Bands with Cats featuring Jay Flett with Mr.Boots and Minnie Mew
– by Cheena Jean Normandin
Your name: Jay Flett
Your band and role/instrument: Vocalist and angry lyrics writer, Old Derelicts.
What’re your cat’s names?
Mr.Boots, also known as Boots and Stink; and Minnie Mew, also known as Min Min and Min Mo.
What’re your cat’s origin stories?
Mr Boots was raised by a gang of dogs after his mother was killed in a street fight. We found him through a personal add online. He was a teenager at this point and outgrowing the gang lifestyle. He was looking for a better life, so after a lengthy shootout we managed to get Boots out of there with minimal bloodshed (as most gangs have a blood in blood out pact)…we then relocated him to a safehouse in East Van and gave him a new identity.
We found Minnie through a friend she was also in a safe house after being terrorized by her father. After repeated attempts on her mother’s life and the lives of her brothers and sisters we relocated Minnie to a better life in the West End of Vancouver in a studio apartment with an ocean view. After multiple therapy sessions and the love of Mr.Boots and us, Minnie has since put her past behind her although she can at times relive the trauma of her past when she hears loud noises of strangers come over.
What are your cats’ breeds?
Minnie is a tabby. Mr.Boots is a tuxedo.
Who feeds your cats?
We feed them Taste of the Wild cat food. My wife Andrea and I take turns feeding them but Andrea is the one who spoils them the most. Andrea gives them fresh filtered water out of a tall beer mug several times throughout the day.
What are their theme songs?
Mr.Boots’ theme: Ice-T, “Colors”.
Minnie Mew’s theme: Cro-Mags, “Hard Times”.
Your cats vs. Superman. Whose got better odds?
Mr.Boots is a former gang member and Minnie is no stranger to violence so they would team up and destroy Superman…Edge: our cats.
What’s broken into more – the liquor cabinet or catnip stash?
Mr.Boots is the smart one, we often move the catnip stash and he always finds it. So we come home to him and Minnie cranking Bob Marley fully baked. As far as booze goes, my wife and I do not drink so our home is booze free.
What is the last inconvenient place you have found your cat sleeping in?
Mr. Boots often sleeps on our turntable and his legs hang way over the edge. Minnie was found sleeping squished between the shelf and the fishtank and looked super funny sleeping away.
What do they listen to when you’re not around?
Mr.Boots listens to Bad Brains and The Geto Boys. Minnie loves Jane’s Addiction and Sublime.
What do your cats get up to on a Friday night?
On a typical Friday night, Mr.Boots and Minnie break into the catnip stash and get super baked and crank the reggae.
You can check out the Old Derelicts on their Facebook page.
Also, they are playing Mar.8 at Olympia Pizza (RSVP here) , and you can find them Mar.22 at the Railway Club (RSVP here).
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