Sol Cat

If the Weeks make me wish I felt like a slave to southern culture, Sol Cat makes me long for a houseboat on the coast.

The Stone Fox is a cozy venue tucked within that area of Nashville where the construction is sparse, save for the streets named after our fifty states. Read: I have no idea how I got here, but thank God for iPhone maps.

When I arrive, fifty people stand outside only to find out that the show is sold out, and somehow, one free parking spot waits for me right in front of the venue. Good karma and a The Weeks/Sol Cat show is a fine pairing for a Saturday night.

By the time I’ve settled into the corner of the bar, with my prerequisite whiskey and iPhone notes app, (again: thank you Steve Jobs), The Weeks are halfway into their first song. Gutter Gaunt Gangster is an album that has gained significant credos, not just among us Nashville locals, but nationally; magazines like Rolling Stone have taken note of their musical acumen. Tonight their reputation precedes them; the venue is already packed with clusters of fans. This isn’t an exclusive crowd of college hipsters that involuntarily fill up the audience. These are true, hands flailing, “I know your album better than you do,” fans.

The performance is in an interactive one; as the bassist sways stage left, the audience mirrors his actions, and his smile reflects their enthusiasm. The synchronicity between the audience and the band could make a choreographed music video shot in one take. Such is a testament to the Week’s performance prowess; although these songs have circulated enough to gain a credible fan base both in and outside of Nashville, the band plays with a genuine passion for southern rooted rock n’ roll, and the audience recognizes this. They save their single, “House We Grew Up In,” for last, and the crowd coos harmonies just a beat too early, high off the music.
If the Weeks make me wish I felt like a slave to southern culture, Sol Cat makes me long for a houseboat on the coast. These bands work well together in concert, because they are both rooted in geography. The Weeks invoke their performance with pride for a working-class culture and a Southern landscape. Sol Cat’s music conjures up images of lush tropics, recreated by hammocks and inflatable palm trees inside a twenty-something’s apartment.

Tonight, Sol Cat debuts their full, self-titled album, and my expectations are fulfilled. I expect that the new music will make me wants to dance, drink, and invest in a life of shirking responsibilities. By the end of the set, my feet are blistered, my buzz is a little too strong, and I’m most will not have a productive Sunday morning. Mission accomplished.

I’ve been chronicling the band’s progress for about a year now, wondering when I’ll find their performances juvenile, or their music stale. But this never happens, for two reasons. First off, the members of Sol Cat play with an unfiltered amount of charisma; all five of them perform like caricatures of themselves, oozing a light-hearted seductiveness akin to a 1970’s Rolling Stones. They are deeply infatuated with the sounds their instruments produce, and they allow us to peer inside five intimate relationships that blend together harmoniously. Second, their songs don’t compel us to try and dig substantive meaning out of their content; they just compel us to have fun. After the show, I find the band’s guitarist, and voice memo his opinions on the completed album. (Has someone written a piece on our generation’s unprecedented attachment to Apple technology? If so, I need to read that.) I listen to it the next morning, but can barely make out the five-minutes of drunken banter. What it comes down to is that Sol Cat is just trying to make us dance. They want us to shirk our responsibilities, to feel hungover after their shows, and to alleviate our headaches with further indulgence and a run-through of their album. They want us to imagine a free-spirited life in a houseboat off a coast. This is why when I see Sol Cat, my expectations will always be fulfilled.

I will go home and make plans to buy a one-way ticket to some far-off city, and live within the spontaneous and liberated realm of happiness that their music evokes. And this high will persist, until I am two weeks late on my electric bill. Then I will lie in the dark, nested inside the hammock of my twenty-something apartment, down a few beers and listen to this album. And the cycle will continue, because Sol Cat will always fulfill my expectations.

- E.K. - Lockeland Springsteen

If the Weeks make me wish I felt like a slave to southern culture, Sol Cat makes me long for a houseboat on the coast.

The Stone Fox is a cozy venue tucked within that area of Nashville where the construction is sparse, save for the streets named after our fifty states. Read: I have no idea how I got here, but thank God for iPhone maps.

When I arrive, fifty people stand outside only to find out that the show is sold out, and somehow, one free parking spot waits for me right in front of the venue. Good karma and a The Weeks/Sol Cat show is a fine pairing for a Saturday night.

By the time I’ve settled into the corner of the bar, with my prerequisite whiskey and iPhone notes app, (again: thank you Steve Jobs), The Weeks are halfway into their first song. Gutter Gaunt Gangster is an album that has gained significant credos, not just among us Nashville locals, but nationally; magazines like Rolling Stone have taken note of their musical acumen. Tonight their reputation precedes them; the venue is already packed with clusters of fans. This isn’t an exclusive crowd of college hipsters that involuntarily fill up the audience. These are true, hands flailing, “I know your album better than you do,” fans.

The performance is in an interactive one; as the bassist sways stage left, the audience mirrors his actions, and his smile reflects their enthusiasm. The synchronicity between the audience and the band could make a choreographed music video shot in one take. Such is a testament to the Week’s performance prowess; although these songs have circulated enough to gain a credible fan base both in and outside of Nashville, the band plays with a genuine passion for southern rooted rock n’ roll, and the audience recognizes this. They save their single, “House We Grew Up In,” for last, and the crowd coos harmonies just a beat too early, high off the music.
If the Weeks make me wish I felt like a slave to southern culture, Sol Cat makes me long for a houseboat on the coast. These bands work well together in concert, because they are both rooted in geography. The Weeks invoke their performance with pride for a working-class culture and a Southern landscape. Sol Cat’s music conjures up images of lush tropics, recreated by hammocks and inflatable palm trees inside a twenty-something’s apartment.

Tonight, Sol Cat debuts their full, self-titled album, and my expectations are fulfilled. I expect that the new music will make me wants to dance, drink, and invest in a life of shirking responsibilities. By the end of the set, my feet are blistered, my buzz is a little too strong, and I’m most will not have a productive Sunday morning. Mission accomplished.

I’ve been chronicling the band’s progress for about a year now, wondering when I’ll find their performances juvenile, or their music stale. But this never happens, for two reasons. First off, the members of Sol Cat play with an unfiltered amount of charisma; all five of them perform like caricatures of themselves, oozing a light-hearted seductiveness akin to a 1970’s Rolling Stones. They are deeply infatuated with the sounds their instruments produce, and they allow us to peer inside five intimate relationships that blend together harmoniously. Second, their songs don’t compel us to try and dig substantive meaning out of their content; they just compel us to have fun. After the show, I find the band’s guitarist, and voice memo his opinions on the completed album. (Has someone written a piece on our generation’s unprecedented attachment to Apple technology? If so, I need to read that.) I listen to it the next morning, but can barely make out the five-minutes of drunken banter. What it comes down to is that Sol Cat is just trying to make us dance. They want us to shirk our responsibilities, to feel hungover after their shows, and to alleviate our headaches with further indulgence and a run-through of their album. They want us to imagine a free-spirited life in a houseboat off a coast. This is why when I see Sol Cat, my expectations will always be fulfilled.

I will go home and make plans to buy a one-way ticket to some far-off city, and live within the spontaneous and liberated realm of happiness that their music evokes. And this high will persist, until I am two weeks late on my electric bill. Then I will lie in the dark, nested inside the hammock of my twenty-something apartment, down a few beers and listen to this album. And the cycle will continue, because Sol Cat will always fulfill my expectations.

- E.K. - Lockeland Springsteen

Sol Cat‘s music, like the city of Nashville, serves up a heavy dose of anti-anxiety into an otherwise hypertensive brain. I’ve seen the band play out countless times, and I’m never left with anything short of a rhythm-induced high. They’ve got a kind of beach-vibe going on, one that is translatable to any season and location. I will never not be happy to listen to “Harmony Safari,” whether I’m surviving a bland southern winter or burning my feet on New York’s August concrete. If you haven’t seen these guys live, it’s an experience worth visiting (and revisiting… I’m pretty sure that 75% of my High Watt ticket stubs count Sol Cat as one of the acts). The group’s chemistry is undeniable; it’s pretty obvious they’re having a grand time, and hope that you’re having a grand time too, because this is Nashville and we should all be chilling the hell out. - South Sounds Review

Sol Cat‘s music, like the city of Nashville, serves up a heavy dose of anti-anxiety into an otherwise hypertensive brain. I’ve seen the band play out countless times, and I’m never left with anything short of a rhythm-induced high. They’ve got a kind of beach-vibe going on, one that is translatable to any season and location. I will never not be happy to listen to “Harmony Safari,” whether I’m surviving a bland southern winter or burning my feet on New York’s August concrete. If you haven’t seen these guys live, it’s an experience worth visiting (and revisiting… I’m pretty sure that 75% of my High Watt ticket stubs count Sol Cat as one of the acts). The group’s chemistry is undeniable; it’s pretty obvious they’re having a grand time, and hope that you’re having a grand time too, because this is Nashville and we should all be chilling the hell out. - South Sounds Review

The Sol Cat family was founded in the early months of 2012 in Nashville, TN, established upon ideas of ceaseless fun and eternal liberty. The members of Sol Cat come from all over the country, contributing to a fresh and indefinable sound, making it difficult to classify the music. However, SC focuses on the spirit, the soul and the vibe that fueled the purity of music past. Sol Cat works hard to create a similar feeling.
http://solcatmusic.com/ - BMI

The Sol Cat family was founded in the early months of 2012 in Nashville, TN, established upon ideas of ceaseless fun and eternal liberty. The members of Sol Cat come from all over the country, contributing to a fresh and indefinable sound, making it difficult to classify the music. However, SC focuses on the spirit, the soul and the vibe that fueled the purity of music past. Sol Cat works hard to create a similar feeling.
http://solcatmusic.com/ - BMI

With the release of their self titled album, Sol Cat is gearing up and getting ready for SXSW in Austin,TX. With that being said they have dropped off their latest music video titled “Dirty Glasses”. Sol Cat is one of the bigger up and coming bands emerging out of Nashville, TN. If you missed their performance at SXSW last year be sure to check it out HERE. If you’re in Austin for SXSW be sure to check them out and don’t forget to pick up your copy of their newest album. Enjoy. - Good Music All Day

With the release of their self titled album, Sol Cat is gearing up and getting ready for SXSW in Austin,TX. With that being said they have dropped off their latest music video titled “Dirty Glasses”. Sol Cat is one of the bigger up and coming bands emerging out of Nashville, TN. If you missed their performance at SXSW last year be sure to check it out HERE. If you’re in Austin for SXSW be sure to check them out and don’t forget to pick up your copy of their newest album. Enjoy. - Good Music All Day

The boys of local outfit Sol Cat refer to their sound as "psychedelic junglegroove rock." OK then. What goes better with some psychedelic junglegroove, I ask, than hazy footage of skateboard surfing, inflatable pools and a party featuring the passing of what appears to be a left-handed cigarette? Lucky for us, Sol Cat's brand-new Hayden Mason-directed video for the tune "Fishin' With John" features all of the aforementioned, plus a little bit of performance footage. Watch that above.

The song itself, say the Cats, "was inspired from the early 90's MTV series Fishing With John, which featured producer/actor/musician John Lurie taking celebrities fishing all over the world (it's a must-see and available on Netflix)." The tune will be featured on Sol Cat's debut LP, out next year, and you can stream it below or download it for free via their Bandcamp page. Enjoy. - Nashville Scene

The boys of local outfit Sol Cat refer to their sound as "psychedelic junglegroove rock." OK then. What goes better with some psychedelic junglegroove, I ask, than hazy footage of skateboard surfing, inflatable pools and a party featuring the passing of what appears to be a left-handed cigarette? Lucky for us, Sol Cat's brand-new Hayden Mason-directed video for the tune "Fishin' With John" features all of the aforementioned, plus a little bit of performance footage. Watch that above.

The song itself, say the Cats, "was inspired from the early 90's MTV series Fishing With John, which featured producer/actor/musician John Lurie taking celebrities fishing all over the world (it's a must-see and available on Netflix)." The tune will be featured on Sol Cat's debut LP, out next year, and you can stream it below or download it for free via their Bandcamp page. Enjoy. - Nashville Scene

After a solid set from Schools, local act Sol Cat from Pengram, Tenn. took the stage. Despite having less than 500 fans on Facebook, the six-person group attracted quite a following at Friday’s show, with several people staying only for their set. Their nonchalant demeanor and natural stage presence resembled that of a much more experienced band, and before long they had the whole crowd dancing and singing along. As an opening act, Sol Cat was a very pleasant surprise. - Inside Vandy

After a solid set from Schools, local act Sol Cat from Pengram, Tenn. took the stage. Despite having less than 500 fans on Facebook, the six-person group attracted quite a following at Friday’s show, with several people staying only for their set. Their nonchalant demeanor and natural stage presence resembled that of a much more experienced band, and before long they had the whole crowd dancing and singing along. As an opening act, Sol Cat was a very pleasant surprise. - Inside Vandy

see article. - eadolife

see article. - eadolife

Check out this band called Sol Cat. They’re from Nashville, TN and have been touring for a month or two. They played at a SXSW showcase and it looks like they killed it. They have some really funky music that’ll make you get up and get down. Sol Cat will be playing a show on Monday at 12th and Porter and if you are in Nashville you should definitely check it out.

-Juicy - Artifice Culture

Check out this band called Sol Cat. They’re from Nashville, TN and have been touring for a month or two. They played at a SXSW showcase and it looks like they killed it. They have some really funky music that’ll make you get up and get down. Sol Cat will be playing a show on Monday at 12th and Porter and if you are in Nashville you should definitely check it out.

-Juicy - Artifice Culture

Being together for a little under a year has not slowed the success of this brilliant Nashville band, Sol Cat. Put on any of the four songs from their EP “Jungle Sessions” and you can hear the energy of the band pulsating in your speakers. There is a certain attitude of giddy effervescence that simply makes you want to get up and move.

Formed by Johny Fisher and Brett Hammann after the break up of their previous band the two quickly found their sound. Writing 10 songs in a two-month period they recorded a demo and set out to find a band. With convincing material in hand the band came together in October and their first EP “Jungle Sessions” came out the same month.

When asked about the inspiration behind their music they said its not what it sounds like, “our shows are very tight and dancy with these suave vocals, yet our songs are about parties, old men hitting on young chicks at bars and mustached Hispanic males by the name of Pedro.” They’re not a band that takes themselves too seriously. They have no grand scheme of changing the world; they simply want to have fun, don’t we all? They said it better then I ever could, “We're not trying to create the new definition of ‘sicky sicky gnar gnar excellent hipness’, we're trying to promote taking shots of tequila while shotgunning a cold one, all while blowing out a two-lung full rip from your favorite water pipe. The stuff you find in heaven's most popular dive-bars.”

This coming October is a busy month for Sol Cat. They are planning a tour with The Soil & The Sun, and Kellen and Me, releasing their first album, and playing CMJ Festival in New York. With big things coming from this stellar band we cannot wait to see what’s next. Now take a listen: - YONA

Being together for a little under a year has not slowed the success of this brilliant Nashville band, Sol Cat. Put on any of the four songs from their EP “Jungle Sessions” and you can hear the energy of the band pulsating in your speakers. There is a certain attitude of giddy effervescence that simply makes you want to get up and move.

Formed by Johny Fisher and Brett Hammann after the break up of their previous band the two quickly found their sound. Writing 10 songs in a two-month period they recorded a demo and set out to find a band. With convincing material in hand the band came together in October and their first EP “Jungle Sessions” came out the same month.

When asked about the inspiration behind their music they said its not what it sounds like, “our shows are very tight and dancy with these suave vocals, yet our songs are about parties, old men hitting on young chicks at bars and mustached Hispanic males by the name of Pedro.” They’re not a band that takes themselves too seriously. They have no grand scheme of changing the world; they simply want to have fun, don’t we all? They said it better then I ever could, “We're not trying to create the new definition of ‘sicky sicky gnar gnar excellent hipness’, we're trying to promote taking shots of tequila while shotgunning a cold one, all while blowing out a two-lung full rip from your favorite water pipe. The stuff you find in heaven's most popular dive-bars.”

This coming October is a busy month for Sol Cat. They are planning a tour with The Soil & The Sun, and Kellen and Me, releasing their first album, and playing CMJ Festival in New York. With big things coming from this stellar band we cannot wait to see what’s next. Now take a listen: - YONA

"It’s an interesting combination of musical formulas with a really fresh sound." - No Country For New Nashville

"It’s an interesting combination of musical formulas with a really fresh sound." - No Country For New Nashville