Letting the cat out of the bag

Starting out pretty much as a result of circumstance, Jaya the Cat have, in the years the band has been around, etched out a following that has extended far beyond their American homeland.

You can pretty much put a skank over anything and tie it into our sound

Truth be told, the band’s relocation from Boston to Amsterdam – where it has been based for almost a decade – has further consolidated its European fanbase, as has their catchy blend of ska, punk and more predominantly, reggae sounds.

That their live gigs have more of a party vibe than a performance has also been a vital factor in the band’s wide-reaching appeal, and their audiences tend to get wholly involved, singing, dancing and, thanks to the band’s own onstage bar (complete with zany French bartender) drinking with the band.

After playing major clubs all over Europe and festivals such as Lowlands in Holland, Pukkelpop in Belgium, Rebellion in the UK and the Warped Tour in the US, the band is now bringing the party to Malta.

Hot on the heels of last month’s explosive triple-bill launch of Alternative Obsessions, Jaya the Cat will be the headlining act for the locally-based promoters’ second event at V-Gen, Paceville, on March 9.

Maltese bands BNI and Three Stops to China will be supporting. Tickets for the event, supported by Bobby’s Tattoo (Bugibba) cost €7 (€10 at the door). For more information, look up the event page on Facebook or log on to www.alternativeobsessions.com.

• Jaya the Cat vocalist and founding member Geoff Lagadec takes time to answer a few questions ahead of the band’s first performance in Malta.

What inspired the formation, the sound and the interesting name of Jaya the Cat?

The band pretty much started as just something to do. I was living in a town called Northampton in western Massachusetts. About 10 of us were renting a three-bedroomed house, and at some point after a party, someone left this beat-up drum kit in our living room. Our neighbours were all pretty cool and word got out that you could make as much noise as you wanted at our place, and slowly more equipment started getting left there.

We had around 10 bands rehearsing there at one point, and eventually it became a logical drunken step for me and my room-mates to start banging on the equipment when nobody else was.

We’d play basically anything, no influence at all. I was always a big Clash fan, as was my friend Ted who ended up being the original keyboard player. I remember one afternoon somehow hacking out a half-coherent version of Wrong ’em Boyo.

A friend was having a party and asked us if we wanted to get up and do a few songs. We didn’t have a name or anything, and just before we got on-stage someone asked what we were called. The bass player had this super awesome cat named Jaya that our whole crew loved, and he just shouted out ‘Jaya the Cat’!

We got up there and basically were hopeless, but our last song was Wrong ’em Boyo and the whole place started dancing. We all just looked at each other and thought, “Well, this must be the direction to go in”.

We spent the next year trying to change the name; none of us honestly loved it, but in the end it just stuck. I guess in the long run the stuff that has influenced us is just the obvious – The Clash, Bad Brains, Operation Ivy, The Specials... anything that had a skank but with a punky feel really.

You’ve been based in Amsterdam for some years now; what prompted you to move there and how much of a difference has being based in Europe made to the band’s career, from both a commercial and artistic perspective?

We were a four-piece American band when we first started touring the US and Europe. None of us were ever strangers to the bottle. About the time our second album came out the bass player and lead guitarist decided to quit drinking and joined AA.

I guess they looked on the band as an enabler, so they told us they had to split. We had a tour lined up in Europe at the time, and a few musician friends from some Dutch bands we had met on tour heard about this, got in touch and offered to fill in.

We got a sublet on a flat in Amsterdam for the summer, flew over, and here we are, seven years later.

I really didn’t expect to stay. It must have influenced my writing a bit, being exposed to different cultures and various musical styles.

I’m not saying America is all the same, but you can travel 3,000 miles there and find common ground. Over here, you can travel 200 miles and find a whole new language, history and national identity, which I like.

Given your extensive experience performing live in the US, Europe and beyond, what are the biggest differences between audiences around the world?

I don’t know really; every place has something good. I don’t mean to sound lame but I’m pretty happy on any stage. Eastern Europe is interesting because it’s still sort of opening up musicwise, the crowds can be really enthusiastic.

The album that gets played most on the tour bus when you’re on the road is…

You’re probably going to laugh, but somehow we seem to play a lot of Scooter in the bus lately. Not because we love it but it just cracks us up and puts everyone in a good mood. That guy is hilarious, plus we have a subwoofer in there, which is essential for any proper Scooter listening experience.

Other than that it’s a pretty eclectic deal, we all have very different tastes so you can pretty much hear about every style possible in the Jaya bus.

What was your favourite or most memorable live performance to date?

The reasons I like a show usually depends more on the mood I’m in rather than the actual show. If I’m in a good space, the right combination of Indian food, good weather and a shot of whiskey... whatever, then I just get on-stage and for some reason that’s the best show ever, I’m up there laughing.

Three studio albums down the line, your sound is more dominantly reggae than the more pronounced crossover sound of your debut. What influenced the shift and where would you say the next album goes from here?

I think as you get older playing faster, harder stuff just becomes less interesting. Not to sound lazy but it takes way more energy.

We all still love it and it’ll always be part of our sound, but personally I prefer to see a crowd dancing as opposed to pushing each other around nowadays.

For me, it’s a bit more of a challenge to tell a story with the slower, dance stuff. Lyrics really come across when you’re not just spitting over a punk rock beat, so you have to really pay attention to shaping them.

I like that, so yeah, our next album will definitely have a stronger reggae style, but we’ve got some other sounds as well – some breakbeat, calypso... man, you can pretty much put a skank over anything and tie it into our sound.

I’m super happy with the new stuff and I hope everyone else will be too.

Any thoughts ahead of your Malta gig, and what should we all expect from a Jaya the Cat performance?

I’m excited; I’m in this life for the food, the booze, and the people, so I’m planning on eating, drinking and talking a bunch.

As for the show, I guess you can expect six friends to show up, get a bunch of whatever local beer you have there down their necks, and throw the best party they possibly can.

We’re flying down perhaps the most insane man in France to serve drinks onstage while we play, so you can expect that too!

www.jayathecat.com

bugeja.michael@gmail.com