Your average high school band seven years later

More than any other band presently around the Detroit/Ann Arbor area, the Rationals are representative of the age-old prototypical Michigan band. When the midwestern rock scene consisted of little more than free d.j. hops, beach parties, and fraternity drunks, the Rationals were the best 15 year old band you’d ever seen. The best thing about it, though, is that not many of your present day bands grew up in those dark ages and, if they did, they didn’t grow up with unchanging personnel.

Obviously, a lot of changes have gone down in the past six years; despite all that though, the Rats are basically the same. They’re a throwback to an entirely different era. The scene the Rationals grew up in was the high school band scene and, as a result, they’ve remained slightly cleaner cut and just a bit isolated from the rest of what’s gone on. Their emergence now, in fact, with one of the strongest records yet out of the Detroit rock scene is basically due to the fact that during the last year or two they’ve done a lot of spiritual and physical catching up (stylistically) and growing up.