Kat Rocket with JC

[bronwen]

a few weeks ago when i was searching for Danko stuff on the CBC search page, i stumbled upon a mention of JC's old band,Kat Rocket . it linked me to a page with a brief bio and several songs on it. i gave the tracks a listen and was seriously impressed...really liked them so listened over and over whist doing my homework . the vibe and sound of the music reminds me of the Bristol (UK) trip-hop band Portishead, with eerie guitar sounds.
anyway, just a few moments ago i checked out you-tube to see if any new Danko stuff was up, (did a 'by date added' search) and lo and behold, at the top of the page just underneath the new Danko track,... was the video for Kat Rocket's 'slacker boy blue' very arty vid bu i still made out JC's face a few times! take a look if you haven't head them before, and if any Ontario natives here know more about the band, could you post some more info about them in this thread?

[bronwen]

okay, i'm getting a bit geeky here but it also has a few shades of a certain period of (mostly brit) alt rock; the bit at the end of the 80's, early 90's when there were 'gippy' bands like All About Eve delving into a little electro experimentation, 'shoegazer' stuff like Slowdive , My Bloody Valentine, plus a bunch of dark indie bands like Mazzy Star, Curve, etc.
interesting to see that Justin from Broken Social Scene was in the band too

[djfl]

wow. "Go and rake some leaves. I'll do it tomorrow. Time is on my side." That kinda sums up right there why I never got into arty kinda bands.

Now, "I'll crash my car just for you. I'll rip my eyes out just for you. I'll break my DICK!!! just for you. I'll make my mama cry." Now thaaaaaat's music a guy can get into.

[Fatty98]

It really is arty, but it does really voice my attitude towards raking leaves. Procrastinators of the world unite! Tomorrow?

[Powdered Toast Man]

I miss 90's videos - all blurry, out of focus, and quick cuts.

Nice obscure find!

[um]

Hey just noticed this. I managed Kat Rocket and started, co-owned and funded them via our indie record label Hoodwink Records Inc.. The core of Kat Rocket when I met them was JC now Danko Jones, Justin Peroff now Broken Social Scene and Stella Panacci (my niece) songwriter shared with Darren Donaghey. When JC left for Danko Jones Paul Pfisterer came in - he's now a producer and has done well with several bands if you google him. The cover art on Kat Rocket's second CD was done by a guy named Cameron Hood - he's had a really good career with Dream works in animation and management. The producers on Kat Rocket's third album Colours were consider top Canadian indie producers. They had just finished Made's Bedazzler album which was picked up by Universal in the USA. They had been waiting to work with Kat Rocket and we took two full years to make Colours on the inside. We spent about $20k on that project but the producers were pulling studio favours and night recording slots so it should have cost us twice that. It became a labour of love for us all - anyone that was in Kat Rocket or in our collective knows how much Darren and Stella hated being told what to do or how to create music. They were totally unique and didn't care about what anyone thought which is why the music industry while hoping to work with them also wasn't sure the band could or would stay together long enough to support the investment needed for distribution, etc. We did sign a Canada wide indie deal with Page (BNL) family distribution company. It got the second Kat Rocket album in stores across Canada and we sold hundreds of them. I still get emails from people saying they play that album all the time. The song slacker boy blue was used in a La Femme Nakita show licensed to Warner brothers USA - its about the most "media" attention the band ever got. They were and still create music and Stella had several albums following Kat Rocket. Hoodwink Records stayed in business long enough to produce two younger indie EP's (Paul and Darren) had become producers. The bands included our son Michael also a songwriter. Both albums are quite exceptional but those bands ended up in University post secondary programs after making them so no media hype. We had run out of "extra" money to keep hoodwink records going so we closed it and Darren and Stella exchanged the masters to us in return for the loans we had made over the years. We distribute most of the Kat Rocket songs through indiepool and they in turn host them at iTunes, etc. if anyone is interested in listening or buying those songs. We still get thousands of streams a year for Kat Rocket from countries all over the world. Daryn Barry one of the Colours On the Inside producers became a studio partner at Orange Studio in Toronto - he's worked and co-written with some of the top artists in the world. We're still friends and still chat about Colours on the Inside. Both Sony and Universal music Canada were interested in picking that album up but as they got close the band called it quits. They'd been working hard for many years and had completed three really good albums but the idea of touring for two or three more years to promote colours wasn't something any of the members wanted and Stella personally had given her heart and soul and just couldn't do it any more. In my humble opinion Colours On the inside defines the Kat Rocket generation - stuck behind the boomers they just couldn't get a brake with radio or the music industry full of songs from the 60's to 80's. Who knows maybe Kat Rocket were just 20 years too early - maybe Colours on the Inside will become the "dark side of the moon" for teens struggling through the 90's trying to express art in the world where boomers controlled everything. My best and hope this helps. I have lots of stuff - meetings, pictures, CD's and was with the Kat Rocket through it all so if anyone wants to know more just ask and I'll try to answer - my best to all - Mario Panacci aka Uncle Mario.

[um]

Just noticed this early recording featuring both JC and Stella Panacci - funny how new (old) recordings are appearing. soundcloud.com/malhavoc/lalba-the-dawn