Bombed-Out Cats
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The Bombed-Out Cats are a rock group, based out of Phoenix, AZ. Originally formed in 2004 and various band name-changes, the band consists of Travis Eaton (guitar, vocals), Louis Occhiline (bass, vocals), & Gabe Rhodes (drums, vocals).
Travis Eaton, Guitarist and vocalist, began playing music around the age of four. Originally inspired by country music, he was exposed to rock ‘n’ roll after seeing a clip of the Beatles performing “All My Loving” on the Ed Sullivan Show. When he was ten, as a tribute to the Beatles, he began performing in a band called the Moptops as well as playing classical guitar in competition for the Verde Valley Music Association. Later he found himself playing with the band Recall alongside future band member Gabriel Rhodes.
Gabriel Rhodes has been playing drums for approximately 21 years. He is the son of Arizona Blues Hall of Famer Danny Rhodes. At age 11, along with playing drums for his father, he has been part of bands Recall, Heavy Soul, and Denarius. In 2004, after having exhausted all other musical ventures, Eaton and Rhodes began playing with a friend of Eaton, Louis Occhiline.
Louis Occhiline was born into a large musical family. He started playing the bass at seventeen. There had been a shortage of bassists, so he learned the basics of the instrument. He played with Eaton in a band called Frequency Response. The band split in early 2004. Over the past few years, Occhiline has developed his music by trying to apply the bass styles of John Entwistle of The Who and Paul McCartney to his own.
They began playing in Rhodes’ garage in the summer of 2004. They quickly found a chemistry that had been lacking in their previous bands. They were united by the influences of ’60s rock as well as the ’90s alternative.