Wednesday, November 21, 2012

DEATH WALKS BEHIND YOU

Atomic Rooster rules.

So, we leave tomorrow. I'm sitting at my public library with my daughter right now. She is reading manga while I try to catch up on emails and bills and last minute junk before tour. I am going to miss her a lot while I'm gone.
Venturing out into the Heart of Darkness, our longest journey yet. Please send positive thoughts/spirits our way. We hope to meet lots of new folks and spend good time with the already-known-and-loved. I hear that the Aussies and Water Torture have been having a great time in Eastern US. Hopefully we can show them just as good of a time! Check the Upcoming Gigs page for info on the dates.

“No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one’s existence--that which makes its truth, its meaning--its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream--alone.”

Cheers.


-R

Monday, November 12, 2012

UPCOMING MOKSHA LP & TOUR

A track from our upcoming full length LP "MOKSHA", entitled "Aroma", is streaming NOW at Halo Of Flies website. Check it out:
http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/label-releases/halo52-cloud-rat-moksha-lp/

Go to the upcoming gigs page and check out the updated CR/TDG tour dates. thedowngoing and Water Torture are currently ripping up the East Coast, super stoked to meet with them on the 22nd and continue the sonic assault into Canada and the West Coast.

That's all for now. Much love, sorry for the short update, too much going on currently.


-R

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Bohemian Rhapsody / Party Time All The Time.

November 22 - Dec 16 tour with THEDOWNGOING is all booked up! Just awaiting venue and local bands / details from some shows, but we have confirmations from everyone.

A neat blog reviewed the Republic Of Dreams split LP, and you can read that here:
http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/10/cloud-ratrepublic-of-dreams-split-lp.html
The same blog also featured a recipe of mine, and I forgot to post about that on here. Scroll down on that page and you'll find it.

So we have been a band for close to three years. When I write that down, it doesn't seem like much time. I feel like we have gotten the opportunity to do quite a few things in that short time though. So far: 4 LP's, a 7", a cassette, a CDR demo, multiple compilations (some cassette, some cd, some digital, and the new MONOMANIAC 7" comp). We have toured the US many times and played with some of the best bands in the world. Next we have another LP and another 7", a Canada and West Coast US Tour (both firsts for us), and then Europe February - April.
We would never have been able to do any of this without the love and support of our friends and family. To be quite honest, sometimes this band is a fucking trainwreck. Whether it's been money issues, job issues, emotional/nervous breakdowns, drugs, health, personal conflicts, you name it. But for some reason it works, and I am extremely proud of all our recorded material and things we have accomplished. The three of us are best friends (even though sometimes you wouldn't be able to tell) and we will continue to do this as long as the drive is there.
I just want to say thank you to the people who have been there for us, whether in personal or band matters. I would be more specific, but there are too many names to name (which just goes to show how much help we have needed). Much love from the rats, and may we all get to hang out together soon. See you soon, Space Cowfolk.
- R

Thursday, October 4, 2012

MONOMANIAC Volume One 7" AVAILABLE NOW!



Click on the picture to check out the announcement, tracklist, info, order options, etc.
You can stream the whole release here:
http://www.cvltnation.com/exclusive-cvlt-nation-streaming-monomaniac-vol-1-comp-7-ep/

We will have copies of this in time for our tour with THEDOWNGOING (who are also one of the bands on this comp. Fuck yeah).

Also, we now have copies of our split LP with Republic Of Dreams. You can either order them from us or ifbrecords.com (USA) and http://reactwithprotest.org/ (EUR). We will have these with us on tour as well, so whatever you want. They turned out killer. Thanks to all the folks involved with that!

Can't wait to get the last few dates confirmed for Nov - Dec. We've been having some trouble with Phoenix, Reno and Albuquerque, but I just got some more contacts for those places so hopefully we'll have that sorted soon.

As for Europe, that is shaping up really well. We are looking for one more band to accompany us through eastern Europe April 2nd - 15th. I will post the euro dates once they are confirmed! Cool. So excited.
Hope to see you all and give you hugs soon.
Cheers!

-R


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Monday, September 10, 2012

I CLAIM IT ALL

Upcoming gigs section updated!

Saturday, November 3rd @ Genesis in Royal Oak, MI... We are playing with TRIAL. I could not be more excited about this. Trial has been a huge influence on me over the years, especially lyrically. I finally got the chance to see them at Burning Fight in Chicago 2009, and their set floored me.
Plus, this show is with a lot of other cool bands, good friends of mine. A lot of these people haven't gotten to see a proper Cloud Rat show, and know me mainly from my time singing for Under Anchor (now on unofficial hiatus I suppose haha). I think this gig will be one of the best Michigan shows of the year.

Before that though, we get to see and play with our lovely buds in Protestant! October 6th at the Gulag in Detroit. Gonna be a fucking rager, as well as Madison's new crust band Marrow's first show.

US/Canada tour with thedowngoing is shaping up very nicely still. Had a couple of changes, but still only need a few more dates and will be set. Fuck yeah!

Recording more for the split with Orgullo Primitivo and the MOKSHA lp this week. Super excited to get more work done on that stuff.

More updates soon! In other news, I am now unemployed. I've been working the same construction/crane/steel fab gig for almost 10 years, and am now done. It's a long story and I'm not going to get into it. Major life change, but I am feeling pretty fucking optimistic about it.

Take care friends.

-R

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Tell your loved ones you love them.

Ah, friends of the Rat blog. Whiskey Dad here. I hope you have been well.
Things at the Rat camp have maybe seemed relatively quiet for the past few weeks. And I suppose they have been, other than booking the shit out of that Nov-Dec tour. We only need help with 3-4 more shows and we are basically set on that one. Thank you SO FUCKING MUCH to everyone involved. You are getting the biggest hugs ever.

In other news, yesterday I witnessed a major accident at my jobsite (I am a crane operator / steel fabricator / construction). I was in the crane setting wood trusses on a huge 300 ft long by 80 ft wide building. At the end of the day, the entire building collapsed with 5 guys up on the walls and trusses. Two were hurt badly, and my cousin and I were the ones to dig through the debris to pull one of them out. I'm not sure why the building collapsed, could have been the ground being too soft, letting the support legs give way, or the framers may have been cutting corners. I don't know, doesn't matter. All I know is, there was a man crying for help, pushed through the floor, buried under thousands of pounds of wood and metal. Scary. Tell your friends and family you love them, everyday. Alright?
There are more stories to be told from the past week, but later. It's been a wild time lately.

This weekend, we head to New Orleans to play with Lightning Bolt and Thou, then to Denton, Texas to play with Forbes/Young/Gonzalez Trio, Terminator 2, and Bludded Head. Super pumped. Next weekend, 2 shows with False (Ft Wayne & Detroit). Super pumped again.
Tomorrow, slumber party with my daughter and her best friend and Madison. Oh, and I have a new roomate. Life is crazy.

Europe is shaping up a bit. Sounds like we are going to fly into Ireland, do some shows, ferry to Scotland/UK, do more shows, then do the whole rest of Europe. Ending sometime shortly after a fest that I can't remember the name of right now because I'm delusional. Alright, good night.

Love,
R

Monday, July 30, 2012

Check this shit!

We are very excited to be a part of this series of 7"s from Greece via Blastbeat Mailmurder / Productions, entitled Monomaniac. Volume One coming within a month or so!!

http://blastbeatprod.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/impending-kickoff-of-the-monomaniac-series-bbm-on-leave-latest-distro-arrivals/

Friday, July 20, 2012

7 INCHES TO DESTRUCTION

HOLY FUCK! Do you see the post below this one, that just says "Hello"?!
That is a rare sighting of the mysterious-type Pokemon, the Drinch. Usually seen smoking tons of cigarettes and beating their drumset furiously, and being generally mysterious. HE POSTED ON THE BLOG. Mind = Blown.

Anyways, you may have noticed the links under the cover photo of our blog. We are getting fancy now huh? So yeah, this page will be news and what not, then there is the upcoming shows page, the discography/lyrics/download page, and videos for now. We will probably add more (photos, links, etc) in the future.

All of the gigs lately have been fucking amazing. Republic of Dreams are so good, and sweethearts to boot. Got to hang with our Curmudgeon friends again, awesome times. Moezes, Phil, Jess, Corey, Britt and all of our other Buffalo area friends: We love you. Jamestown NY was a hell of a show, punker than life (in a good way). Fucking skateboards and punk, coolest shit humyns have created thus far. Thanks to everyone involved with and at all of these shows!!!!

Life has been an emotional rollercoaster again lately. What to do about it? Keep your head, that's what my ma says, so that's what I'm doing. Love ya mom.

Will update again soon. Gonna get to booking that Nov/Dec tour heavily real soon.


Also, Europe in the spring... !

-R

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

-

hello.

-a

Friday, July 6, 2012

Pics from the Medusa show 6/23/12

Thanks to Adam Degross for the awesome pictures!!







                                       



Monday, July 2, 2012

BIG SHOWS BEST FRIENDS BIG TOUR BEST FRIENDS


Alright. So the weekend of June 22nd-24th was amazing. Marquette, Minneapolis and Milwaukee were all great, hanging with some of our best friends ever ruled. New friendships were also made, while older ones were ever strengthened. Thank you sincerely to all of the lovely folks who were a part of those shows and hangouts. Also, COKSKAR from Minneapolis fucking ruled my life. One of the best bands I've seen lately. And COURTESY SPIT from Muskegon as well. Can't wait to see both of these bands again.

I posted a lot of upcoming shows and our Nov - Dec tour with thedowngoing from Australia. Will put the actual dates/locations up asap. Much love.
R

Monday, June 4, 2012

New Tracks from the Rat

http://www.mediafire.com/?in9o8964s1nu5v7
Our side of the split LP with Republic of Dreams.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Split w/ Republic of Dreams, upcoming shows, PARTY.

Hello all of our lovely friends, hope all has been well. We have been enjoying the grand weather up here in Michigan, our 4 months of nice weather almost makes up for the 8 months of misery.

Our material is finished for the split LP with Republic of Dreams, and that record will be out in about a month, just in time for their US tour! Soon, we will post a mediafire link of our side of that record. We're pretty excited about it, pretty gnarly junk.
Originally, we were going to get the material finished for the Orgullo Primitivo split first, but the ROD split had a deadline set so the record could be out before their US tour. So up next we will get to working on the vocals for the OP split and our 2nd full LP, Moksha.

So we have some shows coming up finally!
June 22nd-24th in Marquette MI, Minneapolis MN, and Milwaukee WI are all set. Can't fucking wait!
Then we have July 13th - 15th in Toledo OH, Jamestowne NY, and Buffalo NY. Jamestowne and Buffalo are set, awaiting final details. Toledo / BG is getting worked on.
Then we have July 18th and 19th with Republic Of Dreams in Grand Rapids MI and Muskegon MI, then possibly July 20th in Mt Pleasant MI, but that is still iffy.
August is up in the air for us, as Adrian's band Old Soul will be touring. September there is possible talk of us playing a fest all the way out near Vancouver.
Our next big tour is going to be going to the West Coast of the USA in November / December. After that, our sights are getting set on heading overseas. YES PLEASE.

So, lots going on for us right now even though we have seemed a bit quiet lately. Our van is halfway fixed now, and our instruments / gear are next on the list of getting fixed up. Now we just need to fix our fucked up brains.

Much love to everyone. We miss all of you. Come to Michigan and we'll take you river tubing.

-R

Sunday, May 6, 2012

GMF 2012

So we hopped on a show in Oshkosh, WI April 27th at the Black Lagoon. Played with our loves Neon Hole and Choose Your Poison, as well as The Parish and Wolf Snap (who both fucking ruled as well). Rad house show, thanks to the folks who live there for putting us up all weekend during Gilead Media Fest. What an awesome time. We were reunited with our best friends in Thou and False, as well as getting to hang with the wonderful folks in Protestant and Mutilation Rites again. Made new friends too, and saw a bunch of fucking awesome bands. Mostly drank a bunch of whiskey and got crazy though. To Chris Ellis, Jason Ellis, Thou, False, Steve (Jeremiah), Jonia, Marrow, Cory Von Flies, Fitz, Sam Hole, Shane CYP, Mutilation Rites jerks, and a whole crew of others, we love you and miss you dearly.

So I don't know if I'm going to get around to posting about the tour in March. So let's just say it all fucking ruled and the shows were all pretty much incredible and we owe many people our lives and hearts. Can't wait to go back out to the East Coast at some point. Just gotta get a van running and my amp fixed up and get work off and shit. Woo.

More updates soon. Our recording sessions for vocals keep getting botched, but hopefully this next weekend we can get em sorted out. See you soon!


-R

Monday, April 9, 2012

Lonely Party

Cheers, mates!
First things first, bad news. We have to cancel our Canadian dates in May. We were all set in Montreal to play the Anarchist Bookfair with some awesome bands, and to stay with one of my best friends Myriam. We were working on the other dates, all should have been good. Well, during our first week back from tour, lots of things happened. The van broke. One of my guitar heads broke during the last show in Cleveland. Adrian got laid off from his job. My work is still at a standstill. Madison got a new job (this is a good thing though). And on top of all that, our scheduling is starting to conflict with life stuff. So with all of this said, we are not playing ANY shows until our dates at the end of June. Sorry.
Next, our 2nd scheduled recording session for vocals got cancelled. THANKS KEVIN. Next time any of you who frequent message boards see the name geeheeb, give him hell for it. So now, we are shooting to record vocals and various other whatnots on April 22nd.

I figure that now is a good time to further explain what we are doing with all of this material:

A good portion of the songs are going on an LP that will be entitled "Moksha." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha

Some of the songs are going on a split LP with Republic Of Dreams, a really great band from Germany. http://republicofdreams.posterous.com/

A few of the songs are going on a split 7" with Orgullo Primitivo, who is our friend Stefan from Dallas. We played with him there in December, we both loved what each was doing, and decided to do a split. Cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWXAysIj0T0

And finally, one of the songs is going on one in a series of international 7" compilations called Monomaniac. http://blastbeatprod.wordpress.com/monomaniac/

More information on all releases will be available soon, after we finish recording the vocals and get some artwork sorted out!

So, to sum up. No Cloud Rat shows til June. Lots of new Cloud Rat songs coming in the near-ish future. After the summer, we are planning some bigger tours. So hopefully that all works out. I wish we weren't so broke.

Also, someone with some web know-how, help us get organized with a website, please and thank you. You will be given kisses and hugs and vegan food.


-R

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

East Coast Tour / "Right on, man. Go for it."

Hey all. Long time no update! Sorry. Been super fucking busy, probably speaking for all of us when I say stressed as well.
BUT!
Tour was awesome. Thank you SO SO SO MUCH to everyone involved with any of the shows, with places to stay, bands who played, kindness shown. This tour was really interesting for me personally. There were some super great moments, and a couple of low ones as well. But all in all, the shows were great, Smash It Dead Fest was very successful for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and all involved, and our tour was a lot of fun.
Again, I will try to post an update with more detailed tour junk in it soon. Working on getting caught up with life stuff right now. Much love to all.

-R

P.S. The split LP with Xtra Vomit is finally available! Order from IFB Records.
Also, in the near future, we are releasing a 2010-2011 Discography Cassette through Ethic Records out of Miami. Should be pretty cool!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

2/17/12


Benefit Show 02/17/12 from Hub Detroit on Vimeo.


played at the hub with some other locals!
the hub is an awsome bike shop in detroit, doing great things for the community!
you can see us at 4:20

Thursday, March 8, 2012

binding




we are not progress

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Harvey Wallbanger

Recordings are sounding sick so far. Still rough and without vocals, but killer nonetheless. We ended up doing 25 tracks, wrote 5 or 6 while recording. Definitely a different experience for me, but it's just so relaxed at Kevin's house. I love recording there. Thanks gee(sad)heeb.

Leaving for tour in two weeks. Hopefully we can get the Providence/Albany show figured out!!!

We are doing a little jaunt through Canada on the 3rd weekend of may. Just a heads up. Will let ya'll know more info when we got it.

Will update more soon. grind/love


-R

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Oh, Tromeo.

Happy February 15th, friends. How have you been? Things are good here. We've got a show on Friday in Detroit at the Hub, should be a good time.
We are recording 25 (!) new songs in a couple weeks, super excited. We had a chance to record demos of them with our friend Mitch Anderson, and they are sounding pretty cool.

We had to change a couple of dates around. Our Connecticut show is now on March 26th, and we are not going to be able to make it to Vermont now :(

So, we need some help! If you know of anyone in Providence RI or Albany NY who would be interested in booking a show for us and Curmudgeon on March 27th, let us know! It would be much appreciated!!!

We will have some new shirts and patches and junk for this tour. Unfortunately, the Xtra Vomit split LP will (STILL) not be ready for this tour. It's looking like the release for that will be April.

In other news, the weather has been really weird here. Just letting you know.

Love, 
The Rats

Friday, February 10, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Monday, January 23, 2012

Prairie Wind...

The dates are set. We are recording a shitload of new material to go on numerous records. Drums and guitars are being done February 25th & 26th. Vocals will be recorded most likely within a couple weeks after that.
I can't wait.

-R

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Dark Spirit Haunts All

The weekend was so good. Appleton, Milwaukee and Fort Wayne were all great. Jason Ellis is one of the greatest people on the planet, I am convinced. Thanks so much to everyone in every town who was awesome. Also, we got to hang out with our lovers in False once again. SO GOOD, WE LOVE YOU FALSE UUUGGGHHHHAAAAAA MISS YOU SO MUCH.

Okay, so that's out of the way. The tour in March is all booked, just awaiting details on few more of the shows. We are writing a ton of songs right now, gearing up to do 3-4 different records, it's pretty silly. But we are stoked on the material. It will be a while before any of it is heard, probably not til May now. Sorry! Adrian's other band (Old Soul - oldsouloldsoul.blogspot.com) has been writing and recording, taking up our time damnit! Haha. Plus, Madison lives in Detroit and is in 5,000,000 bands. it's hard for us to get everything sorted out so quickly. But, fear not, as we will record in the near future, and I think that the new stuff is shaping up pretty well. I can't wait.

Here is the video of our set at DIY VS DOMESTIC ABUSE V in Milwaukee:

Cloud Rat at Rocco's (1/14/12) from Bullart. on Vimeo.


In other news, everyone's life fell apart upon returning home. But it's gonna be OK, the pieces are being picked up as we speak. The power of positive thinking.

Stay classy.

-R

Monday, January 16, 2012

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

the leathershop



the audio sounds insane!
demons i tell ya!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Leaves of Grass

Our little weekend excursion is coming up, I'm excited! Hope to see lots of lovely punk faces in Appleton, Milwaukee, and Fort Wayne.
So some nice folks have had some nice things to say about us recently, and I figured I would post them up on here. Thanks bunches!





"This is what you shall do: Love the earth and the sun and animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and the crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence towards people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown to any man or number of men... re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."
-Walt Whitman,


Thursday, January 5, 2012

DIY VS. DOMESTIC ABUSE V


Xtra Vomit was originally supposed to be with us on our little upcoming weekend jaunt. Sadly, they can't go now. Goddamnit! They were originally going to be our tour-mates in December as well! And the XV/CR Split LP is taking forever too. Everyone email them and give them a hard time. They are the best, and they need to be seen and heard!

Our March tour is shaping right up. We only need help with the Pittsburgh show now! Burlington VT is still mildly up in the air, but we've got a couple friends working on it. 

Ok. So we keep talking about summing up the rest of our December tour. Now I'm feeling lazy about doing so. Its been too long. And now there are lots of other things happening. Haha.
Let's just say that it was amazing. Not one bad show. Thou and False are our BFF's. Both bands are amazing and amazing people. Fort Myers is our favorite place in the world due to Nevin, Aysa, Joe, Jesse, John, and every other lovely person there. Miami was cool, Chris Donaldson is a babe. And a swell guy all around. Fiz aka Punk Celebrity aka founder of the Rockpile Crew (whipin' Bywater Clown Punks off the face of the Bywater, or what not), Fiz. What a person. We love you Fiz.
On the way to Tampa, we all (Thou, False, Cloud Rat plus Fiz, Sock, Jonia, and our good friend Ben from Crow's Foot, 18 of us) went swimming at this neat little beach in Sarasota. What an awesome time, I'll never forget it. We all held hands and ran into the ocean, then dolphins came up to us, probably within about 30 feet. Nuts!!! 
Tampa was great. Played in a little storage unit (#19). Show was crazy. People got buck. Thou did a Beastie Boys cover and a Born Against cover in the same set if I remember correctly. CJ, Pat, and all of Nazi Dust were awesome folks. Great band.
The next day was our parting with Thou and False. So sad. We all went to a little house show during the day, where Merchandise played in their living room. I love that band. 
Tallahassee was fun. Last show ever at the Farside. Kids went silly. Tony rules. Rosie, we love you. There was a little altercation here, where a guy was being a sexist, disrespectful prick. I called him out, we talked about it for about 20 minutes, then he apologized to Madison. I feel like it was genuine. Cool.
Athens got crazy. I had to stop right in the middle of a song and almost fight this belligerent drunk guy. Bummer city. However, the rest of the show was fun, and everyone else were dears. Gripe were killer. Much love to Spencer and all of the wonderful folks we met there.
Atlanta was excellent. Thanks so much to Seth, what a sweetheart. Dead in the Dirt were sweet. So was the wonderroot. Good stuff.
Knoxville ruled! Thank you Andy! Killer Whale was amazing, make sure you check them out. Surf punk/hardcore/grind/black metal. This random guy gave me a back rub, and them he and his group of friends proceeded to club dance the whole time during our set. I loved it. There was a circle pit, and in the middle people were grinding. Wow. But in between songs they would stop and listen. I think they actually really liked what we doing. Super cool in my book. In the morning we went to this little downtown festival thing. The guys in Killer Whale were doing Food Not Bombs, awesome. Madison left her fanny pack there, and one of the guys swooped it up and waited for like 20 minutes for us to come back!!
The Leathershop in Lima was pretty cool. I LOVE Pizza Hi Five/Mike/Trashcan/Niteskool. Best people. Awesome band(s). However, sometimes some fucky folks come out to the Leathershop and make it not the most comfortable atmosphere. There were some supremely drunk folks there being supreme jerks. Yuck. Don't let this steer you away from the shop though, as I have been there plenty of times where there were no fuckheads. Just happened to be one of those shows I suppose. There were also a lot of great people there. PHF killed everything. SO GOOD.
Bloomington was amazing. Thank you so much to Nathalie/Micah/John/Zach/Rat Storm. We made some great new friends here. Izzy/Lioneater was so good, we all loved it and got tapes. Fort Vegan is such a cool house to play at. Yes!!

Well, there. I guess I wasn't too lazy to do it. Haha.