Cats in Boots

The Profile

Cats in Boots are a Japanese–American glam metal/hard rock band active in the late 1980s, known for the 1989 album Kicked & Klawed. The classic lineup features Joel Ellis (vocals), Takashi “Jam” O’Hashi (guitar), Yasuhiro “Butch” Hatae (bass), and Randy Meers (drums). They briefly reunited in 2003.

Mixed U.S.–Japan lineup (Ellis, O’Hashi, Hatae, Meers). Debut album Kicked & Klawed released in 1989. Brief reunion in 2003. Joel Ellis later sang in Heavy Bones (with Frankie Banali).

A single, emphatic review celebrates Cats in Boots’ 1989 album Kicked & Klawed as top-tier street metal/hard rock. It spotlights Joel Ellis’s charismatic vocals, Takashi “Jam” O’Hashi’s sharp guitar work, and a Japanese–American lineup. Highlights include “Shotgun Sally,” “Her Monkey,” and the ballad “Every Sunrise.” The piece also notes a brief 2003 reunion.