Kitty and the Rooster want to make you laugh

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Vancouver rock/folk/ surf duo Kitty and the Rooster are excited to make their Lethbridge debut, Jan. 25 in support of their new CD “One Gig Hard Drive” as part of their “Best in Snow tour”
 The duo include drummer Jodie Ponto, who wears  a rubber cat mask during their shows and guitarist Noah Walker, wearing a rooster mask.Kitty and the Rooster join Carolyn Mark And Bears in Hazenmore at the Owl, Jan. 25. Photo submitted
 They were a hit at South Country Fair last year, and are excited to play Lethbridge for the first time with Carolyn Mark and Bears in Hazenmore at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Jan. 25. They were kind enough to take some time away from their vacation in Mexico to answer a few questions through the wonders of e-mail.
How did you two meet and what made you decide to make music together?
Kitty & The Rooster is the product of a torrid love affair in soggy tent during a very rainy music fest in Wells, BC.  A few years after our initial fest-mance we started to get to that point in a relationship where you either need to have a baby or start a band.  We picked band.
A lot of your songs on the new CD are about sex, what inspired you to write about sex? ( I play the  Sexercise a lot on my punk show on CKXU) what inspired the songs in general?
 
They always tell you to “write what you know” so Kitty & The Rooster has a lot of songs about touring in an unknown band, our hometown of Vancouver BC, and yeah …
 Kitty & The Rooster’s main goal with songwriting is to make our friends laugh. We figure if we can achieve that then we are on the right track.
 The song Sexercise is all about The Rooster’s exercise philosophy and how to stay in shape when touring in a rock n’ roll band.
 In your promo pics you both have cat and rooster masks. Do they appear on stage?  What is the biggest challenge performing in masks?
 Yes, our masks will be making an appearance in Lethbridge! It is almost impossible to see in the masks so The Rooster has had a few epic bails on stage but it adds an element of danger to the show.
Jodie, you're a band photographer. Which came first photography or music? Why did you form this band? What was the concept behind it?
 The Kitty has been a professional photographer for a long time and so it made sense that when we started the band that it had to have a significant visual component.  Shortly after our first rehearsal we ordered away to a company called “State of Latex” for some cat and rooster masks.  Jodie Ponto put to use her photo skills to make a series of hilarious images and photoshops which we call “Pontoshops”.
What do you remember about your last show in the Lethbridge area?
This is our first time!  Although we’re popping our Lethbridge cherry, we have played in the area at South Country Fair before. We played in the afternoon and it was so blisteringly hot that Noah was worried he might pass out during the set. Then he realized, if he did pass out, people would love it, so he played even harder and managed to make it through one of our favourite shows of the summer. 
 What do you hope people will take with them after one of your shows?
Hopefully people will take home one of our Kitty & The Rooster prayer candles with images of Mary Kitty and Rooster Jesus on them and maybe one of our Kitty & The Rooster lollipops which we like to call Cock Suckers and Pussy Lickers
What are we going to be hearing at the show? What are you looking forward to most about it?
A healthy dose of surf-tastic rock n’ roll with Jodie (the Kitty) Ponto on the stand-up cocktail drum kit, and Noah (The Rooster) Walker on guitar dishing out some reverby retro comedy rock. We are looking forward to playing in Lethbridge and seeing some friends and family we haven’t seen in a while and to be reunited with the Queen of Vancouver Island, Carolyn Mark.  Whenever she is involved you know it’s going to be a good time.
Will it be just the duo, do you add other musicians to live shows?

Not JUST a duo!  A high energy rock n’ roll show with the sound of a full band.  Though there’s only two of us on stage we have to haul more gear than most rock bands. That said, whenever possible we do perform with our backup singers The Cockettes.


You're playing with Carolyn Mark and Bears in Hazenmore. What do you enjoy most about playing with them?

Oops, I already raved about Carolyn Mark but I’d happily rave some more.  She is just the best and easily one of our biggest heroes/influences. We are excited to see Bears in Hazenmore too, we’re both playing at the Big Winter Classic festival in Calgary the day before.

 

Now the CD is out, what are your plans? Do you have a big tour in the works for it?

I type this from an airport in Mexico where we just spent a week writing a whole batch of new songs that will be on our next record.  Kitty & The Rooster will be touring Western Canada extensively between now and the end of summer then we are planning on heading out to Ontario and beyond in the fall. 


Kitty and the Rooster, Carolyn Mark and Bears in Hazenmore play the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Friday, Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. Admission is by donation

— by Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 January 2019 10:07 )