Where hip-hop meets reggae, where jazz is played with dirty hands, where a Cuban line meets an Aussie rule, where nothing seems in place but sounds like many places played in one earthy chord. This is the Island where The Cat Empire was born.
This is a home-grown success story, which shows that a combination of hard work, great songs, a good vibe, a genuine vision, and a little bit of luck go a long way.
The first Australian tours were undertaken in a convoy of cars handed down from parents, or borrowed from friends, sleeping on the floors of friends of friends, and putting up their own posters at each stop.
“We all borrowed some money from a parent or friend, to pay for the first album. We promised we would pay them back within nine months – we paid it all back within three!” a band spokesperson said.
The band members credit their Australian fans and international backpackers in Australia for marketing them overseas.
“Everywhere we went overseas, people would come up to us and say a friend in Australia sent the album to them, or one of their mates who traevlled through Australia brought it back and we all burned it.”
The band has now sold over three quarters of a million albums and DVDs in all corners of the world. They have headlined global festivals, won ARIAs, and played on Letterman and Leno, contributed where they can to a range of causes such as the environment and more recently the Asylum Seekers plight in Australia.
While other 20 somethings were going to uni, working odd jobs, hanging out with friends in share houses, Ryan, Will, Ollie, Harry, Jumps, Felix and the Empire Horns – Ross and Kieran, spent their 20s trawling across continents in tour buses, playing to audiences night after night, honing their stagecraft, quietly building their Empire, and making Youtube videos to pass the time.
This experience has brought them together as a band, and defined them as individuals.
The band will also tour Europe and North America in 2012 which brings them to the Bridge Lounge in Courtenay. Joining them on their North American tour is Tinpan Orange.
The Cat Empire plays The Bridge on Wednesday, April 11. Doors open 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 advance (Bop City, Polka Dot Pants, by phone 250-336-0303 on online) and $30 at the door.