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[faganking]

While touring in Japan @ 1990 I met with a record executive from Meldac Records. He gave me a bunch of CD's, one of which was '13 Cats- Zoetrope' (their second record). This record proceeded to change my life. Some of the funkiest most inventive music I had ever heard. Over the years I managed, with great difficulty, to get all of their CD's (a total of 4). Those I bought in Norway.

The band was Cat Gray (keys, guitar,vocals) Karl Perazzo (Percussion) and Takashi Numazawa (drums). One of the funkiest drummers I have ever heard. Guest players like Al McKay were featured.  Crazy cool songs and arrangements. The records always noted that 'no sequencers were used'.

Through the years I have rarely been able to find any info on the band or Cat Gray. I know he married Jane Child. I recently spoke with a friend in Vegas who plays with Jerry Lopez and the Santa Fe Horns. He told me Cat occasionally sits in. [The records were recorded at '7th Street Sound' in LA. Engineer Ed Sanders.]

No website. No Facebook or Myspace. No nothing. Anyone know this guy? Evidently he used to teach at the Musicians Institute in LA.

Yesterday I came across this video.

         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7L9fgHAVqo&feature=relat ed

Listen to this!! No sequencers. Korg M1 bass. Al McKay guitar. (clip is mono unfortunately)
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrbkL_7GTkY&feature=relat ed

I emplore you to listen to these all the way through. Ear candy for days!!

[Berolzheimer]

Super Funky. dig it.

[Bill_Urick]

How could you not like that.
Great video-thanks.

[faganking]

Surely Mayor J.J. knows this guy!

[leonardo valvassori]

Well you've really jogged the old noodle today--I knew Tak Numazawa from M.I. (we were students together) and I know he did some teaching at M.I. post grad.

He was born a funky dude, and was very gifted as a young player, but in truth I haven't spoken to him or seen him since about 1988.

I have some vague memories of Cat Gray from that L.A./M.I. era;--Karl Perazzo too.

Hollywood in 1983-84 was a gas.


Great stuff man.

[eightyeightkeys]

Super, super stuff...couldn't stop clicking through the various youtube songs. Many thanks for the links.

[faganking]

Anyone interested should email me and I'll send you an MP3 of 'Keep Your Eye On The Sky'. (the Youtube version sounds terrible) Guaranteed to make your day! Impossible to find these CD's. And if you do they are a small fortune.

[email is in profile]

[Berolzheimer]

I've always loved Thomas Dolby 1988 record "Aliens Ate my Buick", 13 Cats kind of sounds like an extrapolation of a one of those songs. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C7_27J3QnA&fmt=18

[faganking]

Berolzheimer wrote on Sat, 29 May 2010 19:39

I've always loved Thomas Dolby 1988 record "Aliens Ate my Buick", 13 Cats kind of sounds like an extrapolation of a one of those songs. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C7_27J3QnA&fmt=18

Yes, indeed. The difference being Cat uses 'no sequencing'. Let me send you the track I mentioned. He plays bass on an M1 (or so I was told by Ed Sanders many years ago). It will blow your mind. Bass melodies for days.

[Edvaard]

That trombone player almost as true to purpose as Entwistle!

But still, this band's input into the roundly ignored but good discussion of where we are and what we are doing with ourselves is greatly appreciated by those do not in fact ignore such things.


I am much more a "music guy" than a "words guy," but when it's both funny and at the same time true, I do notice.  


"Best way to protect myself? I haven't got a clue!" in the first video, and "Flying round the universe in a ship I shouldn't be in" from the second video, conduce well with my own misunderstanding of how or why I landed on this planet to begin with, but I'm laughing too hard to be able to dance to the inherent funkiness of the music.

A very good shout to the crowd here, thankibus muchibus Benjy.

[Berolzheimer]

faganking wrote on Sat, 29 May 2010 16:52

Berolzheimer wrote on Sat, 29 May 2010 19:39 I've always loved Thomas Dolby 1988 record "Aliens Ate my Buick", 13 Cats kind of sounds like an extrapolation of a one of those songs. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C7_27J3QnA&fmt=18 Yes, indeed. The difference being Cat uses 'no sequencing'. Let me send you the track I mentioned. He plays bass on an M1 (or so I was told by Ed Sanders many years ago). It will blow your mind. Bass melodies for days.

Yes, there is that, which is great.  Although AAMB is probably the most live band oriented album Dolby has ever done, that song is certainly very sequenced.
I sent you an email, I look forward to hearing more.  Thanks for turning us on to these guys.

[faganking]

Because I love this forum...I encourage everyone to have me send them this track. You've really never heard anything quite like it. And as I said above---the Youtube version doesn't do it justice.