Cat Butt was a
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
,
Washington rock group
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...
, formed in 1987. Initially, the band did a short
West Coast tour, and then went on to record their first full-length
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''Journey to the Center Of'', which was produced by
Jack Endino
Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney ...
of
Skin Yard
Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience, but were an influence on several of their grunge contemporaries, including Soundgarden, Screaming ...
. To promote the album, the band did a large U.S. tour, before disbanding in late 1990. Although not as successful as other
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...
bands, they maintained a loyal
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...
in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
.
The band is referenced in the first verse of the
Guided by Voices song "Pendulum", from their 1990 album ''
Same Place the Fly Got Smashed
''Same Place the Fly Got Smashed'' is the fourth album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices.
In James Greer's book, ''Guided by Voices: A Brief History: Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll'', band lea ...
'': "Come on over tonight; we'll put on some Cat Butt and do it up right."
Members
*Danny Bland – rhythm guitar
*James Burdyshaw –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
(formerly of 64 Spiders)
*David Emanual Duet –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...
(formerly of
Girl Trouble)
*Dean Gunderson – bass
*John Michael "Amerika" – rhythm guitar
*Tom Price –
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...
(formerly of
The U-Men
The U-Men was an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later ...
)
*Charlie Ryan –
Drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
(formerly of
The U-Men
The U-Men was an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later ...
)
*Erik "Erok" Peterson – drums
Personnel changes
Cat Butt #1
The first six months of 1987: "Big Cigar" (''
Sub Pop 200
''Sub Pop 200'' is a compilation released in the early days of the Seattle grunge scene (December 1988). It features songs (many of them first releases and otherwise unattainable) from Tad, The Fluid, Nirvana, Steven "Jesse" Bernstein, Mudhoney ...
'')
*David Emmanuel Duet – vocals
*James Burdyshaw –
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...
*John Michael Amerika –
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...
*Tom "Manny Eldorado" Price – bass
*Charlie "Circus" Ryan – drums
Cat Butt #2
Late 1987–Summer 1988: "64 Funny Cars" b/w "Hell's Half Acre"
*David Emmanuel Duet – vocals
*James Burdyshaw – lead guitar
*John Michael "Amerika" – rhythm guitar
*Dean Gunderson – bass
*Erik "Erok" Peterson – drums
Cat Butt #3
Summer 1988–1990: ''Journey to the Center Of''
*David Emmanuel Duet – vocals
*James Burdyshaw — lead guitar
*Danny Bland – rhythm guitar
*Dean Gunderson – bass
*Erik "Erok" Peterson – drums
After Cat Butt
Price continued to work with
The U-Men
The U-Men was an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later ...
. He then left to form The Kings of Rock, and formed
Gas Huffer in 1989. Ryan remained with the
U-Men. Bland joined
The Dwarves, and then joined the
Best Kissers in the World with Mark Wooten of
Zipgun. He was later replaced by Paul Schurr of
Flop, and is now the manager for the
Supersuckers. Peterson went on to play with John the Baptist until 1993, and then joined The Purdins, which disbanded in early 2000. Duet formed Bottle of Smoke, with Ryan and Price in the lineup, which disbanded around 2004. Gunderson joined guitarist Tim Kerr in
Austin to form Jack O' Fire, which disbanded in 1996. Duet and Gunderson live in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
and formed the band Hot for Chocolate in 2006. Burdyshaw went on to form the bands Yummy Fur, The Sinister Six, and his current band, The Bug Nasties.
Discography
Albums
*''Journey to the Center Of'' (1989,
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...
)
Singles
*"64 Funny Cars" b/w "Hell's Half Acre" (1988, Penultimate)
Compilations
*''Sub Pop 200'' (1988, Sub Pop) – song: "Big Cigar"
External links
Sub Pop page on Cat Butt*
Biography on Allmusicbr>
Page on their German label
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Washington (state)
Musical groups established in 1987
Musical groups disestablished in 1990