Every week, bands roll through Central Oregon bearing a famous name, even if they’ve gone through a number of lineup changes over the years. It’s not unusual to see a decades-old act play in town with only one — or even zero — original members in the lineup.

And then there’s the Stray Cats, one of the world’s foremost rockabilly bands, formed in 1979 by three guys — guitarist Brian Setzer, bassist Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom — who lived in the same area Massapequa, New York. Together, they scored some big hits (“Rock This Town,” “Stray Cat Strut,” “Runaway Boys”), toured all over the world and almost single-handedly revived the rockabilly genre in the 1980s.

Amazingly, those same three guys will take the stage Sunday, July 28, when the Stray Cats visit Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend.

A few weeks ago, we caught up with Phantom to talk about the band’s longevity and its influence on pop culture over the years. Here’s part of that conversation, edited for space and clarity.

Ben Salmon: You’re on tour and playing shows with the same two guys from the neighborhood that you started Stray Cats with 45 years ago. That’s pretty rare. What does it mean to you?

Slim Jim Phantom: Oh, it means a lot, because Stray Cats will always be an underdog, to be honest with you. What music we chose to play, the way that we chose to look, the way we evolved that music — it was always like we were kind of the only ones doing it. So to have it be the same three guys that … started it with a vision in 1979 is kind of a victory. We chose to play this music that we love and every time you do it and it goes over, it’s a validation.

BS: All these years later, do you all still feel, more or less, like the only ones doing it? Or does it feel like people have come along with you?

SJP: Well, I think we’re the torchbearers for it, but the scene for it (has certainly grown). When we first started, we had fans that came out. When we played in New York, we used to pack out these little bars and all that. But nobody particularly embraced the (look and the lifestyle), and now all around the world it’s like it’s a full-on pop culture segment. These people live it, way more than me! Now, you walk into the house of a rockabilly guy and his wife, you know what it’s going to look like. They’re going to have a leopard-skin couch and a jukebox. It’s awesome.

I think we really made a dent into that, you know? I think the scene is bigger now. Like, there was never a rockabilly festival when we first started. We got on other festivals and we did a style of music that was really accepted, especially by a lot of the musicians, so in one year we opened for The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, Willie Nelson — whoever you can name. And we were on these bills in a very comfortable way because this music really does straddle every era of music and also of cool.

So for us to be the torchbearers of it and to have something to do with the fact that it’s a huge cult scene, I’m happy to be in that spot.

BS: What an incredible legacy for a band to be able to look around at this whole world that exists and to know unquestionably that Stray Cats are a major part of that world’s backbone and its growth over the years.

SJP: Oh absolutely, and that’s why I think we should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! We were very young, so I don’t know if we had an exact manifesto, but we were like, “What do you mean Johnny Burnette’s not a household name? What do you mean Gene Vincent’s music isn’t in every single household?” We wanted to change that. We wanted everyone to be hip to that stuff. And I think we’ve certainly done a lot for the cause of American music.

BS: You dove deep into this world and never really came back up!

SJP: And I wouldn’t have any idea what else to do, you know? It’s such a no-brainer for me. And I think that if I worked in a hardware store, I’d just be a rockabilly guy who worked in a hardware store. I just love it.

If You Go

What: Stray Cats, with The Midnight Cowgirls

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28, doors open 6 p.m.

Where: Hayden Homes Amphitheater, 344 SW Shevlin Hixon Drive, Bend

Cost: $67.20 and up

Contact: bendconcerts.com.