Thirty Years Ago, Hepcat Dilemma Appears on “The Bones Malone Show”
By Oscar Flood

It was thirty years ago that Hepcat Dilemma taped their first television appearance as they appeared on “The Bones Malone Show” on Pittsburgh’s PCTV cable station. “I can’t remember how Byron knew Bones,” recalls guitarist Bob Loiselle. “And Bones Malone was just some guy who had a talk show, sitting behind a desk like Johnny Carson on this little cable station. I just remember the whole day as being really unorganized!”

Hepcat Dilemma arrived at PCTV’s studio on Pittsburgh’s North Side shortly after noon on June 27, 1994. After setting up they realized that the studio had minimal equipment for such a venture, and they had to utilize every microphone and cable that the band brought with them. “There was a space in the back that had all sorts of props,” says Bob. “So naturally we took advantage of that and pulled out this very fake looking wooden apple tree and placed it by my amp and brought out this multi-colored column and put it behind Chuck. “

After setting up the band played “The King and I” and “Call Waiting”. The line up of Bob, bassist Chuck McPherson and drummer Byron Glatz breezed through the soundcheck with no issues. There were no monitors so they were a little concerned with being able to get the vocal cues but after a run through of “Drought” they were satisfied that everything would be okay.

They took a break during which Bones went to a local pub to try and round up a studio audience and Hepcat took a short cruise around the North side, piloted by none other than future drummer E Hood who was already established as a fixture at band practices and relished his role of The Wheel.

Upon returning to the studio the band had to wait while Bones taped a couple other segments of the show that featured Veterans for Peace, Animal Friends and the magician Grego the Great who, despite a few missteps, endeared himself to Bones by pulling a rabbit out of his hat.

Hepcat Dilemma took their place in the studio and E literally became part of the scenery as he hid behind the fake apple tree wearing a Richard Nixon mask throughout the set. Taping the show gave the band the luxury of a couple of false starts but once they got going, they played spirited versions of “The Return of Lars the Butterfly”, “Bank Robbery” and “Drought.” A VHS tape of the performance is known to exist, but it has not surfaced in years.

After the taping the band watched the performance. The only disappointment was that E could not be seen crouching behind the fake apple tree. After six hours at PCTV they left the studio with their first television appearance taped and it was originally aired on July 9, 1994.

Setlist:
The Return of Lars the butterfly
Bank Robbery
Drought

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New Songs Taking Shape at Rehearsals

By Oscar Flood

After nearly a year of inactivity, Hepcat Dilemma has finally been able to rehearse on a regular schedule ever since the renovations have been completed at their legendary practice space, The Farm. Some weeks it has been a full band rehearsal and some weeks it has just been E and Bob manning the helm but nearly every weekend has found the band playing in some form or other.

The band has been preparing to return to the studio to complete their long gestating follow up to the acclaimed “Art Imitates Life” album. Several songs slated to be recorded were woodshedded when they were rehearsing at Club Fiasco. “All the Beautiful Ships” and “Theme from Max and Scratch” were first attempted there and “Miss Jane Takes a Trip” was even given a live debut at last summer’s Deutschtown Festival.

Since returning to The Farm, the band has started playing two new songs penned by guitarist Bob Loiselle which they intend to add to the roster of songs slated for the new album. One is a homage to a Pittsburgh iconic character from the 70’s called “Lansberry’s Mail”. Bassist Chris Colpo says, “Lansberry? Oh man, that shit is fun. Snarky and historical and crunchy. A little math, a little historical anger…good times.”

The second new piece has the working title of “The Other New Song” and still needs lyrics. It is a sprawling piece that takes the listener for a journey and at over four-and-a-half minutes is one of the band’s most ambitious pieces.

When asked about the new songs drummer E Hood just said, “The elevator is going up!”

Update From Rehearsals

By Oscar Flood

After a long hiatus, Hepcat Dilemma has been rehearsing at the renovated facilities at the Farm and from all indications, the rehearsals have been very productive. The band had been without a home for the past year since losing their practice space at Club Fiasco. After months of renovations, Hepcat’s legendary practice space, The Farm, reopened this summer. The band immediately resumed working on material for the follow up to their acclaimed 2019 album, “Art Imitates Life”.

“We still need to record about four more songs,” said guitarist Bob Loiselle. “It’s now just a matter of getting them into shape.” Bob added that eight songs have already been recorded and are nearly complete as the band has been working with their longtime producer Matt Vaughan. Hepcat hopes to be back in the studio by the end of the year to start work on the remaining tracks.

New songs include “Miss Jane Takes a Trip”, “All the Beautiful Ships” and “Theme from Max and Scratch” and the band is excited by the new material. A new, still untitled piece was recently introduced and generated much enthusiasm. Spirits have been high as everyone is relieved to be playing again. After the long layoff, the band was surprised at how quickly they fell into rhythm. “There was a little rust but right from the get go we sounded like Hepcat Dilemma,” reported Bob with a grin. “The energy was there and it was a joy for us to hear that wonderful noise.”

Along with working on the new material, Hepcat Dilemma has also been rehearsing with an eye to return to live performances next year. No shows have been scheduled yet but expect to hear the new songs when Hepcat returns to the stage along with many of your favorites.

“The Farm is Open for Business”

After many delays the renovations have been completed at Hepcat Dilemma’s legendary rehearsal space, The Farm, and the band has resumed rehearsing as they hope to get back to work on their new album. “The Farm is open for business,” reported guitarist Bob Loiselle, “and we are making noise.” Work at The Farm had begun in the spring and along with better soundproofing came an upgraded sound system. The work took a little longer than expected but the band is thrilled with the results as facilities at The Farm are better than ever.

The band has been focusing their efforts on working out the arrangements for the final songs to be recorded to the follow up to their critically acclaimed album, “Art Imitates Life” which was released in 2019. Eight tracks have already been recorded but work on the album came to a halt after they lost their practice space at Club Fiasco. The band hopes to get back in the studio before the end of the year to work on the final tracks and have the album ready for release next year.

Reports from the early rehearsals found Hepcat Dilemma to be in fine form despite the extended layoff. “I was amazed at how together we sounded right away,” said Bob. “We just need to build up our stamina and get rid of a little rust. It’s been a long year so it’s great to finally be able to play again.” While he said that they weren’t ready to get back to playing live yet Bob was quick to plug Chris’s upcoming show with The Reckoning at Mr. Small’s. “Chris does such a great job singing the REM songs. You can really feel his affection for the material.” (The Reckoning play at Mr. Small’s Theatre on Saturday September 23^rd. The show starts at 8 PM.)