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 It’s a hectic Friday morning with a host of interviews taking place and somewhere in the madness MARIJA ZEKO finds the time to speak to THE STRAY CATS veteran SLIM JIM PHANTOM.
When I speak to rockabilly legend Slim Jim Phantom, I find him on vacation in Las Vegas, taking some time out with the family before embarking on a European tour. I ask him if he’s made some dosh, but it appears gambling is not on the agenda. Catching a show and family time is the raison d’être of the trip.
The European tour starts the first week of July with a warm-up show in LA, followed much later by Australia in February. There is no album release, rather the album will come out after the tour. It will be first time The Stray Cats have been down under since 1991 and Jim is “very excited”. An online petition was started in a bid to bring them back, such was the anxiety at not seeing the awesome threesome play. Fortunately the fans’ wishes were heard.
According to Jim, “Europe is a bit easier as everything is so close. We did America last summer. It was a bit hectic as everything is further away (like Australia). The schedule is pretty do-able compared to the past, though. Two nights in Sydney, two nights in Melbourne, etc…”
The Stray Cats formed in New York, 1979, by schoolmates. Lee Rocker (Leon Drucker) and Slim Jim Phantom (Jim McDonnell) had been a team since they were thirteen and in the summer of ‘79 founded the band with their school friend Brian Setzer. It was Lee who came up with the catchy name, ‘The Stray Cats’, when Jim and co. found themselves “living in England, just bumming around trying to find some gigs at a club.
“‘Cats’ was always a term for a hipster/musician,” he explains. “We found ourselves without a place to live, literally being stray cats.”
Their first single, Runaway Boys, hit number 9 on the UK charts and was followed by their breakthrough hit, Rock This Town. A tour with the Rolling Stones, a hit record (Built For Speed) and ultra cool film clips such as the Stray Cat Strut cemented the band in the mainstream consciousness. They’ve done the tours, made the cover of Rolling Stone and survived to be the stuff of legend.
The Rockabilly image is a lifestyle choice, says Jim. “I think that if I wasn’t in a band or played the music, I would still look this way. It’s a choice that appeals to me. Not really a costume, it’s more a feeling or dedication. I’ve been looking like this for a very long time, since high school”.
In three decades of rocking, the finest moment for Jim has been the whole time –“Doing The Stray Cats for thirty years … We must have had an impact on the fans and done a few good things for them to still come out. I mean there are so many things out there, it’s a good validation if someone wants to come out and see The Stray Cats … It’s a good way to earn a living and have some fun. It’s very rewarding”.
The ultimate tribute is seeing all the bands The Stray Cats have launched. “It’s like passing the torch,” says Jim with pride. “The rewarding thing is knowing what you’ve done has resulted in other kids going out and buying a guitar … I know how these kids feel cause I still know how I felt when I found out about Elvis Presley”.
THE STRAY CATS return to Australia for the first time in 18 years in 2009, playing a show in Brisbane at the Tivoli on Thursday February 26. Tickets go on sale for this special show Wednesday July 30, 2008 – be warned it will sell out. (You can also check out a Ticketek presale at www.premier.ticketek.com.au from Monday July 28)
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