Los Straitjackets, Daddy-O Grande, Wasted Major

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Jim Herrington

A close-up of Los Straitjackets.

Los Straitjackets

“30 Anos de Los Straitjackets” celebrates three decades of the surf rock revivalists’ touring and recording (16 albums). In recent years, when not on their own tour, they’re Nick Lowe’s band on his outings. They perform in traditional lucha libre Mexican wrestling masks and since they’re an instrumental band — never singing or even speaking for that matter — experiencing Los Straitjackets is like witnessing Japanese kabuki theater if Japanese kabuki included music by Dick Dale and The Ventures. With southern rockers Wasted Major.

media release: In celebration of their 30th anniversary, America’s favorite masked surf rock group Los Straitjackets is touring in 2024.

Over 30 years ago, the Nashville-bred band—Danny Amis (guitar), Eddie Angel (guitar), Greg Townson (guitar), Pete Curry (bass) and Chris Sprague (drums, percussion)—first donned their recognizable Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling masks. Known as the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental, The “Jackets” have delivered their trademark guitar licks to 16 albums, thousands of concerts and dozens of films and TV shows.

Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock ‘n’ roll around the world with El Vez, Dave Alvin, The Reverend Horton Heat, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Big Sandy, and Nick Lowe.

“Instrumental rock demands as much imagination as it does raw chops…” — Boston Globe

“…one of the best surf-rock bands in the galaxy…” — PopMatters