BlackmarketKittens

Gerald ran a music venue in Midtown Detroit that booked local acts on weekends. Roxanne went to see him in person about a booking in the spring of 1984. She had a tape. She had a press sheet. She had played in two prior bands with documented history. Gerald listened to approximately ninety seconds of the tape, handed it back, and said the room was not right for what she was doing. Roxanne asked what he meant. Gerald said it was a vibe thing. He said this with the specific confidence of a person who has never had to explain what he means. A stray cat that had been living in the alley behind the venue walked in through an open side door at this point — the kind of cat that is comfortable everywhere, orange, substantial, moving with the authority of an animal that has decided where it lives. The cat crossed the room without acknowledging Gerald, walked to the spot where Roxanne was standing, and sat down. Roxanne looked at Gerald. Gerald looked at the cat. Gerald said he would be in touch. Roxanne said she appreciated his time and left. The cat followed her for approximately half a block, then turned down an alley and was not seen again. The band was named the following week.

The label flew all four members to Los Angeles in January 1988. The hotel was in West Hollywood. The meetings were in a building that had more glass than seemed structurally necessary. The first meeting was with the label's president, who was direct and specific and said things Roxanne found credible. The second meeting was with the marketing team, who had ideas about the band's image that the band found manageable. The third meeting included Todd. Todd was the A&R director. Todd had strong opinions about what was working in the market and said them confidently and used the phrase "you girls" in the first three minutes. Roxanne noted this and continued the meeting. Todd said "you girls" a second time approximately eight minutes later. Roxanne said his name, clearly, and continued her sentence. Todd said "you girls" a third time twelve minutes into the meeting. Roxanne said it had been a pleasure meeting everyone, thanked the label, and stood up. Dani, Suki, and Carla stood up simultaneously without discussion, which Roxanne has cited as one of the things she is most proud of. They returned to the hotel. Suki ordered room service. The label called twice more. Roxanne did not return the calls. The band has never fully agreed on whether this was the right decision. Nobody has argued it was the wrong one.

On a Friday in November 1989, Blackmarket Kittens played a set that was supposed to be forty-five minutes and lasted three hours and seven minutes. This was not planned. The band played their set and nobody stopped them. The sound person assumed someone else was managing the time. The venue manager was in the office dealing with a plumbing issue. The audience, which had started at approximately 200 people, was at 280 by the end because people had come back in from the smoking area to see what was happening and then stayed. The band played their full set, then played four songs again because they were the best ones, then played three songs that were not finished songs — they were ideas that became songs on stage that night because there was time and the room was the right room. One of those songs became "Claws Out," the title track of the 1990 album. The plumbing issue was resolved. Nobody was charged extra. The sound person has described the evening as "the best accident I was ever involved in."

The last show of Blackmarket Kittens was on a Saturday in March 1992. There were 280 people in the audience. They were seven songs into the set when Roxanne stopped playing, stood at the microphone, and said this was the last show of Blackmarket Kittens. She said it clearly and without preface. Then she counted in the next song and they finished the set. Dani, Suki, and Carla heard this announcement at the same time as the audience. None of them stopped playing. Carla has said she knew before the announcement — she felt it in the set list and in the specific way Roxanne was singing that night. Dani has said she had not known and was surprised and played through it because the song required it. Suki has said she was the last one offstage that night and stood there for longer than four seconds. Roxanne moved to New York six weeks later. Carla cried in the parking lot afterward. She has told one person this. She is not currently telling another one.