Rudy & The Humbuckers emerged from Asheville, NC., with a serious knack for harmonies, pop hooks and stylistically diverse, feel- good folk, country -rock 'n' roll. Led by singer songwriter Rudy Colombo along with Stacy Moore on guitar, Scott “Junior” Murray on pedal steel, Scott Benson on bass and David Cohen on drums, the group made its first Orange Peel appearance JAN 10th
One thing you can count on with any of Colombo's projects: Good, solid songs and excellent musicianship.   Alli Marshall  Mtn Xpress , Asheville NC

After The Humbuckers,   Rudy and Stacy went on to Form You Dirty Rats.

Meet The Humbuckers Recorded at Landslide Studios, Asheville NC
Mixed by Scott Benson 
indigo bunting records @2022

You Dirty Rats
5 stars

You Dirty Rats EP
(self-released)
 
Tarheel rockers You Dirty Rats - Templeton, Remy and Jeffe Rat on guitar, guitar and bass,
respectively, plus Senor Cats on drums - hail from the western portion of N.C. but they crank out
an edgy, brand of noirish blooze-punk considerably removed from the regions prevailing
Americana twang and bluegrass.
Together for about a year and a half, they've gradually been amassing a reputation for dynamic
performances and, on the basis of their self-titled 5-song debut, equally memorable songs. Right
from the get-go, with seething opening track &quot;Until I Get It Right,&quot; the band peers into the abyss
both sonically and psychologically, arpeggiated riffs punctuating Templeton Rat's darkly snarled
vocals. Another highlight is  Like I Wore You,  with its marriage of vintage Gun Club cowpunk
and Television angularity plus veiled yet sexually charged lyricism, while & Hey Hey ; evinces a
Clash-like muscularity and anthemis sorely lacking from the contemporary music scene.
This EP actually came out a number of months ago, but in the interim, thanks to the magic of
digital streams I;d already become intimately familiar with the five songs contained therein. They
are all currently available for your listening pleasure at the band&#39;s official website and I suggest
you run, don't walk, to the nearest computer kiosk and fire ‘em up. With that in mind, then, its
high time Templeton Rat &amp; Co. get crackin ; with some fresh tuneage. They';re one of N.C. s most
exciting new bands, period.

SoundTrack
You Dirty Rats debuts at LAB
by Alli Marshall in Vol. 16 / Iss. 45 on 06/02/2010 
Related topics: Soundtrack 
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You Dirty Rats is the latest project of Rudy Colombo, the singer/songwriter/guitarist of The Humbuckers and a former member of The Gypsy Moths, Billy the Six and NC Rail. But, unlike those other projects — Colombo's Asheville presence dates back to the 1990s — You Dirty Rats is a departure from the country-influenced songs Colombo usually writes. 


Good, solid songs and excellent musicianship — but still refreshingly edgy."Don't hang yourself on my rope, don't blind yourself on my light, don't cut yourself on my knife," he sings on one garage-y, grunge-tinged number, performed recently at Lexington Avenue Brewery. "It's a first, literally," said guitarist/vocalist Stacy Moore (who also played with the Humbuckers). "We're baby rats."

For a debut show, the band performed like seasoned veterans. Which, of course, they are. Both Colombo and Richie Tipton — Colombo's collaborator from NC Rail and Billy the Six, and the headliner of the night with his new band, The First Kings — are known for putting together musical acts as outlets for their song writing abilities. 

But, while these musicians are adept and prolific, they never take themselves too seriously, adopting alter egos for each new band. In You Dirty Rats, Colombo goes by "Templeton," Moore is "Remy," bassist Jeff Baucom is "Heffe" and drummer Will Chatham (of The Whappers) goes by "Señor Cats."

But the silliness stops at the aliases. Well, and a few song lyrics: "I'm Such a Sucker When She Puckers," delivered with slow-menacing guitar, straightforward percussion and almost-menacing lyrics, is worth a giggle. But it's also a good, solid rock song, drawing from both the '80s and '90s bands on which these musicians were schooled, along with spare, modern rock influences.

The crowd at LAB was decent-sized: You Dirty Rats, the First Kings and the evening's other opener — Matthew Knights Williams — draw from a similar fan-and-friend base and the audience seemed to know what they were in for. This wasn't a dancing a crowd, but there was keen sense of appreciation and plenty of nodding to the beat.

But even without dancers, You Dirty Rats played with plenty of conviction and energy, from their "Hey, hey" choruses to inventive-but-structured guitar solos and aggressive-but-practiced rhythms. Moore and Columbo traded off lead vocal duties, with Moore tending toward a showier performance while Columbo's style is warmer.

One thing you can count on with any of Columbo's projects: Good, solid songs and excellent musicianship. You Dirty Rats doesn't disappoint on that front, but the quartet does turn out a refreshingly edgy show. Hopefully an album and plenty of live appearances are in their future.

Learn more at facebook.com/youdirtyrats

UPDATE:
July 30-31, 2022   YDR got together to record 4 demo songs at Hawk's Nest studio in Asheville.    Things went well.  More things to come.
Rudy ~  Vocals, Guitar, Keys
Stacy ~ Guitar, Vocals
Will   ~   Drums,  Vocals, Keys
Jeff  ~ Bass, 

All Songs by You Dirty Rats @2022
note:  I like the way you dance.. inspired by Bruce Rogers 1994 song "funeral" 

Mixed and Recorded by Will Chatham
Produced by YDR
Indigo Bunting Records

"They're one of N.C.'s most exciting new bands, period." Blurt Magazine July 2011...

Fred Mills - Blurt Online
“SoundTrack Web Extra: You Dirty Rats | Asheville Arts and Entertainment | Mountain Xpress www.mountainx.com If you’ve heard You Dirty Rats live (and you should), this EP won’t come as a complete surprise — but the band does have a few recording tricks up its collective sleeve resulting in an album that’s both polished and raucous. MTN XPRESS Oct 2010”

Mountain Xpress
“You Dirty Rats' first self-titled EP is without doubt a solid, fun to listen to rock album. But more than that, I think it's indicative (or perhaps even definitive) of an "Asheville Rock Sound." Brent Fleury”

Brent Fleury - Bold Life Magazine
"F***ing Awesome!" Woody Wood

ASheville Times
“Pin striped, criminal, and diseased. I dig it. Sounds as if you're stretching your boundaries. I dig it.”

RT - First Kings

A succinct and possibly Socratic articulation of the ongoing dialectical tension between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Rik Surreal performs throughout the Pacific Northwest. He is a multi-instrumentalist, and singer. When he is not performing or writing music, he drinks to excess, fornicates when possible, and nurses baby seals back to life. With milk from his own body.

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2022-2023 Basement Demos..  Tascam/drum machine/me..   for future projects with You Dirty Rats. Rail.  Rudy & The Humbuckers and Come On Mule.

Followers of Drunken Prayer