Ratas del Vaticano Interview: SXSW 2010

Surprise: people like to drink at SXSW. Due to this rather obvious fact, Ratas del Vaticano should feel right at home on the jumping Austin streets during the festival. The brew-powered band is bringing its heavy metal sound across the border, so get ready. And bring a beer. Drummer Rafael Trenton answered questions about the band's peculiar name and shared some stories of drunken fan encounters.

How would you describe your sound?

A bunch of Mexican drunk guys. Trashy rock.

What are your influences?

We like all kinds of music, but when we get together we all like Mayhem and the Stones. We also like Mexican punk. We have different musical tastes, but it's pretty much black metal and Mexican punk.

How did you guys come together?

We've known each other for a few years. We played in a lot of bands, then we came together. We've known each other for ten years, and it shows.

How did you guys come up with your name?

It was actually a drunken joke at a party. We thought we should come up with a name. We thought it was funny. It's kind of mean, but funny. It was just a drunken joke.

You guys talk about drinking quite a bit. What's your alcohol of choice?

Mexican beer, definitely. And cheap Mexican tequila. That's pretty much what we drink.

What, besides drinking, is your biggest vice?

Apart from beer and drinking, it's gotta be music. We all love music. And, I don't know, smoking weed, maybe.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?

We all like cumbia. Mexican folklore music is our guilty pleasure.

What is the craziest thing you guys have seen on the road?

People. In between shows and cities, there are always crazy people.

Do you have a specific story?

There's always a drunk guy at a show that's telling you when he played in a band in the '70s, or he used to be a drug addict or something.

What are you doing this year at SXSW that's different from when you were there last year?

We're doing more shows. Last year we did four shows, and now we're doing six. It's not that many more shows, but it's more shows. We're also promoting our 7-inch. We have more things to sell--more t-shirts and things to move around Austin with us.

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