itchy kitty
KYRS Live! show at The Big Dipper - Photo by Alicia Hauff Photography
“Your eyes are not fooling you. Itchy Kitty absolutely still embraces their "cat-punk" origins (i.e. the guitar player is named "Catman" — try and guess which member it is), but one could argue the cat shtick is now a non-sequitur for the four-piece. Elston (guitar and vocals), her cousin Naomi Eisenbrey (bass and vocals), Mike "Sug" Tschirgi (drums) and Catman (guitars) have grown into a focused, tightly wound unit that holds no agenda.”
"I've had people poke fun at the fact that it's gimmicky," says Eisenbrey. "People will be like, 'This thing happened to this cat, you should write a song about it.' I'm over the 'writing about cats' thing. We've moved on."
“If nixing the cat shtick is step one in the route to appreciating Itchy Kitty, step two would be resisting a lazy comparison to bands like 7 Year Bitch or Bikini Kill. Not unlike Selene Vigil (7 Year Bitch) or Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill), Elston and Eisenbrey both deliver terrorizing and sour vocals containing cynical, satirical and pungent lyrics. However, the assemblage with Catman's unrestrained guitar gusto, Tschirgi's steadfast thwacking and overall diversity in song structures within the band's catalog make Itchy Kitty's musicianship something special.” - C.A. Coyle of The Inlander
Mr. Universe promo - Photos courtesy of Alicia Hauff Concert Photography