The Alley Cats (punk rock band)

The Alley Cats
Alley Cats flyer for August 7, 1982 show at Night Train, Tucson, Arizona.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Punk
Years active	Late 1970s - mid-1980s, 2015 - present
Labels	Dangerhouse, Time Coast
Members	Randy Stodola, Apryl Cady, Matt Laskey
Past members	Dianne Chai, John McCarthy

The Alley Cats were a Los Angeles, California-based punk rock trio and were part of the early L.A. punk scene that included bands such as the Germs, the Screamers, and the Weirdos. Featuring Randy Stodola (guitar and vocals), Dianne Chai (bass and vocals), and drummer John McCarthy,John Doe of the band X described them as having "made some of the toughest, most nihilistic music on the scene."

Originally signed to Dangerhouse Records along with other seminal California-based punk bands including the Bags, Black Randy and the Metro Squad, and X, they released their first single "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore" backed with "Give Me a Little Pain" on March 30, 1978. They are among the six bands featured on the 1979 compilation album Yes L.A. and appear in the 1982 film Urgh! A Music War.

The Alley Cats were regular performers at such Los Angeles venues as Club 88, Hong Kong Café, The Masque, and the Whisky a Go Go.

Reformed as "The Zarkons", they released two albums, Riders In The Long Black Parade (1985) and Between the Idea & the Reality…Falls the Shadow (1988), before disbanding in 1988.

After a 20-year haiatus, Stodola reformed the trio and currently performs as The Alley Cats with Apryl Cady (bass and vocals) and Matt Laskey (drums).