About The Bastards...
The Rat Bastard Syndicate features members and former members of:
American Dog, Cattail Brew, The Frank Harrison Group, The Godz, Level 7, SOB, Deep 6, Fatal Touch, Stages, and Evil or Divine.
Lennard James, Lead vocals, musings and bass, hails from the musical wasteland of Toledo, Ohio. Lennard is a Rat Bastard of the highest order and in a past life lived comfortably as a Cornish game cock. With countless live shows and studio projects to his credit, his past musical endeavors include the groove metal Fatal Touch and proto prog band Stages. His dark sarcasm and fluid playing style compliment his bombastic vocalizations. Mayhem ensues with his live performance. His weapons of choice are Fender and Gibson basses, Mari strings powered by Orange and Hartke amplification…. Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you!
Steve Theado, guitars and vocals, hails from Lancaster, Ohio and a founding member of not only RBS, but also American Dog, Cattail Brew, and his acoustic duo, Dixon Yaw. He is the principle guitarist and songwriter for all of the bands he is a part of, has written hundreds of songs, and performed thousands of shows all over the world. He is highly respected among his peers and has an instantly identifiable sound which is a rarity in today's new music. Simply put, Steve Theado IS Rat Bastard Syndicate. Steve uses Gibson and Fender Guitars, and Marshall Amplification.
Keith Pickens, drums and percussion, hails from Baltimore, Ohio. He was a founding member of American Dog and is a founding member of RBS and Cattail Brew. As a songwriter and performer, Keith has traveled the world alongside his bandmate Steve for the better part of the last 20 years. Known for his direct, loud approach to the music they write, his sound/style is very identifiable. Keith is endorsed by Sonor Drums and Regal Tip/Calato Drumsticks, uses Paiste Cymbals and DW Hardware/Pedals.
Jeff Tong, guitars and vocals, hails from Baltimore, Ohio and is the newest member of the goon squad. He is known for his long standing of 30+ years presence in the Central Ohio music scene in bands such as S.O.B., Deep 6, Dirty Side Down, and Dio tribute band Evil or Divine. You will find Jeff playing a plethora of guitars, mostly Gibson Les Pauls. But, you may catch an occasional Explorer, SG, or even a Telecaster in his hands and all strung with D'Addiario strings, pushed through a Bogner Helios/ Marshall cabinet stack....very loudly!
The Rat Bastard Syndicate is the culmination of Steve Theado and Keith Pickens' long association in American Dog and other local bands. Having written hundreds of songs together, toured the world together, and having similar musical tastes, they wanted to work on something in a music direction that was unique for both of them. Lennard James compliments this association with a thundering low-end and killer vocal style. Tie it all together with the talented guitar riffs of Jeff Tong and it doesn’t seem to get much better than this! This band is LOUD, DIRTY and REAL. Uncompromising and generally ill-behaved, too old to give a shit and too stubborn to give up.... This is Rat Bastard Syndicate!
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