April 11, 2002

PRESENTING DUBCAT . . .

     There's a new group from the California area which features members of Hepcat and the Long Beach Dub All Stars. The group's name is Dubcat and includes Dave Fuentes on bass and Aaron Owens on guitar, among its members. The group is doing several dates in the Florida area during April. Visit the "tour" page for the dates, which are from the Skunk Records' website.

     There is a rock group based out of Florida called DubKat, which is not the same band as Dubcat. By doing a little investigating, Skunk Records has a preliminary website up for Dubcat, with what looks to be Dubcat's logo, featuring a very familiar looking cat smoking. None of the links work on the site yet, but they look to be forthcoming. We aren't exactly sure what type of songs Dubcat will play, or whether it will be strictly covers of Long Beach Dub All Stars and Hepcat tunes, but needless to say it should be quite a show.

HEPCAT SAILS WITH OLD NAVY

     If you're in the mood for shopping to a reggae beat, head over to Old Navy stores. According to Brett (of the Connecticut based Speakeasies group), Old Navy has put together an in-store CD for the Pre-Summer season, filled with ska and reggae songs. Included on the CD are two Hepcat songs, "Bobby & Joe" and "No Worries," as well as songs from Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, and Buju Banton, among others. From what we understand, you cannot actually purchase the CD, but you can listen to it while you browse the aisles. Thanks to Brett for this tidbit, and be sure to check out The Speakeasies' site.

FRUIT COCKTAIL SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT

     Catching up on a story we wrote several months back regarding Greg Lee and his collaboration with Fruit Cocktail on a song entitled "Trendy." We received an e-mail from Fruit Cocktail's drummer, James, who filled us in on the specifics surrounding the song and group:

"I just came across your Hepcat site and noticed that you mentioned Greg Lee's appearance on the Old Skars and Upstarts 2001 compilation. You said that Fruit Cocktail is a supergroup featuring Greg, Tim Armstrong, Stephen Jackson, Duane Peters, and Al Barr. In actuality, Fruit Cocktail is a 3-piece British band who have recorded collaborations with the aforementioned musicians. The track "Trendy" featured on the comp is a medley of these collaborations, edited together by Duane Peters. I know this because I am the drummer in Fruit Cocktail."

You can find more information about Fruit Cocktail, at the group's official website.

SIGN UP FOR THE NEW HEPCAT MAILING LIST

     If you still haven't re-signed up to the new Hepcat mailing list, located at Yahoo! Groups, you need to do so. If you were signed up to the old list on Hotbot, all you need to do is enter your e-mail address below:

     When the new year hits, the old list will no longer be used, and if you haven't signed up with the new Hepcat Yahoo! Group, you will miss out on any future mailings. So what are you waiting for?

HEPCAT E-MAIL ADDRESS

     Here is Hepcat's e-mail address where anyone can get in contact with the band. The address is: dancingmood@hotmail.com, so send them some messages!

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