Rockabilly icon Brian Setzer says he is “getting better day by day” after his auto-immune diagnosis left him unable to play guitar.
The Stray Cats guitarist, rarely seen without a big-bodied Gretsch slung over his shoulder, started suffering from hand cramps as his latest tour with the band came to a close late last year, and revealed his diagnosis of the debilitating disease in February.
“There is no pain, but it feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I try to play,” he said at the time, adding “I know I will beat this, it will just take some time.”
Autoimmune disease affects around three percent of U.S. citizens, or roughly 10 million people. It occurs when a person’s immune system attacks the body’s healthy cells and can affect practically every part of the body.
There is currently no cure for the disease, but anti-inflammatory drugs and targeted therapies are often used to curtail symptoms, which include fatigue, joint pain and digestive issues.
Setzer has received a wave of support from fans since the announcement and has now taken to Facebook to provide a fresh update on his recovery.
And the outlook is positive.
“I just want to let you all know that I’m getting better day by day,” his post reads. “The progress I’m making is excellent! My dream is to visit Japan, the States, and Europe with Stray Cats, and of course, one of my biggest thrills would be bringing back the BSO Christmas show tradition.
“Thank you all for your love and support – it truly means the world to me. I was deeply touched. I love you guys, and only we can truly understand what this sound means to us!”
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Setzer hasn’t outlined a timeline for recovery but remains upbeat, so it may not be too long before he’s able to perform with his cherished Gretches once more.
He was still a teenager when he got his first Gretsch 6120, and it came under his charge under peculiar circumstances.
“I was 17 years old and found it in this local paper, The Byline Press,” he told Guitar Player back in 2019. “It said, ‘Gretsch guitar, 100 bucks.’ I called the guy up and asked, ‘Is it like Eddie Cochran’s?’ He was like, ‘Who?’
“So, I went to his house, and there was the guitar, the 1959 orange 6120. It was exactly what I was looking for. He had all of the electronics for it in a shoe box. I gave him 100 bucks, took the guitar and the shoe box, and off I went. It was destiny.”
During his colorful career, Setzer has dueled with the time-forgotten rockabilly stalwart Cordell Jackson in a Budweiser commercial, modernized the big band sound in the grunge-dominated '90s, and played Eddie Cochran's guitar in his childhood bedroom – which stood exactly as Cochran had left it. That moment underscored how ahead of his time his hero was.
“I remember going into his bedroom, and seeing he had a tweed Fender Bassman como,” he recalls. “That was a revelation for me, as I’d been plugging my Gretsch into a Bassman, but had never known that Eddie had used one.
“You have to remember that amps were so expensive in the ’50s, and it makes you wonder what would make a guitar player decide to play through a bass amp back then. He must have experimented and realized that the Gretsch and the Bassman was a great combination.”
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