• Tag Archives low rats
  • The Ledge #526: Low Rats

    When the news broke that swaggering rock and rollers Low Rats were hitting my little city of Sioux Falls I immediately began begging the band to make a stop at my house before the show for a Ledge interview. Although final plans were up in the air until the last minute, lead singer Michael Meyer promised me that he would definitely show up in time for my Friday night broadcast.

    Unfortunately, I had some technical issues throughout the day, and they were not completely fixed by the time Meyer arrived just before my Realpunkradio shift. So instead of a mix of chat and music, we could only broadcast the conversation. The two of us spent an hour talking about his Sioux Falls childhood, along with the various bands he had not only in this little town but in other cities, including his time a few years ago leading Narco States.

    In a case of perfect timing, the rest of the band (guitarist Rob Sells, bassist Joe Holland, and drummer Ben Crunk) arrived just when I was going to begin asking Meyer questions about Low Rats. Although I now had more people than microphones, we carried on with the entire band discussing the group’s history, their various releases, and a few thoughts on the thriving Twin Cities theme.

    I could have tidied up this show a lot more than I did, but I’m presenting the entire interview, audio flaws and all. You will hear the minute the rest of the band arrives, along a point later on where Meyer has to leave for another appointment. I have inserted Low Rats tunes at the beginning and end of the show, and have also edited in the two songs each band member picked that, as Meyer wrote earlier in the week, “directly influenced the style of playing that we have incorporated into Low Rats.”

    By the way, the show later that night at Vishnu Bunny Tattoo was nothing sort of amazing, and their selected tunes for this show were clearly representative. Meyer is a mad man that’s part Iggy, part Stiv, and part every other frenetic frontman in rock history. Nothing within his reach is safe, including ketchup and garbage cans. Crunk keeps everything from spiraling out of control from behind his drunk kit, Holland thumps out the sort of low end that certainly represents the heavier side of the band, while Sells spits out the kind of guitar that you’d expect from a person who would pick the Cramps and X as influences. 

    Many thanks must go to not only the band but Vishnu Bunny Tattoo for booking them, and to super fan Dan Michener for delivering 3/4 of the band members to my front door!

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #525: 60 Years of Rock n Roll

    This show ended up being quite different than originally planned. The initial idea was another “odds and ends” show where I aired tracks from some records that I had been playing around the house. I suddenly realized, however, that I’ve been listening to quite a few compilations in the past few weeks. And that I’ve been digging into the archives quite often for some of my oldest records.

    So tonight actually is an odds and ends show that features 60 years of great rock and roll, from the standard bearer Chuck Berry to the current sounds of Low Rats, a band that bodes well for the future of the genre. Four compilations have feature spots in the show – Louie’s Limbo Lounge (Las Vegas Grind, Vol. 2) gathers togehter raw 50’s stompers, Back From the Grave Vol. 5 highlights 60s garage bands, Punk 45: There is No Such Thing As Society, Vol. 2 is centered around late 70’s UK punk and post-punk, and Du Huskers: The Twin Cities Replay Zen Arcade is a 1993 tribute to the classic Husker Du album.

    I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #510: New Release (Pt. 1)

    It became apparent a couple of weeks ago that this month’s new release series would have to be a two part extravaganza. Not only were the quantity of new songs piling up, but there were also quite a few albums that deserved more than a track or two of airtime.

    So the decision was easy, but then how does one split the shows? There’s no real formua to what was aired tonight and what will be held back until next week. Tonight’s show probably features more of the types of artists who are easily found on Bandcamp, which is fitting since March 4 was another of the great bandcamp days where the artist gets 100% of the proceeds of their sales. But otherwise the quality between both sets of tunes is pretty similar, as you’ll see during next week’s second part. 

    I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion!

    For setlists and more information head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #477: Summer Means Fun (Plus Recovered Bonus Show)

    On last week’s new release broadcast I had attempted to right a wrong. I definitely missed the boat on the fabulous Minneapolis band Low Rats blend of “proto-punk meets ’90s garage rock style”, as reviewer Carolyn Keddy recently wrote. Their full-length debut, Year of the Rat MMXX came out late last year, and last week they debuted a brand new “double-dose” single, “Taxi Driver/Brand New Cadillac”. I was so pleased to finally give some of their tunes a little airplay.

    And then guess what happened? I had an issue with the file, and I couldn’t upload the episode. Ugh!!! So this week I tried again, and I actually played a couple more songs than I did the week before. And, as an added bonus, I’ve also included a couple of tracks from vocalist Michael Myers’ previous band, Narco States, who I interviewed wasy back in 2015.

    The rest of this week’s show consists of music I’ve been playing around the house the last fw weeks. There are well over 60 years of tunes on this broadcast, including some stories I’ve picked up from a couple of books I’ve recently acquired.

    And you fine people also get as a bonus the surviving portion of last week’s show. The first hour or so of new releases, and I’ve got a question for listeners regarding a band called The Revenents. I’d appreciate a little help about this band that has released well over a dozen albums for free these last few months.

    The combination of these two broadcast means you guys get over three hours of tunes in this week’s download! But please do me a favor and purchase some Low Rats at their bandcamp site. In fact, I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion!

     

    Download MP3 here