Features
Catalyst Club Founder Dies
Randall Philip Kane, 85, who founded the
Kane owned the Catalyst for 34 years and attracted such big names as Neil Young and Red Hot Chili Peppers to the 800-capacity club.
Remembered by employees for riding his bike while wearing rainbow-colored suspenders, the one-time U.S. Army corporal could have been anything he wanted “but he chose to be a businessman,” his brother Russell told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Before opening the Catalyst, the Ohio native had a three-year stint as dean of the San Francisco Institute of Art, which didn’t satiate his need for art and adventure. He soon became interested in a coffee shop on the floor of an old hotel, which gave birth to the Catalyst. The club was eventually relocated to a former bowling alley on Pacific Avenue.
The club remains very active, with Trivium, Sugar Ray, Xavier Rudd and Hatebreed on the books.