(THIS IS THE KIND OF SCREWED UP BIO THAT'S KEPT ME FROM EVER LOOKING AT ANY SITE THAT EVER MENTION OUR NAME, BUT THIS ONE IS ACTUALY THE LEAST FUCKED UP I'VE SEEN - D.E.D)
Seattle's Catbutt was known for its supergroup lineup. Its original members consisted of two parts U-Men, one part 64 Spiders, and one part Girl Trouble. They were all bands that had created a stir in the Northwest punk scene during the mid- to late '80s. With two separate lineups, Catbutt lasted a total of three years, churning out garage rock with a hardcore attitude.
Originally from Houston, TX, vocalist David E. Duet (DORK) was in a very early version of Catbutt. While he was living as a homeless punk (EVERY ONE IN AUSTIN STAYED AT DAVID'S HOUSE AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER) in Austin, he met rhythm guitarist Michael Hutchins (aka John Michael America). Michael (HE HAD A SEVEN INCH TAINT) was a well-seasoned musician having played with a multitude of bands in Houston, such as the Burning Hearts. David decided to move to Seattle in 1984, (DAVID & LISA SEAL MOVED TO SEATTLE IN 1983 TO ATTEND CORNISH ART INSTITUTE. DAVID WAS 16.) where he met the U-Men's guitarist Tom Price (aka Manny El Dorado) and drummer Charlie Ryan (aka Circus). It was also upon David's move to Seattle that he met lead guitarist James Burdyshaw (aka Brother James) at a house party. At the time, James (HE HAS HEAT VISION AND CAN FLY) was involved with mod/punk band 64 Spiders. After realizing that they both shared common ground in their musical preferences, the two became good friends (THEY GOT DRUNK AND MADE OUT).
The two worked out an agreement to start a completely new band in 1986, focusing on their love of sleazy garage punk. As luck would have it, the U-Men had just released bassist Jim Tillman. David talked Tom into playing bass for his new group and Charlie into playing drums. (IN TRUTH, DAVID WAS ON TOUR WITH THE U-MEN WHEN THEIR BUS BROKE DOWN IN MONTANA. DAVID SAT ON A MILK CRATE IN A TRUCK STOP PARKING LOT AND STARTED WRITING THE SONGS THAT BECAME THE BASIS FOR CATBUTT. AN AGREEMENT WAS MADE THAT WHEN THEY GOT BACK TO SEATTLE; TOM, DAVID AND CHARLIE WOULD FORM A BAND CALLED BITCHSLAP AND ALL THE SONGS WOULD BE ABOUT TRUCKERS AND TRUCK STOPS. THE NAME WAS INSPIRED BY A VERY HARDCORE WAITRESS WHO HARASSED THEM FOR GOING TO THE RESTROOM. ON RETURN TO SEATTLE THEY DECIDED THE SONGS SHOULD BE FOR SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST A SIDE PROJECT AND CATBUTT WAS BORN). Michael had just moved to Seattle from Houston (H.P.D.) at that time, so David invited him to play rhythm guitar. The lineup was complete, but now they had to decide on a name. According to Brother James, David came up with the moniker Catbutt because he and his girlfriend were either stoned (THEY NEVER TOUCHED THE STUFF) and became enamored by their feline's behind, or David thought his girlfriend's dreadlocks(IT WAS A HAIR THING, BUT NO DREAD LOCKS) looked like a cat's rear end. David also joked that the name evolved from the secret recipe in his Grandma's meat pies (HIS GREAT-GRANDMOTHER'S FORMER MAID WOULD SHAVE A THIN LAYER OF MEAT OFF A CAT'S BUTT AND COOK IT LIKE BACON)
Eight months after their inception, Tom Price (SAINT) and Charlie Ryan (GROUCH) left to focus their attention on the U-Men once again (DAVID CHASED THEM OUT OF THE ROOM WITH A LIT MATCH IN HIS P-HOLE). Brother James recommended bringing in a couple of friends he'd met through various female interests. Bassist Dean Gunderson (BABY'S ARM HOLDING AN APPLE, CAN TALK TO FISH WITH HIS MIND) had spent time with a band called the Butt Pirates, while drummer Erik Peterson (aka E-Rok) (COMPLETELY INSANE) had been a member of Yard Sale. John Michael stepped aside in May of 1988 and David's friend and former Phoenix, AZ-native Danny Bland
(ONCE TOOK FIFTY HITS OF ACID, WENT STRAIGHT TO BED AND SLEPT FOR A WEEK. WHEN HE AWOKE HE SAID, " ALL IN ALL I PREFER GIN".) joined as a full-time member. Bland was also enlisted as the manager for Catbutt, following his 1988 move to Seattle, and earned a reputation as a respected booking agent for Sub Pop, as well as other independent bands.
In March of 1989, Catbutt released a record with Sub Pop. The band conducted a tour of the United States that summer/fall with L7. By that September, Sub Pop released the Journey to the Center of Catbutt EP. Donita Sparks dubbed the tour "Swappin' Fluids Across the Nation" (SWAPPING FLUIDS ACROSS AMERICA) before they left Seattle, perhaps hinting at how well the title fit. Along the way, Danny Bland saw the Reverend Horton Heat play to no one in Dallas, but was so intrigued that he told Sub Pop to offer the Reverend a deal to record a single. When Catbutt returned to Seattle, the tour van that Sub Pop had paid for was extremely damaged, which displeased Bruce Pavitt to no end and led to Catbutt's release from the imprint (NOW THAT'S PURE BULLSHIT, THAT VAN RAN FOR MANY MORE TOURS AND SUBPOP NEVER DROPPED CATBUTT, THEY BROKE UP). The group performed their final show that December with The Supersuckers in Bellingham, WA, to a crowd of 20 people (THAT'S TRUE, IT WAS WITH THE SUPERSUCKERS).
Following Catbutt's demise, David Duet moved back to Houston, where he played in the band Dashboard Mary from 1991 until 1993. He returned to Seattle in 1994 and teamed up with Charlie Ryan once again to form Bottle of Smoke. Brother James spent 1990 through 1991 in the group Yummy with Erok Peterson, until James formed the Sinister Six in late 1991. Erok got involved with other Seattle groups, including Big Satan, Inc., John the Baptist, Plowed, the Purdins, and he played drums for the Sinister Six from 1994 until 1995 and helped them record their final album.
Dean Gunderson hooked up with Tim Kerr in Austin and performed in Jack O' Fire, before relocating to Los Angeles and getting a job in the film industry. Danny Bland did time in The Dwarves and The Best Kissers in the World until he became a manager for Gerald Collier and The Supersuckers and helped broker deals for Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. As for Michael Hutchins, he didn't have as much luck as his former bandmates. He wound up doing time in Texas for dealing drugs.
- from AllMusic.com by Stephen Howell
Here's an update on the ex-Catbutt members:
Brother James fronts the garage band The Bug Nasties, David & Dean are in a new blues-punk band called Hot For Chocolate, Danny is the tour manager for X, The Knitters & The Blasters and Erok is a proud papa. We tore it up at the 2007 Geezerfest in Seattle! If ya missed it, there just might be a little something happening in Austin... cartoon layout powered by HOT FreeLayouts.com / MyHotComments
