After 30-odd years, you’d think Los Straitjackets would be over their identity crisis. But as it turns out, they’ve known who they are all along. It’s the rest of us who need to get past the whole novelty thing. Mexican wrestling masks or no, few bands convey instrumental rock’s purist ethos with more passion, substance and style than this enduring Nashville outfit, with influences that range from Dick Dale and Link Wray to Booker T. & The MG’s and the Cramps.
In the decades since band founders Danny Amis and Eddie Angel snatched original drummer Jimmy Lester from Webb Wilder’s band, the Straitjackets have made (by our count) 16 studio albums. There’s also been several live LPs and various collaborative projects, including a recent fortuitous period as Nick Lowe’s backup band. It’s that well-honed Straitjackets lineup that puts its stamp on Somos Los Straitjackets (“we are Los Straitjackets” for the language challenged). With Amis now fighting a (winning) battle against multiple myeloma, the current quartet features Angel and Greg Townson on guitars, longtime bassist Pete Curry and drummer Chris Sprague.
Somos Los Straitjackets was produced in Chicago by Alex Hall at Reliable Recorders, also the site of some tracking for Lowe’s 2024 Indoor Safari album. Here’s more from Los Straitjackets.
1) “Bumper Car”
Townson: “I was on tour and woke up one morning with this song completely written. I just grabbed a guitar and played it. By comparison, Paul McCartney woke up with ‘Yesterday’ in his head. I’m sure he’ll wish he wrote ‘Bumper Car’ instead when he hears this record.”
2) “Polaris”
Angel: “I’d been noodling around with Greg on this. He added the cool guitar approach. We wanted to have a song as cool as ‘Telstar,’ one of the great instrumentals of the rock ’n’ roll era.”
3) “Genesee River Rock”
Townson: “Los Straitjackets recorded a version of this remotely during lockdown. When we decided to re-record it, Nick Lowe suggested a slightly different rhythm. I also thought we should change the key from D to E, plus add a keyboard part for Alex Hall to play.”
4) “High Wire Act”
Townson: “This is one of those lucky moments when a song just writes itself … probably when I was struggling with writing another song. I put this on my solo record, Beyond The Horizon. I thought if I changed the rhythm, it could make a good song for Los Straitjackets.”
5) “Numbskull”
Angel: “As the title implies, I was trying to write a really dumb rock ’n’ roll song. I was channeling ‘Jungle Rock’ and ‘Wipeout.’ The best rock ’n’ roll songs are often the dumbest.”
6) “Two Steps Ahead”
Townson: “This is more of a crafted song. The verse section came quickly, but the rest took awhile. When I cracked it, it was one of those rare moments of feeling like a professional songwriter.”
7) “April Showers”
Angel: “During lockdown, we passed ideas for this song back and forth remotely. It seems to have existed before in the universe, and we were able to magically access it.”
8) “Cry For A Beatle”
Sprague: “A Beatles song that was never written by the Beatles. It’s the answer song to the Fab Four’s “Cry For A Shadow.”
9) “Catalina Farewell”
Angel: “This melody came to me while we were on one of our first tours. We were in the Bay Area, and I was staying at my brother-in-law’s house. It’s had a few different iterations. This time, we tried an ‘exotica’ vibe—and I think it works the best. Love the vibes by Alex.”
10) “Copy Cat”
Townson: “This took less time to write than it does to listen to the song. I had the title first, with the idea being that each of us could play off the same riff. I thought it would work well onstage. That’s the nice thing about writing for Los Straitjackets—writing for the stage show.”
11) “Sentimental Fool”
Townson: “This is another one I heard in my head and went to the guitar and played. Unfortunately, it turned out to be in A-flat—a tough key for a guitar band. We play it well, though—and Alex really outdid himself with the engineering and mix.”
12) “Bad Apple”
Townson: “After I wrote this, I thought it sounded similar to something Stax Records would’ve put out during its blue-label era. Yes, I write with record labels in mind. It came out differently, of course. It’s inspired by someone in Rochester, N.Y., my hometown.”
13) “Wicker Park”
Angel: “We recorded this near Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. It was inspired by some of the great ‘60s Chicago soul music, especially Curtis Mayfield. Greg’s rhythm guitar on this track evokes ‘The Monkey Time’ by Major Lance, written by Mayfield.”
14) “Spinout”
Angel: “Another song with a past. I originally recorded this with my band the Neanderthals. This is an upgraded version, with key changes and the genius of Tom Kenny doing the voiceovers.”
15) “Virgon”
Angel: “I came up with this song jamming with my wife Melanie on drums, so I wanted the title to reflect that. She’s a Virgo and born in the Year Of The Dragon. The title ‘Virgon’ is a portmanteau of ‘Virgo’ and ‘dragon.’ On the chorus of the song, we were channeling ‘Wild Thing’ by the Troggs.”
See Los Straitjackets live.
