The Stray Cats are soon to strut their stuff in Auckland. GRAHAM REID talks to drummer Slim Jim Phantom about the band's heyday in eighties London and keeping on top of today's hectic schedule Rockabilly
KEY POINTS:
In these days when people are losing their jobs, Stray Cats' drummer Slim Jim Phantom seems to have more than his share: he co-owns the successful Cat Club on Sunset Strip where he usually plays Thursday nights with celebrity guests; is in The Head Cat with Lemmy from Motorhead; this year is getting together the Forgotten Saints with long-time friends Captain Sensible of the Damned, which will drag in a different guest for each gig; and seems happy to pick up his drum sticks for anyone who calls.
"It's true, but the Stray Cats trumps everything," he says from his home in Los Angeles, "that's The Band. But we're selective with what we do and plan pretty far in advance so everyone knows their schedule for the next year.
"The other things are harder to organise, the Captain is very technical but doesn't return phone calls, and Lemmy is completely, you know ... You have to go to his house and knock on the door."
Not that Slim Jim has been playing much with anybody lately. Last year he fell off stage after a gig in Brixton and broke an arm in three places. It meant eight weeks in a cast ("I watched a lot of television") and doing what he was told by his therapist.
"That was the longest I've ever been away from making music, but the cast came off around Thanksgiving and I did a couple of shows with Lemmy. About five songs in I realised my arm hadn't fallen off, so it was back into it."
And now he's back on the road with the Stray Cats - with singer/guitarist Brian Setzer and bassist Lee Rocker - the band that brought rockabilly, drape jackets and huge quiffs into the post-punk scene in Britain when they arrived in London, broke but curious, in 1980. They were different, immediately attracted attention, found a fan in producer Dave Edmunds, and cracked a string of classic singles with Runaway Boys, Rock This Town and Stray Cat Strut, all of which appeared on their self-titled debut album.
The Stray Cats from New York had found their natural home among the teddy boys and punks of London.
"We were doing okay in New York but we wanted to find people of a like mind and it really was just right place-right time. So when we got the opportunity to do gigs in London we were ready, we'd been playing five nights a week in New York.
"We really wanted to be teddy boys and we heard in England there were people walking around like that. We thought we'd step off the plane and everyone would look like that. We had no idea what we were in for."
What they hadn't reckoned on was a more angry cultural climate in Britain where the violence of New York seemed tame in comparison with punks and running fights between teds and rockers and whoever else came along.
"We could relate to crime like if you steal something and profit from it, that made sense. But in England, to fight over a haircut? We were oblivious to that, and I think that played in favour because our feeling, even now, is anyone with a haircut against the squares is trying to go outside the game.
"I don't care if it's a crewcut or a pompadour, it's all alternative culture."
Slim Jim - who grew up in a family where music wasn't important - was drawn to drums from an early age and admired jazz players like Buddy Rich.
"I discovered rockabilly later and thought, 'This I can do'. But play like Buddy Rich? No one ever could be that good. And the other guys who I'd known since we were children also thought rockabilly was something we could actually do."
He acknowledges when starting out they had little idea of the history of 50s rockabilly and only later came to recognise the pure American-ness of it and its rich legacy.
"Everything since has been influenced by it to some extent. It influenced the Beatles and they influenced everyone since. That I got afterwards.
"I think the Stray Cats made rockabilly more accessible and available. Before us you really had to root around in old record stores to find it, but now with the Cats it's a bit easier to access Gene Vincent.
"And there are always kids who want to seek out something alternative which is not on the radio, even alternative radio. They want to dig deeper into the roots of things and if you do the research in rock'n'roll you find rockabilly."
Since their peak in the early 80s the Stray Cats endured declining fortunes, notably in record sales. They still toured but never quite captured that early magic on record. In 1984 they broke up and since then have re-formed occasionally. Slim Jim says by only appearing intermittently as the Stray Cats, that keeps it special for them and their audience.
Not that he waits for the Cats, he's a busy man. Except when he broke his arm. Watching television, eating pizzas, turning into Fat Jim Phantom?
"That can't happen no matter what I do, it just doesn't work. I can eat burgers and pizzas forever," he laughs. "I have a natural level of stress."
LOWDOWN
Who: The Stray Cats
Where: Powerstation
When: March 3
Trivia: Drummer Slim Jim Phantom (real name James McDonnell) was married to the Swedish actress Britt Ekland from 1984-92. She was a former Bond girl, former wife of Peter Sellers, and long-time partner of Rod Stewart who wrote Tonight's the Night about her.
