Happy Birthday Brian Setzer
Brian Alka Setzer was born April 10, 1959 in Massapequa, New York. Massapequa of course is Native American for “near the mall”. Setzer had a love for Jazz, rockabilly and pygmy porn.
Brian’s introduction to music came at an early age as he took up studying the euphonium, a tuba-like instrument. Setzer would play this for the next decade or so until he got tired of the daily beatings from toughs in the neighborhood and switched to Guitar.
Stray Cats
Setzer formed the Stray Cats along with Bassist Lee Rocker and Drummer Slim Jim Phantom. The trio went to London to make it big and be part of the “Teddy Boy” revival scene there. The Stray Cats went back home to the USA and released “Built For Speed” in 1982. It was a huge hit. The Cats were perfect for MTV and became regulars on the channel. They were a breath of fresh air from all the snotty boys wearing lipstick.
Setzer revived Rockabilly in the 80’s and Swing in the 90’s, but was unsuccessful when he tried to revive Polka in the 2000’s. People were not yet ready for Polka when Setzer released “Stray Cat Polka” in 2001. It may have been the timing since it was released on September 11 2001, the same day as the tragedy. Some say this album was actually worse than the terrorist attacks.
Brian Setzer is pound for pound one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He is definitely one of the most diverse. The man can play anything with grace and feel as well as explosive speed.
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