Chris Catalyst

Chris Catalyst on stage with The Sisters of Mercy
- Rock'n Coke Festival, Istanbul, 2006 -

Chris May, commonly known as Chris Catalyst aka Robochrist was recruited as The Sisters' second guitarist for the

2005 Tour and has since been a steady member of the band. Besides his activities within The Sisters of Mercy. he started

a first solo project in 2016 (more information down below).

Before that, Chris Catalyst had been kicking about Leeds' music scene for several years. Given the incestuous nature

of said scene, it can hardly be surprising that someone who had worked at Joseph's Well, the notorious scene of the

1997 Near Meth Experience gig, has joined The Sisters of Mercy.

Chris had also worked with then Sisters-guitarist Adam Pearson at Adam's studio in Headingley, Leeds, before.

Together they played a one-off gig by The Elvis Presleys From Hell in 2005.

A video of this has recently surfaced on YouTube.

NOTIFICATION - Si Denbigh Fundraiser Gig, 27th November 2016, Leeds Brudenell Club

- £10 on the door, featuring The Membranes, Chris Catalyst + Utah Saints + SPECIAL GUESTS -
see also https://www.facebook.com/events/160198311116152/ and here @The Heartland Forums.

In February 2016, Simon Denbigh from The March Violets, D-Rok, Batfish Boys and former Nurse to the Doktor in The Sisters Of Mercy suffered a life-changing stroke, which completely paralysed him down his left side. Following six months of physiotherapy (courtesy of the marvellous people at Chapel Allerton Hospital), Simon has finally gained the strength to be allowed home, albeit newly disabled and generally struggling to get around. In order for Si to remain in the flat he has lived in for over 30 years, it needs heavily modifying so that a person with these new needs is able to get around it easily so as to assert his independence. Anyone who knows Simon will be aware of his keenness for independence!

The main aim of this gig is to raise enough money to pay for a fully-kitted out wetroom to replace his current bathrooom, which will allow him to shower independently and do all the things that a proper wet room allows you to do instead of a regular bathroom... I'm sure you can fill in the blanks. The quote for this is between £4000 and £5000. (As soon as you put 'disabled' into the request, it seems to add about 50% to the quote.) If there's any extra money left over, it will go into modernising his kitchen, allowing him to cook and clean it more easily.

None of the performers or crew at this gig will be receiving payment for this gig. The Membranes are Manchester's premier post-punk underground group, specialising in thought-provoking and artful energies. Fronted by creative powerhouse John Robb, the band will have just finished a week of dates with The Sisters Of Mercy, and have received rave reviews for their latest album Dark Matter/Dark Energy. Chris Catalyst (that's me) from The Sisters Of Mercy, Eureka Machines, Ugly Kid Joe and The Ginger Wildheart Band will be opening the show with an acoustic set. Probably the last one I'll do for a while. Suggested donation on the door of £10. There will also be merch to buy, some March Violets rarities and other bits. There will be no advance tickets for this gig. Get down early. Special guests TBC next week. Please share this around as much as you can.

Hope to see you all there. Can't make it? Please consider a donation in lieu - send via paypal to si@evilbaby.com

Chris.

Chris Catalyst - Sticks and Stones

Solo Project

Most recently in 2016, Christ Catalyst started working on a solo project

between touring with The Sisters of Mercy and - currently - Ugly Kid Joe...

The upcoming album from his solo project is titled Live Is Often Brilliant

and should be ready for release relatively soon.

A first song, Sticks and Stones, including an according video produced by Thunder And Lightning

was made public on October 13th, 2016.

With this release, Chris also introduced his new website

http://www.chriscatalyst.com/ and his new blog starting with September 2016.

Check it out and keep yourself informed on developments ... ;-))) ...

Eureka Machines in 2016

Eureka Machines

Apart from playing guitars with The Sisters of Mercy, Chris Catalyst is also a founding member of the Eureka Machines. Various promo videos about the band do exist, for example this one titled Chris Catalyst Cribs. More such videos from the band can be viewed at the bottom of this page

The Eureka Machines are, however, by far not the end of Chris' musical activities, the entirety of which is perfectly listed at Wikipedia.... We recommend you also check his discography@discogs.

In October 2012, the Eureka Machines launched their first Pledge Music campaign featuring their third album Remain In Hope, which reached the target amount within 2.5 hours. Remain In Hope was released on February 21st, 2013 and is available for a listen at eurekamachines@bandcamp.com

In 2014 the Eureka Machines started a further Pledge Music Campaign for their fourth album, tentatively entitled ‘BRAIN WAVES’, that also included a double DVD featuring 6+ hours of live and promo footage from the former six years. All of the band's albums are available from their online merchandise store, where you can find shirts and stuff as well.

BRAIN WAVES was released on March 26th, 2015 and, most remarkably, entered the BBC UK Rock Album Charts at No.3. Everything you need to know about the album, the recording process, the artwork, etc. PLUS various sample tracks can be found @EUREKA MACHINE'S BRAIN WAVES MINI SITE. An offical Brain Waves Video was also produced, see down below...

To celebrate the end of their Pledge campaign of 2014, and to look into the future, the Eureka Machines did a "frankly embarrassingly huge interview with the nice people at Team Rock, in particular with Matt Stocks, see Do or DIY - The Story of Eureka Machines...

Due to the fact that the Pledge Campaign has long finished, the album is now available here or here.

The Eureka Machines are touring regularly. Their next is going take place on:

Saturday, 11 February 2017 (Chris' Birthday) at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds.

For detailled and up-to-date information on touring, please see the Eureka Machines' Official Gigs Site or their page on facebook. Chris Catalyst and the Eureka Machines can also be found on Twitter @Chris Catalyst.