13 Cats

The rockabilly outfit known as 13 Cats assembled its roster by pulling talent from prior ensembles such as the Stray Cats. Among its players are guitarist Danny B. Harvey, formerly of Levi Dexter's Ripchords as well as the Rockats—which shared ties to Dexter—alongside vocalist Tim Polecat, earlier frontman for the Polecats who later pursued solo recordings, percussionist Slim Jim Phantom who helped establish the Stray Cats, and upright bassist Jonny Bowler formerly with the Guana Batz. Jonny Bowler took over from Smutty Smith, an alumnus of the Havalinas who had also performed with the Rockats in common with Harvey.

Exposure for 13 Cats came partly via the motion picture The Rage/Carrie2, which incorporated two tracks by the group—"13 Cats" and "Teddy Boy Kung Fu Weapon"—while Danny B. Harvey composed the film's music. Ahead of issuing the 2002 debut album In the Beginning, the label Dionysus placed the band's "Hell Bopp" onto its Tigermask Trash Au Go-Go collection.