Cats in Boots

This short-lived Japanese-American group was formed when guitarist Takashi ‘Jam' Ohashi and bass player Yasuhiro ‘Butch' Hatae, of the successful Tokyo-based band Seiki Matsu, recruited vocalist Joel Ellis, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and drummer Randy Meers, originally from Houston, Texas, from the remains of Los Angeles-based Merry Hoax. The American members relocated to Tokyo to record demos, and these tapes were released as a mini-album that shot to number 1 on the Japanese indie chart. The resultant interest instigated the quartet's signing to EMI Records. The Mark Opitz...