Caterwaul (band)
Encyclopedia
Caterwaul was an American
band, based in Phoenix, Arizona
, featuring Betsy Martin on vocals and mandolin, Mark Schafer on guitar, Fred Cross on bass and Kevin Pinnt on drums.
Their debut album
, The Nature of Things (1987) was released on Lost Arts Records. Caterwaul was interviewed in January 1988 on MTV
's "120 Minutes" and the music video
for "A Flower and a Stone" from their debut album was played nationally for the first time. The video, directed by David Kane-Ritsch, was notable for its use of photocopied enlargements of frames of film that were subsequently "colored-in" with what appeared to be highlighter markers and crayons. The extremely labor-intensive project (essentially a crude type of cel animation
) generated significant interest among the music video production community. Later in 1988, Caterwaul was signed by I.R.S. Records
and released an EP and two albums for the label; Beholden (1988), Pin and Web (1989) and Portent Hue (1990), before disbanding. Pin and Web (1989) yielded one minor hit single
in, "The Sheep's A Wolf" that charted at Number 25 on the Billboard
"Alternative Songs" chart the week of May 13, 1989. Caterwaul lost Fred Cross after the Portent Hue tour, and recruited Kelly Castro as their new bassist. They also added Stuart Smith as a second guitarist. The new lineup recorded Killer Fish in 1991, which was released in 1996 on Lost Arts Records.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band, based in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, featuring Betsy Martin on vocals and mandolin, Mark Schafer on guitar, Fred Cross on bass and Kevin Pinnt on drums.
Their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, The Nature of Things (1987) was released on Lost Arts Records. Caterwaul was interviewed in January 1988 on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's "120 Minutes" and the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "A Flower and a Stone" from their debut album was played nationally for the first time. The video, directed by David Kane-Ritsch, was notable for its use of photocopied enlargements of frames of film that were subsequently "colored-in" with what appeared to be highlighter markers and crayons. The extremely labor-intensive project (essentially a crude type of cel animation
Traditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
) generated significant interest among the music video production community. Later in 1988, Caterwaul was signed by I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
and released an EP and two albums for the label; Beholden (1988), Pin and Web (1989) and Portent Hue (1990), before disbanding. Pin and Web (1989) yielded one minor hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in, "The Sheep's A Wolf" that charted at Number 25 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
"Alternative Songs" chart the week of May 13, 1989. Caterwaul lost Fred Cross after the Portent Hue tour, and recruited Kelly Castro as their new bassist. They also added Stuart Smith as a second guitarist. The new lineup recorded Killer Fish in 1991, which was released in 1996 on Lost Arts Records.
Discography
- The Nature of Things (Lost Arts Records, 1987)
- Scream The Compilation (Geffen Records, 1987)
- Beholden (I.R.S. Records, 1988)
- Pin and Web (I.R.S. Records, 1989)
- Portent Hue (I.R.S. Records, 1990)
- Killer Fish (Lost Arts Records, 1996)
- Caterwaul Live in Japan (No Bliss Lost, 2010)