Rat Parade

A young band has infected The Doors with their energetic blend of punk, grunge and rock. After their 17th gig at the pub, Rat Parade is quickly becoming The Doors’ house band.

The Place


The Doors Pub is in the basement and first floor of a three story Victorian house.

The Doors Pub sits on Hess Street, overlooking Hess village, in the basement of a three-story historical building. Known as a metal and punk pub, patrons should come prepared with earplugs for the notoriously loud music – and if you forget, you can buy a pair at the bar.

The pub is designed to be a small, intimate venue.

“It’s family owned, so it’s a very small staff,” Caleb Collins, who has worked as a bartender there for seven years, said. “Everyone knows each other very well, it’s a comfortable work environment.”

Collins said the venue stands out from others in the downtown Hamilton area. “I think we’re unique due to the fact that it’s been around for so long, it was actually built in the 1850s by the second mayor of Hamilton,” he said. “The building gives it a lot of character. Also, we let our artists sort of run their own shows. It’s created this really vibrant community that has a lot of different voices.”

Newcomer Nicky Heinrichs was impressed by the venue.

“I promote shows and I’m also in one of the opening bands, Among Monsters,” said Heinrichs. “I throw shows all over Ontario as well as Quebec, but this is actually our first show at The Doors and it’s been absolutely amazing. We’re loving it. The people are great, and the building itself is awesome. It’s got great character.”

Although well-known in the area, The Doors aren’t big promoters.

“All of the events are artist-organized. They’re not organized through us,” Collins said. “There’s probably a list of 40 or 50 promoters in the city or in the surrounding area that regularly do shows. The room is available, we kind of just book through word of mouth. We don’t do much advertising, they just sort of approach us.”

This is a criticism I have about the venue. Promotion is important, and if you decide to leave it up to the artists, make sure they are spreading the important details. Rat Parade posted about their gig a month early, but I didn’t know what time to show up until that day. Only when I got to the pub did I find out that Rat Parade was playing last in the lineup.

The Band


You can find Rat Parade’s music on Spotify, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp.

Hamilton born and raised, the Theriault brothers and Luke Grohl are close friends, and have labelled themselves as The Doors’ house band. Mitch Theriault is the vocalist and bassist, his younger brother Ryan is the guitarist and Grohl plays the drums.

“We’ve all known each other for a long time. Ryan is my brother, so we’ve obviously known each other for a little while,” Mitch said. “Then Luke and I met in grade nine, so we have this great chemistry as a band.”

Rat Parade is Grohl’s first band. “We just passed our one year mark in August, so we’re about a year and a-half old! Mitch and I are both new to the music scene,” Grohl said.

The Theriault brothers grew up listening to a lot of ‘90s punk and grunge, including Nirvana, Green Day and Weezer.

“We’ve only released two EPs and a single,” Ryan said. “We haven’t done a full-length album yet, because we think doing frequent, smaller releases that make an impact is more beneficial for a band just starting out. Rather than spending time and money on a large project that only lasts for a little while.”

So far, Rat Parade have released a self-titled EP, a second EP called Our Plague and two singles called “Beer” and “333am”.

“We’re about to go on a mini-tour with Among Monsters,” Grohl said. “We’re stopping in Barrie, Montreal, Oshawa, Sudbury and Toronto. We’ll be back for our 18th gig at The Doors on March 1.”

The Price


Rat Parade are playing their 17th gig at The Doors.

Beer at The Doors is slightly cheaper than the usual $6-$7 pint.

“We have a rotating draft special every night, which usually runs for $5.75 for a half-litre, and we have canned specials now and then as well.”

Unfortunately, the cover is about average. Spending $10 to see a band won’t break the bank, but something a little lighter would encourage the student community to come back more often.

The Doors Pub is also a taco joint.

“The prices are pretty much set. We have flour tortillas that are pretty large,” Collins said. “They’re $6.25 to $6.75, we also have vegetarian and vegan options.”

If I had any complaints about the pub, it would be the environment. Because the bar is in the basement, ordering beer or tacos can be intimidating in the crowded room. That could be due to the popularity of that night’s gig, but even ordering a pint took a bit of courage to push through the guests.


The Doors Pub is located on 56 Hess St S.

Rating: I’d give Rat Parade at The Doors Pub three flames out of five. The communication between the venue and the community is pretty low quality, but their friendly service and talented artists still kept the night fun. - Ignite News

Television interview and live performance - CHCH

Hamilton’s Rat Parade, made up of brothers Mitch and Ryan Theriault plus drummer Luke Grohl just released their second 4 track E.P. called ‘Our Plague’.

There’s sounds a mix of hardcore punk with some garage & Sol Cal new wave throw in for good measure. I really dig all 4 tracks, but track#3 “Worry Eyes” does it for me.

Give it a listen to below, then buy it online (Support Indie Music), you can also get the vinyl 7″ at their shows or at DrDisc Hamilton. - Sonic More Music

Hamilton punk rock trio Rat Parade have returned with their sophomore EP, Our Plague. Following the release of 2017’s self-titled EP, Our Plague picks up right where the band left off with four tracks that very well may just be grimier than ever.

Opening with “Age Of Disinformation”, Rat Parade returns with a sloshy punk banger that brings their angry Billie Joe Armstrong vibe to a sound similar to that of Social Distortion. The song kicks off the record with muddy bass, screeching dissonant guitar, throaty vocals, thrashing drums, and an overall attitude that says don’t step to close to the stage, you very well may end up getting kicked in the face. What more could one want from their punk rock – I for one refuse to take it watered down from there. From there, Rat Parade delivers their aggressive take on pop-punk with “Second Chance”, a song that probably cares even less about you than the first one does.

“Worry Eyes” offers a more straight-ahead groove with a catchy chorus to boot, again reminiscent of early Green Day. The closing track, however, “Distant” is perhaps my favourite on the EP. “Distant” picks up in the same direction as “Age OF Disinformation” with a rhythmic onslaught of fuzzy, distorted power chords that refuse to let up, building into a blistering chorus, and culminating with a fiery guitar solo. This song certainly surpassed the expectations, taking a turn from ‘90s punk icons towards the genre’s west coast scene in the ‘70s.

As the album continues, I meet the initial problem I had with Rat Parade, the EP is just too damn short. I’m halfway through and I want more. Thankfully, Our Plague pairs nicely with their debut and together, the two make for a solid album. This is certainly a punk band to watch as they continue to progress forward with each step they take. - Canadian Beats

Interview/Write Up - VIEW Magazine

Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario Canada, Rat Parade have just released their Our Plague EP digitally and on a vinyl 7” and it is available through their Bandcamp (link below).

In their own words, “Rat Parade is comprised of a couple brothers and Luke; all three Hamiltonians, longtime friends and fans of rock and roll music. Their long- standing chemistry is evident in their energetic and feedback-laden live performances that will leave your ears ringing and wanting more.”

The four-track EP opens with a garage-punk style Age Of Disinformation driven by a Cramps style rockabilly lick and plaintive vocals.

The band play with some melodic pop-punk on Second Chance but add some strained/screamed vocals and discordant elements as the track just about stays on the tracks despite threatening to veer out of control and the entire package comes across as authentic punk rock. The rumbling bass intro to Worry Eyes sets up a rocking and rolling B-52s meet Fugazi type of sound with some melodic vocal treatment!

The Ep concludes with Distantwhere Rat Parade show a heavier, grungier side to their punk rock with heavy guitars supporting a slightly off-kilter vocal that manages to blend screamed vocals with nihilistic “I don’t Care” attitude.



It’s a fun EP with some edge that you can grab here: - Punk Online

It’s time again for another Punkanormal Buzz band. In the spirit of Halloween, I’m wearing my classic Dr. Zaius Planet Of The Apes costume to get me in the mood and name Hamilton’s Rat Parade as our Buzz band for the week. The band is set to release the 4 song ep Our Plague on October 31st, pre-orders on now and will be available on 7″ vinyl and digital download.


Catch Rat Parade on Halloween night at the Doors Pub in Hamilton for the Our Plague ep release party, along with a few other surprises. Check them out and let us know what you think. - Punkanormal Activity

"The Rat Parade is here! The three of us are very excited to share our wild music with the world. You'll be hearing more from us soon!"

So say the Hamilton, Ontario-based punk trio Rat Parade of their music and new self-titled album which drops on October 31st! The four-track EP is a straight-up old school punk rocker with very few bells and whistles... just music! Pre-order the release via Bandcamp and check out the album premiere below!

The guys, "entered the studio in September 2017 to record the 4 song self titled EP. It was recorded live off the floor (albeit with multi layered guitar and vocal overdubs) in a weekend. The album is full of imprecise yelling vocals, fuzzy bass, screaming distorted guitars, and pounding drums. The lyrics are largely of personal meaning, but they have a common theme of being inspired by the city of Hamilton."

If you're in the area, on October 31st the band are performing a release show at The Doors: Taco Joint and Metal Bar in Hamilton. Check it out! - PureGrainAudio

I never heard of Rat Parade prior to this record and I am glad that I discovered this band.

This trio comes from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and they are playing dirty, kinda raw, but melodic punkrock with a lot of garage influences. The opener “Don´t look down” is a nice piece of punkrock with melodic anthem made for singalong at the gigs. “Roped” has some dirty, snotty, vocals that are just perfect for this kind of punkrock that Rat Parade is playing. “Hate Your Guts” is in my opinion the best song on this record and I can imagine myself slamming and pogoing around the pit while the band tears the stage apart rocking out with this song. “No respect” paints the perfect picture of this band, refusing to bow down to any kind of conformism and staying true to the DIY ethics and the philosophy of the punkrock scene. Support the guys and show them some punkrock love, I am sure they will appreciate it very much!

7,5/10 - Kraykulla Webzine

With only a couple weeks before the release of their second 4 song ep, Hamilton, Ontario’s Rat Parade are hitting their stride in preparations for a Halloween release of Our Plague.


I reached out to the band and managed to grab a few minutes of Mitch’s time to answer a few less than pressing questions on Bandcamp, the beauty of the 4 song ep, and awesome sounds coming out of the Hammer. Check out the interview along with the video for Age Of Disinformation below.

Rat Parade:

Mitch (bass/vocals)

Ryan (guitar/vocals)

Luke (drums)



PKA: Our Plague is your second 4 song ep, has that been part of your master plan or coincidence?

Mitch: Four song albums seem to be the sweet spot for us at this point in time. It’s short enough that they’re cheap to record, but long enough to still feel substantial. For a band thats just getting started, I also think it’s more beneficial to have more frequent, small releases rather than one big release every couple of years.

PKA: The first came out on cassette, now Our Plague is available on 7″. The collector in me loves it, are you guys collectors and fans first when you begin working on the artwork for the physical releases?

Mitch: Most of us are big physical media collectors! Luke and I both have quite large collections of vinyl and CDs. When theres a local band I like that has a tape or a record, it’s very hard for me not to pick up a copy. When I was designing the layout for the tape and the 7”, I looked to my collection for ideas. For the tape, I wanted to try to capture the style of 80s-90s East Bay punk, like early Lookout Records artwork. Operation Ivy, Green Day, Crimpshrine… I love that cartoony look their stuff had! I gave Graham Stoltz, an illustrator also local to Hamilton, a bunch of reference images from that time period and I think he nailed it. For the new 7”, we went in a completely different direction. The main image is of an old illustration of a rat king from the 1600’s… it’s really dirty looking!

PKA: The release show is set for October 31st, any chance the band will hit the stage in costume?

Mitch: Yes! I think that’s pretty much a necessity, isn’t it? We have some other crazy plans for that show, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise! Last year was a great show for us, we’re hoping to top it!



PKA: Age Of Disinformation, how much input did the band have for the video?

Mitch: I wanted to keep it out of our hands as much as possible. I love working with other artists, and I’ve found I get the best results when I don’t micromanage too much. Of course, I gave some general direction. But I wanted specifically to work with Justis Krar because I’ve seen the other videos he’s done and I knew his crazy “found footage” style was exactly what I wanted. I’m actually a video editor for my day job, but I wanted to avoid any specific input on that aspect of it to keep it true to his style.

PKA: Bandcamp is how I discovered the band, are you active on the site?

Mitch: Bandcamp is a really cool platform, I discover bands on there too! Having all independent digital releases in one library really taps into my collectors mentality. Also, I love when albums come with Bandcamp codes so I can add them to my library. More bands should do that! I also think its great the Bandcamp offers a easy way for us to sell physical merch.

PKA: Have you tracked the band’s reach on Bandcamp?

Mitch: Bandcamp doesn’t give us a whole lot of data, especially terms of demographics and locations. I’m not entirely sure how many people discover us through Bandcamp. I do know that the amount of people who listen to us on Bandcamp is similar to the amount of people who listen to us on Spotify.



PKA: I see you’ve been busy with shows at home in Hamilton, are there plans to take the show on the road?

Mitch: We’re taking it slow, but we definitely want to get out there more! We’re getting around Ontario a little bit this month: St Cathrines, Chatham, Waterloo, Peterborough. We’ve hit up Kingston, Toronto, Brantford in the past. Up until now, we’ve just been playing whatever shows come up organically. 2019 may be the year you’ll see a proper Rat Parade tour!

PKA: I ask this of everybody, what bands should we all be listening to?

Mitch: I think everyone should look into their local scene and discover what they have going on around them! There’s good music everywhere, and getting into a band you can go see locally is the best! We’re very fortunate to be in Southern Ontario where we have a lot of good rock bands to choose from: Pkew Pkew Pkew, Dead Tired, The Dirty Nil, Single Mothers and PUP are some of our favourites from the general area. In terms of more unknown Hamilton specific bands, you should fire up Bandcamp or Spotify and check out Red Room, Flying Buttress, The Barrel Rejects, Jailbirds and Built By Thieves if you want a sample of what the scene sounds like. Those guys all rule.

A big thank you to Mitch for the taking the time out for us. Now we’ve for our tasks set out, and discover all the great band suggestions. I’m starting with Jailbirds, let me know what you guys think. Check out that links below for all the latest on the band. - Punkanormal Activity

Emerging from Hamilton, Ontario is Rat Parade, a grimy garage punk band whose debut, self-titled EP harkens back to the sludgy punk rock of the 1990’s. The band is made up of lead vocalist and bassist Mitchell Theriault, guitarist and backing vocalist Ryan Theriault, and drummer Luke Grohl and will leave no doubt that punk is alive and well in Hamilton.

The album opens with “Don’t Look Down”, a punk banger with an anthem-like chorus and a loose guitar solo. With little more than a breath, Rat Parade then launches into “Roped”, one of the record’s angrier tracks. Ryan’s backing vocals give the album a unique touch as where most punk backing vocals are someone yelling or growling in a low register, Ryan gives the music a sense of lightness with his high and breathy vocals, which perfectly counter the rough and throaty yells of Mitchell’s lead vocals. To give their music a reference point, Mitchell sounds most like an angrier Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day’s earlier work.

What I appreciated most about Rat Parade is the band’s take on the punk rock genre. While most add an obvious pop influence and many up and coming punk bands are incorporating more and more electronic textures, it is quite refreshing to find a rough, distorted, fuzzy, and low-fi punk band. In this sense, the band resembles not only early Green Day but also the work of Rancid and other punk groups from the 1970’s scene in Los Angeles- including the Germs. Stylistically, Rat Parade incorporates a sound that feels vintage and classic in this sense when compared to their peers.

The only downside to Rat Parade is its length; the EP only runs for about ten minutes or so. That being said, the band plays hard, fast, and with a punk attitude and ethos for those ten minutes. If that isn’t punk rock, then I don’t know what is. Rat Parade show a lot of potential on their debut, making it an album for punks of all sorts to check out! - Canadian Beats

Hamilton, Ontario’s Rat Parade are continuing their Halloween tradition with the release of another 4 song ep on October 31. Our Plague is their sophomore release availble as digital download or 7″, following their 2017 self-titled debut on download or cassette.

Pre-orders are available on Bandcamp , but don’t despair if you can’t wait until the end of the month. The band dropped their latest video today, Age Of Disinformation is directed by Justis Krar of Single Mothers.

So you’ve got a few weeks to get on-board, the party is just getting started. Check out the following links for all the latest on Rat Parade: Facebook - Punkanormal Activity