Listen up right meow! LFK’s CAT F!GHT bares its claws in debut EP

1 hour ago

Olivia Steele,

Photo by Erin Rockers

CAT F!GHT plays Friday, September 25, at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence. Details on that show here. They open for Sweeping Promises on Tuesday, September 29, at White Schoolhouse. Details on that show here.

The Lawrence-based fem-punk band CAT F!GHT, a Bratmobile-meets-B-52s-meets-Mommy Long Legs riot, was formed in appropriately spooky fashion on Halloween 2022 by four KU students to play a basement show in Lawrence and to break into punk. From there, the band loved the inclusive space they could provide in the local punk scene, and began to flex their show business muscles. The band usually plays in the Lawrence and Kansas City area, although it hit the road this summer to play in Wichita and Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Riot Grrrls can now rejoice, as the band released their self-titled five-song debut EP this July. Deemed their best and most range-encompassing songs by lead singer Ali Madden, guitarist Maura Dayton, and bassist Clare Hawkins, The Pitch sat down with CAT F!GHT to discuss the project and the band’s musical message.

The Pitch: Tell us a bit about CAT F!GHT’s style. Who are your influences?

Ali Madden: When I first started writing music, I was heavily influenced by riot grrrl. We also have a lot of different influences as members, and I would say I was super inspired by Bikini Kill and Red Aunts. I’ve also been influenced lately by Snõõper, which is a really cool band, as well as Siouxsie and the Banshees. I also try to channel the B-52s in my vocals.

Maura Dayton: As a band, we’re really inspired by riot grrrl, which started back in the ‘90s. Even today, punk is a very male-dominated space. The riot grrrl movement was a group of bands that aimed to make a more female-friendly space within the punk scene, and so we’re very inspired by a lot of those bands, such as Bikini Kill and Red Aunts. All of their songs are pretty short, and that’s just kind of how punk music is in general, just quick and to-the-point. Nothing’s very abstract. In a writing session, if we write something longer than two and a half minutes, we think it’s too long. We’re just blunt.

Clare Hawkins: We all bring a different musical background–I’m in jazz and marching band, Lisa’s in jazz and West African drums, Maura has more of the punk, hardcore, and metal background, and Ali has punk and loves 80s stuff, like Talking Heads. We develop songs when one of us has an idea or a feeling for a song, and we’ll play it for everyone else to listen to. We definitely try to go for the Bikini Kill sound and want to eventually do a cover set, but we also love other bands like Suburban Lawns, and Ali really likes The Cramps, so we try to go for the creepy punk style sometimes. Lisa and I also really like Amyl and the Sniffers.

Can you tell us about the process of making the EP?

Madden: We had recorded with a bunch of people before we landed on Jack Goodrich, who recorded and mixed for us. It took us a few years to get it done, but we did it last spring. You know, we did it the punk rock way, getting our close friends to mix this stuff and make it as cheap as possible. People are fitting mixing songs into their schedules. I’m so happy with it and how intentional we were in recording an EP. Your music is your baby. I was really picky.

Dayton: Four out of five of the songs on the EP have been in the setlist since the beginning of CAT F!GHT. The newest one that’s on the EP is “MOSH BITCH,” which we wrote in the last year and a half or so. We recorded the EP back in March 2025 at the Live @ KJHK studio, and our friend Jack Goodrich (member of Jackoffs, Drastic Plastic, and The Flamin’ Ghoulies, bands local to LFK) produced it and did all the mixing and mastering.

We spent one three-or four-hour session in the studio, did about three takes of each, and picked the best recording out of those. About a week after that, Ali recorded the vocals. Since we’d been playing these songs for a long time, it was a painless process as far as recording went. We put a lot of trust in Jack to add his stylistic touch to the production. We knew he’d get the vision since he’d been following the band since the beginning.

Hawkins: We recorded in the spring of 2025. It took a while to mix and master, but we recorded it all in one shot. From what I understand, Jack had to run the recordings through some tapes and add the effects. After the release, we went on a little mini-tour.

When did you write the songs that landed on the EP?

Madden: When we were forming the band, we played our first show with “OH DOG!” and played two cover songs that we still sometimes use for mic check. One was “I Can’t Do Anything Right” by Red Aunts. When we write, we’ll get together and do it together. One person comes in with lyrics or a sound, but we write together. “MOSH BITCH” is our latest one, and the rest were all written around the same time. We’ve definitely changed the songs over time, though.

Dayton: All the songs except “MOSH BITCH” were written before I joined the band. I joined the band in January 2024, but CAT F!GHT was formed on Halloween of 2022. When I joined, I did a lot of workshopping and rewrote a lot of the guitar for the songs that they had already written. “OH DOG!,” “LISTEN UP!,” “PERVERT,” and “BACKGROUND NOISE” are some of the oldest songs in the CAT F!GHT discography. CAT F!GHT’s discography is about 12 songs, and we want to beef it up a bit.

Hawkins: “OH DOG!” was the first song we wrote, so we knew we had to put it on the EP. We also ended up doing Farmer’s Ball and wrote a lot of songs around that time as well. We’ve written a few here and then since, and “MOSH BITCH” was the most recent one, right after Maura joined the band. We really wanted something people could mosh to.

What made you choose the songs that landed on the EP?

Madden: They’re our strongest songs, and they’re a good balance. We obviously needed to include our first song, but we asked ourselves, “What are the songs that we collectively enjoy playing together?” They’re the songs we feel super confident in, and we wanted something that encompasses our sound nicely, like a sample. It was hard to cut some songs, but I’m happy with what we chose.

Dayton: We knew “OH DOG!” and “LISTEN UP!” were going on there–they’re two of CAT F!GHT’s oldest songs. I was a big advocate of getting “BACKGROUND NOISE” on there, but no one really fought me on it. We got together for a practice and decided which five songs would be best to put out first, and those were the five.

Hawkins: We wanted our EP to be holistic of CAT F!GHT. We have some harder mixes, some fast ones, and three of the songs on the EP are some of our hardest songs, like “PERVERT,” “MOSH BITCH,” and “BACKGROUND NOISE.” The other two were our oldest songs, so it just felt right.

What’s your favorite song on the EP?

Madden: “OH DOG!” is my favorite because of the meows at the beginning. I love them. It’s also a fun song to sing, and I’m kind of a sentimental person; it’s our first. I also enjoy the vibe of that one the most, but maybe I’m biased.

Dayton: “BACKGROUND NOISE.” It’s the last song on the EP, and it’s always the last song we play in our set. I love the chaotic energy of it. The recorded version will never sound like how it sounds live, but I think it still has that same chaotic spirit. We get a little crazy with it when we perform live.

Hawkins: “PERVERT.” It started with a bassline I came up with after messing around, but I really liked how punchy and almost British-sounding it was. It also has a heavy message, too, all about empowerment.

What about CAT F!GHT is special? What keeps you making and playing the music?

Madden: I love the shows, and people resonating with the music is so rewarding. The environment of shows where people are moving and dancing and can feel welcome is so awesome. Writing songs is therapeutic, and it gives me somewhere to channel rage and anger about the world right now. It also helps me push myself artistically and to see what else we can do to get our message out there. I’ll keep doing it, man. It’s awesome.

Dayton: We’re all passionate about it, and at least for me, I feel obligated to do it. Not like it’s a job, but we’re one of the few bands in Lawrence, and even in the punk scene, that have no male members. Representation is very important to us, and that’s even why riot grrrl started–a lack of representation in the punk scene.

When you go to punk shows, you can definitely feel the testosterone in the room, and it can be intimidating. It’s important to me to keep an inclusive space open to everyone. You shouldn’t have to feel threatened by the space you’re walking into. Music’s also my life, and I can’t imagine doing anything else with my time.

Hawkins: There are no bands out there like CAT F!GHT, at least around the Kansas City area. There’s not much of a riot grrrl or fem-punk scene. I love doing shows and showing people that non-males can play this music, too. And it’s really fun to play. Usually, what I play in other bands is more jazzy, poppy, or country, and I love going out and playing with CAT F!GHT, putting all my energy into music that makes people move and mosh.

What’s next for CAT F!GHT?

Madden: After this EP release, we need more songs. We want to work on some new songs and work toward an album, and I definitely want to go merch-heavy. I’d love to do another tour and create more media with CAT F!GHT. I’d love to curate a presentation for the band, like visual media such as music videos or photoshoots. I’d also love to involve other artists and writers to make CAT F!GHT a collaborative effort within our community.

Dayton: We don’t have anything set in stone yet, but we’re interested in putting out a full-length album, including songs we’ve already written that didn’t land on the EP and some new material. We just did our first two out-of-town shows this past July, and we’d like to do a more traditional tour of sorts.

Hawkins: We would love to get an album together of new music, and we’ve also got a lot of great stuff in our catalog. We’ve also recorded a single we’re hoping to put out, and we’d love to go on an expanded tour–make it to some more cities, play some more shows, get CAT F!GHT’s name out there. We’re grateful for all the support that we’ve received from the community. We want to see more fem and non-binary punk rockers out there, and we want people to come to our shows and help build a stronger scene. I hope that people are listening to this EP and getting inspired.

Categories: Music