“There’ll never be a show exactly like this one,” Gunnar Nelson declared Saturday, May 4, as he stood onstage with twin brother Matthew and the rest of the Licorice Pizza All-Star Band at this year’s Sunflower Farm Music Festival. It was an apt statement, since it’s not very often that members of Nelson, the Beach Boys, Guns N’ Roses, the Doobie Brothers, the Stray Cats, and other music-biz lifers perform at a Maui Central Valley biodiesel farm surrounded by 35 acres of brilliant yellow sunflowers.

But things went so well this sunny Hawaiian afternoon that, actually, this might not be the only time these all-stars share a stage.

When well-connected musician, producer, and Licorice Pizza Records founder Kerry Brown curated the lineup for the 2024 Sunflower Farm Music Festival — Matthew and Gunnar of eponymous pop/rock band Nelson; fellow California rock royalty member and co-founding Beach Boy Al Jardine; Jeff “Skunk” Baxter of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers; Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and his wife, Eagles of Death Metal bassist Jennie Vee; former GNR guitarist Gilby Clarke; and veteran session players Carmine Rojas (David Bowie, Rod Stewart), Russ McKinnon (Tower of Power, Barry Manilow, Joe Cocker), and Larry Dvoskin (Sammy Hagar, Bad Company) — the worthy cause alone was incentive for these luminaries to sign on. One-hundred percent of the profits from the show benefited the Common Ground Collective, Maui Hub, and Grow Some Good to support sustainable local farming and Hawaii’s food security and circular economy — especially important initiatives following the state’s devastating wildfires of 2023.

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But Brown’s festival invitation, which included several days of jamming at the rehearsal space on his nearby Maui property, presented an opportunity for these longtime friends and mutual admirers to reconnect through music. Clarke used to play with Phantom in two other supergroups, Col. Parker and the Starf—ers, and in the rotating all-star band Kings of Chaos with Rojas; he also used to ride motorcycles with McKinnon. The Nelsons, when they were rockabilly-descended teenagers, were big fans of the Stray Cats, and they used to play the L.A. punk club Madame Wong’s on bills alongside Clarke’s ’80s powerpop band, Candy. (“We wanted to be Candy,” Matthew quipped onstage this weekend.) Baxter once toured with Rojas in Julian Lennon’s band; is Phantom and Vee’s neighbor and the godfather of Phantom’s son; and even used to play for Gunnar and Matthew’s father, the late Rick Nelson. “I met the [Nelson] kids when they were growing up — 7, 8, 9, something like that — so I thought they would be a great addition for this [festival], not only because they’re great artists in and of themselves, but they perform their dad’s music with their wonderful vocals,” Baxter told Music Times Saturday. “I always have figured that, just like when Carmine and I went out on the road with Julian, sons of contemporaries are sort of like everybody’s kids, so we look out for them. I’ve toured with Nelson as well, done some fun shows with them, and it’s delightful. It makes life pretty good.”

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The youngster of the Licorice Pizza All-Star crew was Julia Gargano, a former American Idol Season 18 standout contestant now signed to Licorice Pizza Records with her band Ferry Townes. Gargano, who played her own two-song solo mini-showcase at the festival plus shared much of the overall Sunflower set’s vocal duties with the Nelsons and local blues/rock powerhouse Gretchen Rhodes, also felt like her new family was looking out for her. “I feel it’s super-common nowadays for talented, older, seasoned, male musicians to not make it a very safe, productive rehearsal space, but these guys were just such class acts, so kind. They had these humongous hearts,” she told Music Times, reflecting on how she quickly bonded with her fellow All-Stars in the days leading up to the festival. “And I think I really needed that, musically. It definitely helped me level up, just jamming out with these insane songs that have been my favorite songs since I was a kid. After the first rehearsal, it was all so easy from there, just so relaxed. I was having a great time, barely freaking out — which is a win! So yeah, this day rocks.”

“Everybody here is very professional. Rehearsals went so well because people were focused, and you can tell immediately who’s got it together and who doesn’t. Everybody here has given yeoman’s work, put in extra time, and has done a very, very good job,” added Baxter.

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Rhodes, who is accustomed to working with legends as a longtime member of the Mick Fleetwood Band, has lived in Hawaii for 18 years, and performed at the 2023 Sunflower Farm fest, told Music Times: “I can see that this [festival] is already twice as big as it was last year. To have a music fest like this, this doesn’t happen often [in Hawaii]. For Kerry to make this happen, and bring in wonderful musicians from L.A. and wherever else in the world, is really cool and significant, and I feel very blessed and grateful to be a part of it. … I [was] obsessed with everybody on this stage. … Just imagine the effort that could then be generated to actually make this something even bigger. And it’s going to happen, I believe.” And so, going back to that idea that this event should and will not be a one-off, Baxter and Licorice Pizza are already looking ahead to a bigger future for this new supergroup. “Skunk was talking about what fun he was having and how the music and the musicality of what’s happened in the last week has been super-enjoyable. It’s something that I think, not just for him, but for several of the musicians, kind of takes them back to why they’re musicians,” Licorice Pizza Records VP Brian Alli told Music Times. “So, they want to do something with this, not just for them to make money, but to do it in a meaningful way, where they feel like they’re using their skill for good.”

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“It seems that the music business has a standardized set of people who do [concerts] — promoters, artists, managers, agents — which is fine, but things like this are kind of unique and it doesn’t really fit into any particular cubbyhole. And I’m thinking that something like this should continue, because it’s a good idea. Maybe it should be sort of self-starting and pull itself up by its own bootstraps. There’s a lot of talented people involved in this, all of whom have a tremendous amount of experience in this business. And so maybe there’s an opportunity to see this grow a little bit,” said Baxter.

“All the [musicians] are into the idea, so Kerry and I are going to go after this. We’re going to sit down and we’re going to figure out how big this is,” said Alli. “It’s only a discussion at the moment, but what would happen is the Licorice Pizza All-Star Band becomes a band, and then we take it on the road. And what Skunk is suggesting is that we go to USOs… because there’s a lot of misunderstanding about vets right now.”

“I really don’t talk about [my other career] too much, but it’s an honor and a privilege to serve my country,” said Baxter, who along with his decades in music has worked as a defense consultant and advised U.S. members of Congress on missile defense. “I love my country, especially because it’s given me the opportunity to be able to have enough freedom to pursue music and be creative.”

While Licorice Pizza Records, Baxter, and the rest of the All-Stars figure out the supergroup’s long-term charitable goals, the sold-out 2024 Sunflower Music Festival raised funds for, as Rhodes noted, “Such a good cause: sustainable living here. Obviously because of the fires and then everything that’s been happening with COVID, this huge light has been shone on the islands that we can actually generate our own food and we don’t have to rely so heavily on the mainland and everywhere else in the world. If all of our food is shipped in here, then if something happens to a shipping company or whatever, we’re completely screwed; there will not be any food at Costco or Safeway or anything like that. So, to be able to take care of ourselves in that way is extremely important. You never know which way the world is going to turn.”

A live vinyl LP of the Licorice Pizza All-Star Band’s 2024 Sunflower set will be pressed on Licorice Pizza Records and given out at next year’s festival — where, if everything works out, these legends will share the stage again for what Matthew called another “ultimate garden party.” This year’s full setlist is below.

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“(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” — Gunnar & Matthew Nelson

“A Thousand Wild Horses” — Gunnar & Matthew Nelson

“Stray Cat Strut” — Slim Jim Phantom & Jennie Vee with All-Stars

“Rock This Town” — Slim Jim Phantom & Jennie Vee with All-Stars

“Be Here”- Julia Gargano

“Ruby” — Julia Gargano

“Reelin’ in the Years” — Nelsons, Gargano & Rhodes with Baxter & All-Stars

“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” — Nelsons, Gargano & Rhodes with Baxter & All-Stars

“Black Friday” — Nelsons, Gargano & Rhodes with Baxter & All-Stars

“Hot Legs” — Gargano, Rhodes & Clarke with All-Stars

“Rebel Rebel” — Clarke & Rhodes with All-Stars

“Dead Flowers” — Clarke with All-Stars

“With a Little Help from My Friends” — Nelsons, Gargano, Clarke & Rhodes with All-Stars

“Listen to the Music” — Nelsons, Gargano & Rhodes with Baxter & All-Stars

“China Grove” — Nelsons, Gargano & Rhodes with Baxter & All-Stars

“Travelin’ Man” — Nelsons with All-Stars

“Hello Mary Lou” — Nelsons with All-Stars

“Help Me Rhonda” — Al Jardine with All-Stars

“Barbara Ann” — Al Jardine with All-Stars

“Surfin’ USA” — Al Jardine with All-Stars

“Fun Fun Fun” — Al Jardine with All-Stars

“Garden Party” — Nelsons & Jardine with All-Stars

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Slim Jim Phantom and the Stray Cats in concert circa 1983. (Photo: Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images)

In the late ’70s/early ’80s, Generation X people discovered the music of their parents’ Boomer era via a Grease, or Happy Days, or maybe even via Sha Na Na’s campy variety show. But way cooler than any of that were the Stray Cats. The Long Island rockers cut their teeth in punk clubs like CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, became unlikely MTV darlings alongside British new wavers like Culture Club and Duran Duran after moving to the U.K., and made the 1950s hep all over the world, all over again. Their top 10 hit “Rock This Town” even ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll,” right next to tunes by their own ‘50s heroes.

And now, three-plus decades later, young music fans are once again discovering 1950s rockabilly … via, yes, the Stray Cats. “They had like national flags — like, the Brazilian flag was draped, the Swedish flag was draped. They were representing all the countries, like in the Olympics,” marvels Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, recalling the audience at the trio’s first concert in 10 years, which took place last April at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend. (The Stray Cats also have two Southern California gigs lined up next month, coinciding with their 35th anniversary of their second U.S. studio album, Rant ‘n’ Rave With the Stray Cats.) “And it was all young people; it wasn’t crusty guys like us! It was all kids.”

Guitarist Brian Setzer, stand-up bassist Lee Rocker, and stand-up drummer Phantom bonded as kids themselves over their shared fascination with ‘50s culture (“It was a gas, really … We had pink jackets, black-and-white shoes, big gold-fleck jackets — and we walked around that way in Massapequa!”), poring over vintage album credits trying to learn the identities of “C. Barry” and “C. Perkins” and “B. Holly.” And one special album discovery actually inspired Phantom’s unique, pioneering stand-up drumming style — although Phantom didn’t learn the entire, amusing story behind that album’s cover art for many years.

“My whole life has been based on some blurry photographs on the back of a few albums,” Phantom chuckles. “So one of the records, the greatest record ever, is Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps. And Dickie Harrell was the drummer who did the screams on ‘Be Bop-a-Lula.’ He was 15, and he was my hero. We saw him standing up. … So we had the idea, we experimented. And then, years later, I met Dickie Harrell and I told him the story: ‘We saw your photograph and it inspired me!’ And he had a little bit of a laugh. I said, ‘What are you laughing at, man?’ He said, ‘Oh, I only did that in photographs.’ So, yeah — and I based my whole life on playing like that!”

Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (Photo: Capitol Records)

However Phantom came up with the idea, his cocktail drum kit (a spare setup comprising a bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, and crash cymbal) was one of many things that made the Stray Cats stand out in the ’80s — especially when they hit England in search of a record deal. Ironically, the band initially relocated across the pond mistakenly thinking London was already home to a thriving rockabilly scene. (This was due to an article on Teddy Boys they’d seen in a “yellowed, 9-month-old copy of NME. …We were like, ‘Let’s go to England, everyone looks like us there!’”) But this was yet another misunderstanding that worked out for the best: The Stray Cats received a warm welcome overseas, eventually creating their own scene.

“We were thinking airline pilot was gonna be Ricky Nelson or something,” Phantom laughs, recalling the trip. “So we wound up in England, kind of homeless. But we kicked around, met people, finally got a few gigs — four sets a night, five nights a week, for about a year and a half. There was a big connection in England. They love all the ['50s] stuff: Cadillacs with horns on the front, jukeboxes, Elvis Presley, James Dean … American rock ‘n’ roll and their version of what they thought the ’50s were like in America. So [the Brits] embraced us.”

The Stray Cats (Photo: Consequence of Sound) 

Phantom — who currently hosts the Rockabilly Rave Up show on the SiriusXM channel Little Steven’s Underground Garage, and ran famous Sunset Strip joint the Cat Club (a haven of who’s-who jam sessions) for two decades — has since parlayed his love of classic rock ‘n’ roll into collaborations with everyone from the late Lemmy Kilmister (in all-star rockabilly band the Head Cat), Joe Strummer, and Johnny Ramone, to Bowie axeman Earl Slick, Guns N’ Roses’ Gilby Clarke, the Damned’s Captain Sensible, and even Jerry Lee Lewis. He’ll soon be heard on the debut solo album by original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock. And Phantom still loves playing his stand-up drums for “15,000 kids, everyone with grease in their hair” at the Stray Cats’ reunion concerts, introducing rockabilly to new generations.

“[The rockabilly scene] is a population that repopulates,” Phantom says. “These young people want something real … and I’m happy to help forward this fun lifestyle.”

Audio of this conversation is available on demand via the SiriusXM app, on Volume channel 106.

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