RAT'S REST - DEMO

 In 2013, GENERACION SUICIDA was on a west coast tour, when we finally drove into Eureka, CA. It was a long trip, marred by car troubles that started on our way back from Kamloops to Vancouver. You see, the trip between those two cities is pretty much 4 hours of nothing through a mountain. About 2 hours back into our trip to Vancouver, our truck just sputtered and died. This was on a desolate road, in Canada, 2 hours away from the nearest city, with no cell phone reception. This was also in early March... A period when Grizzly Bears are just starting to come out of hibernation. Needless to say, I was a tad bit worried. I was having visions of every horror movie and slasher flick I've ever seen. In a panic, we filled our pockets with rocks in case any would be killers (animal or human being) would come out of the woods. Eventually, a nice couple drove by and offered to drive one of us to the nearest small town to try and buy a new battery. We volunteered (sacrificed) our roadie for the trip to go and bring back a battery. An hour later he returned, alive and well, but more importantly with a new battery. The couple offered to actually drive behind us the whole way to Vancouver (it was along their way) just in case we were to break down again. They were the friendliest people I've ever met, and to this day I wish I could repay their kindness, but alas we parted ways as soon as we drove into Vancouver.
                   Unfortunately for us, as soon as we got back to Vancouver our car went dead again... right on the border waiting to cross back into the USA. We eventually got a tow truck that towed us across the border and right to the nearest mechanic in Bellingham, WA. That mechanic totally screwed us over and took a huge chunk of our tour money (In return, Juan ate all the complimentary pastries and took the biggest shit of his life without flushing). Once back on the road, I was tense. I couldn't help but feel that the truck was going to give out at any moment. I was worried it would break down in the middle of downtown Seattle traffic. I was worried it would break down going through the woods in Oregon. I was worried it would break down going through the small towns on the way to Eureka. Honestly, some of the homes in those small towns had confederate flags hanging from their windows. These were towns that were only about 3 city blocks long, but they were the most nerve wrecking little trips. As a truck full of Latin@s, being stranded in these towns would not be ideal (to put it mildly).
                      Finally, we reach Eureka. I don't know if you've ever been to Eureka, but it's an interesting town. A small town, where everything seems to close at 5 (much like Kamloops, actually). Once at the show, there was maybe like 10 people at the show, which is not surprising because it is a small town. After all that, I'm really not expecting much of the show (it was a folk and punk show), when suddenly RAT'S REST takes the stage. These guys were great. Punk that was both melodic and raw. They looked like they had just gone through similar troubles as they looked ragged and tired, and the singer kept chugging from a 2 litter bottle of Squirt (I'm assuming laced with Vodka) to get through the set. Watching them play to this small crowd was reenergizing after everything we had been through. So I did the only logical thing and bought the tape after their set. It was just a blank white tape in a silver bag with RAT'S REST written on it with marker. That was all the merch they had...
               The demo of course is killer! And you should definitely check it out for yourself. It's just as good as their live set and definitely something that will most likely go over everybody's head. Don't follow the crowd. Take a look in the cracks. It's worth the trouble every now and then.

Download the demo here

I actually downloaded the demo myself from the Remote Outpost blog (I was too lazy to rip it from my own tape). Check that out also as he has his own story of RAT'S REST. Check that out here