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Five For Five: Cats On Holiday Celebrate A Birthday And An Album

Cleveland Scene (Online)
By Mark Holan

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"The band has been together for about five years," says Chuck Ellis, bassist/vocalist with Cats On Holiday. "The core of the band has been the same for five years." That core consists of Ellis, Denis DeVito (guitar/vocals), Rich Ellis (drums/vocals), Steve Frieg (button box/saxophone/vocals) and Bill Fury (guitar/bass).

Chuck Ellis and Frieg were formerly with Modern Art Studio, and DeVito played for years with Lucky Pierre, the regional band that included Kevin McMahon, who later went on to form Prick. Fury also plays with a classic rock band called Threshold.

"We started the band as a vehicle for our songs," Chuck Ellis explains. "We all write songs, so it was a logical extension of our songwriting and our friendship to form a band.

"The music scene is pretty incestuous, particularly in Cleveland," he continues. "Everybody had been in bands with everybody else, so we'd all played with each other before - in a musical sense," he adds with a laugh. "We'd all liked each other, so for us, [forming a band] seemed like the natural thing to do."

Cats On Holiday will be celebrating the release of their debut CD, SHAKE THIS, at Fat Fish Blue this Friday, May 1. The CD was recorded at Chris Keffer's Magnetic North Studios, with Keffer co-producing the tracks with the band.

The song "Invisible Man" on SHAKE THIS was on the AROARA Project's compilation CD, and Rich Ellis points to another band on the AROARA compilation as kindred spirits. "There was another band on the CD. They're called Under The Tree," Rich Ellis says. "That's basically Billy Lestock and his wife, Vicki Chew, who helped us out with some really tasty stuff on SHAKE THIS." Lestock played violin on two tracks, and Chew sang on two songs. "We're deeply indebted to them," Rich Ellis adds.

With all of the band members' influences, it's not surprising that Cats On Holiday's music combines a wide variety of musical styles. Chuck Ellis' warped sense of humor aligns with Denis DeVito's alt-rock sensibilities, which are backed by Rich Ellis' rock-solid backbeat. Frieg's button box and saxophone flavorings add to the musical mix.

"We're so fucking eclectic," Rich Ellis explains. "Chuck likes They Might Be Giants, and I listen to Steve Earle. We're all over the map.

"People who hear us mention David Byrne," Chuck Ellis says. "We've listened to him, so maybe his [influence] is in there. I mean, there are a lot of influences going on in our music - anything from world beat to straight rock to country."

The gig this Friday night at Fat Fish Blue has an added significance, according to the quick-witted Chuck Ellis. "We're doing it to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto," he says in mock seriousness in reference to May Day, International Workers Day.

"It's interesting to note that the American Legion made May 1st American Legion Day, so that when the Communist Party would march down the street, they could march from the opposite direction and beat the crap out of the Communists when the two groups met."

CATS ON HOLIDAY

Five For Five: Cats On Holiday Celebrate A Birthday And An Album