Cattlehead

In last year's band issue, readers met Cattlehead, a very green band that said it traversed the chasm of tear-jerking to aggression-drenched rock. When asked where they play, they confessed, "We are working on that ... but for right now, Kyle's house."

If Lafayette's rock scene were Rocky III, the Rockys of the scene were out living the high life, gigging it up while Clubber Lang Cattlehead sweated it out doing sit-ups in drummer Kyle Alwert's house, waiting for its shot.

In the year between The Big Band Issue 2 and the Band Issue Episode III, Cattlehead has moved from playing only at Alwert's to gigging at the epicenter of the underground rock scene, the Renaissance, to the first church of all local music, Grant Street Dancehall. The group has recorded Noise, a full-length record, and earlier this month made its way into both The Times Best Of Best New Band and the Best Rock Alternative Band categories.

"I think the first step to getting to where we are now is The Big Band Issue," says Ryan Cazares, guitarist and singer, in a statement not prepared by our office. "Last year, a lot of people had seen our profile in there, and we actually got a couple gigs because of it. People saw our influences and types of music we play and were interested. That's the first thing that got us somewhere. And once we started playing, we pretty much played by word of mouth to get where we are today."

Friends in the bands Automoon and the now-defunct Victim of Modern Age took a chance and booked them as openers. Without a demo, word-of-mouth praise for the show and the group's potential drawing powers were the band's only calling card.

"It's pretty cool, the people in Lafayette have supported us and helped us to get to where we are today. We've had a lot of support from the local crowd. We've come such a long way in just a year," Cazares says.

Cattlehead is relatively new on the scene, but the three members are old friends (bassist Case Milligan and Cazares going all the way back to kindergarten). They started playing music in high school, later forming the short-lived Blindspot. Admittedly, they weren't too serious about music until a year or so ago when Cazares recorded a demo on his computer and gave it to his current band mates.

Cattlehead - named after a middle school take on Cazares - formed around it. The group's roots are in late '90s rock, with dabs of Rage Against the Machine, Tool and Audioslave. The band's lyrical content ranges from an obtuse song about musical addiction to songs that only make sense to its members. Just as much emphasis is placed on the music, laden with better thought-out timing and rhythm than most radio bands.

Cattlehead's first year yielding a birth in the Best Of runoffs is almost eclipsed by the band's ability to make fans out of both mainstream rock radio listeners and the more discerning indie/underground fans.

"Its definitely tough. You pretty much have two different crowds around. You have got the kind that's totally opposed to mainstream, and you've got the people who think underground music is crap. But somehow, we were able to tie that together," Cazares says.

"I think its just our type of music. We don't go for just one sound. We mix it up. We've got the artsy songs, and we've got the rock anthems and the ballads. I think everyone can just come together and just listen to us with our type of music." - The Times of Acadiana

When a rock band named Cattlehead comes out with a debut CD called "Noise," you get what you expect - raw, in-your-face rock. Yet Cattlehead believes man cannot live on angst and distorted guitars alone.
This trio of young rockers, all students at the University of Louisiana, also play ballads about dreams, smiles and falling in love.


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"We have a roller coaster of different emotions and feelings," said Ryan Cazares, Cattlehead's lead singer and guitarist. "You've got the angry sounds that are heavy and hard.

"You've got the sad songs that are soft. You have the mellow songs.
"You even have a blues song in there. It's different styles of music, but it's straight ahead rock."

"The audience doesn't want to hear the same song for an hour and a half or two hours," adds drummer Kyle Alwert. "You have to switch it around. You can't do the same song for that long."

Fans can sample Cattlehead's balance of anger and amour at their CD release party Thursday at Renaissance Nite Club on Jefferson Street in downtown Lafayette. Another Faith and Told by an Idiot will also perform.

CDs will be available for $10, along with Cattlehead T-shirts.

"Noise" is an 11-song disc of all original rock, most written by Cazares. Featured ballads include "Don't Waste Your Time (To A Sleeping Beauty)," "Fall" and "Dim."

Straight-ahead rockers include the title cut, along with "Never Born," "All You Can Eat" and "Prophet."

"Most of the songs are about music," said Cazares. "I'm a big music critic and I'm into music big time. The album is called 'Noise' because some people look as music as just noise. That's not how I look at it.

"A lot of my ideas come from music. The rest are from girls."

The band said major help came from Ivan Klisanin, a local producer and radio show host who has worked with a number of zydeco, hip hop and rock groups.

"He would hear our songs and suggest things we haven't thought of," said Cazares. "There's a few things in the CD that weren't there before we went to Ivan. He definitely helped it out.

"He suggested little guitar fills, small changes that make the song much better."

"There was one part in 'Never Born' where Case (Milligan) and I would drop out where it would just be Ryan for a second," added Alwert, ex-stepson of zydeco ace Chubby Carrier. "We're resting and he's playing and the contrast makes the song so much better."

The originals on "Noise" actually share a history with the long friendship between band members. Cazares, Alwert and bass player Case Milligan all attended the same grade school, although Milligan and Cazares didn't start jamming with Alwert until the ninth grade. They even graduated in the same class at Acadiana High School.

In 2000, all three were members of Blind Spot, a four-man group that disbanded after a year and one performance. After the breakup, Cazares went on to write and record a 12-song demo, which he sent to Alwert and Milligan to add the drum and bass parts.

In 2003, the trio formed Cattlehead. The band went on to develop their originals, as well as cover songs by Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Audioslave, Stone Temple Pilots and others.

April is shaping up to be an active month for the group. They will perform for a UL psychology club benefit April 17 at Grant Street Dancehall, in addition to a concert for family members.

Cattlehead shares a bill with Viverly and Kill the Mood April 23 at McKinley Street Pub.

The band hopes to make inroads in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and beyond.

"We want to get as many people as possible to hear our music and like it," said Milligan. "Even if nothing does happen with it, it's been so much fun to be out there playing music."

"It really didn't hit me until I got the CD and actually saw what we accomplished as a band. It took a lot of work, but it was fun."

(Listen to Herman Fuselier's radio show at 10 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday on KRVS 88.7 FM. His TV show airs at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on KDCG-TV 22.) - The Daily Advertiser

Lafayette's Cattlehead has always worn their influences on their sleeve. Guitar work a la Tom Morello (whether in Rage Against the Machine or Audioslave tenure) coupled with late '90s to turn-of-the-century rock runs throughout their debut recording Noise. The trio isn't trying to be clever, artsy or smarmy, they simply came to rock in the best way they know how. Two years later, Cattlehead has expanded their repertoire to include newer influences. Their second record, An Ear for an Ear, borrow its name from Ghandi's theory that an eye for an eye makes every one blind. Likewise, it comes off with much more influences and enlightenment in therms of production—far superior to Noise. If possible, "Triple A" squeezes the fast and busy chord and timing changes of today's chart topping rock acts My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco through their Tool, Audioslave and Rage grinder and the simplicity of a power trio, cutting a record full of rock 'n' roll bravado and spirit instead of whining, wearing girls' jeans and mascara. "Medusa" has Tool guitar stylings and vocals spit out similar to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal." Other strands show perhaps an ear for the creepy blues of Bones or the Bingo! Show ("Rain on the Parade," a tribute to post-Katrina New Orleans, bounces between rock and a mix of street parade vaudeville and street preacher). Still, Cattlehead still has a few more pages to cover in their Morello songs book, with Audioslave-ish power ballads ("Sunset") and ballsy guitar driven songs ("Angels & Devils") in the mélange of styles collected by Noise. Releasing the new record at the Renaissance on April 20.
by Nick Pittman - The Independent