The Alley Cats

The Alley Cats were a punk trio from Los Angeles’ South Bay area. Led by real-life husband and wife team of Randy Stodola (guitar/vocals) and Diane Chai (bass/vocals) and rounded out by drummer John McCarthy, the Alley Cats played a ferocious brand of pure LA punk. They were compared favourably to X (albeit, known as X-lite – perhaps because Chai was sultry and seductive whereas Exene was abrasive and aloof).

The ‘We’re Desperate’ CD notes describe her as “…a wet dream. Her Asian beauty was enhanced by a piled high Caesars’ Palace slave girl hairdo, fishnets and black, leather spike-heeled boots and stud-belted black bathing suit.”

Photo credit?

They released two great singles (on the Dangerhouse label) that stand the test of time, “Nothing Means Nothing Anymore”/”Gimme A Little Pain.” and “Too Much Junk.”

They recorded a couple of albums for an imprint of the IRS label (Faulty Products), but those albums never quite matched the white hot fury of their Dangerhouse singles. With a personnel change (drummer McCarthy departed and was replaced by Terry Cooley), the band later reformed as the Zarkons with an additional member, Freda Rente, but never got near the acclaim they got as when they were the Alley Cats.



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