#chadsmith

Kevin "Dugie" Dugan

Kevin "Dugie" Dugan

It’s the late 1970’s, you’ve stopped drumming in your local band because you realized you could be more effective behind the scenes, you cut your teeth in every major bar or club for the last few years after starting out in Cleveland, and as the 80’s fast approach you wonder where life on the road with rock bands will lead you.

Then the phone rings. It’s a band that’s on the verge of dominating the world several times over, but no one knows that yet. They need a Bass tech. You say yes, having never done the job.

Dave Rat

Dave Rat

In the late ‘70’s and into the ‘80’s Hollywood and the Sunset Strip played host to the hair bands and spandex superstars that rocked clubs like the Whiskey and the Roxy night after night. But several miles down the coast, a new sound was emerging; raw, impatient, and not satisfied with the Status Quo.

It was in this world that Dave Rat of Rat Sound Systems carved his place as a trusted engineer, with a company that provided the kind of equipment that could match the DIY attitude of the artists and crowds that were showing up to hear bands like Black Flag, Jane’s Addiction, and Rage Against the Machine.