Q: First off, hello, nice to see you all again. Can you tell us a little bit about who Rat Bath is and how it all started?
RAT BATH: Fred Kenyon (vocals/lyrics) and Cora Bequeaith (guitar) have been musical collaborators since 2015. In 2018, to prove that My Chemical Romance was a country band, the duo recruited a full band to play a cover set. This cover band would become RAT BATH.
Q: Your journey to an all queer emo punk band couldn’t have been easy, what was that process like?
RAT BATH: Being queer is what brought all the members of the band together originally. We were all friends, or at least acquaintances, prior to playing music together. Being an openly queer band has its risks, but we would rather be out and proud because we are trying to create and promote safe and inclusive music scenes.
Q: What is the best memory from recording this latest album “Rat From Hell”?
RAT BATH: Our incredibly talented guitar player Cora Bequeaith did all the diy recording for RAT From Hell, and she says: “I’m sure we all have our own fond (and less than fond) memories of the recording process but my favorite moment was when we finished tracking drums for the first single off the album, Spit//Swallow. Recording a full drum kit in a home studio is pretty ambitious, so I was more than a little nervous about how it was going to sound. Listening to the tracks from that first session, I was really blown away by how clearly all the different elements of the kit came through. That did a lot to instill confidence that we knew what we were doing and could actually pull it off!”
Q: What is the favorite song to play amongst the Rat Bath crew? Why?
RAT BATH: Our favorite songs to play definitely change with the times, especially as we’ve been playing more out of town shows and seeing how new crowds are reacting to our music! Sweet Puppet and spit//swallow are probably two of our favorites from the album because its very fun to play songs that such different tones! We also have been playing some brand new songs that have become some fast favorites for us!! (But that’s all I can say for now)
Q: In your own words, how would you describe the music of Rat Bath?
RAT BATH: RAT BATH is spooky, loud, emotional, country/punk. It is takes the imagery of emo music, the honest storytelling and heart of country music, and the attitude of hardcore punk and blends them together with sprinkles of individual tastes of each band member to make a unique take on all three genres, which we simplify to call spooky countrycore.
Q: You just had a release, so what is next?
RAT BATH: Since Rat From Hell came out we have been playing lots of local shows and have also had a couple weekend tours. We have a longer tour planned for September 1st- September 10th and will continue playing local shows as well! We are currently finishing writing our second full length album!
RAT BATH is:
Fred Kenyon – vocals (they/them)
Cora Bequeaith – guitar (she/her)
Emmett Roehr- drums (he/him)
Ivy Escobedo – bass (she/her)
Róisín Shields – guitar (she/they
Interviewed by Jaye Maverick
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