To quote the illustrious Canadian rock band Trooper, Moncton rock band Danger Cat didn’t intentionally set out to raise a little hell, however the road to the group’s debut EP has been one littered with trashed dressing rooms and a trail of broken hearts behind them.
While some of the above may have been exaggerated, it is no joke that Danger Cat have a brand new EP out. Formed a scant 10 months ago, the group has grown by leaps and bounds as they approach their first anniversary and nowhere is this more evident than on the eight songs contained on their self-titled EP.
Danger Cat celebrates the release of their debut EP with a free all-ages show at McSweeney’s Dinner Theatre in downtown Moncton Saturday evening. The show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Once that show wraps up, Danger Cat will pack up and head downstairs for a performance at the Tide & Boar alongside Newfoundland rock band The Novaks. Admission to the 10 p.m. show is $10 and restricted to those 19 years of age and older.
Produced by BackYard Devils’ member Christian Belliveau, the group, comprised of Mathieu Leblanc, Olivier Landry, Nic Leblanc and Marc-Andre Belliveau, chose to make the recording process as simple, short and sweet as possible.
“The EP was recorded over the course of three days here in Moncton,” guitarist-vocalist Nic Leblanc begins.
Acknowledging that while giving the recording process such a definitive, short deadline added some pressure to the making of their EP, Leblanc says that it suited the group well considering some groups can take months to make a record.
“I think that if you’re always trying for perfection, going back and constantly touching up the songs you’ve recorded, it is going to sap some of the energy from the songs. Knowing we had a limited amount of time to make this EP, we put all of our energy into recording during those three days. It is a much more accurate snapshot of where we were at during this specific moment of time than if we had laboured over it for months and months.”
This past summer, Danger Cat spent their Thursday nights on stage at the Tide & Boar Gastropub, a musical residency of sorts that Leblanc says was invaluable for the band. Impressed by what he had seen after having Danger Cat open for The Novaks and Prince Edward Island band The North Lakes, Tide & Boar owner Chad Steeves offered the pub’s stage to the group for a regular weekly show this past summer. Not only was the group given the chance to fine-tune their live show, it also afforded them the opportunity to continually refine their original songs as well.
“Playing those shows week after week not only helped make us tighter as a band, they also made us more comfortable with performing live,” Leblanc says. “Having the opportunity to play week after week like we did was a great opportunity.”
Article published in the October 19, 2012 edition of the Times & Transcript