Audio of Catdad jamming and answering some questions

Catdad, badly photoshopped together

The most striking thing about local band Catdad is their knack for sonic experimentation.

The guitarist Stephen Cooley is a virtuoso technician of effects pedals. The sounds he crafts are beautiful and absolutely unique. But what’s really interesting is how Catdad channels their sonic skill into a band featuring the prototypical rock instruments: drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitar.

Catdad’s debut album is currently in the finishing stages. This record (and their live shows) is a joining of musical worlds both old and new. For example, they decided to record in digital then analog and finally went back to digital (which as lead singer Dave Whiteway points out makes’ it a “dad” recording). For now, Catdad can be heard on MySpace.

The Sheaf sat down with Catdad for a formal interview. Eight beers later and we were all ready to talk.

The Sheaf: Anything about the way Catdad makes music that is different or unique?
Cooley: We stole it all from Pavement.

Alex Deighton: Catdad just starts at Pavement and then it goes some place else.

Sheaf: Does Catdad stand for any combination of the following: Sex, drugs and/or rock ‘n’ roll?
Dave Whiteway: All of them together.
Grier: Yep. All the time.

Cooley: Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll and being a decent person, all equate to the same thing: being young.

Sheaf: I remember you describing the sound of Catdad as “what it feels like being young.”
Cooley: Yes.

Grier: So, Stephen when do you become old?

Cooley: When you stop rockin’. And that’s why Neil Young’s not old and why Bob Dylan is, because Bob Dylan stopped rockin’.

Sheaf: Catdad has a very full, noisey sound. Is that “wall of sound” something you guys are going for?
Cooley: I’m a really big proponent of the idea of recording “live.” I think that most recordings should be a duplication of how a band plays live.

Sheaf: Is there any part of rock ‘n’ roll that you guys put in your music?
Whiteway: No. I think the “Rock God” is an archetype that doesn’t really exist anymore.

Sheaf: Being musicians in Saskatoon, is there anything you really like or dislike about the music scene here?
Cooley: Best thing’s Ride til Dawn!

Whiteway: Ehh, they’re alright. But one thing [about the local scene] you go and play a show and it’s just the same 20 people every time.

Grier: There isn’t that much support in the scene.
Deighton: It’s almost like a cliquey sort of thing.

Sheaf: Are there any genres of music that are unfairly ignored in the music world today?
Whiteway: I listen to a lot of ’80s metal and Peter Gabriel.

Cooley: Jazz, absolutely. Early 20th century blues, country and folk music is absolutely discounted. You know there’s a lot of stuff on those records that really changed North American music.

Sheaf: What do you think needs to change in the music world today, if anything?
Grier: People need to forget about image, that’s one thing.

Cooley: People need to make the music and do the things that make them happy. If being focused on image while you play makes you enjoy playing, okay. But every band I like doesn’t really do the image thing.

Whiteway: Here’s the thing, people are up there to visually entertain people as well as sonically entertain them, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

Sheaf: If you weren’t playing music in 2010, what time period would you guys wanna be rockin’ out in?
Cooley: You know how in every futuristic sci-fi movie they go into like a Goth rave club? I’d want to play there.

Grier: 1999! I wanna be in S Club 8!

Sheaf: Is there anything wild people should expect at upcoming Catdad shows?

Grier: Somebody will get naked.

Whiteway: Somebody will get drunk as fuck.