Julia Steiner of Ratboys
Julia Steiner of Ratboys joins us to discuss the band’s latest album The Window, the band’s formation, and plenty of music.
In This Episode
- Their latest album The Window, how they met producer Chris Walla, and the stories behind some of tracks (can’t believe they did “Black Earth, WI” in only 2 takes!).
- She shares her passion for album sequencing and selecting the order for the tracks on the album.
- Her story finding her music path, how she met Dave Sagan in college, and how the rest of the band formed across their catalog of albums.
- Ratboys will be the opener for The Decemberists tour!
- In addition to “Black Earth, WI”, we share the official video of “It’s Alive!”, some video we captured at the Johnny Brenda’s show of “Charles Bernstein” (a deep cut off their first album), and close the show out with my fav track off the latest album “Empty”.
Links Discussed
Biography
Founded in 2011 by songwriters Julia Steiner and Dave Sagan during their time at Notre Dame, Chicago’s Ratboys color their sauntering, reflective indie rock with distortion and hints of rustic alt-country. After emerging with their first EP, the homespun Ratboy, in 2015, they fleshed out their palette, adding pedal steel, strings, and more by the time they recorded their second full-length, 2017’s GN. With Sean Neumann on bass and Marcus Nuccio on drums, the cohesive unit released in 2023, their fourth album, the Chris Walla-produced The Window, found them expanding their indie toolbox further, with instruments such as rototoms and talk boxes in the mix.
