A History of our Band

The Mystic Cats weren't always the Mystic Cats. Here's why.

We began our modest operation in the fall of 2015. Don't ask for a date, because the people who were there back then that are still in the band are too dumb to remember.

"We're the Ska-keye Marching Band."- Taylen Anderson, former alto sax player

I remember the day the Mystic Cats were born. It was my freshman year of college at the University of Iowa. At this point, I had just started to find my identity here, and was in the process of rushing the music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. At this point in my life, I was the timid freshman recruit who needed rides to every single event. That day, my ride happened to be Chris Orabutt, our founding father. He asked me ,"hey, you play trumpet, right?" I said, "Yeah." And with these next words, the band bloomed into existence. "I need a trumpet player for a ska band I'm forming for the fraternity." My response to this was a simple, yet complicated question- "What's ska?"

Upon our formation, we were not called the Mystic Cats. We were called the Ska-Keye Marching Band, a nod to our roots in the University of Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band. And we kicked off our journey with a performance... at the fraternity's bi-annual recital on campus, playing Reel Big Fish's "Take On Me," and a mashup of "25 to 6 to 9" and "Brainstewed." Yeah, we started off with a bang. And this is how it went every semester, with fraternity recital performances our only opportunities to perform in front of an audience. Over the next three years, we went through multiple lineup changes. But one thing remained the same- all we performed at was fraternity recitals. Until a random conversation changed everything.

I remember being at a band party, and my good friend Nicholas Deblois decided to bring his brother, Will Deblois. As I was introduced to him, I mentioned that I was a member of a ska band. Upon hearing those words, Will's eyes got wide, and he excitedly said "Dude, I'm also in a ska band!" We exchanged numbers, and over the next few months, we tried to set up a joint gig in Iowa City. In the meantime, we kept the old vibe going, performing at the spring recital that semester.

But nothing was set in stone until he texted me and said that his ska band, The Merchants, were playing at a local joint, Gabe's, in downtown Iowa City. They were gracious enough to let us hop on their gig as guest artists. At this time, our front man was Teagen Kiel. The second I sent him the deets of my text conversation with Will, his words were ,"Oh f*** yeah, let's go!" And with a small lineup change and a name change, the Mystic Cats, in its full glory, was born.

Current Endeavors

Since our first legit gig with the Merchants in the summer of 2017, the Mystic Cats have played in venues such as Gabe's, Yacht Club, Blue Moose, the Bierstube, and for various University of Iowa campus gigs. However, in true tribute to our roots, we still to this day, perform at our semester fraternity recitals. All of this, of course, would not be possible without the man with a plan, the person who started this all, Mr. Christopher Orabutt. In this year, 2020, only two truly original members of the Mystic Cats, or the Ska-Keye Marching Band as we were known as back then, are active in the band- myself, and the trombonist, Mr. Daniel Reinart. But with the talent and creativity that the new members have brought, you should totally stay tuned for cool things to come.

Blog written by Levi Boston-Kemple