You know, some of the great speeches, performances, and general elations of the 20th century had a secret ingredient, most often kept in a tiny, occasionally engraved flask. Well okay, it’s not exactly a secret, it’s just not something people are always open about. Unless they’re already drunk. Of course, we’re talking about alcohol.
Again, much awareness has grown surrounding the long term effects of one constantly drinking. We know it’s effects on the liver, brain, tongue, etc. and… we do it anyway. Just in a healthier way. Sometimes. Allegedly. But whether we practice this alchemy or not, we appreciate a good cheer, and a little bit can go a long way when you’re trying to cut through the routine chaff of intrusive, constantly-in-the-way thoughts – just ask Cats and Cats and Cats.
The international emo collective’s haunting 2006 classic Sweet Drunk Everyone hits just as hard today, and potentially even harder when we consider the way things have changed over the years as we chant, scream, and flail along to songs like “Fight Fight with Fight,” “Kites,” and “Hotel at The End of Youth.”
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The band found a lot of fans through their split with
Somehow, it all fits in the grim, grimy, and ultimately beautiful puzzle of early 2000’s post-hardcore. Luckily, this isn’t a puzzle we have to put together by ourselves, as today we have the pleasure of Cats and Cats and Cats themselves joining us for a few questions about their classic album. In fact, they kind of did it twice – one version raw, and one version with by little liquid aid: it’s a perfect and hilarious tribute to both the present and the past.
Remember, the band remastered Sweet Drunk Everyone last year and also booked a slot at Portals Festival to perform SDE in its entirety with an ensemble, so really anything could be on the table at this point – we’re just happy to see them again, and whatever it is, even if this is it, cheers to that.
Salúd!
FB: Welcome back! What has everyone been up to the last few years? Is everyone in one place now?
Ben: Well, not really, but we’re a lot closer than we were. Four of the original Cats team ended up around the London area again, and Adam thought he’d see if ATG would have us (luckily, they said they would). Tom (bass) and Doug (drums) still live in Japan and Australia, respectfully, so they were a hard ask to get back. In the end our guitarist Jamie switched to bass and long-time Cats producer/record artist/timpani player Lee learnt all the drum parts like a machine and stepped in (also like a machine). More recently, Jamie’s been unable to play some of our shows, so Fly Fly Triceratops premier bass magician, Liam, has joined us. As for what we’ve been doing… no, idea really. *
*Lies for the sake of brevity.
FB: What were the first reunited practices or rehearsals like? Were there any particularly easy or difficult songs to remember / play?
Adam: The early practices were a bundle of nervous chaos which eventually began to resemble the songs that we used to play! We all fell back into it pretty quickly, really, but there has definitely been the odd song which has been a total pain to re-learn. I blame Ben for all the daft time signatures, personally…
Ben: You were egging me on.
Eve: For me, it was pretty surprising how much of recalling the songs was muscle memory. They still required a lot of practice but the basics were there.
FB: What has it been like revisiting your recordings after time away from the project? Were any specific memories jogged?
Eve: There is obviously so much nostalgia tied to that time for us. The early-to-mid noughties were a really exciting time for all of the various genres of music we were individually into. Except whatever Doug liked. We were also all at university together at that time, which are standout years for most, and I have very fond memories of being introduced to all sorts of bands I wouldn’t otherwise have come across. We also played some incredible venues that sadly no longer exist. I enjoy recounting to anyone who will listen, we once supported Foals at the Luminaire in Kilburn. And Everything Everything played one of their first shows supporting us in Manchester, we were trailblazers in the scene (LOL).
Adam: We dug up our old band scrapbook recently which was full of old photos, flyers, and Ben’s hand-written, comprehensive records of all our shows. We’d never counted them before, but it turned out that during the early days, we played over 200 shows in 11 countries, including Luxembourg – twice!
Ben: Which I think is the same number of times we played Birmingham, right? We also met a lot of actual cats on our journeys. A non-exhaustive list includes ‘Mucky Dave’, ‘Ian Martin’ and ‘Chicken’.
Eve: Wasn’t Chicken sick on your pillow?
Ben: Probably, but he wasn’t the only one.
FB: Sometimes, it just feels good to play a song, but other times it’s cathartic. What songs were most emotional to return to?
Adam: I’ve found it quite emotional playing “Splutterheart” again. Bringing a 14 minute beast back from the dead, after 17 or 18 years since we last played it, has been intense, but definitely also cathartic.
Eve: Yeah, everytime he plays it he cries.
Ben: In a good way. Thinking back, each record is tied to a very different stage in both the life of the band but also our personal circumstances. So each song brings with it a mess of emotions to me at least. Mainly nostalgia and gladness that I was there and got to live that life, but sometimes it tips over into wishing to be young and carefree again. Got to keep that in check you know?
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FB: When the band first came out, Cats and Cats and Cats helped pioneer haunting dynamics that seemed to define much of the emo and post-hardcore that was popularized throughout the 2000’s. Have you guys ever taken a strong stance on what genre the band is associated?
Ben: Haunting dynamics! Can we steal that for our next gig flier please? We’ve already stolen ‘Cinematic emo’ from you so can you just write our next press release?
(Absolute yes to all of it!)
Seriously though, we grew up listening to bands that weren’t really in the habit of sticking to one genre (Blur, Radiohead, Kashmir, Mew, etc) so we were often throwing all sorts of stuff in our songs which I think definitely helped us stand out a bit but also made describing what genre we played next to impossible. We used to say math rock as at the time that was a fairly fluid genre but as it has cemented itself more I feel that it doesn’t really make sense when looking at our back catalogue. We just play cat music.
FB: It feels like we’re just on the other side of a massive 90’s revival, especially with math rock bands like Big’n, Oxes, Drill for Absentee, and more releasing remasters. Do you think that we’re most likely going to continue the cycle of revivalism with 2000’s emo and post-hardcore?
Ben: I really hope so. There are so many absolute gems from that era that never made it into the music streaming timezone.
Adam: What I wouldn’t give to see some of the UK noughties post-hardcore bands like Itch, Youthmovies and Meet Me in St Louis live again…
Ben: The Pluto, Hooray for Humans… I was gonna say Mimas but I think they are coming back already! Let’s have Marvins Revolt then. Basically there were a shed load of innovative and inspiring bands back then that need to reform so the world can give them the appreciation they deserve.
FB: As you re-enter the live music space and potentially even studios, are you noticing any new challenges, or conversely, anything much easier than it used to be?
Adam: We’re going to sound ancient here, but the biggest difference we’ve had to get our heads around is probably actually how important social media is now. We had a Myspace page back then but that was it…
Ben: We were really, really good at Myspace.
Adam: We were! We’re not as good at Instagram, yet. One great thing I’ve really noticed on Insta is just how big the math and post rock scenes are these days, especially here in the UK, and how many brilliant promoters, labels and distros are out there now (Portals, Robot Needs Home, Bad Owl Presents, Ripcord etc, etc) . I’m also just enjoying discovering loads of new bands, personally.
FB: You guys returned to ArcTanGent in 2024, and you recently announced you’ll be playing Sweet Drunk Everyone in its entirety at Portals Fest later this year. Tell us… are there any more exciting plans?
Lee: I’m going to see Nine Inch Nails, does that count!?
Adam: Lee’s going to see Nine Inch Nails! To be honest, we’re so busy planning the special Portals set (which includes additional strings, horns, a choir, and some other surprises) that we haven’t really had a chance to look beyond it, yet.
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FB: Lastly and perhaps most importantly, how many cats have the members of cats and cats and cats had the pleasure of parenting?
Adam: Sorry to shatter the illusion, but we’ve got more dogs than cats between us! I’ve got a dog called Olive, John’s got one called Coco, and Lee’s got one called Devo (plus a cat called Scout). Eve’s just got a new cat called Otis and he’s a midnight bastard.
Ben: Since Cats and Cats and Cats (the band) broke up, we’ve unfortunately lost Beamish (the cat) and Moshi Moshi (the other cat) – integral family units.
Adam: Is that seriously where we’re ending the interview? Seems…sad?
Ben: I guess we gained an honorary Cat (as in, band member) at ATG when Lee’s daughter won the crowd’s hearts by punching inflatable cat astronaut heads into the crowd wearing proper boxing gloves. It wasn’t very ATG, but it was very Cats.
Pour one out for Beamish and Moshi – and then take a shot with us and try again below… this time, sweeter, drunker, and more everyone:
Welcome back! What has everyone been up to the last few years? Is everyone in one place now?
Helen: Mainly taekwondo, because…y’know…someone has to protect all the music. The current lineup is all UK-based right now, but two original members, Tom and Doug, live in Japan and Australia these days. Which made taekwondo practice super hard.
What were the first reunited practices or rehearsals like? Were there any particularly easy or difficult songs to remember / play?
Bren: A bundle of nervous chaos which slowly began to resemble songs that we’d once played blindfolded but now had to think about.
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What has it been like revisiting your recordings after time away from the project? Were any specific memories jogged?
Conrad Jnr: We’ve not spent a huge amount of time together since the band broke up, so all the old stories, photos, and gig flyers that have been dug up over the last year have been really, really funny. We’ve been reminded of the time we played the same song three times in a row, at three different speeds, in Sheffield, and of all the actual cats we met on our travels, especially those called ‘Mucky Dave’, ‘Ian Martin’ and ‘Chicken’ (N.B. the latter was sick on Ben’s pillow). We also looked back at our old gig diaries, and realised we played more shows in Luxembourg than Birmingham, I think.
Jnr Conrad: Good answer, Con.
Sometimes, it just feels good to play, but other times it’s cathartic. What songs were most emotional to return to?
Tom: There are many emotions in the human brain.
Doug: True. Good bassline Tom.
When the band first came out, Cats and Cats and Cats helped pioneer haunting dynamics that seemed to define much of the emo and post-hardcore that was popularized throughout the 2000’s. Have you guys ever taken a strong stance on what genre the band is associated?
Churchill: Haunting dynamics! Can we steal that for our next gig flyer please? We’ve already stolen ‘Cinematic emo’ from you so can you just write our next press release?
Doug: Good answer Churchill. No comment.
It feels like we’re just on the other side of a massive 90’s revival, especially with math rock bands like Big’n, Oxes, Drill for Absentee, and more releasing remasters. Do you think that we’re most likely going to continue the cycle of revivalism with 2000’s emo and post-hardcore?
Ellen: Well, you’ve missed out The Chuffnuts, Gross Birthday, Muse and Hitlers Laundry for a start. I’m hoping they all reform for ATG’26.
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As you re-enter the live music space and potentially even studios, are you noticing any new challenges, or conversely, anything much easier than it used to be?
Rodney Trotter: We did turn up to our practice studio once, and there was a horse in there. It was OK though. He loved Cinematic Emo. Horse as in heroin. Yes, a heroin. You know, the bird. As in, slang for woman.
You guys returned to ArcTanGent in 2024, and you recently announced you’ll be playing Sweet Drunk Everyone in its entirety at Portals Fest later this year. Tell us… are there any more exciting plans?
Lee Richardson: I went to Butlins.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, how many cats have the members of cats and cats and cats had the pleasure of parenting?
Ian Dunstan: Between us (whispers) we have some human babies, some cats, but actually more dogs…
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