Credit: Russ Harrington
Stray Cats are wrapping up a month-long tour this weekend in support of their first album in a whopping 15 years, 40 — named in honor of the group’s 40th anniversary.
The shows have been heralded as throwbacks to the band’s rookie era, mostly because 40‘s vibe is real old-school Cats. In an interview with the UK’s Louder Than Sound, bassist Lee Rocker says that’s what he and bandmates Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom had in mind..
“We set up in one room, the three of us, and played it like a concert – I mean at volume, with amplifiers, the whole thing,” says Rocker. “We really captured what it is that the band does…in an old-meets-new kind of way. That’s always been our philosophy – vintage meets modern.”
Rocker says playing the tunes all together — rather than in sterile studio sound booths — boosted the authentic vibe.
“There’s no trickery, no smoke and mirrors here…and we had a blast doing it,” he notes. “It has that energy and excitement, and I think that’s very much like the first record. It feels new again after this much time.”
The care that the trio took to make it feel “new again” is paying off with audiences and reviewers, who praised how seamless the mix of old and new songs was.
So what’s next for the Stray Cats after the tour?
“I can’t really give you that,” Setzer told Louder Than Sound. “I’m just kinda floating with it. What I will say is that I really enjoyed making this record. I will always love this music. And [we] play it as sexy as you can.”
The Stray Cats’ 40 is available now.
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