| click on the picture of the guy you want to know more about; or read the tale of their unselfish crusade against fake youth culture first ... and then ... click on 'em |
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| This tale takes off on March 31 1999 when three guys from Radio Centraal decided to start their own band. Fed up with all the dull bands they constantly hear, they thought the world was ready for a new combo. Only after one rehearsal they were given the opportunity to play a gig. A name had to be chosen instantly; being Billy Childish fans they went for THEE HANGMEN. And played their first gig in 't Geniep in Kortrijk as support for Los Putas. Within three months Thee Hangmen played 4 gigs. After a mere 4 months' existence the threesome went into the recording studio for the first time. It was about time to choose a proper name and they changed their name into CATACOMBO after considering names such as PENTHOUSE PLAYBOYS. Who are those 3 mystery men of CATACOMBO? Singer and guitar player is LAURENT, active in a dozen bands before (including The Amazing Transplants, The Invisible Men, The Inner Circle, Thee Headphones, Les Rasoirs, ...). He writes most of the band's material. He is also founder of Radio Centraal's unique music-and-movie-trash program called Ungawa, every Sunday evening between 6 and 7 pm where you can hear all kinds of music: from rockabilly and exotica to garage and funky biker flick soundtracks. Laurent is the Belgian Billy Childish. Bass player and occasional yeller is DIRK (no previous bands known). He's the other half of Ungawa, the best rock 'n' roll related radio show in Belgium. The Cramps were his life for a decade (he even wrote a book about this most influential band) and he dedicated a zine to 'em: Subwire Desire. Another passion of his is deejaying at various swinging parties and at Tiki's. Dirk used to play his bass wearing gloves. Drummer is POL. He has a one of a kind style of drumming suitable for this unconventional combo. His roots are not to be found in The Cramps nor Billy Childish. Jazz, funk and electronic music are the keystones of his deranged vision on how to bash his toms and cymbals. Each Sunday at midnight you may hear his plethora of weird sounds on Gallery on Radio Centraal. Paul is Bruce Brand's younger brother. On July 30 1999 they locked themselves up in the recording studio for the very first time and the result was a collection of nine songs two of which are available on a 45 rpm seven inch record on Catacombo's own record label CALTIKI. That 45 sold out in a very short time. A year later they recorded enough tracks for a full album. Title of the album is 'Fake Youth Culture'. Some lucky ones were able to get the very limited 5-track CD "Catacombo in 2000" as a preview of the album. One outtake also appeared on a Luxemburg 7"EP. The Catacombo playlist is immense. Besides the forty-some own compositions their set is like an unusual encyclopaedia of songs from 1950 till now. Their interests can be found in Sun, spacey novelty, Jungle Exotica, lounge music, Blue Note, blacksploitation, nudie-cuties, punk & new wave, garage, Medway beat, etc. What bands do you know that can play a cocktail of songs made famous by Thee Headcoats, Thee Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesars, Link Wray, Bo Diddley, The Cramps, The Equals, The Eyes, Elvis Presley, Alternative TV, Buddy Rich, The Standells, The Romantics, Kim Fowley, The Rolling Stones, Spencer Davies Group, Bauhaus, No More, The Champs, The Vistas, The All Night Workers, Davie Allan, Buzzcocks, The Saxons, Grauzone, Bernie Spellman, Bob Luman, Them, Department S, Warsaw, Frankie Laine, The Makers, Dave Pike, The Mummies, The Seeds, Rodney & The Blazers, The Sonics, DAF, Bob Luman, The Panics, The Ventures, Gene Vincent, and this list could go on and on and on... Because of their vast set of songs Catacombo can play for hours and hours. They have played with many great foreign bands including the inimitable Andre Williams in September 2000 in Brussels and the Cynics and The Fuzztones at Hof Ter Lo in 2003. Their hottest gig undoubtedly was a 150 minutes burning set in the middle of Antwerp's red light district. These guys are red hot and ready to party ... they sure will ... and they are sure you will too. Our 10 most favourite Catacombo gigs: 1. Kulturkaffee, Esch, Luxemburg 2001 2. Den Barbier, Antwerpen, Belgium 2003 3. Sala Underground, Benidorm, Spain 2001 4. Lintfabriek, Kontich, Belgium 2003 5. Nijdrop, Opwijk, Belgium 2002 6. Coupole, Biel, Switzerland 2001 7. Gruta 77, Madrid, Spain 2001 8. Bladel summer fest, Holland, 2000 9. By Me, Rivergaro, Italy 2001 10. Sittin'Bull, Certosa di Pavia, Italy 2003 |