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"I want to thank you for the terrific performance on the Church Street Stage! You were great and the crowd thoroughly enjoyed your performance. It was all we hoped for."
-- Ellen Primick, Cabrillo Music Festival

"If you noticed a couple of ol' greyhairs threading through the dancers in front of the stage just before your closing song, by dancing themselves, that was me and my friend :) Loved your rendition of the music of the GD. Keep on keepin'"
-- Alan Trist, Ice Nine Publishing

"One of the Bay's most esteemed Dead cover bands. Their ability to recreate the sounds of the Grateful Dead is uncanny...just wait for the first three notes of Shakedown Street and you'll feel like you're at Winterland in '78."
-- Cafe du Nord

"... Here's a band you need to catch... As the old saying goes, 'There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert' — and members of Santa Cruz-based band The China Cats take that to heart. The group — formerly known as Dough Knees — beautifully captures the improvisational spirit and psychedelic sound of a Grateful Dead concert, drawing from the legendary band's vast repertoire, with faithful interpretations of songs such as 'Truckin',' 'Eyes of the World,' 'Jack Straw,' 'Terrapin Station' and 'Bertha.' Close your eyes and you'll think you're back at the fabled Fillmore West!"
-- Monterey Herald

"Grateful Dead tribute bands are a dime a dozen, rarely capturing any of the Dead's actual appeal or virtuosic jamming, but (The China Cats) actually do the legacy proud. What became a one-off tribute last year among self-professed Deadheads has grown into a primary concern, and for good reason: instead of trying to attempt note-for-note re-enactments, (The China Cats) evoke the spirit of the Dead through limber jams potent enough to give even the sober a contact high."
— santacruz.com

"true-to-form"
— Good Times, Santa Cruz

"... one of the Bay Area's best new Grateful Dead cover bands." 7x7.com

"The authenticity's in the sound for this local band that plays the music of the Grateful Dead. (They) cover songs from across the Dead's spectrum with extended jams and a sense of spontaneity that ensures every show offers something different."-- Santa Cruz Sentinel, Best Bets, 8/29/08

Formerly known as Dough Knees, the China Cats is a Grateful Dead tribute band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in the fall of 2007, the band developed a reputation as an authentic but not derivative tribute to Jerry Garcia and company. With a new keyboard player and drummer, the band changed its name to the China Cats. The band doesn't try to mimic Bob Weir's gestures or grow their hair and beard to look like Garcia, but they do try to sound like the Dead ... and do an amazing job of it. Dough Knee's choice of material spans the Dead's entire career including vintage gems such as "Casey Jones," epic masterpieces like "Terrapin Station" as well as obscure, latter-day nuggets such as "So Many Roads." Guitarist Theo Winston uncannily channels the soloing and tone of Garcia. Rhythm guitarist Scott Cooper, who also teaches a guitar class on the Dead at UC-Santa Cruz, covers the slashing chords of Bob Weir. Detroit native Patrick Blizinski covers both the Leslie-powered organ parts of Brent Mydland, the piano runs of Keith Godchaux, and an occasional lead vocal. Bassist Roger Slideman drops bass bombs and plays a style developed by his musical mentor Phil Lesh. Coincidentally, he studied music for years as a child with Lesh's 1st cousin Carol Lesh. Lastly drummer Michael Owens single-handedly mans the post, a la the early 70s when Bill Kreutzman was the lone drummer.

Members of the band have performed, recorded or studied with Barry Sless (Phil & Friends, David Nelson), Ben Ellman (Galactic), Howard Wales (Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead), Bill Laymon (New Riders), Keith Graves (Jefferson Starship, Quicksilver), Dale Ockerman (Doobie Brothers, Quicksilver), Kai Eckhardt (Garaj Mahal, John McLaughlin Trio), George Marsh (David Grisman Quintet), Bobby Black (Hank Williams, Bob Dylan), Rob Wenig (JGB), Luka Frederickson (Wolfman Washington), Mike Schermer (Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur), Marc Carino (Fabulous Thunderbirds), James "Fingers" Shupe (Dan Hicks), Chris Cain, Robert Lowery, Luther Tucker, Johnny Shines, Rusty Zinn, Matt Hartle, Deep Blue Sea, Stackabones, Butch Zito, Jim Brighton, Gary Gates, Bundy Brown, Slugs & Roses, Bhi Bhiman, Hippie Grenade, and many others.

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