Slim Jim Phantom On The Future Of The Stray Cats, His “Rockabilly Confidential” Podcast, Long Island, Van Halen & More

The Stray Cats is single-handedly the band that put rockabilly music back on the record charts in the early 1980s. Formed by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer, upright bass player Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York, the trio first found fame after moving to England. 40 years after starting up in 1979, the music of The Stray Cats — including the massive hits, of course, include “Runaway Boys,” “Rock This Town,” “Stray Cat Strut” “(She’s) Sexy + 17,” and “I Won’t Stand In Your Way” — still sound fantastic and remain on rock radio playlists worldwide.

When The Stray Cats went on hold in the mid-1980s, Slim Jim Phantom teamed up with guitarist Earl Slick (John Lennon, David Bowie) and Stray Cats bandmate Lee Rocker to form Phantom, Rocker & Slick. Phantom also played as a member of The Head Cat (with Motorhead’s Lemmy), Col. Parker (with Guns N’ Roses’ Gilby Clarke), Dead Men Walking (with The Alarm’s Mike Peters) and Kat Men. He also found time to play with Jerry Lee Lewis and The Beatles’ George Harrison. In 2019, The Stray Cats released the full-length album titled 40, as made with producer Peter Collins (Rush, Bon Jovi, The Brian Setzer Orchestra) and engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Arctic Monkeys). 40 was recorded in Nashville and featured a dozen original songs. It was supported with a world tour.

The COVID-19 pandemic put The Stray Cats on hold, and rather than sit around with little to do, Slim Jim Phantom launched Rockabilly Confidential. A short-form storytelling podcast — each episode is 20 minutes or less — within Rockabilly Confidential Phantom tells true tales from his music career, focusing on backstage and other exciting encounters with fellow rock and roll legends. Phantom also includes 3 songs in each podcast episode that thematically help tie the episode together.

On April 14, 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Slim Jim Phantom via Zoom, as embedded below. Beyond Rockabilly Confidential, we spoke about the future of The Stray Cats, his Long Island roots, why and when he moved to Los Angeles and whether he ever encountered The Mighty Van Halen. More on Phantom can be found online by clicking here, here and here.

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Tags: Brian Setzer, Long Island, Los Angeles, New York, Rockabilly, Rockabilly Confidential, Slim Jim Phantom

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."