Meeting The Brian

Talking Of Making New Memories, It would Be Great To Hear A Refresher On How Members Met Brian Or Members Of Stray Cats Or BSO.
I've Met Some Great People Because Of 'Hoodoo' And The Only Thing That Would Top That Is If I Was With One Of These Friends When And If I Finally Get To Met My Hero. So Please Remind Us Of That Special Day When The Setz Met You.
Maybe You Stumbled Over What Words To Say? Maybe You Just Said Hello And Had Your Pic Taken With Him? Anything Would Be Appreciated.
Thanks
RadSteve

Well I have never met Brian but I have met Slim Jim! Jim was touring Australia last year and I got to meet him when he played at Wintersun (Wintersun is the biggest Australian nostalgia, hot rod, rockabilly type festival).. to top things off it was also my 18th birthday.. Anyway, so I was standing in the crowd (up the front of course) wearing one of my Stray Cats tees.. Jim walks on the stage, starts talking to the crowd.. then he see's me with my shirt and he asks me over the microphone where I got it from because he hadn't seen it before.. so I stumbled over my words but managed to squeak out 'eBay'..He said he liked it then commented where his face was in regards to my chest (the shirt had images of the faces of Lee, Brian and Jim).. Then he and Darrel Higham exchanged a joke about how Brians face was in the middle of my.. well, my breasts.. After the set I walked up to Jim offstage and had a little chat, he commented on my shirt again.. my mum was there and Jim and I posed for a photograph but in the moment mum pressed the 'off' button on the camera instead of the button that takes the photo.. I only realised this after Jim had walked away.. I couldn't really ask him to pose with me again.. I got some cool shots from the gig though, some of which can be seen on Jims official website.

Anyway so that's my story.. I could hardly hold it together for Jim, I'm pretty sure I'll turn to mush when I meet Brian. (I use the word 'when' instead of 'if' because it's gonna happen )


Kid.

I've met Spazz, Bernie and Tommy M. ...the setzer remains a phantom.

I've managed to meet Slim Jim 3 times and Lee Rocker the once
Still yet to meet the Brian though but maybe one day

Cheers PP

In November 2005, after the tour opener in Minneapolis, I foolishly chose to wait outside the hall in bitterly cold Minnesota weather wearing no hat and an inadequately lined trenchcoat. Even the native Minnesotans weren't stupid enough to stay outside.

After the show, I went around the side to wait for the orchestra to come out. I really should have stayed behind and lobbied to get backstage. For some reason, I thought they might get out of there earlier, and I didn't want to miss it. The clock on the bank outside read 10:26 and 11 degrees. I saw a lone rockabilly with a pomp piled high in a parka and figured this cat must know something. In talking with him, I found out he moved to Minneapolis from Japan about three years ago, and had been in a rockabilly band that opened for Brian at a 68 CBS gig a while back. I asked him if he had been to Albert Lea (90 miles away) before to see the Eddie Cochran exhibit. His eyes lit up as if I had given him some secret code to unlock a small fortune. He had never heard of this! He thought it was pretty far away, but I told him "Look, you've traveled all this way from Japan! 90 miles is nothing. 2 hours drive - tops! You gotta go!" Shoot, if I had nothing but time, I would have drafted him as traveling companion and drove him there.

When the Slaptones came out, I took a picture of him with them, and he immediately shed his parka to reveal a leather jacket covered in buttons featuring Brian, the Stray Cats, and other rockabilly items. At the time (11:25), it was 9 degrees, and although I didn't get a picture, I was reasonably eloquent, telling them I really enjoyed their music, and wished they had CDs for sale at the show. I think I also said "Welcome to the US. You guys sound great and the US audiences are really going to like you."
It was at that time I realized the potential futility I might experience trying to chat with any of the orchestra members. The Slaptone women, while appreciative of my kind words, looked like they were all going to marry the van driver as he pulled up to the curb, rescuing them from the bitter cold, whisking them away to their hotel. I mean, they were from Sweden, and they were miserable being out in the cold for 60 seconds. What chance would I have to converse with BSO members who hailed from Southern California?

The Japanese rockabilly, who was keeping warm with long drags on a cigarette, was still too frozen to pronounce his name to the degree to which I could comprehend. He did tell me his former band was called "Cold Socket." I could understand "Cold Socket" in that accent, but not his name? That's how cold it was.

At 11:40 or so, my legs are trembling, and I mention to the rockabilly that I feel like we're on "Setzer Survivor." I told him if that's the case, I'm pretty sure he will be the last man standing. After all, if Brian really does have a home in Mineapolis, maybe he's already left with friends or family. Then a red van pulls up, and the orchestra is herded on to the van. I probably could have sauntered up to the van and said, "Thanks guys." Or, "Great show!" But I was too cold, and was starting to feel like a stalker. I also noticed my mouth wasn't forming the words I wanted to say. My gloved fingers were starting to sting. What I didn't know is that my face was turning purple in very specific places. But I was getting so used to the cold, I didn't notice.

Then a limo pulled up. I thought "this is it!" After a few minutes, the driver returned, escorting an older couple (60s) and the even older woman who bore a striking resemblance to Julie Reiten/Setzer into the limousine. The Setzer cat is all class! What a nice thing to do. It also gave me renewed hope that Brian and Julie were still inside. It was almost midnight, and now 7 degrees.

At about 12:10, a couple of stage hands met a bus at the stage door. The rockabilly peeked in the stage door and exclaimed with a smile "He's in there! I saw him!" Apparently, my face was frozen and incapable of expressing emotion as he repeated himself. "He's in there! I saw him and the Vixens!" My partner in cold slipped off his parka to reveal the leather motorcycle jacket, and with his pompadour, he looked like he stepped out of the cover of Live Nude Guitars. Then, a rather tall gentleman peeks his head through the door and says "Guys, it's too cold out here for that." I thought to myself, there's only two of us, and it's not like we're asking him to sign a bunch of stuff to sell on eBay! Nevertheless, I pivoted and grunted and reached for my camera.

Finally, The Brian comes out with his son, Cody, and Beth and Julie and a few others. After Brian had a few words with Cody, my frozen friend and I walk up and shake his hand. Brian's immediately taken with the Japanese fan with the leather jacket and the pomp piled high. The rockabilly has him sign a Live Nude Guitars album, and then, Brian looks earnestly at his leather jacket and signs one of the lapels with a silver sharpie. Too cool!

I mumble something like "Great show," and "thanks!" And then I knew how cold it was, so I rushed through "Picture?" and I didn't even look at him for an answer as I handed the Japanese fan my camera and stood beside Brian, actually between him and the warm tour bus. I must have really come off like an a-hole. I really had hoped to make a better impression and say something coherent and sincere like "I really love Rockabilly Riot. Thank you for making that album." But it was much too cold for that. I could barely form my words and in the picture, I look like a stroke patient and the frostbite is readily apparent. My facial muscles are actually contorted as I attempt to pull the corners of my mouth up to approximate a smile. Brian doesn't exactly look thrilled, either. Then he joins Julie and the rest in the comfort of the bus. It was 12:17 and just 7 degrees outside.

One of the crew looks up at us and says, "It was worth it, wasn't it?" It sure was. I just wish there would have been more time, and I would have had something kind, clever, and worthwhile to say. I wanted to ask him if he had been to Albert Lea, or how he liked Minnesota, and thank him for bringing the orchestra to the Midwest (and I don't mean Ohio, either!) And again gush a bit about how much I love Rockabilly Riot. But even though my body temperature had dropped to where I could tolerate the cold, Brian was just out of a theater that had to have warmed up to at least 60 degrees by that time, in a green suit without any sort of weather-appropriate outer wear. So the 20 seconds or so he spent with us was priceless, but understandably brief.

The sting of the cold and the encounter with Brian had my adrenaline pumping for a while, so I proceeded to make my way to Mason City wide awake. I listened to Rockabilly Riot - 23 high energy tunes - and reflected upon the show. About an hour into the trip, I stopped at a rest area and was horrified at what I saw in the mirror. My face was covered in blotches of frostbite which radiated in the fluorescent bathroom light. I had a couple on my forehead, my cheeks looked like I had gone 15 rounds with a heavyweight boxer, and the tip of my nose was so dark, I might as well have been Wile E. Coyote. I looked like a banana that had started to go bad. For a few minutes, I was actually afraid I might need medical attention, but a couple of warm water splashes later, I calmed down. Apparently this looked a lot worse after I had been in my car an hour, as the non-frost-bitten parts of my face warmed up, while the frosty bits turned more purple.

It was still worth it.

Frosty-billy

Wow Rick, you sure did suffer for Setzer that night but I'm glad it all worked out and you managed to meet the man himself!!

I hope you get to meet him again sometime in the future .....and in a warmer environment!

Cheers PP

You're not politely telling me to go to Hell, are you?

For the record, The Brian and I have crossed paths since then, in warmer settings.

Restraining Order-billy

does it count if I havent met him, but he listened to my CD at the pub?
oh..okay...

Rick! What a Wonderful Account! You are Truely a "Setzer Survivor."
I don't think i could have stayed waiting so long in freezing weather, Your lips must have been blue. I freak out at the cold and the hot. If it had been Lee Rocker you were waiting for, i would have called you 'Bulletproof'.
It's strange that we have the words to say to our heroes, but there's always something that changes our plans when we finally do. In this case, the weather.

About The guy from Japan....These guys look The Coolest! They always draw attention because they look complete Rockabilly in Their leathers and with Immaculate hairstyles! Hotei comes to mind. Don't tell me he had his Parka hood
up and it didn't spoil the hair!

Radiation-nice-an-warm-on-vacation

I have met Brian twice...I met him the first time in 1980 when the Cats toured the Uk for the very first time -i met all 3 cats that night .
I met him again in Glasgow 2005 and had my photo taken with him.
I have met Lee twice also and have met Slim Jim about 6 times.
I have my photo with all 3 cats which can be viewed on my myspace page.
www.myspace.com/brucie68

Hey Brucie! Welcome Back My Friend
I''ve never been on 'myspace' so i clicked....my you have some cool friends!
Steve

Hey Brucie, how do you actually get to meet all these people? Do you just walk up to them before/after a show and say 'Hey! You're awesome, let's chat and have our picture taken!'.. I see you have pictures with members from TLE as well! I have seen TLE ALOT of times, and their security is actually pretty high. Maybe it's because they are really well known in Australia (being an Australian band) but I can't get near them.. closest I've been was in 2005 when I was chatting to Chris and all that was between us was a 6ft high wire fence..And then in 2006 they played an entertainment centre and I jumped the barrier.. suffice to say, I didn't get very far before security stopped me


Kid.

Thanks for the welcome back message Steve!
Hey Kid....The night I met the guys from The Living End was a night to remember.
I was fortunate to have a good lengthy chat to the guys that night.
Chris came over to me outside the venue after the gig and we chatted Setzer for a while and he told me to wait a minute while he went inside for something!
He returned a minute later with a bunch of goodies for me that included tour merchandise and guitar picks.
The guys were amazingly friendly and very happy to chat and pose for photos although it was about 1am in the morning and they just put on a Rockin' show.
The night in Glasgow when i got the photo with Brian - i was fortunate to meet the Nashvillains also and i must say that Bernie Dresel was totally awesome and very friendly-a perfect gentleman.
These guys are my heroes and these memories will never fade.

Agreed, TLE are awesome.. Like I said, I've seen them many times and they always blow me away.. their new album is out Mid-July - a new track from it is on their myspace right now for a short time.. I'm indifferent about it - I really love 'old' TLE.. but it's cool none the less


Kid.

Meet Brian in 1992 (with the Stray Cats) and again in 2001.
Danish booker and label wanted us to support the Cats in Denmark this year, but we're not abel too, because we're on the road suppurting a big international danish act, so I won't be abel to say hi this time
I can only say that Mr. Setzer is a real nice person to meet, and I hope I'll meet him again some time.

I got to met Brian,in Glasgow 6th August 2005.

I hah spent 3 and a half weeks in hospital,and had been very ill. I got out for the odd night,to spend with my partner.
I had a naso-gastric feed,and got commenced onto a very strong cancer drug,which i get weekly at my local doctors,by injection. (I dont have cancer)
They would'nt let Sharon do it for me,as its siko-toxic, for radition purposes.

I had posted a good few progress reports,when i got out for the night.

I pleaded with the consultant to let me out. I got out 3 days prior to gig. But wanted to see me, after the weekend.

Well I felt great the whole weekend,no pain nothing,even managed to finish a fish supper! and go see Madeline Peyroux,the following night in Edinburgh.


Well after the gig,Brucie, joolies and myself met up with Tommy at the bar.
I said to Tommy,to Thank Brian for the Plectrum, he threw to me during gig. Tommy said you never met our Brian, Mark. Never.
Tommy Dissapeared.
Returned 2 minutes later,took me by the arm,and said Brian wants to meet you!

Words cant desribed my feelings at that moment. Its the best moment ever! I am not gonna say what happened, but that memory will live, in my heart forever. He is such a nice guy. Tommy took my Photo,with Brian and it was up on the web page. You know the one! awsome! just awsome. The only bad thing was the door staff had taken my camera...............*astards!

I have met Jim Twice but have never met Lee.

Special mention and big thank you to our Tommy! Thanks

Mark.

sorry if this is not aloud...............


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OK.. lets try this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXgVRJC-RBk