After my very enjoyable performance with Ratty Rat Rat at the Astoria 2 a little while ago, I’d been meaning to get along to another gig, partly because I wanted to check out the drummer they chose over me, but also partly because I liked the music and thought they were all really nice guys. However, I was disappointed to learn that they’d decided to split up, and that their last gig was on Friday 26th September, which I couldn’t make. Genuinely gutted about that. Anyway, I’m sure Simon, Gary, Chris and Matt will be doing more music in the future, which I will look forward to!
On Saturday night I randomly ended up playing drums with a trendy indie band called Ratty Rat Rat, in front of a reasonable sized crowd of equally trendy young men and women and the Astoria 2 in London.
I say “randomly” because I auditioned for the band a week before, thought it went quite well, didn’t hear anything from their manager though, then on the Thursday night got a call asking if I could do the gig in 2 night’s time. (Funnily enough, the very Thursday night I’d had a second audition/rehearsal with Sergeant Buzfuz and been asked to join them.)
Anyway, I’d played with the band for a total of about 30 minutes at this point, but thought “fuck it”, in at the deep end and all that. So, friday afternoon I was round their squat in Camberwell that they share with a guy from Shitdisco and the girlfriend of the singer in the Mystery Jets (I told you they were trendy) rehearsing for probably another 30 minutes in some dank, underground basement. I thought it was rather endeering though when I turned up and Gary the guitarist said “please excuse the mess.”
So how was the gig? To be honest I can’t remember that much of it. I remember getting quite drunk to calm my increasing nerves, and then not being able to hear a damn thing on stage, then it all being over really quickly and everyone being pretty pleased with how it went. My nerves weren’t helped by some obsessive fan type called Daniel who claimed the band were his all time favourite and that he’d come all the way down from Reading to see them. When I first bumped into him at the bar I thought he was going to try and get off with me when I casually mentioned to him the reason I was there was to play drums with them.
Turns out I was just filling in for another drummer they actually knew who was joining the band but just couldn’t do that particular gig, but I wish them all the very best as I really like the tunes and they’re nice lads too.
