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Sounds Of RVA Presents: On The Horizon #30
Posted by: Necci – Oct 02, 2012
This week's column features an interview with Family Cat, an outstanding new GWAR video, new releases by Just Plain Ant and The Snowy Owls, and more! Here we go...
Family Cat photos by Jake Cunningham
We got a chance to ask a few questions of Family Cat. The indierock/punkers released Dealing with Depression in August, and the tracks have been kicking ass on playlists ever since. Family Cat will be playing the Sundials Album Release Show on Friday, 10/5 @ Strange Matter with Hold Tight. All ages, 5 pm door/6 pm music, $5.
Your latest album has some crazy song titles, like "Google: Cat Vagina" and "This Christmas Isn't Going to Get Drunk and Ruin Itself." Where did you come up with the cat vagina one? How about the band name?
Tyler Walker (vocals, guitar): Usually, the song titles come from someone coming up with something they thought was stupid or funny. For instance, Chris [Carreon, guitar] thought it would be funny to name a song "Tentacruel Intentions," so that's the name of the song before "Ghosts." Or the song "Maps" was given that name because the drum part at the beginning sort of sounds like the "Maps" drum part, from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. "Google: Cat Vagina" actually came from my girlfriend and I. We had found a feral kitten in a parking lot and we were trying to figure out what sex it was. So I actually googled "Cat Vagina." Not taking time to even think that I should've looked up "how to tell a cat's gender" or something like that. I opened my phone a couple days later to look up something on the internet and there were still a shit ton of cat vaginas sitting on my phone.
A better story is the Christmas one. A good friend of mine told me a story about one of his co-workers. He said, "Yeah, so this dude has one of those families where every Christmas they all get together and everybody gets drunk, people will end up fighting, someone's always crying. And so the guy wakes up on Christmas day and says 'Welp, this Christmas isn't going to get drunk and ruin itself.'" Our band name came from myself and two former band members driving to Taco Bell after practice. Jake (Our former guitarist) and I were trying to figure out band names, and our former drummer Zach looked at the box of a cat toy I had in my back seat and said, "Fam-ly Cat." Jake and I thought it was funny so we kept it. There were also originally names to go along with everyone's character. My personal favorite was Roger Tiger. The boy's ferocious. But start petting him and he purrs like a kitten. Me-ow.
What is the best way to deal with depression, besides making albums?
Valium. I would say the best way to deal with depression is Valium.
Are you all from Richmond?
Nah, were not all from Richmond originally. Only Nate [Domurat], our drummer, is. Chris and I are both from Virginia Beach, and Roger [Anderson, bass] is from around the Stafford area. Roger's an asshole, but he's also the sassy one.
What other bands are you in?
Well right now, to my knowledge, Roger and Chris are the only ones with other bands. They're both in Springtime and Just Friends. They're both really sweet if you haven't checked them out though. We all come from a lot of bands though. There isn't a single Casualties song that we haven't covered at one time or another between the lot of us.
Who would you like to share a stage with that would make you feel star struck?
Well I know Chris right now has to be freaking out. Springtime was asked to play the Fest and they get to play the same venue as Braid. They've been a favorite of both of ours for a long time so I know he's really excited. Personally, the one band I would flip my shit for would be Archers of Loaf, but the likelihood of that happening is very narrow. However, a short while ago we got to open for Smoke or Fire, Regents, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. And Planes and Smoke or Fire have been bands I've loved for a really long time. I think I got Above the City when I was 13 or 14, and being like, "This is the greatest shit ever!" So I was going nuts the whole time they were playing.
What's the coolest gig you've ever played?
I'm not sure which show has been the best. The going away show was a lot of fun. All of our friends came out and the bands that played were awesome as hell. We did a weekend tour with our friends in Old Flings from Asheville, NC this summer and we had a blast so that was really cool. And we had the pleasure of playing Got Brains Fest in Blacksburg this summer and that was a real treat. Johnnie and Kimmy, the people who own Flannel Girl Records and set up the fest, are super nice people and we really enjoyed seeing them again. Also, we showed that city what drunk really is. When I say 'we' I mean the royal 'we,' by the royal 'we' I mean, 'I.' If you ever get the chance to have a drink called a "Rail" in Blacksburg, it's well worth the money.
What's next for Family Cat?
What's next for us is really getting out our new full length on vinyl to sell, and then besides that, we're trying to tour around the Christmas break time period. And soon-ish we're trying to go back into the studio to record a 4 to 5 song EP. Then we get the fans, then we get the money, and then the issues of needing to be the center of attention can subside.
What do you love about the RVA music scene?
Despite us being a bunch of dicks on the regular, we do enjoy the people that play in bands around here for the most part, so I guess that would be our favorite thing. It's kind of nice because Richmond's got a pretty tight knit group of people, so even if you don't like someone you still see them all the time. Which can kind of suck. Anyway, we've all made pretty good friends with the people around us and everyone's willing to go out of their way for each other.
What is your favorite thing about autumn in RVA?
Every autumn as the third moon rises over the great James River, many men with suits come together in droves to gather at Texas beach and fuck one another to celebrate the changing of the leaves. That is my favorite thing about autumn in Richmond. Men fucking each other. Besides that, I would have to say Roger's spiced pumpkin lattes.
Here is Family Cat's Dealing with Depression:
GWAR has debuted new guitarist Pustulus Maximus (pictured just above by Jamie Betts) with a song for avclub.com. The site is running a covers project whereby they invite different bands to choose from a list of songs one to cover. GWAR has chosen Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son." Here it is:
photo by Patrick Moran
The Snowy Owls just released Outta My Reach (B-Sides), a two-track EP of covers. "Mambo Sun" by T. Rex is first, and it is much fuzzier and buzzier than the original. Then, American Analog Set's "The Wait" is given a lift with more punch than the original. Check them out:
Singer/songwriter Blake Sweetland has just dropped Claws, a beautiful and haunting album of intimate ballads and hushed vocals. Josh Osborn of The Subterranea Collective helped record the album.
photo by Faith Broache
Finally, we have a few new beats from Just Plain Ant. The instrumentals have rain in mind and are perfect for today's cloudy, rainy weather. The vibe is low-key and fresh. Dude knows what he's doin'!
By Sarah Moore Lindsey (soundsofrva.org)
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