‘ Funny’ Men
Los Straitjackets take on Nick Lowe catalog with latest album
Los Straitjackets has never been a conventional band. Their brand of surf rock/ rockabilly tunes is a complete homage to the lost art of the guitar solo, and when they perform live they always do so in matching suits while disguised in lucha libre wrestling masks. But perhaps their biggest surprise yet is their latest album, “What’s So Funny about Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets.” The 13 songs are all new takes on the catalog of Nick Lowe — regarded as one of the greatest pop singersong writers and lyricists of the 20th century. “It really put the emphasis on his melodies,” says Eddie Angel, one of the three guitarists in Los Straitjackets, about arranging instrumental renditions of Lowe’s hits like “Cruel to be Kind” and “( What’s So Funny ‘ Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” which was made famous by Elvis costello. Los Straitjackets is showcasing the tracks on their latest tour with Marshall Crenshaw, including featured spots at Fitzgerald’s American Music Fest at 6: 15 and 8: 30 p. m. this Saturday. “Nick is such a great lyricist. People always end up paying more attention to his words but there are some really great melodies, which he always doesn’t get credit for,” adds Angel. “I’m really happy with our versions because I think we show a whole different side to the songs.” The band had Lowe’s full blessing, even getting the 68-year-old Brit to appear on the album cover ( a spoof of the cover art for Lowe’s 1978 gem “Jesus of Cool” aka “Pure Pop for Now people”) and encouraged the singer’s hidden cameo on one of the album’s tracks, though you’ll have to listen close to find it. Lowe’s 12- year- old son Royston also makes his recording debut on the album, offering percussion on some of the songs. The idea was hatched in 2014 when Los Straitjackets began their now annual jaunt with Lowe on his “Quality holiday Revue” tour; the two bands are also on the same label, Yep Roc Records, which made it convenient. “I remember we were talking about it at the Sea Shore Motel in Santa Monica, California, while on tour, and I think maybe it was maybe Neil Brockbank who came up with idea,” says Angel. The album was to be one of Brockbank’s final projects as the lauded producer ( and Lowe’s sound engineer and tour manager in more recent years) suddenly passed away in late May, shortly after the release of “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets.”
“It was shocking. He was so great to work with, and really pushed us not to do just the obvious songs,” recalls Angel, saying all three parties bonded over the same sense of humor. “Nick likes when music has a sense of humor to it, not that it has to be funny but that it puts smile on your face, and that’s something we believe in, too.”
Angel cofounded Los Straitjackets with guitarist Danny Amis in Nashville in 1994, creating a complete package with look and sound that drew on a range of influences from country twang to fast- paced rockabilly, vintage movies and retro culture ( they often tour with burlesque troupes like The World Famous Pontani Sisters).
“We’re big fans of vintage culture, we call it vintage entertainment,” says Angel. “Pre- rock stuff, like back in the ‘ 30s and ‘ 40s when music acts put on a show and entertained you.” Angel admits he never imagined the band would be around 20- plus years later: “I thought maybe we were just going to play once in a while for friends in a club,” he says, laughing. But fate had other plans for them and the band started gaining steam with more than a dozen studio albums and collaboration pieces with Eddy Clearwater, Southern Culture on the Skids and Big Sandy.
Though they frequently have guest vocalists, the band has never considered adding a singer to the group — “The funny thing is we all sing, everyone in the band can sing,” says Angel — nor will they ever unmask. “It’s just our niche and what we do,” he adds, noting that the lucha libre idea came from Amis who often traveled to Mexico City and collected the memorabilia. ( Amis now lives there permanently, resigning from touring with the band due to health issues.)
“When we started, we knew we had to do something because there was no singer, because we wanted to keep people’s attention and entertain them,” says Angel. “That has been our credo from the beginning and we are still hanging on to that idea.”