The Cathy Santonies

“Take Five” is an interview series that focuses on Chicago’s ever-growing music scene by giving you insight on the city’s best local acts via the best source possible: the acts themselves. We ask five questions, and they give five answers. Here is the latest installment featuring The Cathy Santonies.

It seems like the Cathy Santonies have always been stewing around Chicago; they’re often celebrated by hordes of music journalists including the Tribune’s Greg Kot and his Sound Opinions counterpart Jim DeRogatis. The band is self-described as “subversive mix of riot grrrl and cock rock” and while that is a tall order for four carbon-based beings, the Santonies live up to that musical motto and more.

With a brand new record slated to come out this summer and a 7-inch split with locals Vortis releasing this April, the punk rocking four-piece – consisting of Radio and Mojo Santoni, Jane Danger and Chip – will soon be in high demand. Loud Loop Press caught up with the Cathy Santonies to discuss their ideas on feminism, the TV show Full House and just how they came to play with Weezer’s head honcho Rivers Cuomo last year.

LLP: On your website, you mention the name Cathy Santonies comes from “an obscure sitcom character who was created to make girls think it’s normal to be mean to other girls.” What was the sitcom, and why was it significant to name yourselves after her?

OK, honestly, Mojo and Radio were just sitting around saying words, trying to come with a band name over the phone. We actually spend a lot of time thinking and talking about or analyzing pop culture — it’s just something we’re into, so I’m guessing we had been talking about Full House. So we started naming Full House related things like The Uncle Jesses or Human Pudding. Then we just landed on The Cathy Santonies and we were like OK, yes, it is done. It fit our criteria of being easy to find on the internet and having a “The” at the beginning. But also, yeah, pop culture expends a lot of energy teaching us that women behave a certain way — this is just what girls do. We try our best to be aware of this and reject it, so in that way, the name is ironic.

LLP:You’re sound has been compared to Riot Grrrl bands, such as Bikini Kill, L7, and Sleater-Kinney. How do you feel about this comparison?

Actually, it’s kind of an honor. We just are a riot grrrl band. It doesn’t mean we have to sound a certain way; it’s the motivation and feeling and heart behind it. It’s the thing we share in common and these are some of the people who’ve inspired us to make music. We have other influences, too, though, that we are rarely compared to. This is probably the “woman” thing.

LLP: Do you identify with the foundationally feminist ideologies that made up 90s Riot Grrrl music?

That’s a tricky question because it’s not like there’s one feminist ideology going on there and it’s not even like all the people in our band share exactly the same ideas about feminism. What we got from riot grrrl includes things like making noise, speaking up, being creative, working together, supporting each other and looking out for others, being brave and all that. Riot grrrl also means that rock ‘n’ roll music belongs to everyone. Everyone has a voice and a right to make art. These are some things we totally agree with, of course.

LLP: Many press releases about you mention that you’re a “girl band.” Does this bother you, or do you embrace it?

It’s a little of both. We understand that people feel the need to specify because it’s not too common. But when you specify like that, you put us in a category — that’s just what happens by adding that adjective to the front of it. We don’t think we speak for or represent all women — and we don’t want to. We are autonomous beings and we don’t want to be pigeonholed. No one does.

LLP: You appeared on ‘Sound Opinions‘ last year as Rivers Cuomo’s backing band. Can you tell me how that experience came about and how you came up with the arrangements on such short notice?

Apparently, Rivers Cuomo likes to be put into weird, spontaneous musical situations and at this time we were the situation that Sound Opinions thought it would be good to put him in. We had about three weeks notice with this and we had also just started playing with a new drummer at that time (Kaylee Preston from Rabble Rabble). So, basically we just hunkered down and spent as much time as we could figuring out how we could do these Weezer songs in our own way. Then we recorded them with him in about 45 minutes. It was kind of a surreal experience, but it was a fun challenge for sure.

Download both of the Cathy Santonies EPs I’m YR Friend, I’m YR Revolution! and Winter 2011 Demo at their bandcamp page.
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Itching for a Santonies fix? They will perform live next at the Elbo Room (2871 N. Lincoln Ave.) on Sunday, March 27. Tickets are $10.
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