Brian Setzer and the Ripchords

I was looking at Danny B Harveys myspace page last night and was surprissed to find that back in 1980 Brian and his brother Gary joined the Ripchords . However they left shortly after because the Bloodless Pharoes got a record deal to release a single with CBS. So I assume the Tom/Stray Cats hadnt yet formed ? Does anyone know anything about this period of Brians career ?
Also I remember a few years ago Brian mentioned something about a project he had in my mind called "Two Cats and a Kitten", with some female bass player. Never heard anything else about it but there is a photo of Brian ,Danny B and this lady on Dannys myspace page.

The tricky thing about getting points of view from one person who was there, is that the memories fade after 28 years. To get a more complete view, let's look at a couple of different sources that seem to support the basic info on Danny's site. I believe The Tomcats were around in 1979. Permit me to recycle an old post:

Regarding the history of the Stray Cats: The Tomcats have to factor into that history somewhat, as they were still performing as the Tomcats in 1980. The "Live at TK's" shows date from May and October 1980. But Lee and Jim were definitely on these recordings. From those CD liner notes come the following:

"With Brian on guitar and vocals, Gary (Setzer) on drums and Bob Beecher on bass, the trio, billed as The Tomcats, began to play clubs on Long Island in 1979."

This could be the result of Gary re-writing history a bit, perhaps overstating his role to try and give credibility to his rights to sell these tapes, which were released by Collectibles Records in 1997. They were withdrawn under threat of legal action within a year, but apparently are still being pressed somewhere, as you can get them on various websites.

Now there was a timeline on the Stray Cats website which has been deleted, that indicated that Lee and Jim, friends of Brian's younger brother, began playing with Brian in the Tomcats in January 1980. However, according to Levi Dexter of Levi and the Ripchords, they flew Brian and Gary Setzer out to LA in January 1980 to play in the band's original line-up. This couldn't have lasted more than a couple of weeks, as Levi's MySpace page indicates a new lineup for the Ripchords in February 1980. Danny says Brian and Gary left to record a single for CBS. That could be one factor. I've heard that Brian wasn't too keen on playing guitar in someone else's band. That could be another factor. Whatever the case, it appears the Tomcats existed immediately before and immediately following the Setzer brothers' short stay in LA.

As far as the "Two Cats and a Kitten" project, that was another example of Brian having fun with the fans on one of those nutty Q & As, after answering his 47,395th question about a Stray Cats reunion. According to that wacky answer, Slim Jim, and a female Australian slap bass player were gonna form a band (again, it's a joke). Any chance you're taking bass lessons, Kid?

Rip-a-billy

I'm glad that I didnt ask about the meaning of life.

Vincent Blackshadow wrote:

I'm glad that I didnt ask about the meaning of life.

If anyone knew the answer to that, it's probably Rickabilly! Just look at that research!

Good show, old chap! Good show!

Vincent Blackshadow wrote:

I'm glad that I didnt ask about the meaning of life.

Yeah, that's really not the best Monty Python film. For my money, it's got to be The Holy Grail or Life of Brian.


Keep 'em laughing as you go-a-billy

I remember Roy Williams (Nervous Records) telling me a story about Setzer wanting to join The Rockats as a guitarist, but they did not work out, because Setzer wanted to write his own material, and they did not like it
If this is true, it's a bloody good story. A bit like the stupid guy from Decca Records turning the Beatles down

Vincent Blackshadow wrote:

I'm glad that I didnt ask about the meaning of life.

That was 42 wasn't it??