As much as I should really focus on the present with a band like the Bug Nasties, I can’t help but descend into the past for a moment when writing about them. The drive behind the Nasties comes from frontman James Burdyshaw, who’s something of a Northwest rock artifact even at the young age of 40-something. He spent the ’90s wielding a guitar for the Sinister Six, an amped-up garage punk act that did well for themselves in Seattle. And even before his Sinister Six fame, Burdyshaw made worldwide ripples with Cat Butt — a short-lived grunge band that grabbed attention thanks to a spot on the now famous Sub Pop 2000 compilation and one of the most memorable band names in rock history.

But that’s all in the past. These days Burdyshaw is releasing his mod and R&B demons through the Bug Nasties. While it took six years of hard work to produce it, the Nasties released their debut record, Which Way Ya Gonna Go?, in April of ’07. The work obviously paid off, because Which Way Ya Gonna Go?, even a year later, is still packed with enough punch to make a cat butt pucker.



The Bug Nasties will play Bob’s Java Jive Saturday, April 5 with Plants Eat People and the Moonspinners. While James Burdyshaw has played many brands of rock in his day, the current band brings it all together. The Bug Nasties are a combination of everything that’s good and true about rock and roll.



[Bob’s Java Jive, The Bug Nasties, Plants Eat People, Moonspinners with Darrren Selector, 8 p.m., $3, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]