"Before I can even touch the doorbell, I'm ushered into the warmth of the Ratboys compound, a brick workers cottage from the turn of the century that guitarist Dave Sagan rents with a couple friends and his partner, Julia Steiner, the band's lead singer and guitarist. From their cushioned islands, they greet me like the close friend who gets a spare key."
"Bassist Sean Neumann and drummer Marcus Nuccio lead the way to Ratboys' longtime basement-turned-practice space, a surprisingly bright room sprouting with gear, a desktop listening area, and a red metallic bunk bed. They've been using the space in Chicago's Montclare neighborhood for eight years, and the memorabilia has piled up: a hasty doodle of Shrek, a banner of Squidward gazing out the Krusty Krab service window."
Ratboys formed in 2010 and evolved into a hardworking Chicago indie-rock group. Julia Steiner sings and plays guitar; Dave Sagan plays guitar and shares a turn-of-the-century brick workers cottage with Steiner and friends. Bassist Sean Neumann and drummer Marcus Nuccio rehearse in a longtime Montclare basement-turned-practice space filled with gear and memorabilia, including a doodle of Shrek, a Squidward banner, a three-foot handwritten tab for "Go Outside," and a 2022 X-ray of Sagan's broken elbow. Steiner still uses her first amp, a Roland Microcube. After 16 years of growth, Ratboys released Singin' to an Empty Chair, an ambitious album that swings for the fences.
Read at Pitchfork
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