Lee Rocker's "Bulletproof" made many albums-of-the-year lists in 2003. The CD also landed on Rocker's own list of the best work he has done in the 25 years since he, Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom created the Stray Cats, a rockabilly revival band that introduced the '50s-era music - and pompadours - to a new generation.

"It is a record that I am really happy and proud of," the bassist/vocalist said in a recent interview. "More than ones in the past, I really felt like I knew what this record would sound like and what I wanted it to be like, as opposite to writing songs, going into the studio and finding out what it was going to be."

He said he was unsure why this outing was so different from past studio sessions. "It may be to the point where I have done it long enough that I have a good overview or control of the whole thing," Rocker said.

The title track, co-written by Rocker and Phantom, and the other 13 songs on the CD highlight the live show Rocker brings to the Larimer Lounge on Tuesday.

Rocker said he will throw in some of his Stray Cats material, plus chestnuts he loves that were done by Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. Tuesday's show opens a 10-city, 10-day, 10-show tour of the Midwest.

"I prefer short, hardworking, fun tours and doing a lot of them rather than going out for months on end," said the father of two. "I really enjoy the touring part: Do a lot of gigs, play every day and then you get to kick back.

"It is kind of a balancing act in a way," he said. "The Stray Cats would be on the road six months at a time. It's a different life."

Rocker will, however, be back on tour this July with the Stray Cats but only in Europe. It's already a hot ticket, with some of the 20 shows sold out seven months before the Cats blast the first note.

At a California festival in July, the trio played its first live show since its 1992 breakup. That reunion sparked keen interest in a tour, both in their fans and the band itself.

"It is actually the first time in about 10 years that we have done a tour," Rocker said. "We have done one or two songs in that time. We're all pals again, having fun."

U.S. fans are disappointed the list of tour cities does not include any stateside gigs. Rocker said he understands their frustration, but a European swing was a natural choice.

"It's where we first started when we were a new band," Rocker said. "Our first dates were in Europe. We just thought it would be an appropriate place to get back together. We had some great offers, and it just makes sense for everybody."
Fans here should remember that pleasure delayed does not mean pleasure denied.
"Once we finish (this tour) - if we don't kill each other - I'm sure we'll sit down and say, 'What do you want to do next?' I would imagine it would probably not be this year; maybe the following year," Rocker said of a U.S. tour.

Rocker had other good news for fans: the Stray Cats plan to release a DVD and a live CD chronicling this summer's musical fireworks.
He said he hopes - and believes - that this reunion will spawn an annual, month-long Stray Cats tour.

"I couldn't be happier," he said. "In a sense, and I think I can speak for Brian as well, it's the best of both worlds, at least for me. I can go out playing with my band and then take a month off and do Stray Cats. I see that as probably the way that it is going to be. That would be my bet."

His current band has been together for five years. Drummer Jimmy Sage, guitarist Tara Novick and singer/guitarist Brophy Dale record with him and play all his live shows.