by Tracy Frey
Mixing the familiar sounds of Dick Dale, Duane Eddy, and the Ventures, Los Straitjackets create their own version of energetic surf guitar twang complete with Mexican wrestling masks. Los Straitjackets began in the summer of 1988. Eddie Angel (guitar), L.J. Jimmy Lester (drums), and Danny Amis (guitar) formed an instrumental trio called the Straitjackets, which played local Nashville shows throughout the summer. After a six-year hiatus, the Straitjackets reunited, added E. Scott Esbeck on bass, and changed their name to Los Straitjackets. In November 1994, the band signed with Upstart Records. They released their first single, Gatecrasher b/w Lonely Apache, on Sympathy for the Record Industry in February 1995. In March 1995, the bands first album, The Utterly Fantastic and Totally Unbelievable Sound of los Straitjackets, was released on Upstart. That summer the band went on its first major U.S. tour. In June 1996, the band released its second album, ¡Viva!; The Velvet Touch of los Straitjackets followed in 1999 and Damas y Caballeros! surfaced two years later. The mysterious musos decided to move on to holiday music the next year, and tackled several Christmas favorites on the fun Tis the Season for los Straitjackets! Supersonic Guitars in 3-D arrived in 2003, followed by a collection of outtakes, live tracks, and rarities called Vivos y los Raros in 2004. Twist Part dropped in 2006, followed by the all-star Rock en Español, Vol. 1 in 2007.