Does anyone remember a band called Cay?

[Kankurette]

I was listening to them last night as I'm going through a sort of late '90s/early '00s music phase and they were one of that wave of British rock bands around at the time, My Vitriol and Llama Farmers and all that lot. Their only album was Nature Creates Freaks. They had a song called Neurons Like Brandy that was on one of the Melody Maker freebies - they were in the weeklies a lot - and I didn't like it at the time, but I like it more now. They remind me of Nirvana, especially the vocals, although they have some gentler Deftones-y stuff as well, like Skool.

Their singer (well, screamer) was a Dutch woman called Anet Mook who had bright red hair. She died a while back and Mark, the drummer, wrote a blog about it. It's here. In summary:
 - Anet had a serious drug problem (smack?) She and Nick, the guitarist who was also her boyfriend, took out loads of the band's money and blew it on drugs.
 - Mark and Tom, the bassist, withdrew the rest of the money and used it to pay roadies and other people they owed money.
 - Cay had been dropped by their label and manager. Mark quit because he'd had enough - he and Anet were always arguing and she'd often spend ages screaming abuse at him - and Tom left soon after. Cay got a new rhythm section.
 - Cay played Glastonbury and had a single called Resurrexit, but they dropped off the radar after. Tom bumped into Anet at a bus stop and they had an awkward conversation, and it turned out to be the last time he ever saw her.
 - Anet went back to the Netherlands to try and get clean, and failed. Some reports say she was hit by a bus but the blog post says it was a train.

I note Som from My Vitriol and one of the lads from 3 Colours Red are in the comments. It was pretty sad reading. Mark was pretty honest about the fact that he didn't like Anet much, but still felt sad for what could have been, and it's clear from his other posts that he did enjoy being with Cay in the early days. Cay won Best New British Band at the Kerrang! Awards in 1999 and were in Melody Maker and NME loads and then...nothing. It makes me wonder what could have been. Was anyone else on here into them at all?

[mechanical blood goat]

Yes, I remember them, I liked the song "Better Than Myself". I also remember reading about the singer's death and thinking it was really sad.

Reminded me, does anyone remember a band called Solar Race from Manchester? Their singer also met a sad death.

don't know why, but I just kind of made that morbid connection right then.

[Good Hank]

I do remember Cay. They always seemed a bit chaotic and I guess OP has explained why that is.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

I do remember Cay, though I don't remember very well what they sounded like, sort of Hole-ish I reckon?

[mechanical blood goat]

This is a nice song

[Dr M1nx PhD]

I saw them supporting 3 Colours Red in Belfast years ago, I had no idea she'd died.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Ooh, yes. I think I had the same Melody Maker CD. I couldn't have remembered the name of the band though, because sadly they had a crap unmemorable name. I just remember the red hair and the screaming.

[Kankurette]

It stands for Cool As You. I wouldn't say they sounded like Hole tbh but they were a bit grungy.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

- Anet went back to the Netherlands to try and get clean, and failed. Some reports say she was hit by a bus but the blog post says it was a train.

Might have been a bicycle. They don't half go fast on those fuckers over there.

[iamcoop]

I think I saw them at Reading festival years and years ago.

Not much of substance to add to this thread but I think I may have mentioned on here before that when I really first started getting into Kerrang Cay and My Vitriol were two bands they seemed to be relentlessly championing almost every issue.

[Kankurette]

Yeah, what happened to My Vitriol? They were everywhere in the late '90s/early '00s and then they just dropped off the radar. I think they had some kind of record company problems and the second/third album was delayed forever.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

Yeah, what happened to My Vitriol? They were everywhere in the late '90s/early '00s and then they just dropped off the radar. I think they had some kind of record company problems and the second/third album was delayed forever.

This sums it up, I haven't heard their music in at least twenty years but they were really popular when I was at secondary school.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Haha, they sound fucking useless.

[Kankurette]

I see My Vitriol did a Space and crowdfunded their second album on Pledgemusic. Which has shut down. Always a worrying sign when that happens. And way to let your fans down by making them crowdfund what turns out to be a covers and outtakes album. I don't know if things were as bad behind the scenes as they were for Cay, but that's still pretty depressing. And, as Space found out the hard way the first time around, if you keep promising your fans new material and then not delivering, they'll eventually grow bored of you and move on. Except with My Vitriol, it went on even longer. What were they even doing all that time? Even Elastica at least managed to produce a second album before splitting up and this was despite who knows how many line-up changes and everyone being smacked off their tits.

ETA: another Space comparison: My Vitriol have clearly been to the Franny Griffiths School of Social Media Engagement as well, i.e. getting cunty at people who asked them where the album was and doing the whole 'if you don't worship us and everything we put out and never question us, you're not a real fan' thing. If people have paid for an album, you can't blame them for being fed up when nothing happens.

Commenters expressed their annoyance on social media, making jokes at the band's expense or taking umbrage at the perceived lack of remorse or acknowledgement of anything being wrong. Many were upset at what they perceived to be unjustified delays, false advertising and defensive attitude. Then these negative comments began disappearing. A casual browser looking at the pages would think that everything was just fine. All that remained were a handful of comments acting like this was all completely normal. They had built their own Pyongyang.

One fan who'd had comments deleted from Facebook received a message in their inbox from the band saying little more than "Noticed your messages". Mysterious new accounts began to emerge on various platforms defending the band with such loyalty that if they really did exist, they were at best delusional. It suggested a defensive compartmentalising of followers into friends and foe. It was an insight into their idea of how engagement on social media is meant to work. They didn't want discussion, they wanted cheerleaders. Then in December 2014 came the announcement of a hard disk drive failure. There was no mention of backups.

[sevendaughters]

saw Cay at Leeds, they were RUBBISH. still, wouldn't hope for ill to them as humans. This whole time of Miss Black America, Reuben, Kinesis, Kill Kenada, Seafood, My Vit, King Adora - weird.

[Kankurette]

Easyworld as well. I knew a couple of people who were into them but was never really a fan.

[Pauline Walnuts]

 

I see My Vitriol did a Space and crowdfunded their second album on Pledgemusic. Which has shut down. Always a worrying sign when that happens.

Pledgemusic went bankrupt because the owners were taking the money off the preorders and spending it and not having enough to give to the artists, stealing basically. from both the artists and the punters. ie ME.

Stupid really, as there was probably a comfy income from just doing the pre-orders organisation, sorta the same way Bandcamp do it now.

[Goldentony]

ITV used to show clips of random B and C tier music festivals at night during weekdays and sometimes you'd get lucky and get half an hour of Beck at Reading or you'd get severely unlucky and get Waterboys at Greenwich Vintage Motor Weekend and the one time they showed Cay for some reason is lodged in my memory. I get the feeling I thought it was a bit rubbish because I remember a load of tuneless 90s howling and the chorus was sort of yelled in cod estuary cockney and felt like tons of stuff from around the same time inc the My Vitriol mention there, sort of Queen Adreena ish? less annoying though

[Kankurette]

Yeah, Queen Adreena were another of those British rock bands around at the time. I only heard them a few years ago and wished I'd gotten into them at the time because they're an English Jack Off Jill. I was and still am into angry female singers.

Anet wasn't a good singer. Shouting was more her forte.

Pledgemusic went bankrupt because the owners were taking the money off the preorders and spending it and not having enough to give to the artists, stealing basically. from both the artists and the punters. ie ME.

Stupid really, as there was probably a comfy income from just doing the pre-orders organisation, sorta the same way Bandcamp do it now.

And me. I paid a load of money to be in a Space video that never happened. Never saw a penny back.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

I hate to say it, but most people who get hit by a train do so because they want to get hit by a train. I don't suppose it'll ever become apparent what actually happened to her because there's so little information to go on. Some sources even say it was a bus.

[Steve Faeces]

I saw My Vitriol at the Scala a few years back, 2017 maybe. They didn't have a bassist so had to play the bass bits as pre-recorded tracks. It was a sell out if I remember but they really weren't very good.

They do the odd London date or festival/support slot now but at that time they had a proper tour, for the "second album" lined up. A shame then that pledgemusic "second album" wasn't really a second album at all, but offcuts and odd and sods they played live and/or had kicking around for years.

[Kankurette]

I hate to say it, but most people who get hit by a train do so because they want to get hit by a train. I don't suppose it'll ever become apparent what actually happened to her because there's so little information to go on. Some sources even say it was a bus.

Yeah, the drummer said she was reportedly sober at the time. So who knows. But as you say, we'll probably never know what really happened to her.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

I must admit I'm getting a bit intrigued by the Mook now. I must have been about 19 when the album came out, but it was one of those ones that sat on the back burner as something I'd buy from HMV eventually, but never did. Was she mixed race? She definitely looked a bit darker skinned than what you'd expect from a typical Hollander. There was also something on the drummers blog that said her Dad was one of the higher ups at Shell. What was she doing for the last ten years (it was coke btw, the blog implied a sort of narcissism and aggressiveness that you wouldn't get with heroin). Were her and her boyfriend just doing chong for ten years without writing any new music, or thinking of getting a band back together again? What was her favourite biscuit?

So many questions.

[Kankurette]

I wondered if she was of Indonesian descent. She looks more Asian than black in photos.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

That's fairly possible. Indonesia was one of the Dutch colonies, and when I went to the Netherlands a few years ago they put Indo curry sauce on their chips. They smothered it in that shit. It seems to be part of their culture in the same way that Indian food is to us.

It's strange trying to find out about someone who was around pre-social media. You could get away with disappearing without ever being found so much easier back then.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Reminded me, does anyone remember a band called Solar Race from Manchester? Their singer also met a sad death.

Were those the ones who did a song called 'Drink My Wee'?

[mechanical blood goat]

"Drink My Piss", yes that's them.

Eh, not very good were they

[Norton Canes]

Motherfuckers act like they forgot about Cay

[boki]

Not much of substance to add to this thread but I think I may have mentioned on here before that when I really first started getting into Kerrang Cay and My Vitriol were two bands they seemed to be relentlessly championing almost every issue.

I seem to recall that Organ was very supportive of both bands, so I think Kerrang picked up on them from there.

[mechanical blood goat]

I seem to recall that Organ was very supportive of both bands, so I think Kerrang picked up on them from there.

Yeah, and Rachel Stamp too, just to add another name to the list of forgotten early 00s briefly hyped rock bands that went nowhere.