Upper Mall Rats have been described as “beautiful angels.” “Double cheese, double sauce, —your landlord and your boss. Rat core punks in the hot sand is the post-human experience you know you need,” reads a line from the band’s bio.
Brian Weadick, aka ‘Muskrat’ of Yellowknife’s Upper Mall Rats, says the band’s “raison de etre” is about breaking down “the gate” between the “upper and lower mall” of center square.
“All of us are involved in the community, performing in different capacities. It’s part of the reason why. As the band’s kind of motto or raison d’être is to bring down the gate between the upper and lower mall of center square. We think that is an important issue for our community and enough so to rally our musical project behind.”
Muskrat says looking forward to Folk On The Rocks, the band is excited to host such a broad audience and “spread” their music which already has a loyal hardcore following in Yellowknife.
The band is also looking forward to engaging with audiences and networking with more artists.
“It’s always inspiring to see so many different musicians, local, and musicians from all over Canada and the world come up. So, we’re super excited to be playing.”
The band recently did some live recording over the winter at the Penalty Box Studio.
Upper Mall Rats are looking to release a recording by the end of the year, due to demand from “legions of rat fans.”
Band members have all been performers, creators in other musical acts, from HYFY to Narwhal. They each take turns in leading the writing and producing of songs, said Muskrat, who is the band’s guitarist.
“We all contribute lyrics, and songwriting to the band. So any given song could be led in terms of writing or producing it from a different member, but we all kind of do it collectively.”
The band has been having a “great time” playing in the studio but also playing live at shows at the Underground and the Still Dark Festival in Yellowknife.
At shows or in the studio, the founders of “rat core” are known for their high-energy performances.
“We just brought that same, that’s just kind of our speed, high energy, having a lot of fun, ratting around,” said Muskrat
“Road Head In A Motorhome,” “Healthy Habits,” “Pilkington” and Heather’s Ramen Noodles” are some of the songs audiences can anticipate at the band’s Folk On The Rocks appearance this weekend.
“We love to engage the crowd, we love to be high energy,” said Muskrat who tells a “bit” of a funny story explaining how the band formed.
As Upper Mall Rat legend has it, the band formed following a “shawarma session” in downtown Yellowknife.
It all began after a “meetup behind the alley” a couple of years ago.
Out of the roughly 10 people who attended, everyone got terribly sick, except for four of us,” said Muskrat. “We bonded over the fact that our stomachs were clearly strong, like feral rats.”
From there, a “little band family” of Upper Mall Rats was formed.
All funny jokes aside, FOTR audiences can anticipate an infectiously energetic show from the Yellowknife band.
Upper Mall Rats are scheduled to perform at FOTR on Saturday at 12:45 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Long Lake Stage and 4:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the Main Stage.
