The Nu Kats were a popular original music rock group from Minneapolis in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The band performed under many other names, including Skogie, Skogie and the Flaming Pachucos, The Kats, Boy and The Kat Club.
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As the Skogie and the Flaming Pachucos, a documentary story of the band was produced by and presented on WCCO CBS 4-TV and a lengthy cover story by music journalist Tom Murtha was published in Insider Magazine. Skogie was managed by David Zimmerman who then produced their first published record: 'The Butler Did It/I Won't be Pushed Away' (1973 on Mill City Records), which can still be heard occasionally on the radio. Between its recording and its release changed members and changed its name from Skogie and the Flaming Pachucos to 'Skogie'. Skogie then recorded a new album at Sound 80 Recording Studio which was released in 1974. Randy Levy of Schon Productions handled the majority of Skogie's career in Minnesota. The entire band relocated to Hollywood California in 1976.
In 1978 they formed The Kats by adding guitar hero Pete McRae to the band, debuting at the Troubadour's Hoot Night in late September 1978 after sweltering through myriad gigs at The Rock Corporation. Opening dates with The Police, The Knack, The Motels, Oingo Boingo... followed. Then, later, attendance records at The Starwood, Whisky, The Troubadour and Madame Wongs. The Kats recorded an LP with Tom Petty's producers Noah Shark and Max Reese at Shelter Studio, Hollywood, for Infinity Records 1979, and contributed the 1st track to the Rhino Records LP "L.A. In".
The Kats were renamed The Nu Kats, just before Pete McRae departed. The Nu Kats continued as a 4-piece unit and went on to record and release 'Plastic Facts' and 'Yes Nukes' on Rhino Records in 1980. The "It's Not A Rumor" video (shot by Jan de Bont, starring Freddy's wife Demi Moore) was in rotation on MTV. The Nu Kats also contributed several new songs to various film soundtracks.
Boy was founded in Los Angeles in 1981, by ex-members of The Nu Kats, The Motions, The Scooters, and Snapshots. Freddy Moore of The Nu Kats, Mark McEwen of The Motions and Dave Srb of Snapshots were the founding members. They recruited Bobby Wickland of The Scooters and Bobbyzio Moore of The Nu Kats and began rehearsing. Bobby Wickland received a call inviting him to join Badfinger and was quickly replaced by John Nyman. A few months later Dave Srb was replaced by Nu Kat Dennis Peters. The line up was set. Although the Boy Horns (Patrick Boone and Norm Cowan) were soon added. Boy recorded and released a 4 track ep, Next Door on Radioactive Records in 1983 and contributed songs to film soundtracks.
The Kat Club is a band formed by the members of above bands after retiring from the music business from 1985 to 1990. Former members of Skogie, The Kats, and The Nu Kats formed the group. They worked as a trio, recording 1 and 1/2 albums, before Al Galles died of liver failure. The remaining two members Dennis Peters and Freddy Moore, finished off the 2nd album as a duo. In 2002 they enlisted the help of many ex-bandmates, and friends and began work on album number 3: 'los angelenos' released in May 2007.
| "The Butler Did It" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Skogie | |
| Recorded | 1973 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Label | Mill City Records |
| Producer | David Zimmerman |
"The Butler Did It" was recorded at Sound 80 Studios, Minneapolis in 1973, produced by David Zimmerman, and engineered by Scott Rivard. This was recorded by Skogie and the Flaming Pachucos, but released by Skogie.
| There's A String Attached... | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by Skogie | |
| Recorded | 1974 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Label | General Records |
There's A String Attached... was recorded at Sound 80 Studios, Minneapolis, in December 1973, recording supervised by Scott Rivard.