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The Alley Cats are a Los Angeles, California-based punk rock trio formed in 1977. The original line-up, featuring Randy Stodola (guitar and vocals), Dianne Chai (bass and vocals) and John McCarthy (drums), was a fixture of the early L.A. punk rock scene. Signed to Dangerhouse Records alongside other seminal California-based punk bands including the Bags, Black Randy and the Metro Squad, and X, they released their first single "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore" backed with "Give Me a Little Pain" on March 30, 1978. They are among the six bands featured on the 1979 compilation album Yes L.A. and appear in the 1982 film Urgh! A Music War.

The Alley Cats were regular performers at such Los Angeles venues as Club 88, Hong Kong Café, The Masque, and the Whisky a Go Go. Music writer Chris Morris remarked that the band "made some of the toughest, most nihilistic music on the scene."

Reformed as "The Zarkons", they released two albums, Riders In The Long Black Parade (1985) and Between the Idea & the Reality...Falls the Shadow (1988), before disbanding in 1988.

After a 20-year hiatus, Stodola reformed the trio and currently performs as The Alley Cats along with fellow North Dakota-native Apryl Cady (bass and vocals) and Matt Laskey (drums). The line-up appears on the 2020 compilation album SPIKE: A San Pedro Compilation. Live performances include songs from the band's early albums as well as covers and new material.

Discography

Albums

• 1981 - Nightmare City
• 1982 - Escape From The Planet Earth
• 1985 - Riders In The Long Black Parade (as The Zarkons)
• 1988 - Between the Idea & the Reality…Falls the Shadow (as The Zarkons)
• 2007 - 1979-1982 (Anthology)

Singles and EPs

• 1978 - Nothing Means Nothing Anymore
• 1980 - Too Much Junk

Soundtracks and compilations

• 1979 - Yes L.A. (compilation)
• 1981 - Urgh! A Music War (soundtrack)
• 1991 - Dangerhouse, Vol. 1 (compilation)
• 1993 - Dangerhouse, Vol. 2: Give Me A Little Pain! (compilation)
• 1993 - We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene 1976-79 (compilation) - "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore"
• 1996 - Live From the Masque, Vol. 2: We We Can Can Do Do What What (compilation)
• 2020 - SPIKE: A San Pedro Compilation (compilation)

Filmography

• 1981 - Urgh! A Music War
• 2011 - The Alley Cats Live at the Whisky A Go Go

References

1. Morris, Chris (2016). "You Better Shut Up and Listen". In Doe, John; DeSavia, Tom (eds.). Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk. Da Capo Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0306824081.
2. Dangerhouse, Breakmyface.com, Retrieved July 10, 2010.
3. The Alley Cats--Nothing Means Nothing Anymore, Thep5.blogspot.com, Retrieved July 31, 2010.
4. Urgh! A Music War. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
5. Gehman, Pleasant. "The Alley Cats", In 1979-1982 , Tarzana, Calif., Time Coast Music, May 2007.
6. Doe, John; DeSavia, Tom (2016). Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk. Da Capo Publishing. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-306-82408-1.
7. Between the Idea & the Reality…Falls the Shadow. Nothin′ Sez Somethin′. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
8. The Zarkons - Riders In The Long Black Parade (1985), Azlocal.blogspot.com, Retrieved July 10, 2010.
9. "Randy Stodola and the Alley Cats Rise Again". www.randomlengthsnews.com/. October 26, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
10. Bernadicou, August (January 8, 2015). "Just an Alley Cat: Randy Stodola Speaks!". Teenagenewszine.wordpress.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
11. James, Falling (November 11, 2014). "Classic L.A. Punk Bands Were Still Rude and Relevant at Dangerhouse Records Night". Laweekly.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
12. Callwood, Brett (February 7, 2023). "The Alley Cats Purr in San Pedro". laweekly.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.

External links

• The Alley Cats
• 2018 Interview with Randy Stodola

• Punk rock groups from California
• Musical groups from Los Angeles
• Musical groups established in 1978
• Musical groups disestablished in 1988
• Musical trios from California
• Dangerhouse Records artists
• 1978 establishments in California