How is RatDog different than some of the other incarnations?
The main difference with RatDog is that, because the majority of the band has been together 10 years or more now, and even the “new guys” have been around a while, that we’re a real band – we have history together. When you’ve played with the same people for an extended period of time, you get to really know one another’s ins and outs, and it’s much easier to be intuitive about where you’re going musically and artistically. That’s harder to do if you’re switching members around a lot. As much as I admire what Phil and Mickey have been doing in that respect, and think they’ve come up with some really cool music, I think the thing that RatDog offers is that sense of continuity that is similar, in its own way, to what the Dead had, because they were playing with the same guys for so many years. The other difference is philosophical. Mickey, being a drummer, is very into delivering the rhythm and delivering the rhythm musically; Phil, in my opinion, he’s really about the jam and less about
