Brian Setzer Rocks!

[Aaron Cheney]

I just saw the Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza here in Seattle last night, and I have a new favorite guitarist!

After a positively comatose performance by Dan Hix and the Hotlicks, Brian & Co. came on and rocked the joint like an earthquake! He played great, his tone was great, and he allowed himself to be part of the band rather than the exclusive star. The Orchestra was tight and entertaining, and the show was the perfect mix of Xmas tunes and Setzer favorites.

In a world of good guitar players, Setzer is persuing his own uniqe vision of what a guitar hero should be.

You gotta see this show! It was the perfect icing for my Christmas cake.


got mojo?
www.voodoovibe.com

 

[GONZO-X]

yes, he is!

i saw him in his heyday with the stray cats, but did catch his more recent act on TV (what was that show?!)

it was with his big band....

his style is perfect for that type of swing beat...

and his sound is totally genuine.

 

[Calwood]

I didnt really dig what the Stray Cats were all about,..just didnt get that man. But,..that big band thing he's got going now does kick! Thats not really my bag,..but,...it's cool. I'd love to see that show live. I'll bet it was killer!

Take 'er easy

Calwood

 

[Major Tom]

He is awesome - fun to watch and listen. Definitely one of my guitar heroes.

 

[Light]

I've seen him and worked his shows several times. He always puts on a great show, and is a really great guitar player.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[faderbug]

and if i might add, i worked as a production runner on a stray cats concert years ago (1990 ? it was in germany) and as i picked Brian Setzer, who had been missing for a couple of hours, up at his hotel to take him to the venue he turned out to be a really nice guy who talked about the weather (?) and wanted to know what the german word for weather balloon was - i didn't have a clue being french by origin and made up a funny german sounding word i can't remember anymore - he cracked up laughing. yes yes, now i come to think of it, he was in a VERY good mood that moment.

 

[Agtronic]

and if i might add, i worked as a production runner on a stray cats concert years ago (1990 ? it was in germany) and as i picked Brian Setzer, who had been missing for a couple of hours, up at his hotel to take him to the venue he turned out to be a really nice guy who talked about the weather (?) and wanted to know what the german word for weather balloon was - i didn't have a clue being french by origin and made up a funny german sounding word i can't remember anymore - he cracked up laughing. yes yes, now i come to think of it, he was in a VERY good mood that moment.

That's a cool story! Lucky you!

I got a Brian Cetzer Orchestra CD from columbia house when I forgot to cancel my "selection of the month". I put it into my CD player not really knowing who he was and I was amazed. I absolutely love the entire album! It has a real authentic swing feel and sound, unlike a lot of the newer bands that are out these days. I was really suprised. "Switchblade! Three twenty seven!"

I guess I'm pretty ignorant if I didn't know he was one of the Stray Cats, but give me a break, I'm only 24!

I would DIE to see him live. The whole big band thing must be absolutely magical to see! It's so damn upbeat! I seriously can't imagine it!

 

[Aaron Cheney]

Sorry to gush about it, but I'm still so jazzed about the whole thing...

The show started with the full orchestra, and they went through lots of Xmas tunes and Setzer favorites. About 3/4 through the show a screen dropped down that hid the orchestra and made the stage look like an alleyway, and he did some older Stray Cats trio stuff with just the drums and bass. The last song they did that way was "Rock This Town", and half way through the song the screen flew up and the big band came back in to finish the song, and then they all did a few more. It was a great move to really finish the show with an exclamation point.

Brian shared the stage really well and let the other musician shine too. He even left the stage completely and let the girls and the orchestra do a number on their own. Very cool.


got mojo?
www.voodoovibe.com

 

[pennylink]

Sounds like he must have been getting tired and needed a breather...

Seriously though, he is one of those great guitarits who just goes out and does "his thing" without worrying about what the latest trend is.

As a matter of fact, I think his style really hasn't changed at all from The Stray Cats to the BS Orchestra, it's just the supporting cast that's changed.

He's one of the best rockabilly-influenced players around. Oh, and his hair still looks pretty good too!

 

[Aaron Cheney]

Actually, he was changing from the lime green suit he wore during the "uptown" protion of the show to the leather pants he wore during the "edgy", trio portion of the show.


Aaron

 

[Kevzmusic]

Actually, he was changing from the lime green suit he wore during the "uptown" protion of the show to the leather pants he wore during the "edgy", trio portion of the show.


Aaron

Aaron,

Brian Setzer in a lime green suit, hhhmmm, now there's a scary thought....does he still have the 50's quiff hairdo???

Yeah, he's a most underrated and often forgotten guitar player...I remember him with the Stray Cats, etc...a long while back....he never seemed to make it into the BIG time tho, for some reason....I guess rocka-billy type stuff, just ain't that popular outside of the Excited States

I read that you are in Seattle, we'll almost be neighbors soon, the wife & I are moving over to the Pacific NW, Victoria BC actually, we've had enuff of these frigid/snowy NE winters and the conservative mentality here in Toronto...

It's time to get back to some laid back, west coast living, and Vancouver Island is such a beautiful spot....

Rock on...

Cheers,

KEV

 

[Aaron Cheney]

Victoria is beautiful... been there several times. Welcome to the neighborhood!


Aaron

 

[schenkerguy]

Setzer

Setzer really changed my style of playing, I've gone from a pop-metal guitarist to more of a roots rock and bluesy style now. I've got his instructional video and his fingerpicking is awesome, along with everything else! Would love to buy a Gretsch, but due to not having multiple thousands of dollars to play with I got an Ibanez hollowbody.

Check out this tune I did in that style;

Long way to go to match Brian's playing, as if I ever could. Of course a Gretsch and a massive Fender Bassman setup would help a bit too!

 

[dragonworks]

He flew a friend of mine out to CA. a few months ago to do some stand up bass for something he was recording. The funny thing is, and I know from exp., is this bass player doesn't know an E note from a C note, but man can he play. I have jammed with him on numerous occasions and I will say to him, key of A, and he just gives me that blank look and then I remember. But once we get going ya better look out. He jumps up on the bar with bass and climbs up on it and plays the shit out of it. He looks like wolverine from the X men.

 

[SemiCrazy]

Glad to see people discovering Great UNDERATED Guitarist......I've been doing the Rock-a-Billy Honky Tonk thing for ten years or so now after getting bored playing in a bluesband in a city full of bluesbands. ......And Brian Setzer was a HUGE influence. His talent goes far far beyond Stray Cat Strut and Rock this Town.

I play more in the style of Cliff Gallop and Luther Perkins for rock-a-billy stuff. Brian's licks or Shmozz as he calls it is over my head. He has full command of the fingerboard knows way too many chords, and plays them in impossible forms. And TONE. Filtertrons and 6L6's....

Many people think he jumped on the swingband revival bandwagon a few years ago, along with Cherry Poppin Daddies, Indigo Swing and such. The Truth is that he acctualy started the trend with his first Brian Setzer Orchastra release in 1991-2ish----ten years before it became a trendy fad.

Also he writes most of the music his orchastra plays and arranges all of the horn parts himself. A band leader in the classic sense of Benny Goodman and Tony Dorsey.

The next time you all are listening to BSO or Stray Cats, listen to what he is doing when he is NOT playing lead. Thats the stuff that kills me.


Another phenominal underrated guitar/steel player is Junior Brown. Check him out.