...TRASH BRATS ARTICLES!!
Rocket
To Heaven
Ricky Rat & The Trash Brats Rock
by Chris Parcellin (D-Filed Magazin)
Thee TRASH BRATS are a Detroit rock'n'roll institution. With the sledgehammer
musical attack of the MC5 and a blistering blues-punk guitar assault that recalls
the glory days of the NEW YORK DOLLS turned up to 11--the BRATS are a throwback
to sleazier, grittier times indeed. Leading the charge on electric guitar is
the inimitable Ricky Rat. His licks combine the snotty swagger of Thunders with
the unbridled metallic fury of AC/DC's Young Brothers--all chewed-up and spit
out with his own trademark style.
D-Filed decided it was high time to check-in with this master of raunchy six-string licks, and find out a little more about what makes him tick.
|
Who/what initially inspired you to pick up a guitar?
Without a doubt that would be KISS and Ace Frehley. I had gotten into music at a very young age like 6 or so, but it wasn't til I discovered KISS that I fully realized what I wanted to do. Got into KISS at about age 9, and got my first guitar at 10 but never learned to play until I was about 13.
What bands were you into while you were growing up?-
At first it was a lot of AM pop radio, ya know all those K-tel "one hit wonders". The '70s was a great time to be a kid and grow up with music as there was such a crazy blend. I would have my Parliament 45s next to my AEROSMITH 45's and even though it was bands like KISS, ALICE COOPER, SWEET-the more guitar based ones that I eventually found myself being more and more drawn towards, I did like everything- especially so much of that crazy pop-radio stuff! Loved the BAY CITY ROLLERS and bands like that.
What did Johnny Thunders mean to you as a guitarist?
I got into the Dolls in my early teens. I had heard about them and read about them in mags like CREEM and ROCK SCENE for years, but yea know being a kid and going by what you hear on the radio and all, it took me awhile to really discover them. But once I heard them, man I was in love! A bit fresher ROLLING STONESfor our generation mixed with the great dressing up and the more punk attitude, whats there not to love about them right? But yeah Johnny quickly became by favorite Doll, I thought his guitar style was very unique and he was just such a rock star in the best sense of the word, his look, playing, attitude-everything. Nowadays I think a lot of people tend to forget his best points and tend to over-glamorize his fucked up points. That always bugged me that people would think it was so cool thathe was a junkie or too fucked upt o play at times. That was his downfall, and just think what other great stuff he could have given us all had he got his act together. Also, there seems to be almost too many Thunders clones and tribute bands (though they dont like it at that way..) rehashing all of the same shit these days. Its like--yeah carry the torch and all, but also grow some funk of your own, ya know?!
When did
you first join a band and what kind of stuff were you doing?
Well, believe it or not, me and Brats' singer Brain were friends since like
7th grade so we started playing guitar together and so that was the first person
I ever played with. It was us and a drummer, Troy (who would later be in the
TRASH BRATS for a year or two) and we could barely play, had these little crappy
no-name amps and whatnot, but we wre just starting to figure out songs or parts
of songs so we were playing like AC-DC, Rockets, Ted Nugent, mostly whatever
was big in Detroit at that point. We were just happy to be playing anything
at all! Brian moved to a further away northern suburb and we kept in touch and
we would get together during the holiday breaks from school and jam with Troy
and try to make a tape of what we had done by the end of the trip. Our first
real band(if you want to call it that!) was Asylum, which we formed when we
were 15-16 and we started playing clubs right away although we
 |
were pretty bad!
How did The Trash Brats first get together?
As I said, me and Brian have been pals for a long time and Asylum eventually became Brat which in turn became TRASH BRATS. We were a 3-piece for awhile with Brian singing and playing bass and we decided that he would be a good singer so he became the singer and we added Toni and the TRASH BRATS were born in summer of 1987-this year being the 15year anniversary...can ya believe it?!
How
has the sound of the band changed over the years?
Our first drummer, Matt, played everything TOO fast so even though we had a
very punk sound right from the start, we always wanted to be just a really great
rock & roll band. But I think there is a direct line from out earlier stuff
to what we do today. Overall I think you can hear a little of everything rock
& roll in our sound-punk, metal, country, blues whatever. I think our blend
of it all has always been pretty unique and I feel that makes us stand out from
a lot of the "punk-rock & roll" underground stuff.
What's the
songwriting process like for you guys?
Me and Brian write the basis of the songs and then bring them into practice
and we all beat them into shape. Sometimes it can be very stressed and on edge
as everyone has their own angles of what a certain song should sound like, but
in the end I think we are all pretty happy with how they end up. Brian has been
doing more and more solo stuff outside of the band as I think he feels the band
is limiting at times to what he wants to do. I hope he is able to get it out
of his system in this way and in the long run it doesn'r completely knock the
band apart. I have no desire to go solo as it would pretty much just sound like
the Trash Brats for the most part anyway.
 |
How long
did it take to record "American Disaster"? Which guitars and amps
did you use during the recording?
It was done in a couple sessions each comprising of about 2-3 days and then
some other days for the fix-ups, mixing and whatnot. It was actually a bit quicker
compared to our other albums. I hate being in the studio long periods of time.
I like being prepared and you go in and waste little time getting stuff right
and then finish it up. Our band has always been bad at wasting time in the studio
and wasting too much time between albums..I wish that whould change but I don't
know if it ever will. Gear-wise, I used two guitars, my main Les Paul Custom
75' and Les Paul special 77'. Amps were all Marshall with a Fender thrown in
here and there. Brian also played a decent amount of guitar on this album and
played a Telecaster through a Marshall. The acoustic parts were done with a
Guild if I recall right. On "Migrant Woman" I played slide for the
first time on any of our albums.That was the Les Paul special tuned down to
G and played through a little fender amp.
Do
you another album coming out anytime soon? What can we expect on that next one?
Well, we have been trying to get that together all year, as its been a weird
year (1992) for us. We had to let Toni go back in May as he was fucking up stuff
for far too long. We even recorded some newer stuff without him with Brian on
bass last December. But then there was the thing of who are we gonna get in
on bass? We have been playing since June with the guy Steve, who is working
out pretty good but we are still not sure what is all going to happen with him
and the band. We have just 4 new songs done for the new album but we havent
had a chance to work on many more news ones as we have been working in Steve
and keeping the shows going and whatnot. As it stands now, Unity Squad Records
from California is doing the new album on CD & Vinyl, they are just waiting
on us. We hope to get to the recording the first of the year and see where it
goes from there. I wish we could be more prolific and get an album out every
year to 18 months but that never seems to happen, at least not with us!
What do
you think of the overall state of music today?-
There is a lot of shit out there but then again every generation has had their
junk that is phony and hyped via millions of dollars from the record companies,
so its kinda that case of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss"
ya know? But Rock & Roll wise, there is almost no roots of the old stuff
left alive today in all the rap-rock, boring alterna-rock etc. I guess the closet
thing to "rock" hitting into the mainstream rightnow would be all
that garage stuff like WHITE STRIPES, HIVES, STROKES. But those bands do nothing
for me, I find them boring overall and just no good songs. But at least kids
are picking up on that stuff right now and I would way rather have some high-school
kid putting up a picture of the Hives in their locker then Fred Durst..thats
for damn sure! Its just toobad that more then ever people have to be told what
is cool or "good". Seems the kids search out the underground a lot
less then those of our generation tended to do.(which is ironic as now with
the internet and all its easier then ever to find info on any band no matter
how big or small...)
 |
So,
you're not into the whole nu-garage trip of The WHITE STRIPES and The HIVES?
Its better then all the negative mess that is rap-rock but I think these bands
are not the best that the "rock scene" has to offer these days, but
they have the hype and push now so we'll see how far it all goes.
What's next
for The Trash Brats?
A lot of fall touring. A bunch of mid-west dates coming up and then a tour out
to the west coast across the U.S. inlate Nov-early Dec. Then some east-coast
dates to close out the year. Keep working with the new guy Steve and see how
it works out and hopefully get the new album rolling and out in 2003 with more
and more touring to follow.
What's your
message for America's youth?
Try to be yourself and find out who YOU really are. Worry less about what others
like and do and work more on what it is you want to be and do with your life.
Turn off the tv and internet more and pick up a book, listen to some music,
go out and enjoy life.There is so much more out there to experience, why waste
your time having virtual friends on the internet? Don't forget how to interact
with people and live a real life as opposed to a virtual life.