Caterwaul (band)

Last updated
Caterwaul
Caterwaul A-Flower-And-A-Stone.jpg
Caterwaul's landmark 1987 video for "A Flower and a Stone"
Background information
Origin Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Genres Rock, alternative rock, indie rock, college rock, post-rock
Years active19871991
Labels I.R.S.
Lost Arts Records
Past membersBetsy Martin (vocals, mandolin) 19871991
Mark Schafer (guitar) 19871991
Fred Cross (bass) 19871990
Kelly Castro (bass) 1991
Stuart Smith (guitar) 1991
Website Caterwaul

Caterwaul was an American band, formed in 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona, featuring Betsy Martin on vocals and mandolin, Mark Schafer on guitar, Fred Cross on bass and Kevin Pinnt on the drums.

Contents

The LA Times compared their "tense, vibrant sound" to other bands with frontwomen such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cocteau Twins. Critic Steve Hochman described their style as "noisy, arty rock". [1] They were signed to indie label I.R.S.

History

Singer Betsy Martin said that their influences were wide, citing "her own fondness for American “hillbilly” folk" and drummer Kevin Pinnt’s interest for industrial noise music. [1] She stated about their first albums: "there’s a pull between aggressiveness and trying to keep innocence in our music". [1]

Their debut album, The Nature of Things (1987) was released on Lost Arts Records. it included the single "A Flower and a Stone". Later in 1988, Caterwaul was signed by I.R.S. and they released an EP and several albums for the label; Beholden in 1988 and Pin and Web in 1989.

When reviewing Pin and Web, Trouser press linked them to early R.E.M., writing that it was "clear, carefully crafted music". [2] The single "The Sheep's A Wolf" taken from Pin and Web, received airplay on Alternative rock radio stations in the US.

Portent Hue was released in 1990. Fred Cross left the band after the Portent Hue tour, and they recruited Kelly Castro as their new bassist. They also added Stuart Smith as a second guitarist. The new lineup recorded Killer Fish in 1991, which was released in 1996 on Lost Arts Records.[ citation needed ]

Discography

Related Research Articles

The Lords of the New Church were a British-American rock band. A supergroup, the line-up originally consisted of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators, guitarist Brian James, bassist Dave Tregunna and drummer Nick Turner. Launched in 1981, the band released three studio albums prior to their dissolution in 1989. During this time, they underwent several line-up changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wall of Voodoo</span> American rock band

Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV and alternative radio. The band was known for surrealist lyrics drawing on iconography of the American southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I.R.S. Records</span> American record label

I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and alternative rock artists, including R.E.M., The Go-Go's, Wall of Voodoo, and Fine Young Cannibals. Currently the label is distributed by parent company Universal Music Group.

Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program Blah Blah Blah, wearing only their instruments and shoes. Mainly influenced by the Stooges and the Birthday Party, they are credited for playing a grimy, confrontational style of rock, which preceded grunge. They have issued five studio albums, Plays the Devil's Music (1987), Paddock of Love (1988), Psychedelicatessen (1990), Forces You Don't Understand (1994) and The Great Old Ones (2003).

Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band before she co-formed Sleater-Kinney.

<i>The Raw & the Cooked</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Fine Young Cannibals

The Raw & the Cooked is the second and final studio album by British rock band Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1989. The title of the album was lifted from the book of the same name by French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. Four songs from the album first appeared in film soundtracks in the mid-1980s, three of which were soul tracks from the Tin Men film. The band had already recorded over half of the album by the time David Z came to produce the remainder. His work with the band, which resulted in dance-rock material, included studio experimentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleka's Attic</span> Alternative rock band

Aleka's Attic were an alternative folk/rock band from Gainesville, Florida, formed by River Phoenix and Josh Greenbaum in April 1987.

The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York, United States, formed in 1976.

<i>Calculated</i> 1994 studio album by Heavens to Betsy

Calculated is the only studio album by the American punk rock band Heavens to Betsy, released on March 21, 1994, by Kill Rock Stars. The album received positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea (band)</span> English punk rock band

Chelsea are an English punk rock band which formed in 1976. Three of the four original band members went on to found Generation X.

<i>New Plastic Ideas</i> 1994 studio album by Unwound

New Plastic Ideas is the second studio album by the American post-hardcore band Unwound, released on March 21, 1994 by Kill Rock Stars.

<i>Whats a Few Men?</i> 1987 studio album by Hunters & Collectors

What's a Few Men? is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors, which was released on 16 November 1987. The album's title was drawn from Albert Facey's memoir A Fortunate Life. The album peaked at No. 16 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 9 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. It provided the singles, "Do You See What I See", issued in October 1987 and "Still Hangin' Round", in February the following year. "Do You See What I See" reached No. 33 in Australia while in New Zealand it became their highest charting single at No. 13.

Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, releasing their most recent album in 2004. Vocalist/bassist Paul Chastain and drummer Ric Menck are the band's core members, having previously worked together as Choo Choo Train, Bag-O-Shells, and The Springfields, and they share singing and songwriting duties. Guitarist Jeffrey Underhill played on the band's first three albums, In the Presence of Greatness, Teenage Symphonies to God, and Heavy Changes. In the Presence of Greatness was produced by Matthew Sweet, while the second and third albums were produced by Mitch Easter.

A.C. Marias was the name under which Wire collaborator Angela Conway released an album and several singles during the 1980s.

Das Damen was an alternative rock band from New York City, United States, formed in 1984. The band released several albums before splitting up in 1991. The band's name is fake German and roughly translates to "the ladies".

The Honeymoon Killers were an American noise rock band from New York City, formed in 1983. Their name is taken from the 1970 crime film The Honeymoon Killers. The Honeymoon Killers' sound is deeply rooted in the blues earning them comparisons to The Cramps, whose music was highly influential to Teel. The nucleus of the band was Jerry Teel and Lisa Wells, with Sally Edroso serving as the longest standing drummer between 1985 and 1990. The group's rotating line-ups would consist of members belonging to like-minded bands such as Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, Ritual Tension and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Their first three albums were independent releases issued by the band's label Fur Records. The group disbanded in 1994, with its leader Jerry Teel forming The Chrome Cranks with drummer Bob Bert and guitarist William Gilmore Weber.

Purr Machine are an American electro-industrial group based in Los Angeles, California, and comprising guitarist Kirk Hellie, bassist Kevin Kipnis and vocalist Betsy Martin. They band were known for their atmospheric blend of electronica, gothic music and industrial rock. With Kevin Kipnis serving as their main songwriter and programmer, Purr Machine released Speak Clearly and Ging Ging respectively in 1999 and 2000 for Re-Constriction Records. Purr Machine's second studio album Starry was released in 2007 by No Bliss Lost Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Birthday (Concrete Blonde song)</span> 1989 single by Concrete Blonde

"Happy Birthday" is a song from American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, which was released in 1989 as the second single from their second studio album Free. The song was written and produced by the band.

<i>Shipwreck</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Chris Connelly

Shipwreck is an album by the Scottish musician Chris Connelly, released in 1994. It continued Connelly's move away from industrial music.

<i>Modern Lovers 88</i> 1987 album by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers

Modern Lovers 88 is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Recorded and released in late 1987, it became Richman's final recording alongside a backing band credited as the Modern Lovers. After a period of frequent switches from one record company to another, he released Modern Lovers 88 through Rounder Records, where he remained until the mid-1990s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hochman, steve (1988-01-23). "Phoenix's Caterwaul Draws Wails, Applause : People Tend Either to Love or Hate the Group's Noisy, Arty Rock". LA Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. Robbins, Ira (1999). "Pin and Web[album review] Caterwaul". Trouser press. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)