[ Le Chat Noir ]

This page is designed as a resource to help venues, promoters, magazines, newspapers, etc who need info on the band, high res photos to print, contact details and music samples in one, easily- accessible location.

BIOGRAPHY:
Le Chat Noir are hard-rockin' Transatlantic desperadoes Teddy Hesper and Eileen Spruce. Since Spruce moved to England in late 2006, the band have gigged heavily all over Europe, their joyous, full throttle live performances leaving stages soaked in sweat and blood and littered with broken drumsticks. Le Chat Noir have performed alongside acts such as The Sonics, Shiny Toy Guns, MC5, The Dwarves, Wanda Jackson, The Bellrays and The Kids. Along the way, Le Chat Noir sold out their self-funded debut release Tales From Silver City and released a follow up - Deadwood - on Bath-based indie label Patchogue. Tales From Silver City was voted Playmusic Magazine’s Best Unsigned Recording of 2006. Le Chat Noir are currently working on a third album in between trips to the continent.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Le Chat Noir on MYSPACE
Le Chat Noir on LAST.FM
Patchogue Records
Garage Sale Records
Sprexworld (Benelux booking agent)
Suiteside (Italy booking agent)
A-N-N-A Promotion (Germany booking agent)

LIVE VIDEOS:

Carpe Diem @ 4AD, Diksmuide (Belgium) 07-03-08.

Her Wicked Smile @ 4AD, Diksmuide (Belgium) 07-03-08.

DISCOGRAPHY:
September 2007: Deadwood
CD ALBUM, (PATCHOGUE RECORDS)

November 2006: Tales From Silver City
CD ALBUM (GARAGE SALE RECORDS)

HIGH RES PHOTOS:
Click each photo to open the full size image in another window. If there are any other specific photos you require, contact the band directly.

HIGH RES LOGOS:
Click each photo to open the full size image in another window.

LE CHAT NOIR LOGO

MANAGEMENT:
Jason Jarman
Hold 'Em Management
51 Highfield Towers
Hillrise Road
Collier Row
Essex
RM5 3DQ

jasonjarman666@btopenworld.com
+44(0)7973479389

SOME REVIEWS:
24/7 Magazine review of Tales From Silver City
LE CHAT NOIR are a boy, Teddy Hesper, and a girl, Eileen Spruce, playing stripped-down, sleazoid rock’n’roll. They’re both 23. He’s from Devon, she’s from LA. He plays guitar and sings. She plays drums. She moved to Devon to make things move faster. It worked. The resulting album ‘Tales From Silver City’ is a masterclass in gutter-groove, mixing ‘50s garage with ‘60s Detroit howl and ‘70s punk riffola, where songs like ‘Mary Lee’ ooze class, confidence and clarity. If the Stooges, MC5, Winnebago Deal and Blues Explosion rock your world, then come stroke this dirty pussy.

MAPS Magazine album review of Tales From Silver City
'Tales From The Silver City' is the debut album from Dartmoor resident Teddy Hesper and his American co-conspirator Eileen Spruce. What initially began as a Transatlantic musical collaboration intensified once Eileen relocated to England - ultimately resulting in this frazzled, visceral album. Located at the sonic crossroads between raw blues-rock abuse and garage fuzz Le Chat Noir deliver the goods across fifteen pulpy noir-flecked tales of hard liquor, stray corpses and grief. This is effortlessly-convincing nu-blooze - cheap, sleazy and brutal - like The Black Keys sound-tracking a Film Noir. Underneath the tough blues exterior lies an equally doomy alt.rock heart that would doubtlessly beat comfortably on a '90s Sub Pop compilation. Buy their album, wade through their Dartmoor swamp-blues and help them cleanse their blackened souls!

Noize Makes Enemies album review of Tales From Silver City
Sixteen black bullets from a rusted silver revolver and a dust covered, blood stained bottle of whiskey. With touches of 'Surfer Rosa' Pixies, 'In Utero' Nirvana, Von Bondies, Queens of the Stone Age and more than their fair share of brilliance. Le Chat Noir are a band blessed with balls of steel, drums of war and riffs fatter than Pavarotti's backside!

Consisting of an English bloke (Teddy Hesper) and an American girl (Eileen Spruce) formed over transatlantic demo exchanges, now united in blighty to take on all comers.

That live rawness you only get from recordings by bands infused with true punk ethos. A very American, Detroit garage sound but with odd drops of Englishness scattered about here and there, a bit like The Subways, Sons and Daughters, The Kills and Ash and hints of some 90's UK grunge bands like Three Colours Red. Hesper's superbly vintage, guttural guitar sound is deliciously thick, like a sonic breezeblock and just as solid. While Spruce's drums could lead a Roman army into battle, phenomenally huge and bursting with aggression, I doubt even the incredible hulk could hit those skins any harder. Easily the best female rock drummer I've heard since the likes of Kate Schellenbach (Beastie Boys, Luscious Jackson) Maureen Tucker (Velvet Underground) or Samantha Malone (Hole) and I doubt bookies would even take bets on her beating the living shit out of ol' Ms White!

There's a gloriously retro feel to 'Tales of Silver City', nods to 70's punk in 'Mary Lee' and 'Sam Colt and the Devil' both having shades of MC5, The Ramones, The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers. There's something of a delta blues texture running through the backbone to, 'Dead Man Walking' sounds like Metallica's take on a Muddy Water's riff. Lyrically it's all very blues as well, "I woke up this morning, with an empty bottle of gin", "my stories almost over now darlin' you gotta die instead".

There's a stout narrative in a lot of the songs, with a strong western theme. "Well the barman told me to leave and never come back to this town" "the sheriff came after me, I shot him in the back down by the old town cemetery" you could see this album making an excellent soundtrack to new breed of raw western film, if Quentin Tarantino ever fancied a stab at the genre, he could do a lot worse than look to Le Chat Noir for contributions to his always exceptional soundtracks. They're dark, murderous fables of fistfights and shoot outs through liquor-blurred eyes and hate filled hearts.

For a debut album from a newly formed, unsigned band, 'Tales from Silver City' reaches heights only a band touched with true greatness could even get close so quickly! Le Chat Noir are an awe-inspiring double act with destiny on their side. A match made in heaven and a sound forged in the fiery pits of hades. Like an outlaw with a score to settle, these pair o' varmints gonna tear the place down. Get ready, little lady. Hell is comin' to town.

Rock In Chair album review of Tales From Silver City
L'album nous est parvenu par My Space, nouveau média indispensable. Pour nous en tous cas ! 16 titres qui sont faits de rock'n'roll à tout va, allant jusqu'au rock garage, un son volontairement crade, des titres courts mais de vraies pilules d'énergie, c'est que Le Chat Noir ne s'arrête jamais. Halfway to Hell vous en mettra plein la tronche et le reste aussi d'ailleurs. L'influence punk fait aussi partie du style qu'il donne à leur musique. Need to Know est un titre plus lancinant. High Octane est un rock'n'roll sensuel et bruyant. C'est ainsi que se termine l'album, et nous voilà encore tout essoufflé de cette rythmique puissante et haletante. Le Chat est nerveux et noir il devient quand il entre dans une pure folie. Ca déménage et c'est sans doute ce mélange de vieux rock et de rock garage plus récent (en référence aux Strokes ou aux White Stripes) qui font du tout un vrai carton.

RaveReviews album review of Tales From Silver City
"Tales From Silver City" is the outstanding debut from transatlantic duo Le Chat Noir. Taking the listener on journey through the gutters of the fictitious "Silver City", it is a record that can be listened to on many levels, setting the band apart from many of their more simplistic counterparts. The sleaze drenched riff of opening track, "Carpe Diem" announces the albums arrival in style. Energy pours from Teddy's vocals, perfectly complemented by Eileen's intelligent use of pounding drums and crashing cymbals. The overdubbed guitar solo showcases Teddy's guitar skills, whilst also displaying his ability to retain control, leaving the listener wanting more rather than boring them to death. Other tracks on the album such as "Fallen Angel" and "Devil in Diguise" follow suit, firmly establishing the old school garage rock roots. A favourite track on the album, however, is the Jet-esque "Is Ignorance a Sin?" You will find yourself singing extremely catchy hook "Well honey, is ignorance a sin?" for days and the explosive guitar/drums combo guarantee to be a hit live. On the whole a great debut from the unconventional garage rockers.

SHU Print album review of Tales From Silver City
Take a meander down the depraved streets of the 'Silver City', no not Sheffield, but a fictional location - which incorporates the Film Noir and Wild West genres and you will see Le Chat Noir clattering away in some moodily lit venue. Teddy Hesper and Eileen Spruce are likely to be found delivering stories of violence, love and alcoholism scratched onto a stomping backdrop. Le Chat Noir's style is akin to the White Stripes variety, but more cut-throat and chooses to comment on this filthy city, rather than doorbell ringing. Their approach is to take the DIY basics of 50's Rock and Roll but inject it with further vigour; with Hesper's new distortion pedal and a steady bass drum thud. The femme-fatale theme is ever present in tracks such as the heathenish Mary Lee and Devil in Disguise. In the Silver City, they have created a nightmare, where you can almost smell the whisky which has sunken into the decrepit woodwork and the damp smell of sweat emitted by the characters. Other bursts of this battering brilliance are Seeing Double, Is Ignorance a Sin? and High Octane, where Le Chat Noir show the brunt of their throttle in the most formidable fashion.

NOIZE MAKES ENEMIES: Hub, Exeter live review 07 May 2007
Through a wall of raw sound, quite remarkably created by only two people with just a guitar and a basic drum kit, comes pure primeval energy the like of which I for one thought was all but extinct in today's modern rock music. For a pair of unassuming twenty something's, when they take to the stage, an amazing transformation occurs. The cavorting rock monster that is guitarist and vocalist Teddy Hesper bounces from amp to floor to drum kit, only missing serious injury by the narrowest of margins, losing hats and picks in the process, but still pouring out the riffs and howling like a wolf down the mic.

Drummer Eileen Spruce is a woman possessed when handed the sticks. Like the secret love child of Keith Moon and either Dave Grohl or animal from the Muppets (I guess Grohl would be a slightly more flattering comparison than animal, then again, wasn't he based on Moon anyway?!) the fact she was pleased at only smashing one cymbal should give you an idea of the sheer force she thrashes at the kit, the sticks flying over the top on several occasions. The primal vigour of The Pixies at their peek or the Who at the beginning of the 70's Le Chat Noir give you just a glimpse of what those bands must have been like to experience live, 'cos their made of the same kinda stuff - with the riffs and rhythms to back it up.

There's something about seeing Le Chat Noir live, you just get that feeling deep down that your watching a band that really have something special, and you might just be there at the birth of true greatness. The stories you hear about small venue early gigs of seminal bands, like The Brian Jonestwon Massacre starting fights at the viper rooms or Sex Pistols at Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall, The Beatles at The Cavern etc. - where hardly anyone was there but all of them went on to form bands after being inspired by what they saw. Maybe that's what the feeling is, pure inspiration, a band totally in love with what there doing, lost in the moment - doing it for all the right reasons and doing it bloody well! You can't learn the kind of connection this double act have on stage, and the natural aptitude for their instruments. You just know that, and it's only a matter of time before they do, when this band start playing for big, big crowds they could start a fucking riot!

In the presence of a somewhat dismal crowd who, for the most part, clearly didn't know a great band when they saw one. Flying effortlessly through their set list, executed like a band that had been doing it for more like 8 years never mind 8 months!! A mix of live classics from debut album 'Tales From Silver City' and some delicious tastes of forthcoming second album 'Deadwood', namely the excellent 'Wedding Dress' with it's fabulously fat, riff to die for and almost Metallica-esque chorus. Ending with hit record in waiting 'Is Ignorance A Sin' for this moment thought it's given a much harder finish with plenty of gritty rough edges.

As soon as you put aside those White Stripes misconceptions - and you will as soon as they strike the first note, the first scream and first thunder of kick and snare, you realise your about to witness something explosive - and I for one feel privileged to now be able to say "I was there at the beginning".

MOLES CLUB WEBSITE: Moles Club, Bath live review 10 May 2007 (Ed Cesar)
Teddy is the man on raw vocal and dirty blues electric, done up like a no-messin shit-slingin' cowboy. Eileen is on drums and sometimes off them... she pounds harder and faster than any female drummer I've ever seen. Think The Kills, The Ravonettes and every other male/female two-piece and double the 'f@$% me' ratio... drumsticks flew, Teddys blood was spilt, guitars were thrown and even trousers were split in the best example of dirty garage blues rock'n'roll I've seen in a long time!

24/7 MAGAZINE: Voodoo Lounge, Plymouth live review 10 Aug 2007
Although you want to mention the White Stripes, it’s best not to because Exeter based duo, LE CHAT NOIR, are only similar in line-up and spirit (Voodoo Lounge, Plymouth, 10th August). But Eileen Spruce’s possessed drumming puts Meg’s to shame, for sure, while Teddy Hesper’s garage punk strut and Iggy Pop yelp are timelessly thrilling. Don’t miss them next time around, for f*ck’s sake.

MOLES CLUB WEBSITE: Moles Club, Bath live review 07 Dec 2006 (Annie Gardiner)
Ravonettes spiked White Stripes mega garage! MAD MAD drums from Eileen! Like a kitten running along piano keys elegantly knocking over the sacred french nouveau vase reserved only for orchids are drums sticks to tom drums and crash cymbal by Eileen! Complimented with Teddy's voice howling like a wolf over crack whip guitar riffs! Yeah!

The Exeter Upstart interview
The catchy, edgy, raw sound of Le Chat Noir is a sound (and force) to be reckoned with... imagine a guy with a megaphone and guitar and a pretty-damn-lively girl drummer, playing some surprisingly noisy (and we definitely mean this in a good way) but really catchy tunes. And there you have our chosen band. Mixing some high-heeled cabaret image with a very rock 'n' roll spirited sound, the band are a pretty interesting duo.

Purple Nature Soundz
Like The White Stripes if Jack White had listened to Motorhead and The Ramones instead of Dolly Parton and Led Zep. They've had fans turn up from America to attend their Exeter gigs and I don't blame them.

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