Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer has revealed he has an autoimmune disease that has left him unable to play guitar.
In a statement posted to his official Instagram account, the rockabilly icon – one of the all-time greatest players to ever pick up a Gretsch guitar – said that he had complained of cramping in his hands, but the condition got so bad that he struggled to even tie his own shoelaces.
“I just wanted to check in with you all. Towards the end of the last Stray Cats tour I noticed that my hands were cramping up,” wrote Setzer. “I’ve since discovered that I have an autoimmune disease. I cannot play guitar. There is no pain, but it feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I try to play.”
Stray Cats last toured the US in the summer of 2024, with their three-week run terminating in Bridgeport, Connecticut on 17 August. Understandably, Setzer must have been sitting on this announcement for sometime.
This is devastating news, but he strikes a positive note in his announcement, insisting that he is not in any pain, is receiving medical treatment, and – most importantly – he is beginning to see some signs that his condition can be reversed.
“I have seen some progress in that I can hold a pen and tie my shoes,” he wrote. “I know this sounds ridiculous, but I was at a point where I couldn’t even do that. Luckily, I have the best hospital in the world down the block from me. It’s called the Mayo Clinic. I know I will beat this, it will just take some time.”
Setzer co-founded the Stray Cats in 1979 alongside Lee Rocker on double bass and Slim Jim Phantom on the drums. The Long Island trio took rockabilly to the mainstream, rubbing shoulders with punk-rockers along the way. Stray Cats would split in 1984, periodically reuniting, and have been active again since 2019.
In between, Setzer has pursued a solo career, most recently releasing The Devil Always Collects in 2023, and forming swing revival project the Brian Setzer Orchestra in 1992. BSO's 2000 studio album Vavoom! has just been remastered for a new vinyl release. Vavoom! is available to pre-order here.
Setzer, surely, has to be considered the greatest rock ’n’ roll guitar player of his generation, his playing style and electric guitar tone shaped by players such as Eddie Cochran and Scotty Moore, and of course Chet Atkins, with whom he shared an affinity for Gretsch guitars. Setzer’s career-long association with Gretsch includes a number of signature guitars over the years based on the G6120 platform.
Speaking to MusicRadar as Stray Cats celebrated their 40th anniversary, Setzer said he got turned onto Gretsch thanks to Cochran.
“When I started out with the whole Gretsch thing, I had no idea what it would sound like,” he said. “I just wanted to look like Eddie Cochran. I bought my Gretsch for 100 bucks and it was all in pieces. I put it together and it was the best thing I ever heard. It still is.”
Making Setzer’s signature model was no easy task. Gretsch had just moved its top-of-the-line models to Japan and they were still dialling in the building process. Fender’s late Custom Shop guru, Mike Lewis, had a real brainwave – he took Setzer’s guitar to an actual doctor so they could get the spec just right.
“Get this. Mike Lewis knew a doctor and they actually ran my guitar through a damn CAT scan machine and x-ray’d it!” said Setzer. “That’s fantastic, right? None of this debate about what’s inside the thing, the top is this thick, trestle bracing... Bullshit! We’re gonna put it through a CAT scan machine and find out what’s inside. And that solved the problem.”
Here’s hoping the good people of the Mayo Clinic have similar success and Setzer is on the mend.
