China Cats

Bio:

"Hear the Bay Area's leading Grateful Dead tribute band, the China Cats, on Saturday in Newman... Instead of attempting note-for-note re-enactments, the China Cats try to re-create the spirit of the Dead with creative jam sessions. This Bay Area tribute band performs the songs of the Grateful Dead with spirited jams that carry their own genuine personality while paying homage to their musical forefathers."
-- Modesto Bee

"There’s nothing like a good Grateful Dead tribute band. The China Cats uphold the roots-based jams that Garcia, Weir, Hart, Lesh, Godchaux and Kreutzmann invented. Covers of timeless tunes like “Eyes of the World,” “Here Comes Sunshine” and “Morning Dew,” keep Jerry’s legend shining as bright as a fire. The Santa Cruz quintet is made up of true Deadheads."
-- Monterey County Weekly

"A Grateful Dead tribute band comprised of accomplished veterans and young talents too young to have ever seen the Dead without their Deadhead parents."
-- KGO Radio

"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

"At Fernwood, the China Cats will pay homage to an immortal cultural phenomenon. Santa Cruz – the future home of the Grateful Dead Archive at UC Santa Cruz – is the perfect breeding ground for the Dead cover band. Singer/guitarist Scott Cooper experienced his first Dead show in college. “The rest was history,” he says. Cooper says his favorite Dead songs feature Bob Weir’s distinct guitar riffs – “Cassidy,” “Casey Jones” and “Here Comes Sunshine.” Like the Dead, the Cats can play well into the wee hours; at recent show in the Central Valley, they played four encores. Cooper – who teaches guitar at UCSC – is ecstatic about the archive opening on the welcoming campus. “All the Santa Cruz people are honored that it’s here,” he says.
-- Monterey Weekly, May 2010

"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

This Bay Area tribute band performs the songs of the Grateful Dead with spirited jams that carry their own genuine personality while paying homage to their musical forefathers. Comprised of semi-professional musicians ranging in age from 28 to 44, the band is not merely a gathering of old friends seeking an excuse to jam — it is a labor of love, and all members have other music projects. Despite their various allegiances, they're a full-fledged band, listening closely to one another as they share the happy tangle that defines Dead-style jams. They relish the use of familiar Dead motifs: bluegrassy phrasing on lines far outside the bluegrass idiom, group pauses with glimmering sustained notes, and overlapping scales that unfurled like maypole ribbons. The most recent addition to the band, lead guitarist Matt Hartle is well-known for his Garcia-esque tone and playing through his work with Melvin Seals and Shady Groove. The rhythm guitar parts of Bob Weir are covered by veteran musician Scott Cooper, who also teaches guitar at UC Santa Cruz. Coincidentally, Slideman studied music for years as a child with Lesh's 1st cousin Carol Lesh. China Cats don'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. Armed with a large repertoire of tunes from the Dead's 150-song repertoire, the China Cats, like the Dead, do not repeat songs from one night to the next. Their repertoire spans the Dead's entire career including vintage gems such as "Casey Jones"; epic masterpieces like "Terrapin Station," "Help on the Way -> Slipknot"; Bob Weir jam numbers like "Let it Grow" and "Feel Like a Stranger"; as well as obscure, latter-day nuggets such as "So Many Roads."

Members of the band have performed/recorded with Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band), 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), 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, Deep Blue Sea, Stackabones, Butch Zito, Jim Brighton, Gary Gates, Bundy Brown, Slugs & Roses, Shady Groove, Velour, Seven Come Eleven, Dave Stein, and many others. http://www.gratefulweb.com/reviews/on-tour/the-china-cats-the-pat-nevins-trio-live-at-the-starry-plough-in-berkeley.html

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