The Original Rocker
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 9, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Photos by J. Bird Records Lee Rocker,
former bassist for the Stray Cats, will perform his rockabilly
music at Vynyl in Hollywood Jan. 11.
By Andrea Dingman
Daily Bruin Contributor
In the late 1970s, Lee Drucker, a high school student in New
York, checked out a record at the public library that changed his
life forever.
The artist was Carl Perkins, the legendary pioneer of the
rockabilly style and songwriter of “Blue Suede
Shoes.”
“For some reason, this music just hit me right between the
eyes,” Lee Rocker, the artist formerly known as Lee Drucker,
said in a recent phone interview.
This experience led to his membership as the stand-up bassist in
the rockabilly revival band, the Stray Cats, who had hits in the
early “˜80s, including “Rock This Town.”
The rockabilly style, which started in 1956, is described by
Rocker as a mixture between hillbilly music and rhythm and
blues.
“It was really the birth of rock ‘n’
roll,” Rocker said. “That was like ground zero, when
music completely, completely changed.”
 Lee Rocker lives up to his name with his
latest album, "Lee Rocker Live" showcasing his unique style. Though
the Stray Cats are no longer together, individual members still
perform. Lead singer and guitar player, Brian Setzer became a
commercial success, and Rocker lives up to his new name, playing up
to 150 shows a year as a solo artist. Rocker, who plays bass and
sings relishes the fact that he’s such a vital part of the
underground rockabilly scene, which he equates with punk music.
“It’s kinda cool to be on the fringe of (the
rockabilly scene) and the people who know about it,” Rocker
said.
Rocker’s new live album, suitably titled “Lee Rocker
Live,” is the first of its kind for the veteran performer. A
fan of the energy and spontaneity of live recordings, he was often
disappointed by the poor sound quality of concert bootlegs.
“(A bootleg is) great to listen to once and then
it’s over,” Rocker explained. “So I was really
trying to hopefully beat that mold and capture the spirit, the
energy, and the sweat of a live show, and the challenge there is to
mix it and have some dimension to it, have some depth and width and
substance to it.”
Rocker dedicates his new album to the late Carl Perkins, his
mentor and friend. The two collaborated together onstage, in the
studio, and on a television special.
“He was a hero to me,” Rocker said. “For me,
20, 30 years later, to have gotten the chance to really know the
man, work with him, hang out, pick guitars and talk about music,
was an amazing experience and I really think it was a gift to be
able to work with the guy so closely.”
While “Lee Rocker Live” is played in a more
traditional manner, Rocker is adamant about rockabilly’s
relevance to today.
“Real rockabilly music, that was the original punk music,
it’s about energy and sweat and getting out there and
thrashing,” he said. “The traditional shouldn’t
conjure up images of these old dudes there tapping their
feet.”
To the contrary, Rocker is known to give quite a wild show, and
insists that he hasn’t tamed a bit.
“It’s definitely a high energy rock ‘n’
roll show,” Rocker said enthusiastically, “I’m
standing on the bass, spinning the damn thing, lying on it,
I’ve got two incredible guitar players and it’s the
real deal; it’s a real rock ‘n’ roll
band.”
Rocker strives to keep his music sounding fresh, particularly
remakes.
“You’ve got to play (rockabilly) with your own
stamp, you don’t want to play it as an imitator,” he
said. “You’ve got to do it in a way that you own the
music as opposed to regurgitating it.”
One thing is for sure: Lee Rocker is not likely to slow down for
a long, long time.
MUSIC: Lee Rocker will be performing at the
Vynyl in Hollywood Thursday at 8 p.m. For tour dates and other
information visit www.leerocker.com
