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The Brian Setzer Orchestra is a true,
17-piece Big Band fronted by an electric guitar.
 "Like pouring gasoline on a fire" is how
Brian Setzer describes 1998's double-platinum, Grammy-winning, Top
10-charting "The Dirty Boogie." But while Setzer wanted to
fan the flames with the follow-up, he also wanted to jack up the
octane. "It would be an easy trap to fall into to do Dirty Boogie
II," says Setzer. "The criticism of swing is that it's music
from the past. I wanted to keep a lot of the same sound – this isn't
a harpsichord record all of a sudden – but I wanted this to be music
for 2000 and beyond. So we experimented, we stretched out. We said,
'Let's get crazy and go for it.'" So on "VaVoom!," the fourth album from The
Brian Setzer Orchestra, released August 1, 2000, he "scuffed
it up." For most of the album's six classics, Setzer says he
"had to choose ways to make them mine. It was like rebuilding a
house by taking the old one down except for one wall. In the end, it's
so far away from the original, you can't imagine what it looked like
when you started." Not only did he pen lyrics to the traditional
instrumental "In The Mood," creating "Gettin' In The
Mood," but he even added a rap. On "Pennsylvania
6-5000," there are new lyrics, tape loops and even a hip-hop beat.
 "It took me by surprise that the hip-hop beat and
the swing beat are parallel. When I heard it, I went, 'I'll be
damned, it worked, let's keep going.' I can tell if something's good
if I smile. This made me smile. I wanted to make these songs so
brand-new that people would go 'Wow! I never thought…'"
Along with a faithful rendition of "Mack The
Knife," a psychobilly version of the instrumental
"Caravan," a rockin' doo-wop take on "Gloria" and
a freewheeling "Americano" (translated from the Italian
original, made famous by Jude Law's and Matt Damon's performance in
"The Talented Mr. Ripley"), Setzer also penned eight
originals. "My influences are always with me. All I can do is sit
with a guitar and write rockabilly songs and, if they're good, then
write the charts for the horns and turn them into the animals that
they are."
 "VaVoom!," produced by Peter Collins
(Jewel, Indigo
Girls, Nanci Griffith), Glen Ballard (Alanis
Morissette, No Doubt) and David Darling, also adds female
background singers to The Brian Setzer Orchestra experience for
the first time. "It's a different dimension, especially live.
Besides, they ain't bad to look at after seeing us slobs for an hour
and a half." As a result, the band's tour was titled the
"Here I Go Again Draggin' 16 Guys (And A Couple Chicks) Around
The World Tour."
What is nearly as unlikely as the success of The
Brian Setzer Orchestra is that no one has jumped on the bandwagon.
The reason, suggests Setzer, is simple: "This isn't like punk
rock, where anyone could pick up a guitar and play loud. The level of
musicianship required is pretty high." Another reason may be that
no one else has had the musical guts as well as chops. "What made it happen is that we're
original," Setzer says. "This is American music. It's
ingrained in us, but we took it in a new direction. This is a whole
different beast than a '40s Big Band. The only similarity is the
instrument lineup. But our foundation is the rhythm section and the
way I play guitar. I like what I like: guitars, hot rods and rock 'n'
roll. "VaVoom" sums up what this band is
– bigger than
life. The word means excitement, from the sound of a car starting up,
to the sound you make when you see a beautiful chick."
Some say his greatest feat has been to resurrect a
musical genre and make it "cool" again, as he earlier did
with rockabilly. Setzer, smiling, has a different idea. "I've
received letters thanking me for making being a trombone player in the
high school band hip. Now that's an accomplishment."
Notable songs include - .
- This Cat's on a Hot Tin Roof
- You're the Boss
- Boulevard of Broken Dreams
- Ball and Chain
- Jump, Jive, An' Wail
- Knife Feels Like Justice
- Dirty Boogie
- Route 66
- If You Can't Rock Me
- House Is Rockin'
Brian Setzer Orchestra
may be available for your next special
event!
For booking information, click
HERE!
Genre: Jazz / Big Band
Styles:
.Roots Rock.
.Rockabilly Revival.
.Retro Swing.
.Retro-Rock.Years active:
..80s, ..90s, ..00s
Setzer born: ..in New York
..in New York
City
Apr 10, 1959
Setzer raised: ..in New York
..in Long Island
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