The Alley Cats were a Los Angeles, California-based punk rock trio and members of the early L.A. punk scene that included bands such as the Germs, the Screamers, and the Weirdos. Featuring Randy Stodola (guitar and vocals), Dianne Chai (bass and vocals), and drummer John McCarthy, X's John Doe described them as having "made some of the toughest, most nihilistic music on the scene."
Originally signed to Dangerhouse Records along with other seminal California-based punk bands including the Bags, Black Randy and the Metro Squad, and X, they released their first single "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore" backed with "Give Me a Little Pain" on March 30, 1978. They are among the six bands featured on the 1979 compilation album Yes L.A. and appear in the 1982 film Urgh! A Music War.
The Alley Cats were regular performers at such Los Angeles venues as Club 88, Hong Kong Café, The Masque, and the Whisky a Go Go.
Reformed as "The Zarkons", they released two albums, Riders In The Long Black Parade (1985) and Between the Idea & the Reality…Falls the Shadow (1988), before disbanding in 1988.
After a 20-year haiatus, Stodola reformed the trio and currently performs as The Alley Cats with Apryl Cady (bass and vocals) and Matt Laskey (drums).
Discography
Albums
- 1981 - Nightmare City
- 1982 - Escape From The Planet Earth
- 1985 - Riders In The Long Black Parade (as The Zarkons)
- 1985 - Between the Idea & the Reality…Falls the Shadow (as The Zarkons)
- 2007 - 1979-1982 (Anthology)
Singles And EPs
- 1978 - Nothing Means Nothing Anymore
- 1980 - Too Much Junk
Soundtracks And Compilations
- 1979 - Yes L.A. (compilation)
- 1981 - Urgh! A Music War (soundtrack)
- 1991 - Dangerhouse, Vol. 1 (compilation)
- 1993 - Dangerhouse, Vol. 2: Give Me A Little Pain! (compilation)
- 1996 - Live From the Masque, Vol. 2: We We Can Can Do Do What What (compilation)
Filmography
- 1981 - Urgh! A Music War
- 2011 - The Alley Cats Live at the Whiskey A Go Go
References
External links
- Time Coast Music
