Rat Skates (born Lee Kundrat on May 17, 1961) is an American filmmaker, writer and musician. He is most widely known as a director of music documentaries and his contributions to the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

genre as a founding member and the original drummer of Overkill.Ernst, Rick. ''Get Thrashed- The Story of Thrash Metal'' ASIN: B001AR4K6C Trunk, Eddie. Q104.3 ''Friday night Rocks'' (Sept. 08)
/ref>

Early life

Rat Skates grew up in a conservative middle-class household in

New Providence, New Jersey New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, where he attended school, played sports and drew artwork. By age ten, he was listening to music daily from

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

'' and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

during his ''

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' is the seventh studio album by English singer, pianist, and composer Elton John. A double album, it was released on 5 October 1973, by DJM Records. Recorded at the Château d'Hérouville in France, the album became ...

'' era.Lamadier, Laurent. ''Snakepit'' Issue #17, pages 63–68, Nov. 2008DeAngelis-Kundrat, Lori. ''Born in The Basement'', MVD Visual (2007) ASIN: B000RPKQES He achieved semi-professional status as a skateboarder and was sponsored by surf shops in

Seaside Heights, New Jersey Seaside Heights is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore, within Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,440, a decrease of 447 (−15.5%) from the 2010 census count ...

. He won first and second places in freestyle, slalom, and ramp competitions. His friends dubbed him with the nickname "Rat Skates" combining part of his last name and skateboarding. At age 15, he studied jazz drumming techniques with instructor Jack Robertello, and taught himself to play the drum parts of songs performed by rock drummers Cliff Davies,

Joey Kramer Joseph Michael Kramer (born June 21, 1950) is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Personal life Kramer was born in the Bronx, New York C ...

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

and

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is an American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and an occasional vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established th ...

. Skates met Carlo Verni (later known as D.D. Blaze, then D.D. Verni) in

New Providence High School New Providence High School is a comprehensive public high school in the borough of New Providence, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school in the New Providence School District, serving student ...

in 1976, and they formed a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

group known as The Lubricunts. Pierce, Ken. ''Piercing Metal'' (05-12-07)
/ref>
/ref> At age 17, they played the nightclubs

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

, Great Gildersleeves,

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists, and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Dece ...

, Trudy Heller's, Bottany Talk House, The Mudd Club and The Showplace. While he was working at his first post-high school job as a graphic artist and printing press operator at RC Graphics in

Caldwell, New Jersey Caldwell is a borough located in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City and north-west of Newark, the state's most populous city. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population ...

, Skates met the

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

founder/bassist

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup exce ...

while he was delivering printed materials to Pro Edge, the knife blade factory owned by Only's father where Only also worked. Roth, Keith/ Kristi, Aimee. ''WRAT Electric Ballroom'' (03-16-08)
/ref> Only booked a recording session to have Skates play drums on a Misfits recording, but Skates could not use his mother's car to make it to the session. He worked as a stock boy in the Summit Food Market to re-pay his mother who loaned him money to purchase a Ludwig double bass drum kit. In 1980, the Lubricunts disbanded.

Professional career

Musician

Overkill

Skates placed an advertisement in ''

The Aquarian Weekly ''The Aquarian Weekly'' is a regional alternative weekly newspaper based in Little Falls, New Jersey. Founded in 1969, it covers rock music and related news and events in New Jersey, New York City, and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Penns ...

'' newspaper to locate new heavy metal musicians that was answered by guitarist Robert Pisarek (who became known as Riff Thunder), bringing with him bassist/vocalist Robert Ellsworth (who became known as Bobby Blitz) who were members of a cover rock group known as D.O.A. Van Horn, Ray Jr. ''The Metal Minute'' (12-08-07)
/ref> They temporarily named themselves ''Virgin Killer'', after the Scorpions’ record of the same name, and permanently changed their name to ''Overkill'' which Pisarek selected from the title of a Motörhead record of the same name. Skates and Verni envisioned and implemented a theatrical, horror-oriented theme for Overkill, using visual elements from

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

, and an unsigned club band from Pennsylvania named ''The Dead End Kids''.McKinney, Mark. ''Live 4 Metal'' (12-27-07)
/ref>Doe, Bernard. ''Metal Forces'' Issue #3/83, page 41 From 1981 to 1984, he participated in the underground

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis (music journalist), Alan Lew ...

cassette tape-trading circuit that was shared between North America and Europe, that was the foundation for

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

, Exodus to evolve into the genre known as

.Ciavarella, Liz. ''Metal Maniacs'', page 81, Spring 2008 Skates promoted Overkill by creating the components he deemed essential to the success of national recording acts that included: creating stage name banners made with slide projectors and magic markers, modifying ornaments from Halloween costumes into stage clothing and stage props, silk-screening T-shirts, a castle-dungeon stage design made of hand-textured

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...

walls and supported by milk crates, rubber stamping the Overkill logo on guitar picks and drum sticks for fan souvenirs, and advertising with rubber-stamped stickers placed on highway

toll booths A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll plaza, tollga ...

.Sakellariou, Markos. ''Metal Hammer'' Issue #282, page 72, June 2008 In March and September 1983, Skates co-composed five original songs for a

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

titled ''

Power in Black Power in Black is the first demo from American thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Met ...

''. He dubbed individual cassette-tape copies for selling and to solicit for a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

, used a Xerox

photocopier A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers ...

in a library to create a two-sided cover, and

shrink wrap Shrink wrap, also shrink film, is a material made up of polymer plastic film. When heat is applied, it shrinks tightly over whatever it is covering. Heat can be applied with a handheld heat gun (electric or gas), or the product and film can p ...

ped copies using plastic film used to make fruit baskets and a hair dryer to include in their

press kit A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials that provide information about a person, company, organization or cause and which is distributed to members of the Mass media, ...

. This resulted in offers he accepted for Overkill to place songs on two compilation

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

s: '' Metal Massacre V'', and ''New York Metal ‘84'' and accepted an offer from Azra/ Metalstorm Records to distribute a four-song EP record contingent upon his delivery of self-financed recordings and print-ready mechanical artwork. Skates established a relationship with Jon and Marsha Zazula in 1982 by mutual acquaintances of the ''Old Bridge Militia'', an assembly of heavy metal fans and roadies who were providing their home for musicians

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the ...

and

Cliff Burton Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who served as the bassist for the thrash metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He is renowned for his musicianship and influence. Burton ...

to live. The Zazula’s were proprietors of ''Rock ‘n Roll Heaven'', an import specialty

record store A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of the 20th century, record shops sol ...

located within the Route 18

Flea Market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

East Brunswick, New Jersey East Brunswick is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York metropolitan area and is located on the southern sho ...

. Assisted by band photographer and merchandiser Lori DeAngelis, he sold one thousand ''Power In Black'' cassette tapes from Rock ‘n Roll Heaven on a

consignment Consignment is a process whereby a person gives permission to another party to take care of their property while retaining full ownership of the property until the item is sold to the final buyer. It is generally done during auctions, shipping, ...

basis in eleven months.Moore, Dawn. ''The Metal Web''
/ref> In 1982, the Zazulas formed

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (whe ...

, which debuted L.P. record albums from

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

, Exciter,

Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as n ...

and Talas. The Zazulas recognized the unit sales of Power in Black through Rock ‘n Roll Heaven and by Skates' international marketing, and they presented him with a four-album recording contract offer that Skates accepted and was signed by the members of Overkill on April 10, 1985. From 1985–1987 Skates arranged and co-wrote two full-length studio LP records: '' Feel the Fire'' (Megaforce) and '' Taking Over'' (Megaforce/ Atlantic), which debuted at number 191 on the

Billboard Top 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular Album, music albums and extended play, EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an recor ...

on April 11, 1987. He implemented the song "Fuck You!" by The Subhumans that was embodied in a live/ studio EP of the same name. He toured for these records in North America, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Great Britain, Poland, France, Holland and Austria as thrash metal bands experienced exponential growth during these years. Skates became inundated with touring and recording commitments, and stated that the close-mindedness of some band members was suppressing Overkill’s success, and the inability to satisfy his work ethics resulted in deep depression, excessive sleeping and alcoholism. He refused to meet the commitments required by a

recording artist A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...

employed within the

recording industry A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

, and he announced his departure in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in the fall of 1987 while completing a tour with Megadeth.

Legacy

Overkill’s early success has been attributed to Skates’ songwriting presence and creative efforts. He was voted one of the top-ten drummers of 1987 by the Japanese publication ''

Burrn! is a monthly Japanese magazine for fans of heavy metal music, published since September 1984. It is the major publication on heavy metal music in the country. As of 2013, it is published by Shinko Music Entertainment in Tokyo Tokyo, off ...

'', and his drumming on the songs "There's No Tomorrow" and "Feel the Fire" were the first recorded songs in the thrash metal genre to encompass non-continuous 16th note double bass drum patterns.Sakota, Far. ''Burrn'' Issue #7/88, page 62 The Overkill logo was drawn and colored lime green by Skates in 1981, and is recognized as one of the most famous heavy metal logos. He noted that when he removed the cross emblem from between the words in his original logo design, he never connected the two words "Over" and "Kill" together, and that is it was never resolved as being a one-word or two-word name, suggesting that

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

from

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

would know the answer. Skates declined offers to join

M.O.D. M.O.D. (abbreviation for Method of Destruction) is an American crossover thrash band from New York City, fronted by Stormtroopers of Death vocalist Billy Milano. The band has been around for years (minus one hiatus from 1997 to 2001), and re ...

and

Mind Funk Mind Funk (spelled Mindfunk on later releases) was an American Rock music, rock band, containing members of Chemical Waste and several other bands. The band was originally known as "Mind Fuck" but were forced by Epic Records to change their nam ...

; he never attempted to return to Overkill and stated that his only regret was "being naïve to trust".

Other

In 1988, Skates wrote ''Some Stuff I Recorded'', a ten-song demo of ideas to share with other musicians for a new project, where he played bass, drums, keyboards and vocals while intoxicated. Skates, Rat. ''Born in the Basement'': Music/ Film
/ref> This songwriting was recognized by Japan's ''Burrn!'' magazine, as three songs from this effort debuted as numbers 1, 2 and 3 on their top ten charts in July 1988. These compositions were re-recorded under the name ''Bone To Bone'' with guitarist Jules Asilo, bassist Kevin Drexler, saxophonist Jim Riccio, and former bandmate Bobby Blitz on vocals. Skates also recorded a country-pop project ''Ten Mile Road to Hell'' with Nashville-based composer/guitarist Eric Cook in 1989. From 1988 to 1996, Skates established a career as a percussion instructor through both private instruction and the ''New Jersey Percussion Center'' in

Rockaway, New Jersey Rockaway is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,598, an increase of 160 (+2.5%) from the 2010 census count of 6,438, which in turn reflected a decl ...

. During this period he performed in public drum clinics and studied

Gary Chester Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as the Coasters, the Monkees and the Lovin' ...

’s book ''The New Breed'' through private studies with rock and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

drummer Karl Latham. In February 1990, Skates accepted an offer to join Bomb Squad, a rock/metal group of New Jersey musicians that was affiliated with The Old Bridge Militia. He states that Bomb Squad was the most enjoyable musical experience to-date, and the pinnacle of his songwriting and drumming. In 1993, a pending record contract between Bomb Squad and

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

collapsed. Vocalist John Poper and bassist Michael Bloomer departed, and Skates and guitarist John Crothers continued on briefly with vocalist Mario Lanuza before completely disbanding in 1993.

Filmmaker and writer

Skates freelanced for the ''Suburban Cablevision'' television network as an

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

, live mixer and

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

from 1988 to 1992; departing due to creative conflicts. In 1999, he studied digital audio production and non-linear editing from Trish and Chris Meyer, Jay Rose, and Adam Wilt, and designed and wrote advertising media for television, radio, print publications, performing arts societies, Fortune 500 companies, record labels and recording artists. As an independent filmmaker, he co-produced, edited and animated designs for the documentary ''Get Thrashed'' (2008, Lightyear/

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Entertainment) and ''Born in the Basement'' (2007, MVD Entertainment Group), receiving twenty-one screenings in eight countries, winning six awards and pay-per-view broadcasting.Skates, Rat. ''Welcome to the Dream- The Rude Awakening of Rock Stardom''
/ref> Skates conceptualized ''Rock-Un-Rold'', a musician’s television talk show with colleague

David Ellefson David Ellefson is an American musician, best known for his long tenure as the bassist and backing vocalist for thrash metal band Megadeth across two stints. Ellefson initially became an accomplished bassist and honed his songwriting skills whi ...

(bassist, Megadeth), and filmed a demo shoot at ''The Studio'' in New York City on October 28, 2007. They moderated two discussion panels of six recording artists and pitched an edited version to a

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...

representative who declined the concept due to the content being "too intelligent". In response, Skates began filming interviews in 2009 for the documentary film ''Welcome to the Dream- The Rude Awakening of Rock Stardom'' for release by the MVD Entertainment Group in 2012. The films preview teaser excerpts interviews from Grammy-award winning guitarist

Vernon Reid Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as the founder of the rock band Living Colour. Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Ti ...

(

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock music, rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992. T ...

Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure fro ...

(

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

Anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually Forging, forged or Steel casting, cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are massive because the hi ...

Jay Jay French Jay Jay French (born John French Segall, July 20, 1952) is an American guitarist, manager, record producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He is a columnist, author and motivational speaker who oversees licensing and i ...

(

), Karl Wilcox ( Diamond Head), Dr. Patricia Basczcuk (Psychologist) and Robert J. Pisarek, Esq. (Attorney), and an excerpt from his commissioned work for

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

. It is sponsored by the

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...

. Catricola, Mike. ''Heavy Metal Mayhem''-Talk Radio (12-05-10)
/ref>

Personal life

Skates cites writers/actors

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

and

Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) for which he won a Golden Gl ...

amongst his influences. He married photographer and merchandiser Lori DeAngelis whom he had dated in 1980; she is third cousin to director

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...

. They are both Christian

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, parents to three boys and currently reside in Texas.

Discography

Filmography

Other appearances

Notes

References

# Top 200. ''Billboard'' magazine, Nielsen Media (04-11-87) [] # Van Horn, Ray Jr. ''The Metal Minute'' (12-08-07

# Barrett, Simon. BNN News Network (11-09-07) # McKinney, Mark. ''Heavy Metal Time Machine'' (11-26-07

# McKinney, Mark. ''Live 4 Metal'' (12-27-07

# Wiederhorn, Jon. MTV Headbangers Ball (05-24-07

# Pierce, Ken. ''Piercing Metal'' (05-12-07

# Fat Freddy. ''Heart of Metal'' (05-28-07

# Strigl, Mark. ''Talking Metal'' (09-10-07

# Bowar, Chad. About.com (06-07-07

# Dawson, Cherryl. ''The Movie Chicks'' (11-01-07

# Mooring, Matt. Metalreview.com (08-01-07

# Pierce, Ken. ''Sea of Tranquility'' (07-15-07

# Epstein, Dan. ''Revolver'' Issue# 56, page 62 (May 2007

# Milburn, Simon. ''The Metal Forge'' (07-20-07

# AKR. ''Talk Bass'' (05-23-07

# Christe, Ian. ''Bang Bang'' (05-03-07

# Ragman. The Right to Rock (12-03-07

# Mosqueda, Ruben. Pivotal Alliance (11-28-07

# Vinyl, Bob. Rock and Roll Nonsense (12-05-07

# Rhode Island Rock. Heavy Metal Addiction (12-24-07

# Moore, Dawn. The Metal We

# Forbes, Chris. ''Metal Core'' fanzin

# Degraffenreid, Joe. ''Metal Hell'' Issue #19, page 35–36, June 200

# Kee, Chris. ''Power Play'' Issue #91 page 66, Sept. 200

# Kee, Chris. ''Zero Tolerance'' Issue #120 page 107, Nov/Dec 200

# DeAngelis-Kundrat, Lori. ''Born in The Basement'', MVD Visual (2007) ASIN: B000RPKQES # Ciavarella, Liz. ''Metal Maniacs'', page 81, Spring 2008 # Lamadier, Laurent. ''Snakepit'' Issue #17, pages 63–68, Nov. 2008 # Sakellariou, Markos. ''Metal Hammer'' Issue #282, page 72, June 2008 # Fragos, Sakos. ''Rock Hard'' Issue #26, page 96, Nov. 2007 # Krushna, Hare. ''Metal Assault Radio'' (10-28-10

# Catricola, Mike. ''Heavy Metal Mayhem''-Talk Radio (12-05-10

# Trunk, Eddie. ''Q104.3 Friday night Rocks'' (Sept. 8

# Laszlo, David. Stygian Shadows Issue #13-14/08 pages 88–91 # Strattmann, Holger. ''Rock Hard'' Issue #17/86, page 7 # Lerch, Ewe. ''Rock Hard'' Issue #15/85, page 12 # Doe, Bernard. ''Metal Forces'' Issue #3/83, page 41 # Klemm, Oliver. ''Metal Hammer'' Issue #4/87, page 94 # Klemm, Oliver. ''Metal Hammer'' Issue #1/85, page 55 # Kuhnemund, Gotz. ''Metal Hammer'' Issue #12/86, page 32 # Doe, Bernard. ''Metal Forces'' Issue #20/86, page 52 # Gandolfi, Roberto. H.M. (4/87), page 28 # Kuhnemund, Gotz. Rock Power Issue #4/86, pages 24–25 # Kaye, Don. ''Rock Hard'' Issue #10, 3/85, page 19 # Secher, Andy. ''Hit Parader'' Issue #275, 8/87, page 10 # Cozze. Whiplash Issue #4/85, page 16 # Jiminez, Jean-Francois. Enfer Issue #10/84, page 11 # Rosner, Philipp. ''Crash'' Issue #4/87, page 18 # Giordano, Carmelo. ''Inferno Rock'' Issue #5/87, page 20 # Reynolds, Dave. ''Metal Forces'' Issue #11/85, page 8 # Sakota, Far. ''Burrn'' Issue #7/88, page 62 # Sakota, Far. ''Burrn'' Issue #7/88, page 150 # Zogbi, Marina. ''Metal Edge'' Issue #2/93, page 31 # Bienstock, Richard. ''Guitar World'', ASIN: B000RPKQES # Tollison, Robin. ''Drums and Drumming'', Issue #11/90, page 31 # Roth, Keith/ Kristi, Aimee. WRAT Electric Ballroom (03-16-08

# Skates, Rat. Welcome to the Dream- The Rude Awakening of Rock Stardo

# Skates, Rat. ''Born in the Basement'': Music/ Fil

# Skates, Rat. "Helping Artists to Survive the Collision of Art, Money, Ego Success and Fear

# Ernst, Rick. ''Get Thrashed- The Story of Thrash Metal'' ASIN: B001AR4K6C # Rogenmoser, Rich. ''Heard it on the X Radio Show'' (11-14-10

# Nesbitt, Eric. ''Nothing Shocking Podcast'' (06-24-22

External links

Rat Skates: Helping Artists to Survive the Collision of Art, Money, Ego Success and Fear

Welcome to the Dream- The Rude Awakening of Rock Stardom

IDA- The International Documentary Association
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skates, Rat 1961 births Living people American film producers American heavy metal drummers Musicians from Summit, New Jersey New Providence High School alumni People from New Providence, New Jersey 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Overkill (band) members 20th-century American male musicians Drummers from New Jersey