Cat TV’s Punk Rock Is Equal Parts Heart and Absurdity
Punk Head: You’ve described Cat TV as writing songs about Satanic Panic, jaguars, and the human condition. Which of those subjects is actually the hardest to write about?
Cat TV: Absolutely the Satanic Panic, because we never had to face the scrutiny and wrath of the Parents Music Resource Center and Tipper Gore when our bravest soldiers John Denver and Dee Snider (among others) took a stand for musicians at the Senate hearings against our mortal enemies: the prudes!
Otherwise, the human condition, absolutely. Everyone thinks they’re in their own movie, right? But we’re also going through it together. One life, one planet, all that stuff. And as you get older, you realize that maybe the experience isn’t so unique in the end. So, at least lyrically, you’re trying to capture the feelings that seem unique to you and spill your heart out on paper and in the melody. And you’re also hoping that these feelings connect with someone out there, somehow. Take “Impostor!” as an example. That came from a specific insecurity for myself, and a lot of people go through it, without a doubt. A sense that you’re not good enough — at your craft, your job, what have you — and that you’ll be found out and marked a fraud, eventually. I’m feeling that way right now because I used em dashes and don’t want a soul to think for even a moment that I ran my responses through generative AI.
Punk Head: The title Fun In The Ghost Town feels both celebratory and slightly eerie. What does that phrase mean to you, and why did it become the title of the EP?
Cat TV: The EP title came straight from the lyrics of “Drugz N Alcohol.” The essence of that line is all about making the most of what little you have to work with. At a humble six tracks out of many, many songs that Cat TV plays live, it felt right to tack on our first release. For a little background: Stephen, the drummer, and I found (at least pre-pandemic) that our favorite haunts were bereft of fun things to do on weekends when we felt like going out, especially a long weekend. We had to create our own good time when it was empty out there. Of course, that lyric became more pointed when COVID-19 made a ghost town out of the world.
Punk Head: Many punk bands build their identity around anger or rebellion. Cat TV seems equally interested in curiosity, weirdness, and entertainment. Do you see that as a different kind of rebellion?
Cat TV: The punk ethos is all about doing the thing because you can. Curiosity is the umbrella under which anger, weirdness, and all that good stuff fall when you get down to brass tacks. Who isn’t angry, who doesn’t want to laugh or be entertained? Punk is for the people, and that’s rebellion no matter what.
Narrowing the lens on Cat TV: I’m not a musician in any classical sense. I took voice lessons when I could finally afford to so that I could learn to sing backup vocals without shooting out my throat. Can’t read or write sheet music or identify a note for the life of me. Everyone else in the band is a fabulous musician without whom this act wouldn’t work: Steve on drums and primary composer, Jesse and Dino on guitars, and Quinn on bass and lap steel — couldn’t be more fortunate. The beauty of punk is that you can show the world that you can get together to do anything.
Punk Head: You’ve said the band refuses to be boring. Is there a moment at a live show where that philosophy got completely out of hand?
Cat TV: Maaaybe the closest to not-boring antics was a gig we played at the amazing Apohadian Theater in Portland, Maine, last summer. My ankles couldn’t stand up to these lovely fluorescent green boots I wore. I got them especially for the occasion because we played with our good friends, Nuclear Bootz. I wobbled like a newborn fawn and ultimately had to crouch down and kneel on stage, but hey! That lent itself to some pretty decent pictures. Much more intense looking for sure. I didn’t ask the boys for their input on this question, so maybe it’s all out of hand all the time.
Punk Head: This EP is being presented as an introduction to the wider world. What do you hope people understand about Cat TV after hearing these six songs?
Cat TV: Fun in the Ghost Town showcases only six of like, 20-ish songs that we actually play on rotation! To get the full experience, you must see Cat TV play live. As a bonus, you get to see how stunningly beautiful we all are in person.
