Base player Al Gare is a busy man. As well as playing in Mike Sanchez's band, he's been performing and recording with former Dexy's Midnight Runner Peter Williams and backing visiting rock'n'roll acts.
And his own band, Palookaville, will be appearing at Birmingham's New Year's Eve party at Millennium Point.
"Fat Boy Slim called his last album Palookaville, so I think we'll call our next album Fat Boy Slim," laughs Al.
"Mike Sanchez does rock'n'roll and rhythm'n'blues but Palookaville play more late 1950s/ early 1960s instrumentals," he explains.
"Myself, Danny and Dean were all in the Biscuit Boys so I guess there is a jazzy element to what we do as we've played together for 20 years. We do swing on some tracks but try to appeal to a younger crowd than the blue rinse brigade," he laughs.
Taking their name from a Tom And Jerry cartoon as well as a quote from Marlon Brando's On The Waterfront, the band's chief inspiration is burlesque, a style of entertainment that has its roots in American strip clubs of the 1950s.
"Every year I go to America to a burlesque festival and the dancers perform to tapes of trashy bands.
"I thought that we really should get a band together so for my wife's 30th birthday, we did and everyone really got into it." The band have since released a ripping debut album, played The Wild Weekend burlesque festival in Spain and plan to run their own regular burlesque nights in Birmingham in the new year.
* The New Year's Eve celebrations at Millennium Point runs from 5.30pm until 12.30am. The programme includes a special hour of family fun for youngsters and live music from Bananarama, Palookaville, The Subterraneans, Mark Joseph, Phixx and Angel City.
