The Ratz Are Ready To Release ​“Found Dead” Live At Cafe Nine

“I’m slowly easing my way into a full-blown political record,” said vocalist/guitarist Jeffrey Thunders of The Ratz, who will be celebrating the release of the band’s latest, Found Dead, this Sunday afternoon at Cafe Nine with Cry Havoc, Midnight Creeps, and Murdervan.

The five-song EP was recorded in February 2021 and mixed/mastered in August 2021. It has already been released by Dismantled Records out of New Hampshire. The label started to distribute the record as a seven-inch vinyl in February. Thunders will also be releasing it digitally and via CD on the day of the show.

Thunders sees the band — which also includes Ines Segarra on guitar and vocals. Matt Mullarky on bass and vocals, and Elvis Belushi on drums — heading in a new direction lyrically, though the sound is still classic Ratz. 

“It’s the same sound, still that same 1982 to 1984 punk sound, but I would say three, maybe four out of the five songs have to do with something political,” he said. ​“With everything going on and everything that’s been going on in the past couple of years, it makes sense.” 

“It’s weird with everything that’s going on, all the BS with Trump and now all the stuff that going on in Ukraine,” he continued. ​“I’ve been writing probably three or four songs a week, and I would say 95 percent of those songs have to do with politics. Maybe it’s a sign of getting old. I’ve been listening to a ton of Anti-Flag the past couple of years, so that’s probably rubbing off on me a little bit.”

Segarra wrote the song ​“Kids in Cages” on the new record. ​“That’s pretty self-explanatory,” Thunders said. Segarra sings it in Spanish; Thunders noted it is also about ​“overall equality.” He also said that his songs don’t mention a particular politician or party, but the lyrical content ​“definitely doesn’t lean right, that’s for sure.”

“I think anybody who knows me, knows I don’t lean that way anyway,” he said. ​“We’ve been getting older and kind of sort of honing in on that stuff.”

The writing process never gets old for The Ratz, who pressed forward with their songwriting efforts through Covid shutdowns both individually and as a band, still meeting weekly at their practice space on Shelton Avenue to rehearse and create in real time.

“Sometimes I will just do an acoustic demo in my room or whatever, and then send that to the band, like, ​‘hey I wrote this song,’” said Thunders. ​“Or a lot of times it’s like a collaboration with everybody, where we will be at practice and me or Matt will play something, and we will work on it. Like, Matt could just be messing around on bass and Elvis will start playing drums and Ines and I will look at each other, and look at Matt, and come together that way, so it’s not just one person.”

One of the songs on the new record, called ​“Too Drunk To Drive,” was written in such a way, when the band was ​“fucking around in the studio just jamming on something,” with Thunders calling it ​“a total Cramps/Human Fly rip off.”

“When I did vocals, I was trying to do my best Iggy Pop on it, but nobody can be Iggy, right?” he added with a laugh.

Thunders has never had an issue being anything other than himself, a committed and enthusiastic supporter of the punk scene both local and otherwise, as well as a high-octane live performer. Having this release show was imperative for a variety of reasons, including getting to hang out with friends of the band, which was first on his mind when creating the bill.

“When I got the date from Paul, first person I thought of was Shaun (Bowen of Murdervan, who currently lives in California) so I texted him and said, ​‘hey man what are the odds?’ and his reply was ​‘I’ve been looking for a reason to come back home around that time,’ so that was pretty much it.”

His old friend Jonny Miller from Cry Havoc did the artwork for the new record, ​“so it was a no brainer to ask them.” Miller also did the artwork for The Ratz’s 2020 release After the Blackout.

Thunders was thrilled to get the Providence-based band Midnight Creeps on the bill, since they do not perform often and ​“everybody loves them.”

“To get them on a show is enormous to me,” he said. ​“They could fill Cafe Nine by themselves.” 

Punk rock in its many shapes and forms is one of the great loves of Thunders’s life, and he is able to share that love not only with his own music, but with his label Die Hipster Records, where he has recently been focused on releasing multiple compilations made up of bands from all over the world.

He also recently started another recording project called Mitch Kramer. Lost Riots bandmate Scott Fitch is ​“a major part of it,” though he plans on keeping the lineup on rotation. He also has yet another project with Fitch called Jeffrey Thunders and The Scabs that has put out a few singles since the pandemic began, most recently the song ​“Veronica,” with singer/songwriter Lys Guillorn. ​“I like to confuse people,” said Thunders, laughing, but he also feels each of the projects he works on has a distinct quality that sets it apart from the others.

“The Ratz I feel, even though the sound hasn’t changed, the mindset has gone in a different direction. What I was doing with the Lost Riots and what I am doing with Mitch Kramer, the lyrical content is totally different. I guess when I write a song it just matters where my frame of mind is at that point. Maybe what I’m listening to that day. If I’m listening to Black Flag, it’s probably going to be a Ratz song. If I’m listening to Gaslight Anthem, it’s going to be a Mitch Kramer song.”

Videos are also a part of The Ratz creative process, and the band has filmed two for the new record, one for the song ​“Modern America” and one for ​“Too Drunk To Drive.” Thunders describes them as ​“total DIY.”

“They’re not the best, not professionally done, but I guess that’s punk rock, right?” 

As far as live shows go, the Sunday Buzz one will be The Ratz’s first of 2022. They are ​“slowly trying to get back out there,” though they are ​“still a little leery” about Covid-19. 

“We want to ease our way back in, dip our toe into the pool,” said Thunders. The band recently announced a June 16 show at the Space Ballroom opening for punk legends The Queers and Dwarves, with local favorites The Problem With Kids Today also on the bill. 

But first, there is this Sunday’s show at Thunders’s beloved Cafe Nine, which he calls his ​“home base” and, adding with a laugh, ​“the establishment where I’ve spent more money than anywhere else.”

“Paul’s been tremendous to me through all the years,” he said. ​“It’s a no brainer.” 

“What’s better than a Sunday afternoon show at Cafe Nine, right? I’m really stoked that people are going out on Sundays to see bands play.”

In true Jeffrey Thunders fashion, he joked about how long the set would be — ​“I think we’re up to nineteen minutes, maybe fourteen or fifteen songs?” — and summarized his feelings about it all with even more laughter.

“Here’s the thing: if you hate it, you’re like ​‘thank God it’s over.’ If you like it, go buy the record.”

The Ratz record release show with Cry Havoc, Midnight Creeps, and Murdervan will be held this Sunday, March 22, during Cafe Nine’s Sunday Buzz, from 4 to 6 p.m. Admission is free. Physical copies of the new record on vinyl and CD will be available for purchase that day and a digital copy will be available via Bandcamp.