The lights dim in the auditorium of Toms River NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts this Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 evening, as the audience excitedly waits for a performance by the talented Stray Cats’ bassist, Lee Rocker.
A video plays which features images of Lee Rocker with his Stray Cats’ bandmates — guitarist Brian Setzer and drummer Slim Jim Phantom — in clips stretching from the 1980s up until today. As the video rolls, audience members learn that, as a member of The Stray Cats, Rocker helped to sell over 10 million albums and that he starred on Broadway as a member of the cast of the musical, Million Dollar Quartet.
Rocker — from Massapequa, Long Island — enters the stage, slapping his trademark stand-up bass on The Stray Cats’ 1981 Top 20 hit, “Stray Cat Strut.”
As he smoothly handles the lead vocal, Rocker’s backup band — Buzz Campbell on guitar, Joey “Eights” Guevera on piano, and Larry Mitchell on drums — accompanies him with expert vocal harmonies. The cool groove emanating from the stage entices the audience to snap along as Rocker swings. Following both a Joey Guevera honky tonk piano solo and a bluesy Buzz Campbell guitar solo, Rocker impresses with his cool, bluesy vocal, sharing with this Jersey crowd all of his swingin’ “cat class and cat style.”
Following huge applause, Rocker thanks the audience and welcomes them by revealing the history of The Stray Cats in an ongoing narrative.
Explains Rocker, “In 1980, we had a band that played in Long Island and in New York City, but we decided to go to London.” Joking, “we bought four plane tickets — three for the band and one for the bass,” he continues, “but to show how limited our plan was, once we got to London, we had to sleep in Hyde Park and in all-night movie theaters!”
Moving on to the group’s first single — which charted in the top ten in the UK — Rocker and the band perform the upbeat “Runaway Boys.” Drums roll a rockabilly beat as Rocker sings, “Your hair’s all greasy and you feel like a slob/You’re only fifteen and you can’t get a job” and Buzz Campbell plays a chordal guitar solo filled with vibrato.
Continuing his story, Rocker says, “In 1982, we came back to the states. At that time, our record, Built for Speed, sat at #2 on the charts for six and half months — right behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller.”
As they perform the album’s title song, “Built for Speed,” images of ‘50s-era Chevys with lightning bolts and flames flash on the screen before Joey Guevera impresses the crowd playing both harmonica and piano at the same time!
As the tune’s rockabilly rhythm takes hold, it’s impossible for music lovers in the audience to keep still as the beat surrounds them, making their feet tap and heads bop!
Next up is the face-paced “Fishnet Stockings.” As images from the 1950s of ladies in stockings appear behind them, Buzz Campbell rocks out on guitar to a chorus of audience cheers.
Rocker says, “We just got back from Nashville where The Stray Cats cut our first record in 25 years; it will be out in the spring,” before launching into a Stray Cats’ song from ‘89 — “Bring It Back Again.” On this uptempo rockabilly number, the group sports tight vocal harmonies and Rocker plays a dazzling solo on the upright bass.
Following avid applause, Rocker announces, “This is my favorite part of the show — turn the lights down!” Here, Guevera switches from piano to acoustic guitar. Then, he, Campbell, and Rocker take center stage for a mostly unplugged rendition of Elvis Presley’s “That’s Alright (Mama).” As Larry Mitchell uses his brushes to drive the rhythm like a locomotive, the audience moves to the pristine sound of this talented quartet here in the Grunin Center.
“I’ve gotten to play with some of the greatest musicians, including Carl Perkins,” reveals Rocker before noting, “so I try to do a Carl Perkins’ song at every concert.” Here, he launches into a rockin’ version of a Perkins’ song which was covered by The Beatles, “Honey Don’t,” his soulful voice sounding picture perfect on the tune.
Rocker and the guys strum, pick, and bounce on the strings of their instruments on the rockabilly blues composition, “Miracle in Memphis.” Lee waves his arms as he slaps the bass and even bounces his hands on the strings for the appreciative crowd!
Acknowledging, “You should never play two songs in the row with ‘Memphis’ in the title!” Rocker does so anyway with a performance of his tune, “Memphis Freeze.” Switching over to acoustic guitar, Rocker’s warm and bluesy vocal shines on this original piece which features solid drumming by Larry Mitchell.
As the screen behind them shows a video of a railroad track trailing behind a moving train, Rocker and Co. perform their rendition of Arlo Guthrie’s “City of New Orleans.” The audience sings along on the song’s famous “Good morning, America, how are you,” chorus and Joey Guevera impresses with a lively honky-tonk piano solo.
Explaining that he was once invited to Woodstock, NY to perform with The Band’s Levon Helm, Rocker and his musicians perform a tribute to Helm with their rendition of The Band’s “Ophelia.” Their swingin’ version of the song not only features a rockin’ guitar solo by Buzz Campbell but a barrelhouse piano solo by Joey Guevera.
The audience responds with cheers and whistles before the band performs a rockabilly version of The Beatles “I’ll Cry Instead.” Slapping his bass as he walks through this classic Beatles’ tune, Rocker passionately croons, “I’ve got every reason on earth to be mad/‘Cause I just lost the only girl I had,” much to the audience’s delight.
After explaining that, during the 1980s, he started another band — Phantom, Rocker, and Slick — Rocker and friends perform that group’s “Men Without Shame,” a hard rockin’ boogie featuring his dazzling bass playing. They follow that up with a performance of The Stray Cats’ 1985 Top 5 hit, “(She’s) Sexy + 17,” with Rocker energetically plunking on his instrument while his voice channels Buddy Holly to hoots and hollers.
Larry Mitchell’s drums start off the bluesy Stray Cats’ ballad, “I Won’t Stand In Your Way,” as Lee picks up his acoustic bass and plays it like a guitar as he solos!
“Bulletproof” is an exhuberant Jerry Lee Lewis-like early rocker which features Joey Guevera on boogie-woogie piano and Rocker on lead vocal and bass. Hands clap and heads bop to the infectious beat as drums and vocals ring out like bullets as he croons, “B-b-b-b-b-baby I’m bulletproof!”
Following “Rumble” — where Rocker plays low on the bass before hoisting the instrument on to his shoulder like a violin — he and the band end tonight’s show with The Stray Cats’ 1981 Top Ten hit, “Rock This Town,” a song honored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the most influential songs to ever shape rock music!
After Lee rocks out on bass and vocals and Guevera incorporates the melody from “Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In” into his piano solo, Rocker takes a breathtaking bass solo where heads bop and hair flies as he rocks the Grunin Center!
The crowd stands to cheer! After the band takes leave of the stage, they soon return for one more song. As a cool animated video plays on the screen behind them, the musicians end the show with fingers flying on bass, guitar, and piano on “Rockabilly Boogie,” providing a satisfying conclusion to this top-notch concert!
Following the performance, we get a chance to chat with Lee Rocker about his thoughts on tonight’s show here in the Garden State.
Says Rocker, “I’m a New York guy, so playing in New Jersey is like playing at home. It’s always great to play in Jersey, and this venue has a great sound,” noting, “from where I was on the stage, it sounded crystal clear!”
We also chat with pianist Joey “Eights” Guevera who comments on his role in the band saying, “Playing with Lee Rocker is super fun — it’s great to be a part of a group where everyone is a master on his respective instrument.”
We additionally converse with several members of the crowd who share their opinions of tonight’s concert with us.
First, we chat with Tom from South Orange who calls this concert, “Awesome!” His son, Zee, agrees, revealing, “I’m a fan and a bass player — I play both stand-up and electric — and Lee Rocker’s playing was just spectacular!”
Frank from Toms River remarks, “I loved this concert! I’ve been a fan of The Stray Cats since 1981, and I saw the group perform several times in the 1980s,” adding, “As soon as I heard that Lee Rocker was performing in town, I just knew I had to be here!”
Joni from Forked River calls Lee Rocker’s show, “Absolutely fantastic,” acknowledging, “I’m a fan from way back, and this show brought back a lot of memories.” After noting, “I couldn’t believe Lee Rocker was going to be performing right here in Toms River,” Joni discloses, “This was a spur of the moment thing — and I’m so glad I came!”
We also chat with Sally from Toms River — the happy recipient of Lee Rocker’s concert set list from tonight’s show.
Exclaims Sally, “Lee Rocker sounded great — he has a phenomenal voice!” Adding, “I used to see The Stray Cats in clubs in the early ’80s when I lived in North Jersey,” she continues, “I was glad that Lee did a lot of those Stray Cats songs tonight — they brought back a lot of memories,” before revealing, “and I hear The Stray Cats may be touring next year for their 40th anniversary!”
Lastly, we chat with two friends from North Jersey who traveled to Toms River to enjoy Lee Rocker’s music tonight. While John from Westfield calls Rocker’s performance “Excellent!” his friend, John from Mountainside, concludes by giving Rocker and his show tonight one huge “THUMBS UP!”
For more information about Lee Rocker, please go to leerocker.com. To find out more about future events at Toms River’s Grunin Center — including Rockapella on Dec. 13, Ana Gasteyer on Dec. 15, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra on Dec. 21 — please go to grunincenter.org.
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