DOCTOR JUNGLE CAT

DANGEROUS MOONLIGHT

EARLY DEMOS, LIVE CUTS, AND TALES FROM THE FOLK SIDE

Nashville, Tennessee: Mt. Zephyr Records is proud to offer our first ever deluxe box set! To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of “Pounce!” the debut album by Doctor Jungle Cat, we have dug deep and found 50 PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD RECORDINGS! Spanning their meteoric rise from 2010 to 2016 in the now legendary Nashville house show circuit they helped define and create. 

This treasure chest was pulled from the personal collections, forgotten hard drives, and old phones of the band members. The collection captures a ferocious live band at the peak of a movement. This first ever box set from Mt. Zephyr Records celebrates the 10 year anniversary of their debut album “Pounce!” in 2016 by giving a glimpse into the process, recordings, and white hot live shows that got them there. 

Doctor Jungle Cat was formed in 2010 with Caitlyn Crawley on vocals, Erich Atkins on guitar, Dillon Marlow on bass, Jay Major on drums, and Nate Hurlbert on guitar. Atkins was the primary songwriter and lyricist for the duration of the band. Atkins formed his first band Clockwork Orange in 1996 at age 12 with Sid Spencer on drums (13) and Matthew Kelso on guitar (14). They formed Mt. Zephyr Records in 1997. However, the label did not have an official release until “Pounce!”. 

Atkins moved to Nashville in 2007 and reunited with Kelso to form TransAm Radio with Adam Dennis on drums, Atkins on bass and vocals, and Kelso on guitar on vocals.  Kelso later recruited his co-worker Nate Hurlbert to play drums. Kelso left Nashville at the end of 2009 and TransAm Radio was no longer. Atkins and Hurlbert moved to guitars from bass and drums respectively and founded Doctor Jungle Cat in 2010 with Crawley, Major, and Marlow. Two versions of “How Does It Feel” are included at the beginning of this collection and were originally recorded by TransAm Radio with Atkins on vocals.

They took that instrumental and removed his vocals, replacing them with Crawley’s. With TransAm Radio songs “World Keeps Spinning” and “You’re Not The Same” penned by Kelso, along with Atkins carryovers “Taking Your Time’, “Amelia”, and “How Does It Feel” and dozens of other Atkins songs, Doctor Jungle Cat was off to a roaring start. A full video of their first show at the newly christened Jungle Gym at 1705 Allison Place is included here, along with the full video archive that we are continuing to add to! 

Nashville at the of the first decade of the 21st century was finally becoming a Rock and Roll haven. First there was an influx of chart topping rock bands like the White Stripes, Black Keys, Cage the Elephant, Kings of Leon, and Alabama Shakes establishing their home bases in Nashville. Then came big festival slots and duly earned high praise from the major outlets for burgeoning contemporary acts like All Them Witches, Those Darlins, Heavy Cream, and Jeff The Brotherhood. 

Like any booming city, the housing costs were starting to rise. Then, the water started to rise. Nashville had a catastrophic “100 year flood” in May of 2010. Nashville’s largest rehearsal spaces, Soundcheck and SIR, along with any other spot in the flood zone, were out of commission. An influx of non-country musicians led to a perfect storm of spotlight on a city once thought of as a hidden gem. Outside of Country music, Nashville had never been the destination city it has now become. Ablaze with a new generation of killer bands, and possibly even creating a new “Nashville sound” for the rock genre, the house music scene started booming.

  Bands hungry to play as many shows as possible moved the parties inside their homes. By about 2012, the cat was out of the bag. We had become the dreaded “It City” not possible in our parents’ generation. Nashville was truly only known for country music until around Y2K.  The city was world famous, but never thought of as cool by cool city standards. Nashville was suddenly cool, largely in part to bands like Doctor Jungle Cat who set up shop and bothered their uncool neighbors, while making other uncool neighbors cool. The studios have always been world class, with notable rock records being sporadically made here. Country music was also still very regional. Rarely did any country artists hail from anywhere outside the Southeast or Western US. 

The music coming out of Nashville was also, almost as importantly as any factor, not Southern rock with a capital S. This scene was not really filled with the Allman, Skynyrd, Hatchet accolite lot one may have expected from a southern city. This band and others sounded more like Television, Butthole Surfers, The Slits, The Misfits, or something new all together. And in that scene, Doctor Jungle Cat stood to inherit the earth.

The songs were undeniable. The chemistry on stage pulsated. Crawley stalked and arced a sound over audiences that merged Judy Garland with Grace Slick. She housed the ability to captivate and make the world disappear like the former, and dance on the edge of electric shock like the latter. Crawley was simply stunning to a city filled with great singers. Anyone’s dental hygienist or mechanic can sing really, really well here. Crawley could immediately remove oxygen from the room.

Crowds responded accordingly. Doctor Jungle Cat and other bands were building a new underground in their houses and in local venues. The Jungle Gym shows benefitted from being next door neighbors to Glen Danzig’s house, and the Glass Menage on Argyle just a few blocks away. Audiences and bands were shared and other similar house venues followed all over the city. While the world thinks Nashville rock music only happens in East Nashville, these three houses specifically were near the fairgrounds on the western side of the Cumberland River. 

Atkins provided a bed of simple and powerful songs, drawing from his already solid 20+ years of performing and highly prolific songwriting. Kelso noted that Atkins could write a song about walking to the mailbox and make it sound good. Marlow brought a thump of funk, gospel, and EDM low end that made everything and everyone groove extra hard. Hurlbert contributed mightily to the early sound of Doctor Jungle Cat, adding Ed O”Brien and Brian Eno style atmospherics and setting the mood for most songs. Major on drums wrote the danceability and kitana sharp throbbing beats into the DNA that the band became known for and exploited brilliantly. The original five members set a template that remained and impressed itself into the permanent identity of Doctor Jungle Cat.

Shows leading up to the recording of “Pounce!” were on fire, and spilling over with backlit drama and a band locked in but still moving effortlessly and relaxed. They could all lean into the combined sound that was greater than the sum of its parts. Then, in 2015 after five heroic years with Doctor Jungle Cat, Hurlbert and Major left the group to form Ghost Maneuver. Hurlbert and Atkins had moved into the Jungle Gym together in 2009, with Kelso crashing there for half a year before moving. Doctor Jungle Cat formed there. It hit hard, but everyone understood and the two bands made the growing scene they were building even stronger. 

Doctor Jungle Cat’s three founding members were undeterred, and were so close to making their first album. The original title was “A Different Kind of Friction”, and the working album art is included. It is the same imagery the band landed on for “Pounce!, taken from the “Elvis mic” photo of Crawley early on. No bad blood was shared as two members left, and Doctor Jungle Cat moved into their second phase. 

Joe Reilly had shared time with Atkins in The Winter Sounds, and jumped at the opportunity to play drums with Doctor Jungle Cat. He was already a fan of the band, and a seasoned vet who had been (and still is) a core member of The Pink Spiders. Reilly also brought an industry knowledge and a hard as hell but fluid style honed with the Spiders and ska groups in his musical upbringing. 

Like Keith Richards and Bobby Keys of The Rolling Stones who were born on the same day, Marlow recruited Dylan Morris on keyboards. They were also born within 24 hours of each other and were already tight from their time at the world class music program at Belmont University. Morris brought a sophistication, synth madness, and deep organ sounds that filled out the band more than anyone anticipated. They were even more danceable (Morris also being a competitive swing dancer), groovier, fuller, and on to their second phase without missing more than a day. According to Atkins, “I lost my band and gained it back in less than 24 hours”. What  a difference a day makes. Timing is everything. Insert your favorite anecdote here ___________.

The new band got some solid shows under their belts including their first mini tour to Memphis and Otherfest in Cleveland, Mississippi. They visited historic Dockery Farms, a former plantation considered to be the birthplace of the blues. Dockery was really like a small town, with a school and monetary system, and performances by the first blues icons. Dockery either housed, employed, or allowed performances by blues music pioneers Charley Patton, Son House, Howlin’ Wolf, Honeyboy Edwards, Willie Brown, Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Muddy Waters. Doctor Jungle Cat members were living together, bonding, making outstanding music for any era, killing it live, and standing on the most hallowed ground a musician could stand on. They went into the studio with Kevin “Danger” Kilpatrick to record “Pounce!” on Groundhog Day 2016. It was set to be released on July 19th, 2016. 

They debuted live songs along the way like “Broken Hearts Still Beat” that were not recorded for “Pounce!”, previously only on Youtube, and are now available on this collection with accompanying audio that can and should be listened to more easily and frequently with streaming access. There is also a video of Crawley and Atkins playing a banjo and vocal version of “Negotiator” in Shelby Bottoms Park during a snowstorm a few days before recording that dropped nearly a foot over night. You can tell, they are freezing their asses off. It is a special performance that shows just how much range Atkins has as a songwriter, taking perhaps their most danceable song from “Pounce” and crowd boogie favorite, and turning it into an Appalachian folk ballad. The snow filled world adds to the still as glass quieter version. It also showcases Crawley’s vocal spectrum. It is seemingly a full spectrum, from whisper quiet to siren bombast and all emotions in between. 

A Youtube series "House Show" also filmed an air tight version of “Prima Donna” that is captured in audio form here for the first time. Check the video for the full on charming video and chummy interview segment filmed on April 20th, 2016. The band as friends is nice to see in the video. Then they just stomp out a two minute banger. The band could take any stage, and it was palpable. We encourage you to watch these videos, even the long ones, especially if you missed it. If you remember it all, you did it wrong. 

Then on June 13th, 2016,  it was announced that Doctor Jungle Cat was parting ways with Caitlyn Crawley. 

For now, that is where we will take a pause. A paws. There is more story. Lots more. And we will get to that. First, telling the Doctor Jungle Cat origin story was important to all parties involved. 

Sonically and in person we feel this band was the best band in the world on any given night.

Rare. Singular. Precious. Dangerous. Untouchable. Life affirming. We have lots of fans, friends, family, and bands to thank, and we hope this collection enriches your memories of this special time if you made it to the party. Nashville independent radio station Lightning 100 debuted the single “Surface of the Sun” leading up to the album release. People got to hear themselves on the radio for the first time. That was a cool moment for all involved and worth noting here for posterity. If you missed this rowdy kegger, we all get to jam the sounds and sites together with it forever now. 

This collection tells the story of a compelling live band who defined the now legendary house show era in Nashville’s underground rock scene in the teen years of the 21st century. We are beyond proud to offer this collection as the first ever deluxe box set from Mt. Zephyr Records. Atkins, an equally talented visual artist, even designed our new logos. This band took risks for rock and roll, and served a body of work worth revisiting. We look forward to releasing more of their music in the future. 

While reviewing the flyers for Doctor Jungle Cat’s shows, the blistering economics of Nashville today versus then are in full daylight and it is fucking blinding. It only makes sense that many of the venues, be they commercial or house venues, are now gone. Along with the houses, long standing and intimate venues 12th and Porter, The Stone Fox, FooBar, The Boro Bar and Grill in Murfreesboro, and The Rutledge have all closed or changed names and ownership. While The End (BRUCE!) and Exit/In are still open, Nashville’s Legendary Rock Block on Elliston Place is clinging for dear life. The world famous Nashville music scene was forever altered by natural disaster with the 2010 flood. The culture the world claims to know is feeling more bygone. The era has passed, and that is ok. Doctor Jungle Cat can take a share of writing a piece of Nashville music history. History can be beautiful, but it is never pretty. 

In the early morning hours of March 3rd, 2020, the fifth largest tornado in US history by monetary devastation hit Nashville. There was less than a 60 second warning from the National Weather Service. This was a week before the pandemic. It could be said that the combined after effects of these two catastrophic events shut down Elliston Place in Nashville as a rock destination, and history may agree later. That is simply not the case. It was greed. We were there.

Former Exit/In owner Chris Cobb raised over a million dollars to only still lose the property to developers. Property taxes for Acme Feed and seed on 1st Ave. recently went from just over $100,000 in 2024 to over $600,000 a year later. They may not make it. Exit/In’s new ownership made the choice to paint black over the list of legendary names that adorned the walls outside and inside behind the bar. That particular move will never make sense. Along with the fallen venues, beloved bars and restaurants Cafe Coco, Corner Bar, The Gold Rush, and Obi’s Pizza will live in our hearts forever. 

Luckily, we have lots of recordings, videos, and images to share of this special time we experienced. Jazz becoming hard bop and free jazz in the 1940’s and 50’s in small New York clubs like Birdland. Jam bands forming in San Francisco in the mid 1960s. CBGB punk in the mid 1970’s. Hip-Hop starting at DJ Kool Herc’s party in 1974. Athens post punk in the 1980s and 1990s. Seattle grunge in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Detroit and London techno clubs at the same time. The Beatles in Germany. We didn’t see any of that. 

But we did see this. We heard it. We felt it deeply, in our ears and our chests. It is worth noting that the bands in this scene, unlike the other world changing scenes before them, have one powerful element the others lacked. Women. The predominantly male world of the music industry is still real. Bands like Heavy Cream, Yumi and the System, Doctor Jungle Cat, Kat Milk Blu, Thelma and the Sleaze, and so many others had female led or fully female bands. Remember, this timeline is up until mid 2016. It was a different world then, and feminism had yet another wave about to crest and break fantastically in a few months. These bands were the soundtrack to that revolution. 

We really and truly lived it and breathed it late into the smoldering greenhouse heat of Nashville summers, and can smell the regret now if we squint really hard, when analog cigarettes were still allowed in society, when we were between wars and dictators, music was transitioning off CDs back on to vinyl and tapes and up to satellites, and this band held court and showed us how to do it on the stages large and small under the bright lights. We are forever grateful for Doctor Jungle Cat’s contribution to Rock and Roll. They deserve this showcase. 

In early August of 2015, The Jungle Gym at 1705 Allison Place and Glen Danzig’s House at 1707 were both bulldozed and earmarked for development. As of the writing of these booklet notes, the street is still under construction exactly 11 years later. 

Original Doctor Jungle Cat post 

July 30th, 2015

Goodbye to the Jungle Gym

As many of us know. Nashville must grow. For over half a decade we have been dedicated to Nashville's Music scene. Our last show before the bulldoze. Good bye Jungle Gym and goodbye Glen Danzig’s house. The house shows started with our friends The Winter Sounds and they will end that way. We will start the night with our new friends Dead FM, Then the Winter Sounds, and the night will end with our host Doctor Jungle Cat. Thank you all for making the memories here great and a big thank you to all of the bands that we fell in love with here. and most of all ....give me your $5 for entrance and a keg cup.

We love you and we are ready to melt your face 

The band on “Pounce!” was super tight. We chose to not re-master or re-release the album. It stands tall. There are outtakes from the album’s sessions, including three versions of “Dreamland”.  

Half a decade of dedication to their craft and their community paid off, and the album was recorded almost entirely live with just a few overdubs for corrections. They walked in confident and ready. Morris contributed to three tracks on “Pounce!”, and joined the band full time for the duration. It is a great selection of songs and a time capsule of the band rounding out their second iteration in style. We encourage you to revisit “Pounce!” at the highest volume your system can handle. 

Nashville has really, really changed in the decade since “Pounce!” was released. We now have the largest MLS soccer stadium in North America two blocks away from the former Jungle Gym, a new football stadium for the worst NFL team being built next to the 27 year old not kept up with the Joneses stadium, Amazon taking over downtown and building their own concert venue, Ticketmaster/Live Nation building their competing venue with 100 more seats, Oracle buying hundreds of acres for whatever takeover they have planned, culturally important institutions and restaurants closing in droves like it’s a race, and a current fight to stop the building of two data centers to power AI beasts that will devour humanity. These data centers are proposed to be built near our actual Jungle Cats and other critters (and humans) beside the Nashville Zoo, and another next to Fisk University.

Queen Victoria heard the Fisk Jubilee singers in the 19th century sing their powerful gospel songs, saying “they must come from a city of music”. That is where the Music City moniker comes from, not our cash crop in Country music. The Nashville Rock and Roll habitat that Doctor Jungle Cat fostered and was such a qualified steward for is endangered, and possibly on the brink of extinction, far from the scene we once knew.

The soul and grit once possible here is being shot out of a rocket to far flung places in time and space. We present to you, boldly and proudly, a fine collection of our first baby, Doctor Jungle Cat. This only covers the first 7 years of the band, and there is more to the story. 

©2026 Mt. Zephyr Records

ALL THE SHOWS WE KNOW OF OR CAN REMEMBER

07/15/2012

House Show Featuring AUTOMAGIK, YUMI AND THE SYSTEM, AND DR. JUNGLE CAT

The Jungle Gym

10/15/2012

Monday Madness @ THE END

The End

10/16/2012

HOUSE SHOW WITH ADELYN ROSE AND DOCTOR JUNGLE CAT

The Jungle Gym

10/29/2012

DEVILS NIGHT HOUSE SHOW!!!! KEG!!!

The Jungle Gym

2/1/2013

HOUSE SHOW FRIDAY NIGHT

The Jungle Gym

4/19/2013

Live at the Basement with Grandpa's Stash

The Basement

4/22/2013

House Show w/England in 1819

The Jungle Gym

5/31/2013

Dr. Jungle Cat May 31st @ Mercy Lounge!!!!

Mercy Lounge

4/4/2014

Live @ 12th & Porter!!! Behold the Brave, Cashatt, Dr. Jungle Cat, and Showbaby

12th & Porter

10/30/2014

DEVILS NIGHT HOUSE SHOW

The Jungle Gym

6/5/2015

Live At the THE EAST ROOM

The East Room

7/30/2015

Good bye To the Jungle Gym

The Jungle Gym

2/24/2016

Doctor Jungle Cat // Ethan Samuel Brown \\ Another Afternoon // Rising Sea

FooBar

3/4/2016

Doctor Jungle Cat with Charlotte Berg

FooBar

3/20/2016

FOREVER YOUNG [[HOUSE SHOW]] Caitlyn Turns 26

The Glass Mènage

7/23/2017

Jerusafunk Live at Drifters w Dr. Jungle Cat

Drifters Tennessee Barbeque - BBQ Joint

7/29/2018

Doctor Jungle Cat "Lazy Panther" Release Party!

Vinyl Tap Nashville

10/27/2018

Halloween/House Show/Costume/Secret Satan Gift Exchange

1412 Meridian St, Nashville, TN 37207-5151, United States

11/8/2018

Palm Ghosts/Doctor Jungle Cat/Blind Tigers/Pinky Doodle Poodle

The Cobra Nashville

5/31/2019

JERK! Awesome, Totally Awesome Tour

Springwater Supper Club and Lounge

10/25/2019

Presenting Our 2 Annual Secret Satan Halloween House Show!

1412 Meridian St, Nashville, TN 37207-5151, United States

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

PERSONELLE

Caitlyn Crawley - Vocals

Dillon Marlow - Bass

Dylan Morris - Keyboards

Erich Atkins - Guitars, Vocals, many other instruments, lyrics

Jay Major - Drums

Joe Reilly - Drums

Matthew Kelso - Guitars

Nate Hurlbert - Guitars

Andrew Hagan - Saxophones