Same Old Rat – Interview – Thanks for Asking

Same Old Rat – Interview – Thanks for Asking – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Every comic book hero has an origin story. What is your origin story? for the band? (points if you tell it like a comic book origin.)

SOR: Formed from the smoldering embers of Dance Cancer at the close of 2022, we realized that the new material that was coming out of rehearsal didn’t really suit what Dance Cancer had long represented.  We decided to make a fresh start with a new name, and with our new sound, Same Old Rat was born.  Dance Cancer was originally a two-piece hard rock sound with just guitar/vocals and drums.   Adding Justin on bass gave us the freedom to pursue this sludgy, riffy new vibe and opened up a vein of productivity.  Fresh grooves along with new takes on older ideas reworked to become new installments, led to a batch of tunes flowing fast and fuzzrociously.

RRX: Every artist’s/band’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

SOR: Same Old Rat recorded a quick and dirty demo, Live@Fury EP in early August 2023.  Recorded at Don Fury studios, we knocked out five songs, recorded live to two-track, in just under five hours, mixed and mastered.  Sea Jamb, Blast Shadow, Jesusfish, Rabid Dog and Bad luck were released on bandcamp August 8th.  We had such a great time working with Don Fury that we’re headed back this March to record a few more songs, this time multi-track, to release on all streaming platforms.

RRX: Like songs, every artist or band has a unique feeling about their first show. What was your first show like? Was it your best show? If not, what was your best show like?

SOR: The first show we played as the last incarnation of Dance Cancer was at the Parish Public House in Albany, October 2021.  It was a Sunday, opening for Blacktop Mojo.  It was a great first show.  We felt the three of us made the right decision in seeing what we could do together musically.   Our best show tends to be our most recent. Since adding our new singer, Scott, we have only played one show.  Three days before Christmas at Putnam Place in Saratoga.  We weren’t really sure how things were going to go that night.  We were the only original band opening for two cover bands and a tribute band and our set started 5 minutes after doors… no high hopes.  We quickly took the stage, no soundcheck, no room to move, no room to breathe, and crushed our 30 minute set.  Not to ever come off as overly confident but we killed it that night. At least that was the opinion of the many strangers we encountered afterwards. It is always really nice to hear positive reviews of a show right after, but it hits differently when we also FEEL that we crushed it.  Being yelled at to “Get back on stage and play more songs!” by complete strangers is the ultimate thumbs up as far as we know.

RRX: Music genres are difficult for some artists or bands. Some strictly adhere; others not so much. What is your perspective on the genre you play, or the genres you hover around?

SOR: We embrace the Stoner rock/Alt rock/Hard rock subgenre of rock and roll.  While some songs we have played in the past and will bring forth in the future may not fit snugly in that genre, no matter what we create will be ours and sound like us.  Tom has a palette that spans so many influences, and with Jon and Justin, everything has a groove and a vibe that is unmistakably Same Old Rat.

RRX: It’s a lot of fun living in the present, but we all collect memories and give birth to dreams. We’re talking dreams here. Where you see yourself next year? In the next five years?

SOR: In 2024, along with adding Scott who’s a singer that we’re really excited about, we’d like to release some material with him singing on it.  It’s so early in the year but we can imagine us putting out a full length album within 2024, early 2025.  Possibly do a proper recording of the songs we recorded in 2023 with Scott on vocals.  Scott and Tom sound so good together, it’s like the songs have a new life that should be experienced.  We definitely want to put together some more great shows with the super talented bands in the area that we always enjoy playing with.  In five years…  We try to take our fortunes as they come and base next steps on what makes the most sense.  If we’re still enjoying doing this together and there’s opportunity, then we’ll be doing what we do.  Writing songs and playing shows.

RRX: We all get a little support from those around us. And we also can be impressed by our fellow performers or bands. Who do you admire in your community, and why?

SOR: We admire any and all of the local original bands grinding it out in the fewer and fewer places there seem to host what we do.  We’re super grateful for Mike Valente for all of the opportunities he offers us.  Super grateful for Ralph Renna for playing our tunes on 93.9 WABY.  Grateful to all of the upstate NY venues and promoters and fans of music keeping the local scene alive and thriving.  There are so many fun and talented bands out here that we’ve been lucky enough to be on the bill with.  Playing with bands like The Erotics, The tradition, BlackBelt Jones, Hard Luck Souls, Emmas Secrets, 3DB, is a treat for us.  It all fits together so well.  We just wanna play songs and hang out.  Shoot the shit and maybe surprise 2-5 people in the crowd that’ve never heard of us, and have them come check us out again.

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