The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs first formed about five years ago in Los Angeles, when Frank Meyer (guitars, vocals), Art Jackson (guitars) and Dino Everett (bass) got together with a drummer pal to play old punkcovers at a party or two. Patrick Boissel of Alive Records caught one of their early shows, and was so knocked out by the Cheetahs' joyful rock power that he signed the band to a deal after hearing only a couple of original songs. Two records for Alive - Heart Full of Napalm and Overdrive - quickly followed, and received favorable reviews. But it wasn't until Live On KXLU, released in 1998 by Triple X, that the Cheetahs were truly able to capture their astounding live energy on tape. (It was also around this time that the band found a permanent drummer in Mike Sessa.)

Since then, the band has toured the U.S. several times, also serving as the backing band for Wayne Kramer, the legendary guitarist of the MC5. They've been written up in Rolling Stone and about a zillion other publications, and were voted "Best Punk/Hard Rock Band" by the LA New Times. "Generator," a swaggering new track produced by Wayne Kramer and recorded exclusively for MUSICBLITZ, should give newcomers a clue as to what all the fuss is about.

"The original version of the song came from a 4-track solo demo I did in 1991 (or so) that got lost in the shuffle," says Meyer. "I recently unearthed the demo and played it for the rest of the band, and we all really dug it. We learned it, rocked it live in the studio, and then got real twisted with it, adding pots and pans and some weird guitar sounds inspired by Wayne's creativity and 'go for it' attitude. Wayne got together with engineer Jason Roberts, and they mixed it while we were on tour. When we came back and heard it, we fuckin' flipped! It also happens to be the last track ever recorded with original Cheetahs bassist Dino Everett. We wish him the best of luck!"

-- Dan Epstein

Dan Epstein is a Los Angeles-based journalist and pop-culture historian whose work has appeared in L.A. Weekly, BAM, Raygun, Guitar World and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. His first book, Twentieth Century Pop Culture, was published in 1999 by Carlton Books.