! …Top notch… a straight 10 out of 10.”
Gaby Maag-Bristol – Blue Suede News (USA)

“Paul Pigat and his rockabilly trio, Cousin Harley, play hot enough to raise sweat on a chunk of granite!”
Ron Forbes Roberts, Monday Magazine

“Kids, put those hypodermic needles away before mom gets home. Strap yourself to your chair and get ready to rock because Cousin Harley is here and Waahoo!!!… they blow my socks off!”
David P. Smith, CFUV Hillbilly Heaven

there’s something about the energy of the upbeat tunes on Blues Vol.1 that just gets to you, feeling like a sock-hop or under the sea dance from the 50’s. Nostalgic? Yeah. Evocative? Sure. Irresistible? Definitely. Cousin Harley Plays The Blues Vol.1 will be staying on my playlist for a long time”

Gonzo Okanagan

“I think it is unlikely that I’ll review a better CD than “Jukin’” this year. It’s simply terrific and virtually every track is a highlight. Pigat is a ballsy, confident vocalist, at home equally with the forceful rockabilly that accounts for half of the CD, a trio of more laid back Western Swing tunes, a couple of unusual covers and the collection’s only slow ballad, “Louisa”. His lead guitar is stunning and the generous breaks bristle with invention and at times are lightning fast.”
Harry Dodds, Now Dig This magazine (UK)

“Cousin Harley plays a mean guitar”
Michael Kissinger, Pier magazine

“Anyone who has a hankering for Western swing, rockabilly and straight in-your-face Travis picking will inevitably love this release. This is boisterous, exuberant music that grips and grabs you with a remarkable ease and sense of purpose. There’s a delightful adherence to the true power of Travis and his significance in the US music world and Cousin Harley clearly understand his importance and place in the country-rockabilly music world”

Iain Patience, Elmore Magazine

“Pigat’s approach to the rockabilly idiom is adventurously eclectic, incorporating elements of everything from hard rock to Western swing”

“His playing can be flashy, but it’s always classy.”

“This collection could fit into any of Quentin Tarantino’s films… if you get a chance to hear Cousin Harley, you will dig it!”
Monte Nordstrom, Cosmic Debris

“Cousin Harley holds court … belting out warp-speed rockabilly sounds with occasional surf and klesmer overtones… likely to awaken the sleeping reptile within us all.”
Ron Forbes Roberts, Monday Magazine

“You’d think I would have heard of somebody as good as Cousin Harley before this but this is my first encounter with his music and it couldn’t be more of a pleasure! …Top notch… a straight 10 out of 10.”
Gaby Maag-Bristol – Blue Suede News (USA)

“Paul Pigat and his rockabilly trio, Cousin Harley, play hot enough to raise sweat on a chunk of granite!”
Ron Forbes Roberts, Monday Magazine

“Kids, put those hypodermic needles away before mom gets home. Strap yourself to your chair and get ready to rock because Cousin Harley is here and Waahoo!!!… they blow my socks off!”
David P. Smith, CFUV Hillbilly Heaven