Kilkenny Cats formed in 1983 and by 1986 they released their debut album, ‘Hands Down’ which was recently reissued by Propeller Sound Recordings.

Their first gig was at a party thrown by Pylon and they would soon perform one of their first public gigs at Atlanta’s legendary Agora Ballroom opening for beloved Athens pioneers, Pylon. Their Southern Gothic first single ended up being produced by Michael Lachowski, of Pylon

Live, Kilkenny Cats usually dressed all in black, and adorned their stage with candles, skulls and dead flowers. But by 1985, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, in a SPIN Magazine article extolling the virtues of the Athens scene, offered the ultimate compliment: “There are some great bands here. Number one: the Kilkenny Cats. They used to be non-melodic, drone, gloom-and-doom stuff. But they’ve grown as a band and as musicians and added a lot more melody to what they’ve been doing. Now they are a kind of a dark band, but pop.” The Kilkenny Cats would play a legendary triple bill at the venerable Rat in Boston with R.E.M. and Hüsker Dü.

In 1986, the group recorded their debut LP ‘Hands Down’ for Coyote/Twin-Tone Records at Nicollette Studios in Minneapolis, MN. The album features songs reminiscent of their early sounds such as debut single ‘Attractive Figure,’ but also highlighted the exciting contributions of their new members’ folk and garage rock influences on many tracks.

“Indie music scene back then it was a close knit group”

Your 1986 debut release, ‘Hands Down’ is such a fantastic album. How involved were you with the process?

Tom Cheek: We are super excited about it! We started a remastering project about three years ago and label interest followed that. No idea this would happen but we always knew the music was special and it needed revisiting. It was special music for a special time in the history of American alternative music and culture. We started working on design graphics with Henry Owings of Chunklet Industries, LLC before we even had label interests. He was a fan of the band and the Athens scene. The cover art, gatefold, and inner sleeve for the new release are so cool. What happened with this release was organic. My lyrics are on the inner sleeve…super excited to get these out in the world. The new mastering really helped brighten up the mixes.

The material is newly mastered, what do you think are some key differences listening to it in comparison to the original?

Jason NeSmith at Chase park is great at his craft. The vocals seem more upfront and guitar work is more clear. You can really hear the cool interplay between Keith and Clifton, the two guitarists. It’s a whole new experience for me when listening to these remastered versions. All the elements seem to pop more.

Would you like to share about your upbringing? Where did you all grow up? Tell us about daily life back in your teenage years.

We (the band) all came from similar suburban backgrounds. We were all moved by the underground music of the late 70’s and early 80’s. I grew up and small southern tobacco town Lumberton, North Carolina, happened to be the setting for David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. It was an odd little town. We got in trouble like a lot of kids back then. My first band was called Art Soup with all my high school friends, we were inspired by Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd, we entered a battle of the bands and they called the cops on us during our set. Southeastern North Carolina was not ready for Art Soup. Things would go better for my Athens bands.

Was there a certain scene you were part of, maybe you had some favorite hangout places? Did you attend a lot of gigs back then?

The best hangouts in Athens back in the day were the Grit, the coffee club; 11:11, 40 Watt, and house parties of course! I saw so many great shows in the clubs in Athens and Atlanta. My favs in Atlanta were often at the Agora Ballroom or the 688 Club.

In Athens we were part of the early 80’s alternative/indie music scene, back then it was a close knit group; like a collective without a name; they made a movie about us, and we were in People magazine; they’re were some famous bands from that scene, it continues today I think, and evolves and still produces great music. However I think it became more self conscious after all the national attention. I maintain great friendships with members of Athens bands from my era. We’ve met up a few times with quasi official scene reunions. There were a lot of like minded folk back then that accidently re-invented rock culture. Now there is even an Athens walk of fame; we hope to get on it…

If we would step into your teenage room, what kind of records, fanzines, posters et cetera would we find there?

Oh man, before punk rock and “new wave” hit, it was Electric Light Orchestra, The Rolling Stones, and even Cat Stevens also Steppenwolf, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix but I fell hard for early Clash, Sex Pistols and Elvis Costello, also The Damned and Dead Boys, Talking Heads…. That music changed everything…made me want to play!

Was Kilkenny Cats your very first band or were you involved with any other bands?

Kilkenny Cats are best known for sure; Is Ought Gap (IOG has an album coming out in early 24 on HHBTM Records). Super excited about hands down for Kilkenny! Other bands were Art Soup, Guy Smiley, Lotus Eaters, … Keith Landers and Sean O’Brien played in Fashion Battery.

“We wanted to do dark music, hard and intense”

Can you elaborate on the formation of the Kilkenny Cats?

We wanted to do dark music, hard and intense. It was different for what was going on in Athens, we started out with slam dancing, candles on the stage, and local controversy around the shows was even written up in the local university paper… We evolved of course. I was filled with southern doom and gloom and grew up around religion and the threat of hell… dark indeed.

What influenced Kilkenny Cats’s sound?

It came from all directions and changed when we got the ‘Hands Down’ line-up solidified… but we still coalesced around the idea of dark music; dark art; but all the guys brought different elements to the sound.

What kind of places did you play? What are some of the bands you shared stages with?

We played well known and totally obscure rock clubs all over the USA, but mostly on the eastern seaboard. We did shows with Hüsker Dü, REM, The Dream Syndicate, The Tubes, Dave Johanson of The New York Dolls, Gun Club… 10,000 Maniacs and even once with The Pixies opening for us in Athens on their first tour!

Tell us about the instruments, gear, effects et cetera you had in the band. All I had was a microphone.

Hope we can get more info here from the other guys. We weren’t gear heads too much, Keith Landers prefers his Paul Stanley guitars and Marshall amps.

What do you recall from recording your first single, ‘Attractive Figure’ / ‘Of Talk’?

We recorded this at Song Bird Studios in Atlanta GA. We were green but Micheal Lachowski of Pylon went with us to produce. He was super helpful. We did it in like two days. We did not have a label but sent it around and got offers from New Rose Records in Paris; and Coyote/Twin-Tone USA… Attractive Figure is still so fun to listen to and is always fun to play… it’s a sexy song.

What’s the story behind your debut album? Where did you record it? What kind of equipment did you use and who was the producer? How many hours did you spend in the studio?

It was Hands Down for Coyote/Twin-Tone Records at Nicollette Studios in Minneapolis, MN. The album features songs reminiscent of their early sounds, but also highlighted the exciting contributions of their new members’ folk and garage rock influences on many tracks. A multi-band record release party was thrown for Kilkenny Cats at the famous Limelight in NYC alongside label-mates Yo La Tengo, the Feelies and Mofungo. The music on ‘Hands Down’ maintains the tropes Kilkenny Cats would revisit throughout their career: the Southern Gothic-inflected themes of religion, sin, lost love, passion and decay, oftentimes with a very danceable beat.

Would you share your insight on the albums’ tracks?

His needs to be more specific but lately I’ve really enjoyed listening to ‘Thinking Fire,’ ‘Shakin’ In The 60’s’ and ‘Morning Song’ and got a lot of attention in Athens. They are more folk influenced. I like ‘Sister Sin’ lately too… dark and trippy.

“Creative, free, sometimes wild”

How would you describe the 80s local scene of Athens, GA?

Creative, free, sometimes wild. It was really unreal, we were unconscious and making lots of art… amazing!

You released an EP, ‘Hammer’ two years later. What were the circumstances?

What happened after the band stopped? Sean O’Brien went to form Come, the Boston band with Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw. Our friend Arthur Johnson who played in Athens band, The Bar-B-Q Killers was also in Come on drums. Allen Wagner continues playing drums for lots of folks in the Athens area while pursuing other interests as well. Keith became a lawyer and I pursued a career in computer science. We both continued to pursue music and art as hobbies.

Looking back, what was the highlight of your time in the band? Which songs are you most proud of? Where and when was your most memorable gig?

The best part of being in Kilkenny Cats for me was creating, seeing a song come together and being excited about playing it live. We wrote a lot of material over the years and never really got writer’s block. I loved having this awesome music come together in our practice space and feel really privileged that I got to work with all these great musicians that were in the band. There are some awesome never before released tunes coming out with ‘Hands Down’. We had all this material in the can then went a different direction so we never released because we had new stuff for the next release, ‘Hammer’.

What currently occupies your life?

Coleman, my hound dog. Also I’ve had a ton of fun working with Karen Allison at Propeller making AI art for our videos. I really dig these videos. Check our Kilkenny Cats YouTube channel. We are going to be doing more. AI used well is an awesome tool and can help level the playing field with video production. I think what’s happening in those videos is a separate interview.

Klemen Breznikar

Kilkenny Cats Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
Propeller Sound Recordings Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube