Jaya The Cat

Jaya The Cat is a Dutch/American reggae/ ska/ punk rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts, but currently based in Amsterdam. The band formed in 1998 and has released four full-length studio albums, one independent release and one live album.

History

Jaya The Cat was founded in the late 1990s by Geoff Lagadec (vocals/guitar), Dave Smith (guitar/vocals), Hugh Brockmyre (drums) and Ben Murphy (bass/vocals) in Boston, Massachusetts. Their first recording "O'Farrell" was an independent release that gained much attention and got them their first record deal on Gold Circle Records. Their first major release album ''Basement Style'' was recorded at Slaughterhouse studios in Amherst, Massachusetts with studio drummer and longtime friend of Murphy's JJ O'Connell. It was received well among critics and fans and gained attention in the northeast and southwest of the United States, but really began to pick up steam in Europe. After drummer David "The Germ" Germain (formerly with Shadows Fall) joined the band they began touring the US on the Vans Warped Tour and Europe.

In 2001, the band arrived in the Netherlands to play the Lowlands Festival, and in 2003 they recorded a live album, '' Ernesto’s Burning''. After the release of the second studio album ''First Beer of a New Day'', Dave Smith (guitar) and Ben Murphy (bass) quit the band. Shortly afterwards, Smith and Murphy formed the American rock/punk/country band Ragged Old Flag. The remaining members of Jaya the Cat decided to move to Amsterdam where they teamed up with Jan Jaap "Jay" Onverwagt (bass, ex-Green Lizard) and Alejandro Londoño (guitar, Cultura Tres) to continue their efforts from Europe.

In 2005, Brian Tjon Ajong (guitar, also ex-Green Lizard) joined the band to replace Londoño. Shortly after, Jordi Nieuwenburg replaced Tjon Ajong on guitar and Onverwagt, who had moved on to play keyboards for the band, was replaced by Steven Brautigam on bass.

The band's third album '' More Late Night Transmissions With... ''was released on November 16, 2007, by I Scream Records. ''More Late Night'''s sound is considerably more laidback compared to their previous releases, drawing more on reggae influences than the previous two albums. ''More Late Night Transmissions With...'' was re-issued by Bomber Music in April 2014, on CD and green vinyl.

The fourth studio album ''The New International Sound Of Hedonism'' was released by Bomber Music in the summer of 2012.
After the release of ''Hedonism'', the band was joined by Johan "Leon" van 't Zand (live keys, ex-Mark Foggo) to complete the live formation. A year later, guitarist Nieuwenburg left the band and was replaced by Dino Memic (ex- Vine Yard). In June 2013, original bassist Ben Murphy rejoined the band on stage in the Netherlands to play a handful of songs from the first two releases as Jay took over duties as party MC.

In November 2014, the band announced that van 't Zand left. Karl Smith (ex- Mr Shiraz, ex- Tropical Contact and drummer of Complicated Men Of Leisure) took over his duties on keys at the start of Jaya the Cat's UK tour with the Mad Caddies. Though the lineup has changed numerous times throughout the years, Jaya the Cat manage to remain true to their roots and continue to press on forward. With the departure of Dino Memic in September 2016 Smith moved on to guitar, and Christian Greevink filled his former position on keys for live shows.

On November 17, 2017, the band released their fifth studio album '' A Good Day for the Damned'' through Bomber Music. It was also announced that their long time friend and former roadie, 'Sexy' Joep Muijres, has taken over live keyboard duties from Greevink indefinitely.

The name of the band is speculated to come from the fact they had a cat named Jaya which they drove in their van when going to gigs.

Members

Current members

*Geoff Lagadec (1998–present) - vocals, guitar
*David "The Germ" Germain (2002–present) - drums
*Jan Jaap "Jay" Onverwagt (2004–present) - bass, keyboards, vocals
*Karl Smith (2014–present) - guitar, vocals, keyboards
*Joep Muijres (2017–present) - keyboards

Former members

*Dave Smith - guitar, vocals (1998-2003)
*Hugh Brockmyre - drums (1998-2002)
*Ben Murphy - bass, vocals (1998-2003)
*JJ O'Connell - drums (2002)
*Alejandro Londoño - guitar, vocals (2004)
*Brian Tjon Ajong - guitar, vocals (2005)
*Jordi Newcastle - guitar, vocals (2005-2013)
*Steven Brautigam - bass (2005-2008)
*Jeroen Kok - bass (2008-2010)
*Daniel Peper - keys, vocals (2010-2012)
*Johan "Leon" van 't Zand - keys (2012-2014)
*Dino Memic - guitar, vocals (2013-2016)

Live musicians

*Christian Greevink - keys
*Brian Tjon Ajong - guitar, keys
*Yanko Brekov - guitar
*Russ Abu - bass
*Matt Crosher (formerly of Random Hand) - guitar (One time performance Rebellion 2011 and guest on El Camino during 2012 winter UK tour)
*Marcia Richards and Joshua Waters-Rudge of The Skints - vocals (One time performance Rebellion 2011)

Timeline

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DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1998 till:31/12/2022
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ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1998
ScaleMinor = increment:2 start:1999

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id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitars
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Keys value:purple legend:Keys
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id:LiveKeys value:pink legend:Live keys
id:Lines value:black legend:Studio albums

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bar:Lagadec text:"Geoff Lagadec"
bar:Smith text:"Dave Smith"
bar:Londono text:"Alejandro Londoño"
bar:Tjon text:"Brian Tjon Ajong"
bar:Newcastle text:"Jordi Newcastle"
bar:Memic text:"Dino Memic"
bar:SmithK text:"Karl Smith"
bar:Murphy text:"Ben Murphy"
bar:Onverwagt text:"Jan Jaap Onverwagt"
bar:Brautigam text:"Steven Brautigam"
bar:Kok text:"Jeroen Kok"
bar:Brockmyre text:"Hugh Brockmyre"
bar:Connell text:"JJ O'Connell"
bar:Germain text:"David Germain"
bar:Peper text:"Daniel Peper"
bar:Zand text:"Johan van 't Zand"
bar:Greevink text:"Christian Greevink"
bar:Muijres text:"Joep Muijres"

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bar:Lagadec from:01/01/1998 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Smith from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2004 color:Guitars
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bar:Newcastle from:01/05/2005 till:01/05/2013 color:Guitars
bar:Memic from:01/05/2013 till:23/09/2016 color:Guitars
bar:Murphy from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2004 color:Bass
bar:Onverwagt from:01/01/2004 till:01/08/2005 color:Bass
bar:Onverwagt from:01/01/2006 till:01/12/2010 color:Keys
bar:Onverwagt from:01/12/2010 till:end color:Bass
bar:Brautigam from:01/08/2005 till:01/09/2008 color:Bass
bar:Kok from:01/09/2008 till:01/12/2010 color:Bass
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bar:Germain from:01/10/2001 till:end color:Drums
bar:Peper from:01/12/2010 till:01/04/2012 color:Keys
bar:Zand from:01/04/2012 till:21/11/2014 color:Keys
bar:SmithK from:21/11/2014 till:23/09/2016 color:Keys
bar:Greevink from:24/09/2016 till:30/09/2017 color:LiveKeys
bar:Muijres from:01/10/2017 till:end color:LiveKeys
bar:SmithK from:24/09/2016 till:end color:Guitars

Discography

* ''O´Farrell'' (CD, 1999)
* ''Basement Style'' (CD, Gold Circle, 2001)
* ''First Beer Of A New Day'' (CD, 4Tune, 2003)
* ''Ernesto’s Burning'' (CD/LP, Music Machine, 2004)
* ''More Late Night Transmissions With...'' (CD, I Scream, 2007)
* ''Closing Time'' (CD Single, I Scream, 2007)
* ''First Beer Of A New Day'' (LP, I Hate People Records, 2011)
* ''First Beer Of A New Day'' (CD re-release, I Hate People Records, 2011)
* ''The New International Sound Of Hedonism'' (CD, Bomber Music, 2012)
* ''The New International Sound Of Hedonism'' (LP, Ring of Fire Records, 2012)
* ''O'Farrell'' (LP, Ring of Fire Records, 2013)
* ''O'Farrell'' (CD re-release, Ring of Fire Records, 2013)
* ''More Late Night Transmissions With...'' (CD re-release, Bomber Music, 2014)
* ''More Late Night Transmissions With...'' (LP re-release, Bomber Music, 2014)
* ''Basement Style'' (CD re-release, Ring of Fire Records, 2017)
* ''Basement Style'' (LP re-release, Ring of Fire Records, 2017)
* ''Basement Style'' (MC re-release, Ring of Fire Records, 2017)
* ''A Good Day For The Damned'' (Bomber Music, 2017)

Videography/Singles

* Final Solution (2003)
* Closing Time (2007)
* Here Come the Drums (2012)
* Fake Carreras (2016)
* Sweet Eurotrash (2018)
* Amsterdam (2018)

External links

Jaya the Cat OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Jaya the Cat FACEBOOK

Jaya the Cat TWITTER

Jaya the Cat MYSPACE

Jaya the Cat "HERE COME THE DRUMS" Music Video

Jaya the Cat "CLOSING TIME" Music Video

{{Authority control

Musical groups from Boston
Musical groups from Amsterdam
Musical groups established in 1998
Dutch punk rock groups