Dead Cat Bounce

For the Wall Street trading term, see Dead cat bounce.

Dead Cat Bounce
OriginDublin, Ireland
GenresComedy
Years active2008–2013
Past membersDemian Fox
Shane O'Brien
James Walmsley
Mick Cullinan
WebsiteOfficial Site

Dead Cat Bounce was an Irish comedy troupe made up of Demian Fox (drums), Shane O'Brien (bass) and James Walmsley (guitar and lead vocals). Based in Dublin, the group performed original comedy songs in various musical styles.[1] They wrote and starred in the mockumentary Discoverdale (2012), and wrote Apocalypse Clown (2023).[2]

History

They met at Trinity College Dublin in 2002 where they were all founding members of the sketch comedy group H-BAM which also included Aisling Bea.[3] In late 2007 Fox, O'Brien and Walmsley were living together in Dublin and began to write a sketch show which they performed in the Project Arts Centre in January 2008. They chose the name Dead Cat Bounce (a stockbroking term) because the show opened with three stockbrokers standing over the body of a dead hooker. Will Ferrell happened to be in the audience at this very first show.[4]

In April 2008 the group premiered a second show Dead Cat Bounce...Radio Play in Dublin’s Sugar Club. This was in the style of a 1950s radio recording and Mick Cullinan, who had directed the first show, was brought in to play keyboards and do live sound effects. This was also the first time the four played together as a band. In August 2008, they took both shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, performing them back to back every night for a month.

In October 2008, they recorded a pilot TV sketch show for RTÉ which was part of Project Ha Ha – a season of comedy pilots aired on RTÉ Two in January 2009.[5]

In March 2009, they were invited to perform at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, appearing in a televised gala hosted by Martin Short.[6]

In January 2010 they made a series of clips for BBC Online entitled 'The Maida Vale Incident'. These were shot at Maida Vale Studios in London and featured the songs 'Midget', 'Overenthusiastic Contraceptive Lady' and 'Four Lads'. They also include a cameo from T4 presenter Miquita Oliver.[7]

In 2010, Dead Cat Bounce toured Australia for the first time, performing at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Sydney Comedy Festival where they were awarded the Time Out Jury Prize.[8] The following year they won the People's Choice Award at the Sydney Comedy Festival.[9]

In addition to comedy festivals, Dead Cat Bounce also performed at several major music festivals, including Electric Picnic, Oxegen, Leeds and Reading festivals.[10]

The band made a number of music videos, most notably "Rugby" which was first aired on the RTÉ show Republic of Telly and became the fifth most viewed YouTube clip in Ireland in 2011.[11] In 2010 the band also recorded a charity single for Movember entitled "Every Time You Shave a Moustache Dies".

Touring shows

Dead Cat Bounce

First performed in January 2008 in the Project Arts Centre, Dublin, and brought to the Edinburgh Festival 2008, this self-titled show was made up of a series of twelve sketches set in the same hotel room. It included Famine the Musical! A seven-minute ‘musical’ based on the Great Famine of Ireland.

Dead Cat Bounce...Radio Play

First performed in April 2008 in the Sugar Club, Dublin and brought to the Edinburgh Festival 2008, this show was in the style of a 1950s radio recording and featured a live foley artist. It was also the first show in which Dead Cat Bounce played together as a band and included the songs ‘Golf!’ and ‘Damn Girl’ which would later feature in their RTÉ pilot.

Dead Cat Bounce...Wired

First performed in the Sugar Club, Dublin in April 2009, and brought to the Edinburgh Festival 2009, this was billed as a ‘rock and roll sketch show’ and combined songs with character sketches performed on mic. It included all seven songs featured on the live EP 'Dead Cat Bounce, live at the Sugar Club'.[12]

Dead Cat Bounce...Too Fast For Love

Developed on tour in Australia and brought to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2010, the show was the first to see Dead Cat Bounce play characters in a dysfunctional rock band. It includes all three songs featured in The Kasabian Incident filmed for BBC Online.[13]

Dead Cat Bounce...Caged Heat

First performed in Whelan's, Dublin on 10 February 2011, this show toured Australia, Ireland and the UK and was brought to the Edinburgh Festival 2011. The show included songs featured on the album 'Dead Cat Bounce, live at the Roisin Dubh'.[14]

Dead Cat Bounce...Howl Of The She Leopard

First performed at the Soho Theatre, London in February 2012, this is the band's most recent touring show. It is the first Dead Cat Bounce show since the departure of Mick Cullinan on keyboards. Most songs from the show feature on the album 'Dead Cat Bounce, live at Vicar Street'.[15]

Albums

Dead Cat Bounce, live at the Sugar Club

In September 2009 Dead Cat Bounce performed six shows at the Sugar Club in Dublin for the Bulmers International Comedy Festival.[16] Over the course of the run they recorded a live EP which contains the following songs:

  1. Switzerland (4.07)
  2. Overenthusiastic Contraceptive Lady (2.22):
  3. Midget (2.48):
  4. Rugby (2.26):
  5. That Summer When we Killed that Guy (2.12):
  6. In Da Club (2.50):
  7. Four Lads (4.13)

Dead Cat Bounce, live at the Roisin Dubh

In February 2011 they recorded a second live album at the Roisin Dubh in Galway which includes the following songs:

  1. Mary (4.54)
  2. Christians In Love (3.49):
  3. My Party Now (3.44):
  4. Girl's Night (3.01):
  5. Narcoleptic (1.15):
  6. Cheeky Little Wine (2.39):
  7. Outsized Orthopaedic Shoes (3.16):
  8. Good Touch, Bad Touch (1.37):
  9. Pigeons & Pirates (4.29):
  10. Firemen (2.45):
  11. Human Statue (3.33):
  12. The Weeping Of The Willows (4.10):

Dead Cat Bounce, live at Vicar Street

On 24 February 2012 the band recorded a new live album at Vicar Street in Dublin, which was released on iTunes on 9 March 2012, songs include:

  1. Border Control (4:06):
  2. Christians in Love (4:09):
  3. Older Woman (0:38):
  4. Kayaking (4:21):
  5. Leeroy the Homophobic Penguin (3:44):
  6. Cheeky Little Wine (3:55):
  7. Down On The Farm (2:14):
  8. Outfits (2:38):
  9. Golf! (1:54):
  10. Really Tall Woman (3:20):
  11. Comedy Drums & Bass (0:58):
  12. Let's Make Love (To My Brand New Dead Cat Bounce CD) (3:32):
  13. Cormac The Dancing Accountant (3:45):

Singles

"Every Time You Shave a Moustache Dies"

In October 2010 the band released a charity single for Movember entitled Every Time You Shave a Moustache Dies.[17]

"Rugby"

In February 2011 the band made a video for their song "Rugby" for the RTÉ show Republic of Telly. The song was released as a single on iTunes.

Films

In November 2011, Dead Cat Bounce made their first feature film called Discoverdale which is shot as a fly-on-the-wall documentary which follows the band on their lead singer's quest to be reunited with his long-lost father, who he believes is rock legend David Coverdale from Whitesnake. It was directed by George Kane, produced by the Welded Tandem Picture Company and financed by 2 Entertain.[18] It has gone on to win a number of film awards at film festivals including Best of the Fest at the L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival and Best International Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh.[19][20] At 2:17 pm on 7 December 2011, Fox, O'Brien and Walmsley were made members of Whitesnake by David Coverdale for a full sixteen seconds, joining an illustrious alumni of over 60 rock musicians.[21] They have also been commissioned to write a film script by the Irish Film Board.[22]

The troupe wrote Apocalypse Clown (2023), a low-budget comedy film about unsuccessful clowns, accompanied by a journalist, during an electrical outage. Walmsley conceived it as a Clowns without Borders story in Africa, but it was filmed in Ireland.[23][24] It won Best Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh and garnered acclaim for its cast.[25][26] The humour and script polarised critics.[27][28][29]

Awards

Timeout Jury Prize at the Sydney Comedy Festival 2010[30]

People's Choice Award at the Sydney Comedy Festival 2011[31]

Bootlegs

The band also regularly performed a late night covers set called Bootlegs. The two-hour show included over 140 different songs many of which are played as mashups. They played this set at numerous festivals including the Dublin Fringe, the Kilkenny Cat Laughs, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Galway Comedy Festival and the Oxegen Festival. In 2011 Dead Cat Bounce were the house band for Late'n'Live in the Gilded Balloon and played 25 straight nights from 3 – 5 am at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Past members

On Friday 7 October 2011, through their Facebook page, the band announced that Mick Cullinan (keyboards) would no longer be performing with them.

Final show and reunion

On 20 September 2013 Dead Cat Bounce performed their 'last ever' show 'Dead Cat Bounce...You're Welcome For The Music' in Vicar St, Dublin, with the full original line up including Cullinan.[32] In December 2017 they returned to the Project Arts Centre for a week of reunion shows, 'Dead Cat Bounce...Do Stop Believing'.[33]

References

  1. ^ "The Lisa Richards Agency: Dead Cat Bounce [comedian]". Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  2. ^ Richardson, Jay (21 May 2022). "David Earl stars in doomsday clown movie". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. ^ Jarlath Regan (19 September 2015). "Aisling Bea". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (105 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Log into Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 31 October 2021. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  5. ^ "RTÉ Television - Project Ha Ha". RTÉ.ie. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  6. ^ "CHANNEL CANADA :: Just for Laughs Stand-Up Series Returns to CBC". Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  7. ^ "BBC - Comedy - Dead Cat Bounce - the Kasabian Incident". Bbc.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Swarm of Irish comedy acts headed for Oz | Irish Echo". Archived from the original on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Time Out Sydney Comedy Award Winners 2011 « Comedy.com.au – Find Everything Funny – Australian Comedy News and Content". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  10. ^ http://www.entertainment.ie/Comedy/feature/...Dead-Cat-Bounce/9/2220.htm [dead link‍]
  11. ^ "'Talking dog' tops YouTube list for 2011". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  12. ^ http://www.gildedballoon.co.uk/edinburgh_fringe/fringe_show_details.php?show_ID=758 [permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Fringe Review: Dead Cat Bounce, Too Fast for Love | the Daily Dust | Good News from the UK". Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  14. ^ "Dead Cat Bounce - Caged Heat - the Metro Theatre - Comedy - Time Out Sydney". Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Dead Cat Bounce - Soho Theatre". Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  16. ^ "Dead Cat Bounce". www.bulmerscomedy.ie. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Movember Ireland - News - Every Time You Shave a Moustache Dies". Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  18. ^ Jarlath Regan (11 June 2014). "George Kane". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (56 ed.). SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  19. ^ Caldecott, Glen (16 July 2013). "25th Galway Film Fleadh Awards – All the Winners". Film Ireland. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  20. ^ "Discoverdale". Discoverdale.com. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  21. ^ @davidcoverdale (4 April 2020). "Yo, Dead Cats...Once A Snake...ALWAYS a Snake...💚💚💚" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Bennett, Steve. "This Is Spinal Tap... but with Whitesnake : News 2012 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  23. ^ Ritman, Alex (14 July 2023). "Director of Dark Comedy 'Apocalypse Clown' on Making a '$2M Roland Emmerich Film. With Clowns. In Ireland'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  24. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (22 May 2022). "'Apocalypse Clown,' George Kane's Ensemble Comedy, Boarded by Charades, Vertigo Releasing (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  25. ^ Tabbara, Mona (17 July 2023). "'Apocalypse Clown', 'Verdigris' scoop prizes at Galway Film Fleadh, as marketplace packs a punch". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  26. ^ Sandwell, Ian (23 October 2023). "Apocalypse Clown is unlike anything you've seen before". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  27. ^ Henderson, Simon (21 August 2023). "Film Review: Apocalypse Clown (2023) is incredible brilliant". Blazing Minds. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  28. ^ Felperin, Leslie (29 August 2023). "Apocalypse Clown review – gag-filled comedy in post-apocalyptic Ireland". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  29. ^ Harvey, James (31 August 2023). "Apocalypse Clown review: A coulro-comedy in need of a hug". Why Now. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Rock N Lol with Dead Cat Bounce and Dave Jory - the Comedy Store Sydney - Comedy - Time Out Sydney". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  31. ^ "Time Out Sydney Comedy Awards 2011 - Features - Comedy - Time Out Sydney". Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  32. ^ "Dead Cat Bounce - You're Welcome For The Music - LIVE AT VICAR ST - The FAREWELL SHOW". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  33. ^ "Dead Cat Bounce... Do Stop Believing". Retrieved 31 October 2021.