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What’s up Sorry Staters?
If you remember last week, I was just talking about how much I’ve actually been enjoying the summer heat for once. But just as I say that, all of a sudden it feels unseasonably mild outside just in time for August. This week has been gloomy, sometimes a bit rainy, and borderline chilly when it gets dark out. Very strange. I know it’s just a false sense of comfort before the brutal heat returns and lasts until October. But as a result, I’ve been listening to a lot of moody, vibey, yet comforting tunes. I walked into work today before writing this, and after experiencing grey skies, I decided Blitz’s Second Empire Justice would be a nice listen.
My staff pick is a little different, though. Yet again, I recently made a pitstop to our friends over at the Pour House record shop. Like I mentioned in a previous newsletter or two, I’ve gotten some cool records there lately. To my surprise, Pour House once again got a killer batch of used punk records! (I may or may not know the source of said recent punk records suddenly appearing at our sister shop *wink*wink) Some of the records I scored may be saved for a future newsletter. But one record I was stoked to grab within the last week is a copy of Nightmare City, the debut full-length by The Alley Cats.
I’ve always loved The Alley Cats’ Dangerhouse single, as well as their track contributed to the Yes LA compilation. But for whatever reason, even when I’ve stumbled across the band’s LPs while working at Sorry State or while visiting other record stores, I’ve never taken them home. Shame on me. A few months back, I remember Daniel writing in the newsletter about his recent acquisition of the 2nd Alley Cats LP, Escape From Planet Earth. After Daniel similarly mentioned an Alley Cats record eluding him, I realized I must not let this one slip. This copy I got of Nightmare City looks minty fresh with the insert too, so I was stoked. I’ve heard this record many times, but I was looking forward to digging deeper into the record on my home stereo with more focus and attention.
How would I explain The Alley Cats? I usually associate them with the first wave of punk bands emerging out of Los Angeles in the late 70s. Still, they’re kind of an oddball band, I suppose. They’re a 3-piece—guitar, bass, and drums, obviously—with guitar player Randy Stodola and bassist Dianne Chai alternating lead vocal duties. They’re a bit quirky, both lyrically and musically. Sometimes rockin’. Sometimes more mellow. Surfy? Boogie-woogie? Nah, maybe that’s a bit far. But they seem like an odd duck compared to say… X, I guess. But yes, still more straightforward and easier to digest than Black Randy.
The album opens with the title track, “Nightmare City,” which sets a much more brooding tone than one might expect. This cold, droning bassline grooves over a propulsive, almost anxious, drumbeat. Right-hand hi-hat dexterity throwin’ the fuck down. Randy and Dianne sing the lead vocal in unison, giving a sense of haunting, otherworldly atmosphere. A recurring theme seems to be “the city at night,” where the next couple of songs have street scene titles like “Night Along The Blvd” and “King of The Street Fights.”
Randy sings lead on these geographically titled songs, giving these esoteric, poetic musings. His voice is definitely… peculiar, I would say. I feel like his approach to a vocal falls somewhere between the stylings of Lou Reed and Fred Schneider haha. I must admit, while I dig the quirkiness of his voice from time to time, I much prefer the songs where Dianne sings. In between these two streetlight serenades is a song called “One More Chance to Survive”, and once I hear Dianne’s voice start singing, I’m like, “oh fuck yeah.” I can’t help it! Can we also take a moment just to appreciate Dianne Chai? One of the unsung heroes of that early LA scene. Great singer, shredding bass playing, full of charisma. I feel like she’s a bass player’s bass player, playing with aggression and grace not unlike Suzi Quatro.
I think Nightmare City is a great record throughout, but side B is really where I get hooked. Overall, I think the energy just picks up. But my feeling this way may be partially due to my familiarity with the first couple of tracks. Side B opens with a reworking of their Dangerhouse single “Nothing Means Nothing Anymore”, opening with that unmistakable surfy, almost Dead Kennedys-esque intro riff. What’s cool is that unlike the single version, Randy and Dianne sing dual vocals once again, rather than just Randy singing, which I think sounds totally killer on this song. Then the band follows that up with serious fire, launching into a new version of their cut off of Yes LA, and for my money, their MEGA-hit “Too Much Junk”. They play a lean, mean version, amping up the tempo and making the arrangement much lighter on its feet. They are cookin’, man, lemme tell ya. If you’re unfamiliar, this song has gotta be one of the band’s most straight-ahead rockin’ tunes, with a bluesy, circular earworm of a riff and HUGE hooky sing-along chorus. I must say, even for the raging tempo and urgency with which they recorded this LP version, I think I still prefer the Yes LA version. I think the slower pace works better, because you can feel the groove is more in the pocket. I also think Dianne’s vocal performance is stronger and more classic sounding. Maybe that’s just me.
The last few songs are great too. “Give Me A Little Pain” is a super melodic, up-tempo New Wave number that feels like it should be playing in the background during the night club scene in a John Hughes movie or something. “Black Haired Girl” is maybe the sleeper hit on this record, such a rager. Powerful riffing that hints at what sounds like the style that a lot of the Huntington Beach and Orange County bands would adopt not too soon after.
Nightmare City was released in 1981 on the Time Coast label. Funny enough, Time Coast is a Los Angeles indie imprint that I mostly associate with the early releases by Ratt. Yes, THAT Ratt. Hey, that was LA, baby. Then later, Time Coast would release The Zarkons, which was the post-Alley Cats new wave band with funky outfits. The Alley Cats would only release one more full-length, which I mentioned previously. That 2nd LP came out on MCA, and I imagine the band’s attempt at major label success wasn’t the most fruitful. Escape From The Planet Earth has some bangers on it. Funny enough, when I checked Discogs today, it looks like a reformed Alley Cats released a record in 2025? With Randy Stodola being the only static member. Wild. But for me, Nightmare City should have been recognized as the band’s tour de force. It’s like a classic of the era, but I rarely hear people talk about it. I hate to use the term “underrated,” because I hear it so often that the term doesn’t hold much water. The Alley Cats’ importance does feel a bit understated, I would say. They should be championed as the shredding musicians, great songwriters, and outright outer space weirdos that they are. Gotta love an underdog story though, right?
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. Go check out The Alley Cats if you’ve been resisting all these years. A misshapen part of the LA punk puzzle. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff