… Read Full Bio ↴Hepcat are a third wave ska band formed in southern California in 1989.
Their soulful harmonies and mellow rhythms were unlike those of contemporaries and more akin to musicians from the heyday of 1960s Jamaican ska, also referred to as the first wave.
Hepcat's debut album, "Out of Nowhere" was released in 1994 on New York-based ska label Moon Records. Two years later, they followed it up with "Scientific" on BYO Records. In 1998, after signing with Epitaph Records subsidiary HellCat Records, they released "Right on Time," scoring a modest hit with the swinging "No Worries" and scored a spot on the Vans Warped Tour. 2000 saw the release of "Push n' Shove," their first album without founding members Raul Talavera and Alex Désert, although the latter appears as a guest vocalist on two tracks.
The band went on indefinite hiatus after 2000, and no new material has surfaced since. Trumpeter Kincaid Smith formed Soul Traffic, a five-piece funk band. Drummer Scott Abels has played with the Rancid side project Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and the southern California reggae act The Aggrolites. Vocalist Alex Desert has had a successful career in film and television, appearing in the movies PCU, Swingers, and High Fidelity; and the television show Becker.
In early 2004, a remastered version of Out of Nowhere was released with two additional bonus tracks, an early version of "Nigel" and "Club Meditation," both of which appeared on their first single. Occasionally, Hepcat reconvenes to play a few shows a year in the California area. Often, this lineup is that which performed on "Scientific."
They take their name from a term for a 1940s-50s jazz musician.
Bobby & Joe
Hepcat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doin' that dance that no one ever know
CHORUS
Playing is a big big band while they're swinging
Playing is a big big song for the dance
First you move up your gun
REPEAT CHORUS
Then you bounce up the dance
It can keep you in a trance
REPEAT CHORUS
Bobby catch Joe mid-day on the patio
playing with a woman like no girl ever know
She pull out a big big gun from her pocket
point it down straight at the crotch of his pants
Bobby she do the rambo
Joe he get a big hole
REPEAT CHORUS
The song "Bobby & Joe" by Hepcat talks about two men named Bobby and Joe who are dancing to a particular rhythm that is unknown to everyone. The lyrics suggest that they are performing a dance that they have named "the Rambo" and it is a unique dance that nobody has ever seen before. It seems that the music that they are dancing to is from a big band, and the song's structure involves a repeating chorus that emphasizes the importance of the music in their dance.
The lyrics are somewhat cryptic, particularly the lines "First you move up your gun, hold it straight to the sun now" and "Then you bounce up the dance, it can keep you in a trance." A possible interpretation is that the lyrics are describing the process of the "Rambo" dance, which involves holding a gun up high and then quickly moving down into a bouncing dance. The second chorus suggests that the dance has an alluring quality, as it can keep someone in a trance.
However, the last segment of the song takes a darker turn, describing a scenario where Bobby and Joe are caught by a woman with a gun. The woman aims the gun at Joe's crotch, and the two men ultimately suffer grave consequences. This part of the song could be interpreted as a cautionary tale, warning people of the danger of getting involved with the wrong people and engaging in dangerous activities.
Line by Line Meaning
Bobby and Joe out there do the rambo
Bobby and Joe are out there acting tough like Rambo
Doin' that dance that no one ever know
They're doing a dance that nobody has ever seen before
Playing is a big big band while they're swinging
There's a large band playing music for them to dance to
Playing is a big big song for the dance
The band is playing a big song for them to dance to
First you move up your gun
First, you lift your gun
Hold it straight to the sun now
Hold it up towards the sun
Then you bounce up the dance
Then, you start dancing
It can keep you in a trance
The dance can be mesmerizing
Bobby catch Joe mid-day on the patio
Bobby catches Joe during the middle of the day on the patio
playing with a woman like no girl ever know
Joe is hanging out with a woman like nobody has ever seen before
She pull out a big big gun from her pocket
The woman takes out a large gun from her pocket
point it down straight at the crotch of his pants
She points the gun straight at Joe's crotch
Bobby she do the rambo
Bobby acts tough like Rambo
Joe he get a big hole
Joe ends up with a big hole (implied gunshot wound)
Contributed by Jackson T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Roeleken
seen them on lowlands in '98, damn i'm getting old. Best concert i've ever seen
Drea Saldana
I love Hepcat. My mom is good friends with one of the members. she went to school with him and now we get to see them for FREE!!!!!!!
Borg
This was one of only a handful of 90s ska bands that actually understood what it meant to do the ska. Thanks to them, I learned skank with love, not aggression. They will always be one of my favorites.
Borg
Came to listen to a great song, only to find out how big of a twat I was 10 years. Apparently not much has changed.
Dito
@Borg lmaoo don't worry personally I don't find ska punk are really good
Todd Packer
@Borg lol
logophile
I love Hepcat. I love Hepcat. I love Hepcat. I can't say it enough.
Jim Lewis
I grew up with these guys! Remember hauling all them and their gear to Spankys in Riverside for gigs! Went to school with Lino
Schmidthorst69
GREAT!!!! Bring Hepcat back to Germany!
Deadgoon
I heard that. The only time I ever saw Hepcat was way back in 95 at a Warped Tour in MPLS. Still dig their music.