Meet Buzz Campbell | Professional musician, founder of musical group, Hot Rod Lincoln, lead guitarist for Shanana (2000-2004), Lead guitarist for Lee Rocker, bassist of the Stray Cats (2003-present)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Buzz Campbell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Buzz, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Perseverance. When I started playing guitar professionally and decided to put together my own group, I was relentless about practice, lessons, and spent hours working on my craft. I had a decent day job working for the Price Club before it became Costco. I was a single guy with roommates and low rent. I spent most of my extra money on guitars, amplifiers, and lessons. At one point, I was spending $1200 a month on voice lessons, which was quite a bit at the time. As I started getting gigs, I put in even more hours. My original group, Hot Rod Lincoln, was playing eight days a week. It got to the point where I had to quit my job and go full-time musician. That was a tough decision to make. I was making excellent money at Price club for a 20-something year old kid. It was a real leap of faith. But I was obsessed with playing and performing music. There was no going back, and there was nothing else I wanted to do. I was consumed by it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
You can hear my guitar on any of the last 19 years of music released by Lee Rocker, bassist of the Stray Cats. There isn’t an album we created that I’m not proud of. It’s been an amazing collaboration of music. One of the things I’m most proud of is our current project. We have been doing a theater performance that co-created with Lee. I also manage all the logistics for the group. I am the “road manager” as well as lead guitarist and “pointman” for Lee. Lee tells the story of his career, starting with the early years of the Stray Cats and continuing through all of his incredible accomplishments. It’s been amazing seeing the fan response of this “storytelling” theater production. I’m very proud to have been a large part of the creation and production of it. I believe we represent a niche of music that deserves to be remembered and revered. This show is a fantastic success story of an amazing musician who has brought back an entire genre, that he continues to honor and represent to this day. I feel an obligation to continue to represent this music with him as it’s been so rewarding to me for three decades.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m originally from San Diego. I now live in Temecula. I would recommend seeing San Diego beaches, in particular, La Jolla. Headed downtown to the Gaslamp district. Checking out any number of fantastic restaurants on sixth Avenue. Taking a separate day to drive up to Temecula and visiting the wineries. Possibly having dinner at Ponte family cellars, a wonderful restaurant with a great backdrop and wonderful service. I would also recommend checking out the Temecula downtown area. A recently renovated thriving street of great food, and western decor. I’ve toured just about everywhere in the world and San Diego/Temecula/Southern, California is pretty hard to beat.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d have to thank Lee Rocker, the bassist for the Stray Cats and my current boss for the last 30 years for all of his believe and support. He produced my first CD in 1991. Hired me as his guitar player in 2003. And has allowed me to collaborate on his last 19 years of album releases, tours, and all live performances. It’s been an amazing ride.

Website: www.buzzcampbell.com

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