Hudson Valley and New York City-area rock audiences may be familiar with Cathedral Ceilings, or the members, Ralphie, Nicky, and Tommy, who also play in several other bands. Nick is based in Palenville and also plays with the thrash-metal band World Sucks, the anti-racist punk band Phantom Sleeze (playing at The Avalon Lounge on Nov. 1) and with his partner Lysa in Silence on the Other End. Tommy and Nick previously played together in Mr. Payday Ralph also plays in the band Stuyvesant.
All those bands make a propulsive, thick-rock sound. Nick describes them as “high energy rock ‘n’ roll.” The bio for Cathedral Ceilings new record, “La, la, la… Whatever,” (Dromedary) reads, in part, “It’s clear that they’ve had ‘Pleased To Meet Me’ and ‘Grave Dancers Union’ and ‘On The Mouth’ in their cassette decks for ages.” The new record, with its first single “Bill Berry” sort-of about the R.E.M. drummer, clearly adds another ‘80s rock act to that list. Nick says band members either prefer “Fables of the Reconstruction” or “Reckoning” as their favorite album from R.E.M., and the “Bill Berry” song references the former. Nick, Cathedral Ceilings drummer (at left in photo above), explains in a phone interview that a poster from the “Fables” album hangs in their practice space, and he was trying to replicate something like Berry’s rapid-fire disco beat, but said he couldn’t reach those heights. The band is self-deprecating like that, just going by first names.
The new record was first going to be called “Major Chords, Minor Results,” but the “La, la, la… Whatever” title seems to allude to all of the musical references that fill the album, from the sounds to lyrics. Listen for yourself to their new album, above, or turn out Oct. 24 to see Cathedral Ceilings with Dauber, St. Divine, and Of the Atlas at The Avalon Lounge in Catskill. Listen at the top of this page to our complete conversation about Cathedral Ceilings.
Interview: Cathedral Ceilings