The music and story of The Nervous Eaters , including an interview with guitarist/vocalist Steve Cataldo was featured on the Oct. 18 edition of The Devo Rock Show.
The Nervous Eaters appear at Café Nine in New Haven on Oct. 23. This special program will feature classic singles and rarities from their early years in the late 1970s as well as new music from the latest incarnation of the band, including their self-released Record 10 from 2019.
Regarded as one of the forerunners of the burgeoning punk/new wave scene in late 1970s Boston, the band got their start backing other artists such as Willie “Loco” Alexander, before they were signed to the short-lived Rat Records, a label that was connected to the legendary destination for up-and-coming bands from around the world, The Rathskeller, best known as “The Rat”.
The band’s first single, “Loretta,” was released in 1976 and garnered regular airplay in the Boston area, but failed to catch on outside the Commonwealth. This was a fate suffered by contemporaries such as The Real Kids, DMZ and to some extent, The Neighborhoods, who all had talent and a track record of outstanding live performances, but never broke out nationally.
While they would split up and reunite many times over the years, The Nervous Eaters never really fared well in the studio, yet their material, especially singles, remains highly sought after by collectors.
A Ric Ocasek-produced demo tape by the band got the attention of some label executives, including those at The Cars’ label, Elektra, which signed The Eaters. At this time, the label was enjoying the success of The Cars’ first two releases — The Cars and Candy-O — and would soon be focused on Panorama, which would not bode well for the newcomers.
Their eventual self-titled major label debut for Elektra was produced by Harry Maslin who had worked on David Bowie’s Young Americans and Station To Station and included guest appearances by guitarist Steve Cropper and pianist Nicky Hopkins.
Despite expectations, the album never took off and The Nervous Eaters felt the label had let them down by not putting any effort into promoting the release, despite the fact the band had been out supporting the likes of The Cars, The J. Geils Band, The Ramones and many others during the late 1970s.
Following the failure of the debut record and Elektra not doing a follow-up project with the band, The Nervous Eaters broke up for the first time in 1981.
They would reunite in 1986 and released Hot Steel And Acid, a six song EP.
