MySpacea place for friends

Teddy Hesper was born in London, England in 1982, but moved to the Devonshire countryside aged 4. Though he is an experienced musician, being in Le Chat Noir has marked a change in Hesper's musical direction - since picking up a bass guitar at the age of 15, he has played in numerous bands, but it was not until late 2006, when he began his musical correspondence with Spruce, that he switched from bass to guitar and vocals. Hesper is a keen reader and writer and has a degree in English Literature. His guitar style is unusual and certainly influenced by his years as a bassist - he often plays in open D, using an ABY box to split the signal to a bass amplifier and guitar amplifier to flesh out the band's sound - whilst his untrained, exorcism-in-progress vocal delivery has led to comparisons to Kurt Cobain, Frank Black and even Jim Morrison. A mild-mannered character in person, Hesper undergoes a remarkable change upon taking to the stage - he often seems to be wrestling with inner demons, charging Le Chat Noir's live shows with excitement and unpredictability.

Los Angeles native Spruce was born in 1983, moving to England in 2006 to be in Le Chat Noir. Anyone who has witnessed one of Le Chat Noir's live shows will testify that her aggressive style blows any comparisons to other well-known girl drummers out of the water. When on stage, Spruce becomes a woman possessed. She is an irresistible presence behind the drums, thrashing out solid, powerful rhythms as though her life depended on it. People have made comparisons to John Bonham and Keith Moon. She is one of the most animated and hardest-hitting drummers you are ever likely to see, attested to by a trail of broken double butt-ended drumsticks and smashed cymbals!

Carpe Diem @ 4AD, Diksmuide (Belgium) 07-03-08.

Her Wicked Smile @ 4AD, Diksmuide (Belgium) 07-03-08.

There's something about seeing Le Chat Noir live, you just get that feeling deep down that you're watching a band that really have something special, and you might just be there at the birth of true greatness. The stories you hear about small venue early gigs of seminal bands, like The Brian Jonestown Massacre starting fights at the viper rooms or Sex Pistols at Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall, The Beatles at The Cavern etc. - where hardly anyone was there but all of them went on to form bands after being inspired by what they saw... you can’t learn the kind of connection this double act have on stage, and the natural aptitude for their instruments. You just know that, and it’s only a matter of time before they do, when this band start playing for big, big crowds they could start a fucking riot... as soon as you put aside those White Stripes misconceptions – and you will as soon as they strike the first note, the first scream and first thunder of kick and snare, you realise your about to witness something explosive - and I for one feel privileged to now be able to say "I was there at the beginning".
Noize Makes Enemies live review

Teddy is the man on raw vocal and dirty blues electric, done up like a no-messin shit-slingin' cowboy. Eileen is on drums and sometimes off them... she pounds harder and faster than any female drummer I've ever seen. Think The Kills, The Ravonettes and every other male/female two-piece and double the 'f@$% me' ratio... drumsticks flew, Teddys blood was spilt, guitars were thrown and even trousers were split in the best example of dirty garage blues rock'n'roll I've seen in a long time!
Moles Club Website live review

Deadwood, released through Bath-based label Patchogue Records, is the hotly-anticipated second album from Le Chat Noir. It sees the band developing the visceral garage rock of their debut album and taking it to a new level, with tracks exhibiting a new maturity and confidence whilst still staying true to the stripped-down aesthetic which has earned them a cult following. Exclusive artwork by Tim Zastera and 8 page concertina fold booklet. The album was recorded between January and July 2007 at The Cat's Cradle.

Exeter’s, boy-girl, garage-punk, rock-roll duo render most of this month’s other dodos extinct. ‘Deadwood’ picks up where last year’s gloriously scuzzy debut left off, tweaks up the grizzly Detroit-esque distortion, introduces a host of new mythological icons and throws us around like rag-dolls in a dust-storm. Combining elements of the Wild West fed through the alcohol-stale streets of the Wild South West, the likes of ‘Wedding Dress’ are riffmungously fervid, while the dark prairie coo of ‘Down By The River’ reveals a band with enough strings to their bow to slay critical all-comers.
24/7 Magazine review of Deadwood

Please visit our online shop (http://www.lechatnoir.org.uk/shop.html) to order the album for 7.00GBP - FREE shipping to any part of the world is included!

Tales From Silver City is a masterclass in gutter-groove, mixing '50s garage with '60s Detroit howl and '70s punk riffola, where songs like 'Mary Lee' ooze class, confidence and clarity. If the Stooges, MC5, Winnebago Deal and Blues Explosion rock your world, then come stroke this dirty pussy.
24/7 Magazine review of Tales From Silver City

Located at the sonic crossroads between raw blues-rock abuse and garage fuzz Le Chat Noir deliver the goods across fifteen pulpy noir-flecked tales of hard liquor, stray corpses and grief. This is effortlessly-convincing nu-blooze - cheap, sleazy and brutal - like The Black Keys sound-tracking a Film Noir. Underneath the tough blues exterior lies an equally doomy alt.rock heart that would doubtlessly beat comfortably on a 90s Sub Pop compilation.
MAPS Magazine review of Tales From Silver City

Tales From Silver City, Le Chat Noir's debut album, was available in a limited run of 500 on Garage Sale Records, individually signed and numbered with exclusive artwork by New Zealand-based artist Daniel Alexander. The album was recorded between September and October 2006 at The Cat's Cradle, the band's studio deep in the Devonshire countryside. It has now sold out, but there are plans for a rerecorded release in 2008.

"100% Rock'N'Roll Spirit" t-shirt, limited run of 100 shirts available - when they're gone, they're gone! Only 11.00GBP, FREE P&P! These are quality, heavyweight cotton Fruit Of The Loom shirts with a very durable, professionally screenprinted design. Please visit our online shop (http://www.lechatnoir.org.uk/shop.html) to place your order.

SIZES AVAILABLE:
Mens: S, M, L, XL
MENS XXL SOLD OUT!
Girls: L, XL
GIRLS XS, S & M SOLD OUT!

"Le Chat Noir saloon" t-shirt, limited run of 100 shirts available - when they're gone, they're gone! Only 11.00GBP, FREE P&P! These are quality, heavyweight cotton Fruit Of The Loom shirts with a very durable, professionally screenprinted design in two colours. Please visit our online shop (http://www.lechatnoir.org.uk/shop.html) to place your order.

SIZES AVAILABLE:
Mens: S, M
MENS L, XL & XXL SOLD OUT!
Girls: XS, S, M, L, XL

SPECIAL DEAL FOR SPRING/SUMMER '08: Buy a t-shirt, Deadwood CD and high quality vinyl sticker for just 15.00GBP! Please visit our online shop (http://www.lechatnoir.org.uk/shop.html) to place your order.