Cats in Boots

Cats in Boots was the first and only intercontinental Japanese/American rock band in music history. Cats in Boots revolutionized the limits of traditional Japanese social boundaries on tour and ushered in an unprecedented hysteria on the local scene. Cats in Boots took Japan by storm in 1988 with a self produced record that broke sales records on it's way to #1 and a manic, sold out 4-month non-stop tour that solidified the bands notorious nature in a panicked fashion and introduced western style chaos to Japanese rock audiences. This marked huge underground, soon to be" top of the heap" success for Joel, Jam, Butch and Randy. "In the beginning (Cats in Boots) never had management, a record label, promoters, distributors, or PR people to help launch the band. We weren't going to wait for the L. A. record execs, we didn't need 'em, we did it all ourselves. In fact, we only had one roady, because that's all we had room for in our van, and he did all the driving!" ..Joel Cats in Boots soon became a favorite U.S. band as well churning out a second record in two months and a flurry of very exciting MTV vids, chart topping radio singles, and non-stop U.S. tour dates, sleepless nights and a whole lot of fun for everyone they touched. Cats in Boots abruptly disbanded in 1990, released a CD of demo sessions in 2000 by Ellis/O'Hashi, produced a Joel Ellis solo effort "Ellis Island" in L.A., Reunited in the U.S. to write for a new C.I.B. release and in 2003 reunited with all original members in Japan for another string of memorable live shows.