Rockabilly That Glows in the Dark

“Did you hear about the radioactive cat that they found?”

Singer-guitarist Shel Graves was genuinely excited about this recent news item, about a contaminated feline wandering around Berkeley. As was his older brother, drummer Michael Graves, who was still talking about an episode of “Batman” that had the Catwoman plotting to contaminate Gotham City via porcelain cats tainted with radioactivity.

It’s not that these guys are necessarily interested in a particular brand of tabloid fodder: flying saucers, three-headed children, radioactive cats. But since signing with Warner Bros. Records, they’ve stopped referring to their act as the Graves Brothers. Instead, it’s the Radio Active Cats, and they are certain that the new name does much in describing their quartet’s hybrid of 1950s rockabilly and contemporary hard rock.

The moniker was inspired by an eerily comical sculpture of the same name by Sandy Skoglund. But the 11 songs on the just-released “Radio Active Cats” album owe more to the old Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins records of the Graves brothers’ father.

“You’re in the ‘50s again,” Michael said of the band’s songs. “You’re writing about ’57 Chevrolets and girls and having a good time. In my mind, I’m writing about that, but then I turn around and we have AIDS now, major problems on the street, the homeless, unemployment. So it’s kind of a fantasy to escape that in the music.”

The tracks “Hold on Tight” and “Knock Knock” come closest to the uplifting, pure revivalist sounds popularized by the Stray Cats in the early 1980s. But most of the record leans toward ‘90s hard rock, with added stand-up bass, slide guitar and other country-rock elements. Meanwhile, the raunch of “Finger in the Pie,” sung by Michael, recalls Aerosmith’s raw, early years.

“It’s a rock ‘n’ roll salad,” boasted Michael, sitting in his rented guest house in Toluca Lake. His brother is nearby, within reach of a black acoustic guitar, as the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” murmurs in the background.

On the walls surrounding them and a cat’s scratching post are framed photographs and album covers from the Broken Homes, the local rock outfit featuring Michael as drummer that went on indefinite hiatus earlier this year. Other acts on his resume include Lita Ford and Bang Bang, a popular club act in the mid-’80s.

“I always wanted to be one of the world’s best rock drummers,” Michael said. “And I never really considered writing or singing up front. I was a drummer for hire.”

The Graves brothers, who were born in Lynwood and attended high school in Las Vegas, first sought pop recognition as members of Telstar, whose highest visibility was attained during a 1979 Troubador gig opening for the Knack. “It was about that time that Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off that bat,” Shel said. “It was that era.”

Afterward, they played separately with a variety of bands. Ultimately, though, the brothers were planning a Graves brothers project. And after mailing an unsolicited demo tape to Warner Bros., Shel, Michael, lead guitarist Ian Espinoza and bassist Ron Maldonado were finally signed early this year as the Radio Active Cats.

The band hoped to work with big-name producer Ted Templeman on the album, Michael said, but while they were waiting, Templeman was called to work on the latest Van Halen project.

The group continued writing and came up with “Shotgun Shack,” the first Radio Active Cats single, among other songs. They found an appropriately raw sound with producer Andy Wallace, who had engineered hard-rock albums by the Cult and Slayer.

The Cats plan to tour later this year. Future recordings should reflect the blues-rock influences of Espinoza and Maldonado, the brothers agree. Anything that will keep their music as varied as the “Radio Active Cats” debut, they say, is welcome.

“I’ve played drums for all kinds of rock bands,” Michael said. “The last thing I want to do is play just one way. That would bore me stiff.”

SALSA FIESTA: An all-day festival of Caribbean music at the John Anson Ford Theatre will spotlight Cuban and Afro-Cuban sound and dance, including local acts Bongo Logic and Francisco Aguabella, who appear on the recent “LAtino LAtino” album.

Others performing at the “Salsa L.A.” on Sept. 2 will be dance troupe Havanafama, drum ensemble Grupo Folklorico Olu Meta, violinist Susie Hansen, Son Mayor and the King King All-Stars.