Year of the Rat
There's no better way to spend a Thursday evening than listening to six hours of noisy talent, besides watching the Housewives of Atlanta.
If you know who Miami legend Rat Bastard is, the pseudonym of musician and noise god Frank Falestra, it's likely you're headed to Churchill's Pub tonight, where he'll be playing for six. hours. straight.
Whether or not you’re into noise or are horrified by the mere mention of the genre, you’re probably into someone Rat has produced or played with. This includes Marilyn Manson and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Most importantly, this man has nurtured local artists and kept them playing and recording for decades, right here in Miami.
One of the best things about Miami is that we aren't just coochie cutters and $20 drinks, we have an awesome music scene, in so many ways thanks to Rat Bastard and thirty years of Churchill’s - so on this day we celebrate both. Every year, the International Noise Conference gives us a taste of the underground, where scores of smelly musicians gather here to be a part of something larger, something that feels like an experiment, but which has been a solid scene for well over a decade. The life and times of this musical leader has inspired fellow minstrels to create the Rat Opera (more on that phenomenon next week).
Probably the best part of the evening really is the name, Ratstock. How better to honor this “godfather of noise” and the 30 year anniversary of Churchill’s than with a title that marries humor and history.
From 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., Rat will be playing at the cost of “probably free” along with a variety of other local performers. These include Ravelstein, Weird Aleister Crowley, Pat McGuire, John and Jim Camacho, Ed Wilcox, Dan Hosker, ZAC, Alex Diaz, Amanda Green, Bamboon, Quit Music, Kenny Millions, Ryan Flux, Sharlyn Evertsz, Steve Bristol, Even Pseudo-Friends Don't Sue Friends, Ed Wilcox, Rooster Walked In, Brian, Crack with a Bum, Josh Xmas, And So's Your Mother, Harpo, J.R. "BOB" DOBBS and go cherry rick.
Read more of Liz Tracy's Miami missives on her blog, Miami, bro.
Posted Thursday, Sep 10, 2009 - 7:10 AM EST
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