Dapper rockabilly drum legend Slim Jim Phantom, who made his name playing train-like shuffles and contagious punk beats with The Stray Cats is touring Australia with his trio in May and has added a Sydney Drum & Percussion Show meet & greet session to the end of his tour.
Since The Stray Cats first etched their name into rock n roll history with their punkified version of rockabilly in the late 70s, Phantom has been able to trade on that name by touring with various rockabilly flavoured projects. There was Phantom, Rocker and Slick with former Stray Cat bassist Lee Rocker and Bowie guitarist Earl Slick. Another is Dead Men Walking with The Damned’s Captain Sensible and The Alarm’s Mike Peters. However the most celebrated is probably The Head Cat which featured gun LA guitar picker Danny B Harvey and garage rock legend Lemmy.
Slim Jim has also recently released his biography, A Stray Cat Struts in which he recounts not just the Stray Cats’ rise but a different type of life spent in the upper echelon of rock-and-roll stardom. The Stray Cats developed a signature sound and style that swept across the world, released multiplatinum albums, and were embraced and befriended by classic rock acts like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, as well as original punk heroes such as the Sex Pistols, the Damned, and the Clash, and rock-and-roll originators Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. After ten years of marriage to actress Britt Ekland, Slim Jim moved down the hill to Sunset Strip, where his son was raised and he owned the world-famous rock-and-roll bar Cat Club while continuing to play with a host of well-known musicians.
Courtesy of Pro Music Australia, Gretsch drums endorsee Slim Jim Phantom will be at the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show for a meet and greet session on Saturday May 27.
SLIM JIM PHANTOM TRIO – AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2017
Friday 12th May 2017: Waves (Towradgi Beach Hotel) – Wollongong NSW
Saturday 13th May 2017: Lizotte’s – Newcastle NSW
Sunday 14th May 2017: Bald Faced Stag – Sydney NSW
Wednesday 17th May 2017: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick – Melbourne VIC
Thursday 18th May 2017: Satellite Lounge – Melbourne VIC
Friday 19th May 2017: Tewantin R.S.L. – Noosa QLD
Saturday 20th May & Sunday 21st May 2017: Blues on Broadbeach Festival – Gold Coast QLD. FREE
Saturday 27th May: Sydney Drum & Percussion Show. Rosehill Gardens Grand Pavilion (Meet & greet session only)
http://www.slimjimphantom.com/
Gretsch drums distributed in Australia by www.promusicaustralia.com
Check out this 2014 interview we did with Slim Jim on a previous Australian tour