Born in
Brooklyn and raised in
Massapequa, New York, Phantom grew up listening to his parents'
jazz and
rock records and began
playing drums by the age of ten. He took
lessons with
Mousie Alexander, who played with
Benny Goodman, studying
jazz and working through books by
Jim Chapin and
Ted Reed. Phantom has stated that discovering
Elvis Presley's recordings from the
Sun Records studio sessions was when he "felt that rock and roll changed my life." When performing with Stray Cats, Phantom did not sit behind a standard
drum kit like most drummers, but instead opted to play in a standing position with a minimalist set-up of
bass drum,
snare drum,
hi-hat, and
crash cymbal. During downtime from Stray Cats, Phantom played in
swing,
rockabilly, and
jump blues combo Swing Cats with Rocker and ex-
Polecats guitarist
Danny B. Harvey, as well as rockabilly and
glam rock project Phantom, Rocker & Slick with Rocker and
guitarist Earl Slick. In 1985, he appeared with
Carl Perkins and a host of other musicians including
Eric Clapton,
George Harrison,
Ringo Starr,
Dave Edmunds and
Rosanne Cash for
Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session in
London, England. Phantom also played with
Jerry Lee Lewis. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Phantom formed the rockabilly
supergroup The Head Cat with Danny B. Harvey and
Motörhead vocalist and bassist
Lemmy, the eponymous
roots-rock band Slim Jim's Phantom Trio, the rock band Col. Parker with former
Guns N' Roses guitarist
Gilby Clarke, and joined the
rock and roll supergroup
Dead Men Walking with
Kirk Brandon,
Mike Peters and
Captain Sensible. Phantom also hosts the "Rockabilly Rave-up show" on ''
Little Steven's Underground Garage''. In 2021, Phantom formed a rockabilly band with
Jimmy Barnes and
Chris Cheney. In March 2023, Barnes announced the supergroup The Barnestormers, featuring Barnes, Cheney, Phantom with
Jools Holland and
Kevin Shirley. A
self-titled album was released on 26 May 2023. == Personal life ==