7.1 A wknd w/ Rat Motel
The NYC buzz-rock duo on bottomless diner coffee, free arcade games and their late-night Saturday show at Purgatory
Admittedly, we don’t know *much* about Ohio (LeBron? The Browns? We hear Cleveland, uh, rocks?), so in order to not be those New Yorkers and to expand our knowledge beyond a one-state radius, we decided to use ye olde internet to briefly brush up on The Buckeye State.
Approximately two minutes and one google search later, we had learned the following:
The state bird is the cardinal and the state flower is the scarlet carnation.
Ohio has the only non-rectangular state flag.
Life Savers, Superman, golf balls and the hot dog were invented there.
It’s home to record-setting roller coasters, the Pro Football and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame and the largest drum sticks in the world, located in where else but David Grohl Alley.
Alright! Now that we’ve provided you with a few key facts to prepare for any potential Jeopardy appearance, let’s move on to focus on what just might be our favorite Ohio export (including the light bulb!) (which is saying a lot, we need those!!) yet: Rat Motel.
Formed in Columbus, OH in 2016 by brothers Seth and Clayton Peacock, the rodent-friendly fuzz-rock duo has since relocated to Brooklyn and just released their five-track EP The Regal Sum, which they describe in the following manner:
“The Regal Sum is the culmination of a life so far presented to our subject in a disjointed dream as they sleep in the back alley of the Rat Motel. It’s the witching hour, and something has come to display everything a life could be with just a tad more grasping.”
Intrigued? Perfect, because the band will be hitting the stage THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at Purgatory at a Bands do BK-presented show featuring the musical stylingz of SAFER and a DJ set by JIALING (tix here). And even better: The show starts at 11 p.m., so you can have your beach day and your concert too.
(+ More good news: After you fall in love, you needn’t wait long to rock w/ the band o’ brothers again. They’re also playing Brooklyn Bowl on 8/17 with Heat Death, Haybaby, and Desert Sharks.)
Alright! While this edition of THE SETLIST is a little Ohio-heavy, don’t worry — we haven’t asked the band to provide a wknd itinerary for Akron or anything. Instead, they’ve been kind enough to whip up a set of plans for those of us who are spending the long, hot weekend right here in NYC.
Read on for three days of fun, courtesy of our new friends Rat Motel—
We’ll catch them, and you, at Purgatory tomorrow night.
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
FRIDAY
It's early in Bushwick, and you wake to the usual sound of 5 simultaneous car horns cascading into your window from the street below, signaling that the blue van has double parked in front of your apt for the 4th day in a row. The adrenaline wakes you up, but not quite enough, so you'll want to head on over to CM Coffee Shop for cheap coffee and an egg sandwich. You exist in a haze through the work day, and realize you have nothing planned for dinner; Taqueria Santa Fe has what you need. After your tummy is satisfied you head to Wonderville for some free arcade games and by 10pm you're moving to the electronic sounds of MorphismNYC.
SATURDAY
You wake up late. Before all deep anxieties reach out from the void to envelop you completely, you grab some breakfast, a book or musical instrument of choice, and have a picnic in Evergreen Cemetery, an oasis of trees in Bushwick. At peace once again you decide to head to Mad Tropical for some food and drinks, run into some friends, lose track of time...OH no now it's 10:30pm and you don't have plans for the evening – is it too late to see a show? You have the urge for some loud and crashing rock, soul, and roll – but you also feel the burning desire for those booming techno and house rhythms to get down to...Luckily, you can realize your desires somewhere in-between, at Purgatory. Rat Motel will open the late show at 11pm in all fiery buzz rock extravagance, getting you ready to get all the way down with Safer and Jialing, all the way till 2am. You do not regret it.
SUNDAY
Disoriented, hungover perhaps, you have no motivation to leave the bed. There is something that can help. You collect your wits and head to Bushwick Diner for that bottomless diner coffee, and, of course, garlic knots. You feel better. You want to do something. It's summer, it's Sunday, and somehow you manage to remember that Summer Sundays are in full swing at 18th Ward Brewery! Today, New Colossus Festival presents a free show from 1-6pm. You go for the ENTIRE show of course. You are tired, but don't want to go home quite yet. Instead, you end your night at The Keep for a cozy atmosphere and free live jazz past 10pm.
Itinerary above written + provided by Rat Motel. Follow the band at @ratmotel, buy their music on Bandcamp and add their songs to your Spotify playlists.
Feature image provided by the band.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
The sister of a member of the Brooklyn band community is currently in the hospital after suffering two strokes shortly following the birth of her third child. If you have the means, please consider donating to help her and her family here. Anything helps.
Power-pop band Strange Neighbors recently released You Don't Own Me / The Pill, an EP of covers with all proceeds benefitting the National Network of Abortion Funds. Scoop it up here, and if you’re an artist or business donating funds or taking action in the midst of this crisis, please let us know so we can help spread the word.
LET’S GET READYYYY TO DESTROY SOME DENIMMMMM! ICYMI, our fave BK trio Nevva created an original song for Madewell to celebrate the commencement of #jortcore season—and the bottom halves of all our pants are very much in peril. Check it out.
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“Team” // DD Walker
“The Flowery Man” // Phantom Handshakes
“Leaving Paradise” // Pan Arcadia
“Nice Guy” // Di Ivories
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the shows we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
7.2 BdBK & Rat Motel Present: Safer + Rat Motel + Dancing w/ JIALING @ Purgatory (LATE!) (tix here)
7.26 BdBK Presents: Pamphlets + Two-Man Giant Squid + Church Crush + Aisle Knot @ Our Wicked Lady (tix here)
A LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK
Leading up to the 9/6 release of Bands do BK — THE BOOK (avail for pre-order here), we’ll be dropping in *short* snippets from the 18-chapter ~manifesto~ that’s equal parts guidebook, oral history and music-fan memoir.
Interviewing artist is a lot like going on app dates.
You fix your hair, check your breath, come up with a handful of just-in-case conversation topics, and practice your personal pitch. Then, upon arrival at the destination, likely too early and too sweaty, you hype yourself up in the bathroom, sit down with a beer, and scan faces as surreptitiously as possible while you try to figure out who in the crowd looks most like the photo on your phone.
Except the picture is from Bandcamp, not Bumble. And you’re often going out with like half a dozen people at once.
[From Chapter 1: SEE AND BE SCENE]
+ ICYMI
Around the blog + on the radio + from the archives:
Best of Brooklyn with Supertaste
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3