“The Livid Kittens: Dark-underbellied punk boasting vocalist/visual centerpiece Paige Harvey and a history on the local scene dating back to the early ’90s.“-Citylink Magazine

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The Livid Kittens covering David Bowie’s “Heroes” at the Colony Theatre, Miami Beach, 1995. Paige Harvey …

 

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The Livid Kittens perform their song “Wistful Eye” at Club Electra in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

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Livid Kittens Rock out at Alligator Alley

Their Story:
Founded in the early 90’s, The Livid Kittens quickly established themselves as a marquee act in a hot Ft. Lauderdale music scene that included such groups as Six Silver Spiders, Load, Jack Off Jill, and Marilyn Manson. The band began as a project of bass player David Heikkinen and singer “Scyndie” Dietz, along with guitarist Bryan Bullett and drummer Tony Telschow.

To join the Kittens, Scyndie had to split up her duo with guitarist Scott Putesky, IndiaLovesyou.  Suddenly left without a band, Putesky…aka Daisy Berkowitz…joined with rookie journalist Brian Warner and started Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids.

Meanwhile, Scyndie lasted less than a year as a Kitten. Now singerless, the Kittens signed on local punk-goth fashion plate, Paige Alison Harvey. Bullett and Telschow soon moved on, and the Kittens were then blessed with one of the greatest rock & roll guitar players South Florida has ever seen, Chris Simon. With his blazing Les Paul, and Jeff Willhite on drums, the real original line-up was complete. With glamour and a ferocious live show, The Kittens rocked up and down the coast, building a reputation. Scoring hits on local radio (Bliss, Fangs), the band sold over 1,500 copies of their first release, the 5-song cassette Fuzz-drenched and Dripping (1993).

Then bizarre circumstance and personal tragedy intervened, plunging the band into disarray. The ensuing years saw the Kittens struggle to remain a group, with Paige and David managing to release an 8-song cassette, Alone with Everybody (1995), and working with various local players (including another South Florida guitar master, Jonny Five) before finally clicking, in 1996, with a young Miami guitarist by the name of Francis Cast.

With the addition of the dapper, spacey Madrid native Vicente Garcia on guitar and Dan Carson on drums, the band hit the studio in 1998 and recorded the 5-song CD Undercool. Featuring an array of punk power, goth atmospherics, and hot-rod rock, the EP records the emerging chemistry of the Heikkinen/Harvey/Cast team. In 2000 the band changed drummers, with Ed ‘Moneyshot’ Malone taking over the stickwork.

In 2001 the Kittens completed their fourth release, More Flames to Fall in Love With. Recorded by Joe Butera III at Avalon Studios in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the 8-song CD is easily the Kitten’s most accomplished work to date. Sessions had just wrapped when the Kittens sadly parted ways with Vicente, deft foil to Francis’ guitar pyrotechnics.

In early 2002 the Kittens landed a song on an Instinct Records compilation called “12 TALES”. The CD also includes cuts from The Creatures, Cranes, Rasputina, Miranda Sex Garden, and Legendary Pink Dots, among others. In 2004 the Kittens’ song Flying was included on the CMJ list “The 1000 Greatest Indie Rock Songs of All Time” (number 937). With the 2003 addition of drummer Rob Wilson, The Kittens continue to evolve the sound and enjoy taking the stage more than ever. Gigs of note have included opening for Iggy Pop, ToiletBoys, Fear, Samantha 7, Rasputina, Rev. Horton Heat, The Damned, X, and The Cramps.