By Tom Lanham

photo by Erica Lauren

he universe may seem unfathomably complex . But sometimes , it ’ s much simpler – and more understandably linear – than we could ever dare to imagine .

A couple of decades ago , for instance , No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal bought himself a house in Los Angeles , and unwittingly became the owner of an initially feral cat left behind by a previous tenant . Since she viewed his back yard as her home turf , he began feeding her , named her Kitzie , and gradually trained her to be an indoor cat . “ So she basically moved in and we became good friends for many years , and she lived with me until she …. she passed , I guess ,” he says . His pause signifying the closure he never got once she disappeared one rainy night , even after he consulted a pet psychic in answer-seeking frustration .

Cut to 2004 , when the musician and his missus , Erin Lokitz , rescued three kittens from the same litter , Donatella , Jupiter , and Waffles , who quickly proved himself to be the alpha-male instigator of any feline mischief . And all three sleep with Kanal in bed every night , one on his head , another beside him , and the third in his arms . “ They ’ re still with us , and they ’ re going to be 13 in May ,” he adds , proudly . “ They ’ re a part of the family , and they were our kids long before our human kids came along .” But the couple has raised their daughters Coco , 6 , and Saffron , 3 , to treat the pets like siblings . “ And obviously , being the animal-rights proponents that we are , that ’ s been a big part of my daughters ’ growing up – having them respect all species , and seeing that firsthand with our cats I think

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is a great life lesson for my girls ,” he reckons .

What does this have to do with Dreamcar , you may ask ? The surprise supergroup that Kanal quietly put together over the past three years , featuring himself on bass , plus fellow No Doubt members Adrian Young on drums and keyboardist / guitarist Tom Dumont ( sans Gwen Stefani , who is currently pursuing a solo career and a stint on TV singing competition ( The Voice ) and the unexpected addition of AFI frontman Davey Havok on vocals ? Everything or nothing , depending on how you view the synchronicity of daily events , it appears . Because the Dreamcar debut disc for Columbia feels as if it was simply fated to serendipitously coalesce ; It ’ s awash in playful ‘ 80s Gothic / New Wave riffs and melodies , often recalling the retro-chic brilliance of Bauhaus (“ All of the Dead Girls ”), The Cure (“ Kill For Candy ”), Human League (“ Slip on the Moon ”), Duran Duran (“ Don ’ t Let Me Love ”), even The Thompson Twins ( the slap-and-pluck funky “ The Preferred ” and “ On the Charts ”). With – given Havok ’ s preference for the darker side of that halcyon decade ’ s music – a little Wayne Hussey / Mission and Andrew Eldritch / Sisters of Mercy thrown onto the shiny coffin like so many dying roses (“ The Assailant ,” “ Ever Lonely ,” “ Show Me Mercy ”). Without Kanal ’ s deep , abiding love of animals , it ’ s a summit meeting that might never have taken place . So why question kismet , he ’ s always figured . Just go with it .

Just as their first daughter was born ,

the musician and his wife made the wise decision to completely change their diet and go vegan . “ So my kids were brought up vegan , with a respect for all species , because we don ’ t – as humans – have the right to exploit those species ,” he declares , adamantly . “ And they have to respect the cats , because the cats were here before them .” The kids never catch a whiff of KFC while passing by a restaurant and beg dad to drive in . “ They wouldn ’ t say that because we don ’ t go to KFC . They also know the truth behind what happens to those animals , because we have those conversations . And those were the conversations I had with my parents ( Kanal ’ s folks hail from India , although he was born in the city where they first immigrated , London , England ), but it took me 35 years to understand how much suffering goes into the food we eat , the clothes we wear , and the entertainment that we sometimes partake in . So for me and a lot of my friends who are also raising vegan kids , those discussions of compassion are a very important component of their upbringing . So we don ’ t limit our compassion – we extend our compassion to all species ,” he adds . “ There ’ s no , ‘ Oh , we love our dogs and cats , but yet we eat these other animals .’ That makes no sense , especially when you have a choice not to do so .”

As a staunch vegan , Kanal started frequenting hip Los Angeles eateries whose menus catered to that lifestyle . Meanwhile , No Doubt went on hiatus , Stefani stayed busy in her own demanding realms , and the members – instead of twiddling their thumbs -- began working on new music

without visualizing her as its mouthpiece . And who should he bump into on a regular basis at various vegan restaurants but Havok , who had recently relocated to Hollywood and was himself a firm animalrights activist , living a straight-edge existence that also precluded alcohol . The AFI leader also had three separate lines of vegan clothing , was voted PETA2 ’ s Sexiest Vegetarian two years running , and recently appeared nude in one of the organization ’ s anti-fur print campaigns . The duo ’ s conversations at first were cordial but simple , with both just discussing the various albums they had been listening to or films that they ’ d seen . Then it gradually began to dawn on Kanal – the new vocalist they might soon be auditioning wouldn ’ t need an audition at all . He was right there in front of him , eating the same healthy food , coming from essentially the same sonic background , and thinking the same envelope-pushing experimental thoughts .

The No Doubt team had come up with four melodic ideas that it was proud of . So rather than blindside Havok with them over lunch , Kanal and pals invited him out to dinner , which felt almost like a first date . They were no stranger to Havok ’ s performing prowess – his techno-punk side project Blaqk Audio had opened for No Doubt at the Universal Amphitheatre in 2012 , and the members , watching his set from the side of the stage , were suitably impressed . So that fateful evening , Havok was asked about joining the new group , although they weren ’ t even sure it was a group yet , and he was handed the four snippets of music . Busy as he was with a

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