Rancid Vat

Although not a huge name in the rock world, veteran punk/metal band Rancid Vat has enjoyed a small but enthusiastic cult following and has outlived a lot of other punk-minded outfits. Rancid Vat (not to be confused with Rancid) has been around since 1981, when bassist Phil Irwin, aka the Whiskey Rebel, and his wife, Marla Vee (who has played bass and guitar as well as drums) formed the band's first lineup in Portland, OR, and recruited lead singer Steve Wilson. Over the years, Rancid Vat has had more than a few personnel changes, but Irwin and Vee (who got married in 1977) have always been the core of the band. And whatever lineup was in place, Rancid Vat has had a reputation for being rude, crude, loud, offensive, sneering, and totally in-your-face -- no one has ever accused Rancid Vat's songs of being polite or subtle. While many other punk-minded bands have had a serious sociopolitical agenda, Irwin and Vee were mainly interested in raucous, over-the-top fun -- and they never shied away from shock value and warped, twisted humor. Rancid Vat's early song titles included "(I Woke Up This Morning With) Puke on My Face," "Premature Ejaculator," "The Frozen Dead," and "Cranium Casserole." Rancid Vat wasn't the first band that Vee and Irwin belonged to; in 1980, they played alongside bassist Brad Davidson in a Portland punk unit called the Spaztics. But the short-lived Spaztics didn't have nearly the longevity of Rancid Vat, whose original lineup had only been together a few months when members of the band Smegma gave them a chance to record. Smegma's members (originally from L.A.) had a studio in their Portland basement, and in 1981, Rancid Vat recorded their debut EP, Stampeding Cattle, for Smegma's small Pig Face label. In 1982, Eric Larsen (rhythm guitar) was added to...