Song:The Casbah
Album:Viva! Los Straightjackets
Los Straightjackets are an instrumental band in the tradition of The Ventures. The most interesting thing about them is they wear Mexican wrestling masks on stage. We call them lucha masks. They were called The Straightjackets when they first formed in 1988. Eddie Angel was a Nashville session guitarist most notably with Mashall Crenshaw. Danny Amis played guitar with the instrumental group The Raybeats. Drummer Jimmy Lester toured with Robert Gordon. They played a few gigs and split up. When Pulp Fiction led to a renewed interest in surf guitar rock, they reformed in 1994 as Los Straightjackets and wore the lucha masks on stage. Bassist Scott Esbeck was added. Amis is a Mexican wrestling fan. He bought the masks during a trip to Mexico. They wore them on stage as a whim and it caught on. It got them a record deal with the excellent indie label Yep Roc. The Casbah is from the 1996 album Viva! Los Straightjackets. It was their first album for Yep Roc and they still record for them. Esbeck was replaced by Pete Curry in 1998. In 2010 Amis was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. While undergoing treatment he was replaced by Greg Townson. Amis returned in 2012 but he would eventually leave in 2017. He lives in Mexico. Lester was replaced in 2005 by Jason Smay and he was replaced by Chris Sprague in 2012. Los Straightjackets were nominated for a Grammy in 2003 for the Eddy Clearwater album Rock 'n' Roll City. Their stage shows have become more elaborate with burlesque dancers The World Famous Pontani Sisters and guests like Clearwater and Kaiser George of The Kaisers. Los Straightjackets latest album What's So Funny About Peace Love And... is a tribute to Nick Lowe. They toured with him last year. Here's Los Straightjackets performing The Casbah and Calhoun Surf at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco from the 2005 DVD Los Straightjackets in Concert.
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