Band Name: Cloud Rat. Madison's father once told her that seagulls were rats in the clouds. So that's where that came from, not the actual cloud rat native to the Philippines.

Location: We are all natives from the Mount Pleasant area of Michigan, but Madison now lives in Detroit.

Formed: December 2009

Members: Adrian - Drums. Madison - Vocals. Rorik - Guitar

Releases: So far - Self Titled LP (June 2010), Split Cassette w/ Xtra Vomit (October 2010, soon to be on LP in April '12), 3-Way Split LP w/ The Oily Menace and Wolbachia (September 2011), Split 7" w/ Autarkeia (December 2011), as well as two digital/mp3 releases on Grindcore Karaoke (Self Titled LP and Fever Dreams, which collects all of the other currently released material).


Tell us about yourselves!
Cloud Rat formed in the cold winter of 2009. Adrian and I had been friends for a long time, and have played in bands together years before. Adrian and Madison have known each other for years as well, and were living together when we formed as a band. I went to a show at their house, and I could hear Madison screaming over the band! So that night we all talked about starting a band so that we could contribute a track to our friend Kevin's Michigan Grindcore compilation he was putting together (which never happened). After forming, we wrote and recorded our Self Titled LP within a month, and then it was put out 5 months later by our friends at IFB Records in Florida. We are forever grateful to them for everything they have done for us.

I would describe our sound as grindcore rooted in punk, with a lot of hardcore punk, black metal, screamo, and grunge influences creeping in. We do our best to promote veganism, radical feminism, anti racism/sexism/homophobia/classism/bullshit. The purpose of this band is a mixture of personal catharsis, promoting kindness and equality, and to have fun as well.

We have toured most of the USA and have plans to do a lot more within the next couple years. Currently we are recording for three different records and are looking to head overseas soon-ish.
We look forward to coming to Ithaca!!!!!!

-Rorik / Cloud Rat
cloudrat.blogspot.com

Don't miss Cloud Rat live, this Thursday at Silent City Distro - located on The Commons, above Autumn Leaves Books at 115 MLK Jr / State St, Ithaca, NY 14850.  8PM $5 ALL AGES with locals Hiroshima Vacation and King Sized Pegasus. 

After their first appearance back in early April, the Buffalo powerviolence/grind quartet INERDS are back in Ithaca. Armed with dual female vocals, crushing bass, and utter destruction behind the kit, the band is becoming a serious force to be reckoned with, even garnering the attention of J. Randall for his Grindcore Karaoke release. Vii Caso gets the lowdown on where they started and what's next.

IU: Can you give us a brief (of not so brief) history of how Inerds came to be?

Moezes: I was in a pop punk band when I first met Matt, and at one point we were both homeless, so we became friends pretty quickly. We were at a party and Matt isn't much a drinker, but I got him fucking whiskey drunk that night. At some point, I dragged him to the practice space, and we (drunkenly) wrote "She Beast". Later that week I knew we need female vocals for the shit we were writing. I'm a huge fan of lady vocals, so bands like Robot has Werewolf Hand, Despise you, Hatred Surge, Salome, Punch, etc...were a huge influence on what we were going for. Corey came first on vocals and then we later asked Jessika if she would join the force up front.

IU: Bass and drum grindcore/powerviolence bands don't come around that often, where did the idea to have no guitar come from?

Moezes: When we first started, we had talked about just keeping it a duo. Just to keep things easier, But i really thought the girls would bring some serious energy live that a 2 piece just couldn't. But in regards to not having any guitar, Matt and I just both thought it sounded plenty thick with just bass. It kind of just gives us this down tune effect, but every INERDS song is written in E standard. Also add to the fact Matt and I are both bassists (him much more than I), with a fierce love for bass and drum PV. Bands like Lana Dagales, Vennt, MITB, and the Agoraphobic Nosebleed "Domestic Power Violence" split with Apartment 213 were HUGE influences on the musical portion.

IU: How did you guys get connected with Grindcore Karaoke?

Moezes: J. Randall sent INERDS a message through myspace saying he was doing GK and wanted the demo on it. I informed him about Mutant League, which is a label I had started doing with John from Bestower, and he wanted everything Matt and I have done.  To those who don't know, Mutant League is: Inerds, Hoglust, Bestower, Human Touch, Canadian Tuxedo and Water Torture with demos coming soon for two last two.

IU: You guys played Ithaca a few weeks ago along Coworkers, Womyn Boyz and Pharaohs. Was that your first time playing Ithaca?

Moezes: Yeah, first time for me in Ithaca in a long time and it was radical. The space we played was righteous, the locals were great, and Bubba is a solid homie. It seems like he's doing a lot of work for that area, which is fucking awesome.

IU: Are there any future Inerds releases planned?

Moezes: Yeah, actually were doing a split 7" with this band from over seas called Terror of the Dynamite Attack. That will be out on Mutant League by the fall. We're really excited to get that piece out.

IU: Any final words?

Moezes: Go download everything from www.grindcorekaraoke.com, J Randall is making shit happen for a lot of bands who never would get any notice. And smoke weed till you die from it. Word me dude.