RATSALAD

Tune In / Zone Out captures that internal battle between self-doubt and just trying to get through the day. Can you talk about the headspace you were in when writing it, and how those themes connect to the wider album?

Bit of everything. It’s that mix of self-doubt and just trying to function like a normal human. One minute you’re on top of the world and the next minute you’re staring at a wall, overwhelmed, trying to fit all your big life ambitions in while feeling like you're getting nowhere. The song kind of sits in the middle of that: when you find yourself just being a human and doing the best you can.

You’re launching this campaign with shows in regional WA, including Geraldton and Kalbarri, before heading into a huge European run. How important is it for you to start things at home before taking it overseas?

Because that’s us. We love it here. We’re not pretending we popped out of some big city scene. It all started in a small coastal town where half the time you’re just trying to find something to do that isn’t going to the same pub again. The album is called ‘Pest from the West’, we’re proudly West Australian and Regional, which, as far as the music community goes, is like we’re from Mars. Time to own it I think.

The hometown album launch in Geraldton and the Perth show the following night feel like big moments. What can fans expect from those shows, and how do they differ from your festival sets?

A lot of love. A couple of tricks; cartwheels, punk jumps, etc and Jaz might kick a can off Ken’s head, that general sort of malarky. The whole new album live, of course, plus the crowd favourites. Also, our trumpet player and second guitar player are joining us - turning us from a 3 piece to 5 piece. Hopefully, a little bit of crowd surfing. Love to see people who've never crowd surfed before getting to give it a good shot.

You’ve built RATSALAD. from a small coastal town into a band now playing sold out festivals across Europe. How has that journey shaped your perspective on success and what matters most as a band?

Not as much as you’d think. We’re still the same dorks, just in different countries. Success for us is still just people turning up, having a good time, and maybe singing along. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

There’s a strong narrative around your growing audience in Germany and France - do you approach those markets differently now that you’ve seen that connection firsthand?

We try not to overthink it. Maybe we drop one song off our set list called “we definitely do not sell vapes”. It’s a song about how we make “HEAPS” of money from Spotify streams, so we DEFINITELY have no need to sell vapes to make ends meet as a band. Over there vapes are available on every street corner and there’s no illegal black market, so it doesn’t really translate.

With Pest from the West dropping just before the EU tour, do you see this whole run - AU shows, album release, then Europe — as one continuous campaign or distinct phases?

It’s all one big thing. Like when you go to brush your teeth and there’s no toothpaste left, so you go to the shop, run into your mates, panic about your breath, then get back in the car and your favourite song comes on and suddenly everything’s fine again. Just one continuous party. Keep on rollin' baby.