Interview from : http://www.rockymountainnews.com
Setzer's riff has new roar
Introspection colors band's new 'Nitro' CD
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News
December 5, 2003
There's Brian Setzer on the front cover of his new CD, Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy, reclining against flame-painted hot-rod. So it's understandable that fans might think the former Stray Cat has the usual stuff on his mind - cars and girls.
While the new disc does hit those themes, with songs like Don't Trust a Woman (in a Black Cadillac) and Drink Whiskey and Shut Up, Setzer's songwriting took on a more somber edge this time out. The disc kicks off with Sixty Years, written after the death of his good friend, Joe Strummer, of the Clash.
"We only got 60 years on the planet / and if you got anymore you might wish that you hadn't," he sings in the song. After a gritty guitar solo, he sings "Everyone here in this (messed)-up town / thinks that making money makes the world go round / you can't afford to open up your eyes / you'd see your own life just passin' by."
"It's funny, I've been getting a lot of good reviews on this record, but the fans seem to be let down," Setzer says by phone from his Santa Monica home, then laughs.
"It's always the way. If you make a record the fans love, you usually get bad reviews. I've been getting really good reviews on this record. I think it's because it's kinda like rockabilly with lyrics that aren't just about hot rods and chicks. Nothing wrong with that - the Rolling Stones have been doing it for 30, 40 years.
"But this came out of a really personal space. I lost a really good friend in Joe Strummer . . . And I was breaking up with a girl and I didn't realize it but, after the record came out, I went 'Wow - a lot of personal issues on that record!' "
It has confused a fan or two.
"Maybe I'm wrong, but my fans want swing and rockabilly and they want it straight down the pike. When I make a turn, sometimes they don't wanna go there. I hope I'm wrong with that," Setzer says.
Setzer is here in concert with his orchestra for a show of Christmas tunes, Stray Cats classics and new songs, but he recorded the new disc with just a rock trio.
"I just kinda write songs. When I put it together, I see where it's going," Setzer says. "I'm at the point where I can kinda pick and choose. It just felt like a trio record to me."
There are a lot of nuances on the record. Sixty Years ends with strange sounds and a short, almost trancy vibe. Rat Pack Boogie is an instrumental with jarring guitar shifts throughout.
"It's all about the riff. Every song I write starts with the riff. That song didn't need vocals. I said 'Listen to this, guys.' I was fooling around with it, and I said 'Let's just cut it.' "
Setzer is reminded of the nervousness he felt just before the orchestra's live debut at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles in 1992. He worried about how the music would be received and how he could possibly afford to keep this many musicians on the road.
"Man, I had 35 people (in the audience) at the Whisky. People wanted to kill it before it started. Managers, club owners, they didn't wanna book this thing. Then it took off. Then the whole swing-revival thing came and went. And they thought 'Setzer is dead now.'
"Twelve years later, (it's) 'Thanks for coming to the show.' It's the Spruce Goose, know what I'm saying? It's this big airplane that shouldn't fly, but there it goes."
Setzer is cross-marketed in ways other musicians envy. From tribute albums to the movies, his sound is everywhere, including Disney's House of Mouse cartoon program.
"That's a vicious rumor. I'm not a cross-promoter!" he jokingly protests. But "the phone rings, you know? For the movie stuff, they want somebody who knows his stuff. They know I read and write music, they know what they're gonna get . . . It's great because it's a nice payday and everybody goes home happy."
But it has its cost.
"Dealing with movie people, it's a pain. They want stuff yesterday and they want it exactly like this. It's hard to do it that quickly."
He's playing at the televised Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, the same as last year.
"It's really amazing. I grew up watching that. To be there, under the tree . . . " his voice trails off, then he laughs. "You'll be sick of me by the end of the month."
At the Denver show: "I'll probably do When the Bells Don't Chime and probably do Ring, Ring, Ring. I'll change it every night. Mostly it's Christmas stuff, then I break it down to the trio section. Bring out the saxes, bring out the vixens, then end with the Nutcracker Suite. You have to admit, there ain't many bands covering Tchaikovsky tunes."