The Guttercats
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"The Guttercats have been a strong band for 20 years with an equal amount of gig experience. Bringing together the current line up of musicians that featured in their previous bands such as Fridayz Angelz, Lovebite and Malias. Also recently includes the release of the latest Guttercat EP, entitled 'Whisky Avenue' .
Vocalist - Andy has been playing and gigging since the mid 80's, Drummer - Mitz has been gigging since 1996 and James (Lead Guitar) has been playing live for a year or so - but with all strong mutual influences - the sound has a combined edge of classic rock, Glam (70's and 80's) and Sleaze, post punk with a hint of New Wave."
"The Guttercats are a Coventry based, Punky, Rocky, Poppy UK Band! who have been around in various forms since the early 90's! Formed from an acoustic duo that grew in time to a full band. The band have come and gone over the years, and returned in different formats but under the same name. The last few years have gathered momentum, from exciting and entertaining live gigs to some new recordings. Although in it's time, the band has had a revolving door of musicians coming and going, over the years, with the only constant and original members being, Andy Guttercat and Stevo Kifaru. Over that time the band has featured various ex-members, from Fridayz Angelz, Malias, Zendad, Lovebite, Wildside Riot Dub Jam Force and Sophie Corona. During 2013, the band took time off, away from the music scene.... "
Listen to them on Reverbnation
Andy Rothwell Guttercat says
" In 1988 the time had come to sit back and recharge the batteries. My personal life took over for a while and interest in being in a band was low. But then band number five and a half came along.. it came about, by some guy, that had seen me years ago with Firefly, came looking for me, to get me, to join a band he was putting together. I believe at this point there were some rehearsals with this rock type band, and they just happed to be at the same church hall that I'd practiced in with Fridayz Angelz in previous years. Iain and Stevo were also involved in the band. I didn't know Stevo at this point.
Stevo takes up the story for this bit, as regards laying the roots for what was to become The Gutter Cats, after the wilderness years…
" From what I can recall (names have been forgotten to protect the innocent) I'd been rehearsing with a bass player, who was into classic rock, and a lead guitarist who had been a rockabilly but now thought he was Slash!!! (In later years discovered this was Darren Bickerton who currently resides as guitarist of Coventry rock band The UnResolved)
Anyway we were auditioning for a singer when Andy & Iain turned up, Andy only prepared to join if Iain was taken on as well on guitar! It never got beyond the rehearsal stage, which is just as well as the choice of songs were a little bit eclectic, ahem. Think we had Wishing well, Out in the Fields, Shadowplay, Fool For Your Loving, Here I go Again, Sweet Child of Mine & maybe Paradise City, roughly there, before Andy & Iain joined. I think we rehearsed a couple of Fridayz Angelz songs as well (Johnny B Bad?, All My Love and possibly Who's She Killin Now?).
Anyhow, Andy & Iain only rehearsed for maybe six weeks with us then left, the band broke up & couple of months later Andy approached me at Busters Nightclub in Cov. where I was one of the Dj's (the better one!) and asked me to join his new acoustic based band, 'The Gutter Cats' (still think its an appalling name!) and the rest they say is history! or is it?"
Was it a case of musical differences that caused the split?
During my wilderness years, away from singing in bands, during the early 90's, I'd tried learning to play acoustic guitar, with the help of my friend Iain from Fridayz Angelz. I'd mellowed out a bit and started listening to acoustic rock tunes, that seemed to be a plenty of at that point. i.e. Poison, Extreme, Dogs D'Amour and even Guns and Roses. This gave me the idea for what was to follow......
On to band number six, The Gutter Cats, who Stevo has already mentioned above, which only started out as a bit of fun with me and my friend Iain. We thought we'd support a mates band, Shady Deal, and do some acoustic and vocal cover tunes. We enjoyed it so much that we began to form a band along the way. So during the next few gigs. Stevo was signed up and another guy called Fred (real name Steve, we couldn't have 2 Steve's in the band), (so he was rechristened 'Fred' after the band 'Right Said Fred', for obvious reasons! Check out the current Daz Washing Powder advert on TV).
The history of The Gutter Cats is a chapter in it self. I've begun writing it but it's incomplete and memories are needing a jolt to complete it! (Come on guys...type some thoughts down please) So after many gigs, demo's, fallouts, line-up changes, hilarity we called it a day, although we did three reunion gigs we eventually split up. This was the most enjoyable and relaxed of all the bands I've been in, and all the guys that were involved in this band, and I say a big Thank You, to! But there's still time for some more...... Never say Never!!??!
There were some attempts at a kind of Gutter Cats mark 2 in between all the reunions but they never took off during rehearsals. Possibly around this time band number seven emerged Midlife Crisis and was probably just that? We rehearsed loads and played a few gigs but the band seemed to have no real musical direction with the mixed bag of influences. During which time when the band had rehearsals booked and people didn't turn up myself Stevo and Paul would rehearse with a drum machine attempting to produce some new direction in the music we were playing. A kinda heavy industrial sort of thing it seemed. It all came to an end and Midlife Crisis split off into two factions.
That was for me, more or less the end of my band career, apart from the 3rd Gutter Cats reunion at Stevo's wedding. * But we proved we still had it in us and we could do it again!
So apart from singing the odd karaoke song or joining in with a few Thai rock bands in the bars of Bangkok, my band days seem to be at an end for the time being..... or were they???
So 2007 and band number 8 came along and I was approached by an old band friend, Tony Lowe from Malias, about singing again. He was putting together a band for a bit of fun and possible gigs.
Rewind slightly to 2006 and Tony had contacted me to sing on some demo's he was putting together, recording various songs he had written. I went along a gave it a try but I found his song writing had not progressed any further, than it had from the Malias days. It all seem a step back in time for me.
Anyway, I did a few rehearsals with the band and things were beginning to gel, gigs were are a long way off. Regular attendance of the drummer at rehearsals, didn't help things though. The band played mainly old cover songs of rock tunes, from 20 years ago. The band name became 'Sweet like Honey' but the ups and downs of getting regular rehearsals and a set of songs that we were all happy with, took it's toll on me. My enthusiasm for the band faded. With no real direction and being told to learn songs I had no feeling for, I quit.
The band found themselves a new singer and also a drummer who they could rely on. They went on rehearsing and getting ready to gig in September 2007. A change of name for the band too.... Splif Vica...
And on to band number 9.....The Guttercats.....or just Guttercats… A complete story in it self to follow... This was a different band to the original Gutter Cats, hence the joining up of Gutter and Cats in the name. Around this time Andy dropped the Rothwell name to become Andy Guttercat.
The Guttercats became a revolving door of various Coventry musicians.
Andy Guttercat (Rothwell) stills produces and releases music under his own name these days although with not much sight of any live gigs currently.
Andy
Andy Guttercat-Rothwell
"The Guttercats have been a strong band for 20 years with an equal amount of gig experience. Bringing together the current line up of musicians that featured in their previous bands such as Fridayz Angelz, Lovebite and Malias. Also recently includes the release of the latest Guttercat EP, entitled 'Whisky Avenue' .
Vocalist - Andy has been playing and gigging since the mid 80's, Drummer - Mitz has been gigging since 1996 and James (Lead Guitar) has been playing live for a year or so - but with all strong mutual influences - the sound has a combined edge of classic rock, Glam (70's and 80's) and Sleaze, post punk with a hint of New Wave."
Listen to them on Reverbnation
Andy Rothwell Guttercat says
" In 1988 the time had come to sit back and recharge the batteries. My personal life took over for a while and interest in being in a band was low. But then band number five and a half came along.. it came about, by some guy, that had seen me years ago with Firefly, came looking for me, to get me, to join a band he was putting together. I believe at this point there were some rehearsals with this rock type band, and they just happed to be at the same church hall that I'd practiced in with Fridayz Angelz in previous years. Iain and Stevo were also involved in the band. I didn't know Stevo at this point.
Stevo takes up the story for this bit, as regards laying the roots for what was to become The Gutter Cats, after the wilderness years…
" From what I can recall (names have been forgotten to protect the innocent) I'd been rehearsing with a bass player, who was into classic rock, and a lead guitarist who had been a rockabilly but now thought he was Slash!!! (In later years discovered this was Darren Bickerton who currently resides as guitarist of Coventry rock band The UnResolved)
Anyway we were auditioning for a singer when Andy & Iain turned up, Andy only prepared to join if Iain was taken on as well on guitar! It never got beyond the rehearsal stage, which is just as well as the choice of songs were a little bit eclectic, ahem. Think we had Wishing well, Out in the Fields, Shadowplay, Fool For Your Loving, Here I go Again, Sweet Child of Mine & maybe Paradise City, roughly there, before Andy & Iain joined. I think we rehearsed a couple of Fridayz Angelz songs as well (Johnny B Bad?, All My Love and possibly Who's She Killin Now?).
Anyhow, Andy & Iain only rehearsed for maybe six weeks with us then left, the band broke up & couple of months later Andy approached me at Busters Nightclub in Cov. where I was one of the Dj's (the better one!) and asked me to join his new acoustic based band, 'The Gutter Cats' (still think its an appalling name!) and the rest they say is history! or is it?"
Was it a case of musical differences that caused the split?
During my wilderness years, away from singing in bands, during the early 90's, I'd tried learning to play acoustic guitar, with the help of my friend Iain from Fridayz Angelz. I'd mellowed out a bit and started listening to acoustic rock tunes, that seemed to be a plenty of at that point. i.e. Poison, Extreme, Dogs D'Amour and even Guns and Roses. This gave me the idea for what was to follow......
On to band number six, The Gutter Cats, who Stevo has already mentioned above, which only started out as a bit of fun with me and my friend Iain. We thought we'd support a mates band, Shady Deal, and do some acoustic and vocal cover tunes. We enjoyed it so much that we began to form a band along the way. So during the next few gigs. Stevo was signed up and another guy called Fred (real name Steve, we couldn't have 2 Steve's in the band), (so he was rechristened 'Fred' after the band 'Right Said Fred', for obvious reasons! Check out the current Daz Washing Powder advert on TV).
The history of The Gutter Cats is a chapter in it self. I've begun writing it but it's incomplete and memories are needing a jolt to complete it! (Come on guys...type some thoughts down please) So after many gigs, demo's, fallouts, line-up changes, hilarity we called it a day, although we did three reunion gigs we eventually split up. This was the most enjoyable and relaxed of all the bands I've been in, and all the guys that were involved in this band, and I say a big Thank You, to! But there's still time for some more...... Never say Never!!??!
There were some attempts at a kind of Gutter Cats mark 2 in between all the reunions but they never took off during rehearsals. Possibly around this time band number seven emerged Midlife Crisis and was probably just that? We rehearsed loads and played a few gigs but the band seemed to have no real musical direction with the mixed bag of influences. During which time when the band had rehearsals booked and people didn't turn up myself Stevo and Paul would rehearse with a drum machine attempting to produce some new direction in the music we were playing. A kinda heavy industrial sort of thing it seemed. It all came to an end and Midlife Crisis split off into two factions.
That was for me, more or less the end of my band career, apart from the 3rd Gutter Cats reunion at Stevo's wedding. * But we proved we still had it in us and we could do it again!
So apart from singing the odd karaoke song or joining in with a few Thai rock bands in the bars of Bangkok, my band days seem to be at an end for the time being..... or were they???
So 2007 and band number 8 came along and I was approached by an old band friend, Tony Lowe from Malias, about singing again. He was putting together a band for a bit of fun and possible gigs.
Rewind slightly to 2006 and Tony had contacted me to sing on some demo's he was putting together, recording various songs he had written. I went along a gave it a try but I found his song writing had not progressed any further, than it had from the Malias days. It all seem a step back in time for me.
Anyway, I did a few rehearsals with the band and things were beginning to gel, gigs were are a long way off. Regular attendance of the drummer at rehearsals, didn't help things though. The band played mainly old cover songs of rock tunes, from 20 years ago. The band name became 'Sweet like Honey' but the ups and downs of getting regular rehearsals and a set of songs that we were all happy with, took it's toll on me. My enthusiasm for the band faded. With no real direction and being told to learn songs I had no feeling for, I quit.
The band found themselves a new singer and also a drummer who they could rely on. They went on rehearsing and getting ready to gig in September 2007. A change of name for the band too.... Splif Vica...
And on to band number 9.....The Guttercats.....or just Guttercats… A complete story in it self to follow... This was a different band to the original Gutter Cats, hence the joining up of Gutter and Cats in the name. Around this time Andy dropped the Rothwell name to become Andy Guttercat.
The Guttercats became a revolving door of various Coventry musicians.
Andy Guttercat (Rothwell) stills produces and releases music under his own name these days although with not much sight of any live gigs currently.
Andy
Andy Guttercat-Rothwell
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