Biographie: Katatonix Beginning
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Original Katatonix lineup - 1979, Marble
Bar
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Thee Katatonix, founded by
just-out-of-high-school Adolf Kowalski, played
its first gig for $35 in April 1979.
The band raised a
ruckus for about a year after, but couldn't play their instruments very
well. Instead they
relied on time-tested rock antics
such as performing in underwear and throwing
up on people.
The first show at the Marble
Bar in Baltimore, Md., was with Da Moronics,
who supported Thee Katatonix
for playing
worse than they did. So according to
punk ethics Thee Katatonix was
a better group,
but no one came to the show.
This was a good thing
because the rhythm section didn't show up either.
Adolf did the whole set
impromptu, with future Moronic Don White on drums and Danimal from Scratch
n Sniff (Gina "Go-Gos" Schock's old band ) on bass.
That was apparently good enough because
Adolf wangled a return slot on
Saturday night, opening for the very popular Judies Fixation.
For some reason, Judies
played first and Thee Katatonix became instant headliners.
But minutes into their
show, the PA system blew up
and the capacity crowd
turned ugly. Bar owner Roger Anderson promised the
mob (and the band as well) that
"Thee Katatonix will return!"
After their first triumphant fiasco, Thee Katz
slogged many times through the Marble Bar, eventually to become a
pseudo-alternate house band. They performed with bar owner Roger Anderson's
Alcoholics every week on what was dubbed
"Weird
Wednesday."
The band created
enough nonmusical havoc that rumors began to spread in polite
society (Thee Katatonix were political and had a chick singer
who performed naked, for example). By the end of 1980 they had enough clout to jump on the Marble's
New Year's Eve bill alongside real bands with some talent.
This was to be the last show for their original lineup. Bassist Kate Katatonix and faux drummer Tommy Gunn
were leaving to get married (she would
later divorce him and marry their guitarist) . So in their honor, Adolf performed
in a leather-and-chains jockstrap, wagging
his bare ass at Tommy all through
the set.
They played better than anyone had EVER seen them play before, prompting
Roger to have Thee Katz repeat their set later in the evening. Naturally
they were
inebriated by then and played worse than anyone had EVER seen
them play
before.
A few months later the new and improved Katatonix reappeared at the
Marble Bar, opening for Eddie and the Hot Rods.
The group at this point included Adolf K,
Danimal from Scratch n Sniff, Da Moronics' Jaime Wilson and
Steve Scandal (who would later record
the alterna-hit “I Wanna Kill James Taylor”).
A few shows later, Scandal and Wilson departed. Adolf said, “So what,” and recruited local guitar thug
“Reverend” Jack Heineken as well as kickass fratboy, Big Andy
Small.
Together they found themselves backing up
underground movie star Edie “the Egg Lady" Massey
(see music page)
at one of her notorious birthday
parties.
The show went so well that more jobs
followed, most memorably a two-night stint at the Mudd
Club in NYC on the bill with legendaries Joe Tex and Sam
'n' Dave.
(See Biographie: Katatonix Evolution)
