Artist description Denver based Kingrat, playing Hard Hitting greasy street rock with tons of catchy hooks and awesome songwriting

Music Style Punk

Artist History 11-23-01: King Rat announces the release of their 4th album, "Beautiful Songs for Ugly Children." This proved to be a lengthy endeavor, however the results represent the bands finest recording thus far. The projrct began in July of 2000 at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, CO. King Rat worked with infamous engineers Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton (Both of Descendents and All) and Jason Livermore to nail down seven of the 14 tracks at the cadillac of punk rock recording studios. Winter of 2000 found King Rat back in the studio at 8 Houses Down with Matt Vanleuven, the Albert Einstein of punk rock recording engineers. "This guy blows me away" says drummer Zeth Pedulla. "His ear is so keen it's like an auditory microscope....precise, precise, precise. Plus he's so comfortable to work with you feel like you're making an album in your own living room in your pajamas." "We mixed everything at the second studio and then mastered with Bob Ferbrache at Absinthe and the damn thing sounds fucking awesome" says bass player Todd Daigle. " Bob Ferbrache really knows his stuff. He's worked with tons of people such as 16 Horsepower, Slim Cessna, Death in June and Blood Axis to name a few." New lead guitarist Mike Makkay: "I heard this album and was like, man these guys aren't on a label....how is that possible? After 2 listens I gladly learned the songs they asked me to and showed up to the audition determined to nail it." This work finds King Rat's unique spin on the pop-punk ascetic blended in with hard rock hooks and riffs. Luke Schmaltz and Zeth Pedulla do a lot more collaborating than before and we hear the band blending 4/4 time signatures with tripletime signatures and breakdowns. These two songwriters tackle subjects like maintaining your center in a world of vampires and letdowns (Ten High, Let's Roll, Goin' Home, Goodbye '99), psyco women (She's a Bitch and I Hate Her, Trip Chick), and of course the always expected good ol' fun time rock'n'roll songs (King Rat, Fat Like You, To The Hilt, Custom Made Song). Those who buy this record are in for a special treat. After the last song you let the cd run on for about 6 minutes or so and there's a hidden track. It's a punk rock cover of a very famous old country song that gets people on their feet every time at live shows. Singer/rhythm guitarist Luke Schmaltz says: "We recorded it without permission. I said fuck it man...... if we wind up in a law suit we'll know we're finally getting somewhere. King Rat sounds like endorphin-crazed ex-altar boys with machine guns in their hands. Denver's most nefarious native sons are releasing their fourth album" Beautiful Songs For Ugly Children", and are prepared to get the ugly children off the wall and into the mosh pit on tour in 2001. Beautiful Songs for Ugly Children finds King Rat reinventing the pop-punk ascetic with no remorse for timid ears. These recovering Catholics use backstabbing friends, evil ex girlfriends, pornography, fat girls and booze as ammunition for their lyrical cannon. After six years and four albums, King Rat has played over 350 shows, some of the most memorable being, Mike Ness, All, Pennywise, U.S. Bombs, Bad Brains, UK Subs and Agent Orange to name a few. King Rat is notorious for being in the middle of things. Singer/guitarist Luke Schmaltz acted the lead role in filmmaker Frank Rich's feature debut Nixing the Twist in 1998. Members Todd Daigle and Zeth Pedulla both have cameos (the latter appearing twice as 2 different people). Luke has since been in numerous other independent films, most recently playing a lead in Rich's follow-up feature Modern Drunkard. The film is named after a monthly magazine that Rich publishes. Schmaltz writes an article for the 'zine as well as sells ads to all his favorite hangouts. "Yeah" he says "Both the movie and the mag are a real stretch for me." Lead guitarist Todd Schlueter, after helping finalize Beautiful Songs for Ugly Children, left the band in Spring 2001 to start his own project. Enter Mike Makkay. An ex Denver radio DJ who now works in internet radio made the perfect replacement. It was this very man that gave King Rat their first radio slot on a major station nearly four years prior. It was on a show he created called Locals Only that is still on the air today. Tune in to 93.3 KTCL Sundays at midnight. He showed up for the audition and Todd goes "Hey, we know this guy!" Mike weilds a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top with precision and expertise. "He brings a backup singing ability, a level of maturity, business sense and one hell of a rock'n'roll swagger to the band that we didn't have in that slot before" says Schmaltz. "It was a blessing in disguise for sure." In other News, bass player Todd Daigle recently got to hang out with the UK SUBS for a month straight. King Rat friends the 8 Bucks Experiment were going on tour as the support act for the SUBS. They needed a fill-in player and Todd happily obliged. When the tour came through Denver the SUBS stayed with Luke for 2 days. "In all my years of putting up bands," he says "they were by far the coolest." Daigle hold fond memories of gigging with them nightly, drinking Charlie Harper and trying to figure Nicky Garrat out. Good luck dude.

Group Members Singer/guitarist Luke Schmaltz, Todd Daigle bass guitar and backing vocals, Zeth Pedulla drums and woodchips, and Mike Makkay on lead guitar and backing vocals

Press Reviews "King Rat have been on the Denver scene for quite some time, now, having built a large following by the summer of '98. While they continue to play local shows, they've turned their focus to the national scene. Notably, they've shared the stage with the likes of Mike Ness, Pennywise, U.S. Bombs, Agent Orange, All, Bad Brains, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. On their fourth album, Beautiful Songs for Ugly Children, King Rat offers up good ol' punk. Luke Schmaltz, the band's singer/guitarist, describes the album this way: "...a blend of new and old school punk rock'n'roll. A cross between Social Distortion and Pennywise..." While a couple of the songs are pretty reminiscent of more old-school punk, the album, as a whole, has a distinctly modern feel: fast, hard melodies and lyrics are just what you'll be yearning for. There's plenty of fuck the world attitude, too--from the ferocious vocals, to the hard-hitting guitar riffs and fast drumming. The songs are tight and the album is well-produced, but without losing any of its edge. I definitely recommend this album. King Rat will be touring the midwest and west coast this summer and fall--so keep your eyes peeled and try to check out one of their high-energy shows."--Errin Klein, Pit Magazine

Location Denver, CO - USA

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