JAYA THE CAT - Basement Style  (CD)

BOSTON SOUNDCHECK.COM  issue 51, June 2001

By Jesse Mayer

“We’re a garage band, we come from garage land...” was the shout from the UK’s punk gutter some 20-odd years ago.
The Clash’s train was not in vain. Joe Strummer’s call to arms has been answered by Boston’s Jaya The Cat. Their debut Basement Style (Gold Circle Records) is a manifesto born in the alley ways of America. The dubs are deeper, the politics more personal, and the slogans have given way to pure soul. At the heart of this band is the integrity, passion, and attitude that has always defined punk rock, reggae, and the blues.
Jaya’s debut album rocks, skanks, trance-dubs, and screams its way through a total of 18 songs with one common thread: they are all great songs. The fact that Gold Circle signed this band without ever having seen it live is testament to the level of songwriting. Live, Jaya The Cat are a force of nature. At the center stage mic frontman Geoff Lagadec, part Marley, part Motorhead is a riveting presence. Lead guitarist Dave Smith is a bull in the sonic china shop. Bassist Ben Murphy, a monster, one minute evokes Sly n’ Robbie and the next Nikki Sixx. At Slaughterhouse Studios producer Mark Miller got this all on tape.
As of this writing (June 2001) the radio landscape in America is as dismal as it was in ‘76-’77, MTV is locked into a relentless goose step of mediocrity and college radio is splintered into a zillion “core” factions. Everyone seems to be waiting for something to shake things loose - yet, no one seems to know the form it’s gonna take. I do, ‘cause I’ve already heard Basement Style and I want to share it with the world.
Boston SoundCheck Magazine: Let’s start out with a brief history of the band, how you started in San Francisco, and how you wound up here.
Dave: Well, Geoff was in Puerto Rico and I was staying at his house playing on all his equipment. Then he came back from Puerto Rico and we started jamming and we had a couple people that he knew start playing with us. It was just everyone would come over and start playing. We got a couple gigs in the Bay State, we played at all the shitty places in Western Mass, we played at all the U. Mass parties for free beer, for kegs, whatever we could get. Then we started doing really good in Northampton, we started playing a couple shows in Boston, and we got big egos and thought we were awesome so we moved to San Francisco to take over and we got our asses kicked.
BSM: What was San Francisco like?
Dave: San Francisco is impossible to find a place to live. Everybody hated ska, hated ska. We basically moved to the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s wicked expensive. Everyone loved wicked shitty death metal and stuff like that, bad punk rock. We lived in a basement with all our equipment, like we were living in our practice space on these little Auchswitz bunks that we made that were just terrible, then it caught on fire, Hugh couldn’t take it anymore and moved back to Boston.
BSM: Hugh was the drummer?
JTC: He was the drummer at the time. So at that point we were just like forget it.
BSM: You’ve said the ska word a couple times.
JTC: We were a ska band at first...
BSM: You were?
JTC: [Talking amongst themselves] No, we weren’t. Yes, we were. No, we weren’t. We were punky reggae.
BSM: I heard you started as a hippie band, did you guys just jam and stuff like that?
Geoff: Not really, our songs were pretty much written; it wasn’t like we just played for 20 minutes. We had some weird songs. We played parties all the time so we had to play forever ‘cause everyone was drinking and running around.
BSM: Last year you guys won the “Valley Advocate’s” “Best Ska Band in Massachusetts,” then this year you were nominated at the Boston Music Awards for the “Best Ska Band.” I always get the feeling from you that you really hate to be defined as a ska band and I don’t see you as a ska band. What is that all about?
Geoff: What else you going to put us under? We’re just rock, I guess. Put us on any show and we stick out like a sore thumb. Put us on a ska show and we’re the only guys up there with no horns, put us on a reggae show we’re more punk then any other band there. Put us on a punk show and we’re too reggae or we’re too ska. We sort of don’t fit into anything.
BSM: Geoff, you were down in the islands, is that where you got your reggae influence?
Geoff: No, I like the reggae ‘cause I loved The Clash and I figured out that they played reggae a lot. Then I started smoking a shitload of weed and started doing acid and it was like, I don’t know, reggae, I can’t complain.
Ben: Back to the ska thing, I think the reason we got categorized as that is ‘cause when we first came to town we got hooked up with the ska people like Grant Thayer and Dan Natale from Bim Skala Bim. He had the Boston ska thing and he liked our band, so that initially got us playing with Bim Skala Bim and The Allstonians; so people just assumed that they’re playing with those guys, they must be a ska band.
BSM: So at that point it probably helped you with the exposure.
JTC: Yeah, we were getting good shows. We were opening for Bim Skala Bim at the Middle East. We weren’t going to turn it down because we’re not a ska band. Don’t get me wrong I like ska, they’re all great bands, but it’s just not exactly what we play.
BSM: You’re just about to release your first real record on Gold Circle, how did that happen?
Dave: It was a combination of good and bad luck. I knew this girl who was a friend of mine from L.A. and she worked at this really weird label called Triloca, they put out weird world beat music. I sent her a copy of our demo because she’s my friend. I was like check it out, listen to it, it’s pretty cool. So she gave to this kid, Shiva, who she worked with at the label. Then Shiva called me and he was wicked all about it, he loved it. He wanted to get us a record deal wicked bad. I gave him Geoff’s number and he called him. I guess through the circle of people he works with he heard about this Gold Circle label that was opening up in Amsterdam and this Frank Van Hauten over there. We sent him a copy of our CD and next thing you know we got an e-mail or a phone call saying that these guys were interested in signing you guys. We worked it out with our manager, Mark Sokol, he got us a lawyer. After a year of dealing with lawyers and going back and forth and shit like that we finally got it all together.
BSM: The band was signed without the label ever seeing the band play live, right?
JTC: Yeah, definitely. The first time Frank saw the band was at the Hometown Throwdown.
BSM: That’s pretty unheard of. So now there’s international distribution of the indie on this?
JTC: Sony-Red.
BSM: The street date for this record, “Basement Style,” to come out is when in Europe and when in the United States?
JTC: First week of June in Europe, first week of August for the U.S.A. - and that is subject to change.
BSM: What was the entire budget for this first album?
Geoff: Well it cost us, with mastering and everything under $10,000.
BSM: Geoff you do a whole lot of the songwriting and a lot of your songs involve drinking, throwing bricks, and generally given society the finger. Why are those your favorite topics?
Geoff: I don’t know, it’s pretty much what I do. I get hammered and then I get pulled over and then I got to go to court and I get screwed and I come home a write a song about it. I can’t sing about anything that doesn’t affect me. You know me, I like to have a couple of beers.
BSM: If you got into a drinking contest between Jaya The Cat and Darkbuster who would win?
Geoff: That’s a tough one, man. I’d be real curious to find out. I can drink, but I’m not going to be “Mr. Tough Gy and try to drink those guys under the table. I don’t know, I know they can all suck ‘em down. I’ve seen ‘em do it.
BSM: If Richard Petty and Joe Strummer got in a fight who would win?
JTC: It would depend on how much each one of them had to drink. I hear Joe Strummer likes to throw them back and you know Richard Petty does. I liked to see that.
BSM: Boston versus San Francisco as far as living?
Geoff: San Francisco has a lot more fun shit to do, it’s a lot more cooler of a city. People are too damn uptight around here. There’s a lot more racial tension around here and there’s a lot more conservative vibe just in general. But the music scene around here rules. It’s probably a better music scene, I’d say, here in Boston. San Fran is all about the rave, man. Everyone just wants to listen to that rave shit. The clubs love it ‘cause they don’t have to pay bands or put up with drunk assholes.
BSM: No, they just put up with assholes on E.
Dave: Yeah, but that’s a lot easier, all they do is drink water and rub up against each other’s crotches - how bad can that be. When you got me and Geoff hanging out of windows throwing bottles with pee in ‘em into the street. Whole ‘nother story.
BSM: Here comes the question that I don’t want to ask. Obviously, there’s three of you on the cover, what’s the deal with drummers, what’s up?
JTC: We got a drummer right now, he’s played on the record, J.J. O’Connell. Good drummer, good kid, hasn’t really made a commitment to the band, though. He plays in other bands so we play with other drummers, it’s sort of like that I guess. He’ll definitely tour with us now and then. For all intents and purposes, except for not being in the picture, he’s pretty much in the band I’d say.
BSM: Do you guys own guns? If so why, if not why not?
JTC: Lack of F.I.D. card and we’re not stupid enough to get one without a F.I.D. card. We’re working on that though.
Ben: As a matter of fact, I’m going for my card this week.
BSM: How do you feel about becoming part of the big-time music industry?
JTC: I’ll believe it when I see it.
BSM: What’s your greatest hope for Jaya The Cat?
Geoff: I hope I can quit my goddamn telemarketing job forever. I’m sick of that shit man, when I don’t have to go back. It would be nice to make enough money so I could chill for the rest of my life. I ain’t counting on it, but what the f*ck, it’s what everyone’s looking for.
Ben: I just want to see the world, I’ve never been out of the country before. If I could see the world, play a little rock, and not have to work a regular job I probably wouldn’t be doing too much bitching.
BSM: What’s your greatest fear for Jaya The Cat?
Geoff: Getting f*cked. That basically sums it up, getting f*cked. Getting f*cked for me would be liked we worked it, got to travel around then all of a sudden I got to sell my Camaro to pay rent and I’d have to go back to work as a telemarketer.
BSM: What are the best and worst things about being in this band?
Geoff: Gives me an excuse to get older and keep getting hammered. Seems like I’m up to something everyday I get up.
BSM: You guys were saying that you like the Boston music scene, what’s good about it?
Geoff: You know what’s cool about it is people actually tend to go out and support music, maybe it’s just because it’s a younger crowd because of all the colleges. I don’t know, people show up. My experience in San Francisco - and I’ve played with other bands in San Fran when Jaya broke up - is that you play a show and everyone would come up and be like, “Oh yeah, that was great, I’m always gonna come see you guys, I’ll bring all my friends next time, blah blah blah.” You never see the f*ckers again, people are a little bit more true to their word around here. If you gig here, people generally will show up. If you get enough people doing that and you get a good show, it’s a good ride. I can’t complain, it’s pretty f*ckin’ cool around here.
BSM: What are you listening to these days?
Geoff: A lot of old calypso and, I don’t know, just whatever’s around. I still listen to a lot of old punk and stuff. Still listen to some reggae, not as much as I used to, just a lot of calypso lately, keeps me mellow. Keeps me from feeling paranoid about life.
BSM: What do you listen to, Ben?
Ben: I don’t play a lot of music in my room. These guys play so much music all the time, I hear it. When he plays a lot of reggae I still listen to it. As a bass player I started out playing real heavy rock and some punk, I got that stuff down. Just as a player, when I started playing with Jaya the Cat I was really hip-hop orientated, too, as a bass player, and that’s where I fall into. I’m listening to his calypso records and his reggae records and I’m studying those rhythms. It’s really interesting to me.
BSM: Dave, what are you listening to? The sound of a beer hitting a glass?
Dave: Toots and the Maytals, that record rules. That funky Kingston CD.
BSM: What are you listening to these days? Who’s the best live band you’ve ever seen?
Geoff: You know I’d never seen The Clash, but when Joe Strummer came around here, that was wicked killer man. It just made you think how great The Clash must have been, I know that’s a cop-out answer saying that they must have been the best, but he was really f*ckin’ good. His band was good too, that was a killer show. Almost a spriritual experience, almost.
Dave: I saw the Bad Brains two years ago at Pearl Street and that was pretty awesome. They were wicked good. They played all the stuff that you wanted to hear and at the end of it they played all the old stuff wicked fast.
BSM: What about movies?
JTC: Movies rule.
Dave: I saw Forced Venegence with Chuck Norris the other night and what a killer movie, ever see it?
BSM: Nope, I’m not a Chuck Norris guy.
JTC: Great movie, man. I recommend it to everybody. What’s your favorite movie?
BSM: Apocalypse Now.
JTC: I’m going to be an asshole and say Easy Money, ‘cause it is the best movie.
JTC: It’s got to be Caddy Shack.
Ben: I’d say either Caddy Shack or Slap Shot.
Geoff: First Blood. Rambo makes cops look stupid in front of other cops. He made them look bad ‘cause he’s the real hero, a Green Beret, he’s not some fat shit cop in a small hick town, and he still showed them some compassion when he had them on his turf in the woods with a knife to the man’s throat and was telling him to let it go.