Wylde Ratttz

Wylde Ratttz
GenresPunk rock
Past members

Wylde Ratttz were an American punk rock supergroup.[1] Composed of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley,[2] Ron Asheton (The Stooges),[3] Don Fleming (Gumball),[2] bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen),[2] Jim Dunbar,[4] and Mark Arm (Mudhoney)[2] the band provided the music for Ewan McGregor's Curt Wild character in the film Velvet Goldmine.[5][6]

An alternate version of the group's cover of "T.V. Eye", with lead vocals by Arm, also appeared in 2003's School of Rock.[7]

In April 2020, the band released an album with proceeds going to The Ron Asheton Foundation.[1] The tracks had been recorded in New York city in 1997 after the production of the film soundtrack, when Arm and Moore convinced their manager to lobby for the band to record and tour.[8] The album featured ten tracks, with lead vocals handled by Arm, Moore, Watt and Asheton on different songs. Sean Lennon contributed to the sessions and features on the album.

Later that year the band released a cover of The Stooges' song "Fun house" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fun House album.[9] The recording featured the lineup of Asheton, Moore, Watt, Shelley, Arm on vocals and Sabir Mateen on tenor saxophone.

Between June and September 2020 the band released six tracks recorded during a three-hour improv session in 1997 featuring a line-up of Asheton, Lennon, Moore, Shelley and Watt.

  1. ^ a b Pearis, Bill (April 1, 2020). "Wylde Ratttz (Sonic Youth/Stooges band from 'Velvet Goldmine') share unreleased 1997 recordings". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Prato, Greg. "Wylde Ratttz Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Ratliff, Ben (January 8, 2009). "Ron Asheton, Guitarist in the Stooges, Dies at 60". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  4. ^ "Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Pulp, Others Turn Up In "Velvet Goldmine" Music". MTV. April 24, 1998. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Chapman, Ian; Johnson, Henry (2016). Global Glam and Popular Music: Style and Spectacle from the 1970s to the 2000s. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 9781317588191.
  6. ^ Nelson, Chris (November 7, 1998). "Wylde Ratttz Members Furious Over Actor's Vocals On Velvet Goldmine". MTV. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  7. ^ School Of Rock (Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture), 2003-09-30, retrieved 2024-04-25
  8. ^ Shimamoto, Ken. "It's Ron Asheton calling from the Fun House". The I-94 Bar. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  9. ^ Corcoran, Nina (August 18, 2020). "Sonic Youth, Mudhoney Members Share Previously Unreleased Cover of The Stooges: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 10, 2020.