Seminal Rats were an Australian punk, indie rock band which existed from 1984 until the death of their lead guitarist, Michael Weber, in January 1999. The band's members were vocalist Michael Harley, guitarist Ruebin Pinkster, bassist Dave Balsamo (1984–93), then bassist Ian Wettenhall (1993–98), and drummer Todd McNeair.

History

Seminal Rats were formed in Melbourne in 1984 as a punk, indie rock band by Dave Balsamo on bass guitar, Michael Harley on lead vocals, Todd McNeair on drums, Reubin Pinkster on guitar and Michael Weber on lead guitar. McNeair, Pinkster and Weber had formed a band, Skippy, while at secondary school. Harley recalled forming Seminal Rats: "they were looking for a bass player, and Dave's name came up. For some reason I went along with him to the audition, and they were jamming, playing songs I knew – Stooges songs and stuff – so I sang along, and ended up becoming the singer." The group's debut album, ''Omnipotent'', appeared in 1986 on the Mr. Spaceman label. It was recorded at Sound Concept studio with the band producing. They followed with a five-track extended play, ''Hot Snapper Pie'', in 1988, which was recorded at Silkwood Studios with Greg Heenan producing. In the late 1980s McNeair and Weber formed the Slush Puppies with Shane Grubb on bass guitar and Phil Rose on lead vocals. They released a single, "You're So Perfect", in December 1988 but disbanded soon after with Rose going on to form the hard rockers, Nursery Crimes, early in the next year. Seminal Rats issued a live album, 'Life in the Necropolis'', in 1990 – it had been recorded in the previous year by live audio engineer, Andy Turner, and recording and post-production by Simon Grounds. McNeair and Weber formed Hoss, another hard rock group, in 1990 with Scott Bailey on bass guitar and

Joel Silbersher Joel Silbersher is a musician from Melbourne, Australia, who was the singer and guitar player for rock and roll band, GOD (1986–1989).McFarlan'God'entry. Retrieved 11 February 2010.Spencer et al, (2007Silbersher, Joelentry. Retrieved 11 February ...

on guitar and lead vocals (ex-

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

). McNeair and Weber returned to Seminal Rats early in 1992. A second live album, ''Plectrum Muscle'' (1998), was issued by the group under the name, Cantankerous, via Rat Race Records. In January 1999, Michael Weber died of a heroin overdose; Seminal Rats broke up, although they periodically returned to performing either as Cantankerous or under their original name. A 2× CD compilation album, ''The Essential Seminal Rats 1984-1991'', was issued in August 2007, Trevor Block of ''Mess+Noise'' noticed, "

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

erupted into this landscape and quickly gained a firm foothold. Five suburban lads with no sense of fashion, or coolness, just a fervent desire to play music that burned the ear the same way their own favourites did... eber and Harleyhad an amazing degree of technical skill matched with powerful onstage presence, knowing just when to push and when to pull back." Seminal Rats 2010

Discography

Albums

* ''Omnipotent'' (1986) – Mr. Spaceman (MRSM 04)/What Goes On (GOESON10)

Live albums

* ''Life in the Necropolis'' (1990) – Mr. Spaceman (MRSM 17) * ''Plectrum Muscle'' (by Cantankerous) (1998) – Rat Race Records (RRR 001)

Compilation albums

*''The Essential Seminal Rats 1984-1991'' (August 2007)

Bang! Records Bang! Records is a Spanish label from Basque Country formed in 1998 by Gorka Munster and Juan-Mari Iturrarte. The label has a primary focus on artists from Melbourne, Australia and New York City's swamp, noise and punk blues music scene. Acts ...

Extended plays

*''Hot Snapper Pie'' (aka ''Grruntled'') (1988) – Mr. Spaceman (MRSM 11)

Singles

* "Change" — ''Jesus on T.V./Change'' (7" Split single with

the Celibate Rifles The Celibate Rifles were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar, within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. T ...

) (What Goes On, 1987) * "La Grande Bouffe" (Dog Meat, 1991)

Appearances

*«I Need Somebody» — ''Hard To Beat'' (Au Go Go, 1987) *«Call Me Animal» — ''Now Suck This Dogface'' 7" (Destroyer, 1990) *«Rat Race», «Ain't Dead Yet», «Exhale», «Forest of Fun» — ''Final Audio Blast'' (Mr. Spaceman, 1990) *«Weak» — ''From Babylon to Brunswick'' (Nomad, 1991)

Band members

Current members

* Michael Harley - lead vocals * Ruebin Pinkster - lead guitar, rhythm guitar * Dave Balsamo - bass guitar (1984–93, 2002–present) * Todd McNeair - drums

Former members

* Michael Weber – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals (1984–99) * Ian Wettenhall - bass guitar (1993–98)

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific

External links

Official home page
''Seminal Rats – The Essential 1984-1991'' (2× CD Book) at

(Spain)

Seminal Rats at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...

Seminal Rats
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control Australian rock music groups