Hosted by Ripley’s very own, Sabrina Sieck, let Ripley’s Believe It or Not! introduce YOU to the coolest stuff and strangest things.
Today: Rock Cats
The Rock Cats
This week on Cool Stuff Strange Things, we clawed our way backstage and were total groupies for, the one, the only, ROCK CATS. Yes, a touring band of cats…and a rogue chicken named Cluck Norris.
Samantha Martin is the Chief Executive Human and Trainer for the Acrocats and the Rock Cats . She was a student of the I.Q. Zoo and even went to chicken training school where she honed her operant conditioning skills to train all sorts of animals. It’s a tough job, literally herding cats.
“They call the shots for everything.” -Samantha Martin, Chief Executive Human and Trainer
Getting the Band Together
The band had humble beginnings, Samantha started out with just a cat that could play the piano, but quickly added drums and a guitar. In these early days, the Rock Cats were exclusively acoustic.
The band needed a cymbal player, but Samantha found that kitty paws aren’t quite suited for it. That’s when she decided to introduce the band’s only non-cat member, Cluck Norris. Samantha describes the chicken as the band’s savior. Chickens are far more reliable than the cats. Where a cat may be less in the mood to play if it had a bad day, chickens are not that emotional.
After that came the cowbell and woodblocks, followed by chimes. The newest addition is Buggles on trumpet.
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