Back Luck Be Damned; This Is One Black Cat You Should Cross Article by Doug Hoepker Lost At Sea Online Black Cat Music’s Brady Baltezore isn’t going to win any awards for Best Male Vocalist. His ragged, passionate voice sounds like sandpaper feels against your skin. But despite a voice that takes some warming to, he’s a hell of a singer. Possessing a flair for the dramatic, Baltezore makes up for his voice’s shortcomings with punctuated gasps, shredded yelps and slurred, elongated vowels. It brings to mind another over-the-top singer whose early shortcomings only added to his character and appeal: Nick Cave. And that’s a complement whether an obvious one or not. "I hadn’t intended to sing for Black Cat Music. We just started writing songs, and I was writing some of the songs and all of the words. But I had never really considered myself a singer," says Baltezore. And now? "Yeah, I guess so," Baltezore says with a chuckle. "It’s been four years, so I guess I’m a singer now -but I still can’t sing." If Baltezore’s vocals don’t do it for you, his band’s music most likely will. The Bay Area band has a distinct sound that at times recalls Gun Club, The Birthday Party, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Social Distortion. "When I first started getting into punk music Social Distortion was one of the first bands that I latched on to," explains Baltezore. "...A lot of people don’t like the singing cowboy guitar hero stuff, but I’m into Johnny Cash and Hank Williams and I think that Social Distortion has an aspect of that in their music." Always the modest one, Baltezore claims he’s a passionate songwriter, but not necessarily a talented one. Most would disagree. Online ‘zine Pitchforkmedia.com - known around the indie music community as a tough cookie whose critics would rather rub you the wrong way than make friends - gave Black Cat Music’s Hands in the Estuary, Torso in the Lake an unusually high rating of 8.3 (out of 10). Released in 2001 on Lookout Records, Hands in the Estuary, Torso in the Lake is a trashy rock and roll record with guitars that are produced to sound refreshingly metal- not exactly the most popular choice for an indie band. One reason for the vibrant rock guitar sound and occasional tasteful solo is that the band members were coming of age during the late ‘80s, when the L.A. rock scene was enjoying a renaissance thanks to bands like G N’ R and Skid Row. A second, less obvious reason is Black Cat Music’s unlikely choice for a producer- one Davy Vain. During the late-‘80s, Vain- also a Bay Area native- took time off from his production career to form a self-titled glam metal band, which signed a recording deal with Island Records and enjoyed brief success on the metal circuit. "Vain was recommended to us by [the Sub Pop band] Vue," says Baltezore. "...He’s a product of the whole Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row scene. ...He’s got a really good ear for sound." Vain chose to record the band straight to two-inch analog tape instead of digitally, which Baltezore says helps to give the guitars their fat sound. Despite forming from the ashes of Bay Area punk bands The Criminals and The Receivers, Black Cat Music have all but given up on being punks. "We all grew up in the punk scene, but we don’t feel that attached to it now," says Baltezore. Fusing a garage rock sound that retains some of the immediacy of punk rock with healthy doses of melodic hard rock hooks and Baltezore’s often-eerie, somtimes-romantic tales of crime and passion, Black Cat Music are indeed moving on. In fact the subject matter on Hands in the Estuary, Torso in the Lake is a far cry from your traditional west coast punk fare. The title "Hands in the Estuary, Torso in the Lake" is based loosely on fact: several torsos began popping up in a lake near Oakland. The result of gang-related murders, the torsos were usually stuffed with money as a sign that the murders were about dignity and trust, not dollars and cents. Baltezore’s lyrics only add to the mystique of a band that seems to be perfectly happy with being a bit dark. "I write some cheery stuff too, but that stuff doesn’t seem to make it to the record," jokes Baltezore. Like mob hits and G N’ R, Black Cat Music have an other-worldly luster that goes even better with an altered state of mind. So crack open a 12-pack and enjoy some new metal, dudes. This stuff is going to rock your scrawny white emo ass. Brady Baltezore share his recent faves: MUSIC: I’ve been in the process of moving, so lemme tell you what CDs I’ve had with me: DJ Shadow’s new one, Judy Garland, Elle Fitzgerald, Johnny Cash, Deltron 3030. LYRICIST: Leonard Cohen. BOOKS: I read a lot. Carson McCullers is my all-time favorite author. Recently, Michelle Tea’s Valencia, and I’ve been reading Dashiell Hammett mystery novels all summer and drinking wine on the porch. FOOD ON THE ROAD: Taco Cabana. It’s a chain in Texas. It’s sort of like Taco Bell but with a salsa bar. BAY AREA BAND: CCR THING ABOUT BAY AREA: The weather... it’s a beautiful place to be. ...West coast for sure. Scrapbook