By Chelsea Schmid
Staff Writer who is Special to LIVE!
April 18, 2008

We’d been expecting a country band, so when they showed up with a long-haired singer sporting a cowboy hat and a Pantera shirt, we were a little surprised. That surprise escalated when the band began discussing which System of a Down albums they liked the best while we (stage crew) mic’ed the stage, jamming “Toxicity” over the house PA.That was the first time I met the Pear Ratz, and while their music fits the bill of a Blaine’s Pub booking, all the members come from musical backgrounds that stray a bit from the dirty Texas music they play now.

Back when the thrash band scene was thriving, lead vocalist and rhythm guitar player Bob Strause, along with bassist and backup vocalist Rod Dawes and lead guitar player Chris Nelson started a metal band called Defiance. Drummer John Starek is quite a bit younger and has played with the Ratz for about a year now, but his musical experience reaches just about every genre, including a nice little stint with Dallas-based Space Cadet.

It all this adds up to one hell of a high-energy show. Dawes is known for avid movement; Saturday night he pogoed, then climbed on his monitor with one foot on the railing before jumping back down to the stage. Strause, in the meantime, lost his hat in a bout of wild-haired headbanging, and Nelson played the guitar behind his head a la your favorite rockstar.

But while their onstage presence reeks of a metal influence, the Ratz’s overall sound takes root in the soil that bred them.

 

“You can’t take country out of country boys,” Starek says. “It’s hard to even call it ‘Texas country’ by now. None of us like being labeled—I know that’s part of being an artist…but this is music from Texas. This is Texas music.”

Chris Nelson, lead guitar, rockin' out Texas style. (LIVE! photo/Chelsea Schmid)

Drummer John Starek doing what he does best. (LIVE! photo/Chelsea Schmid)

 

And Texans stand on fertile ground. Where else can you blend Americana, country, rock and a heavy dose of “Southern,” stir it together and not be blasphemed from strict cookie cutters for not adhering to the mold? No, in Texas, the music’s like a dough: It’s malleable enough for an artist to enjoy the freedom of making it into what he wants; it will taste good so long as it’s not overdone.

The Pear Ratz latest album, “Holier Than Thou,” makes just that daring move. The sophomore release hit stores in 2007, and the band is currently touring on the discs second single “Senses,” which has climbed the Texas Music Charts to number 19 this week.

The Pear Ratz are back to booking themselves again, and the datebook is filling up. So far, the band has dates running through August and are in the process of scheduling a German tour.

Listen to my podcast with the Pear Ratz and hear a little about their rock and roll days and how they came to be the musicians they are today.

For more information on the band, check them out at pearratz.com or myspace.com/pearratz