Rath & the Wise Guys, which plays Hooch and Hive in Tampa, Florida on Aug. 10, 2024. Credit: Photo by Maggie Blitz

The rude, crude, and socially unacceptable sounds of Rath and the Wise Guys (“Rath” stylized in all-caps) return with a release party for a new, surely dirty seven-inch single “In The Mirror.”

Ahead of the stacked gig, featuring the band’s old friends Lot Lizards, The Kutoffs, and Arcane Arcade, Steve “Rath” Cutter told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay about folk-metal outfit Turisas opening for Cradle of Filth being the best gig he ever saw.

“My buddy Jeff and I got our faces all painted up Viking-style to see this epic band play on about 1/4 of the stage, having to perform in front of big backlined equipment,” he recalled. Read his full quote below.

Tickets to see Rath & the Wise Guys play Hooch and Hive in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 10 are still available for $10.

“I grew up pretty privileged, in that my dad introduced me to some killer music early on and took me to shows for as long as I can remember. Because of my parents, I’ve seen KISS, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Heart, Goo Goo Dolls, and a bunch of big artists.

But my dad also had musician friends and took me to see them when it wasn’t too late. It’s hard to define a single stand-out event for me. They were all special in their own right.

From Mötley Crüe and KISS introducing me to the finer points of calculated stage performance, to seeing the chaotic mess that was Warped Tour – or brushing shoulders and showing my tattoos to the Smoking Popes—who I’d been listening to since before I was born—after having the mic shoved in my face for the ending of their best song.

Maybe my meanderings made me miss the point as I truly can’t think of the BEST gig I ever saw, but I think the most memorable was seeing Turisas at the NorVa in Norfolk, VA. They came from Finland to open on tour for Cradle of Filth. Not a huge ‘Filth fan, personally, but Turisas was worth the ticket.

So my buddy Jeff and I got our faces all painted up Viking-style to see this epic band play on about 1/4 of the stage, having to perform in front of big backlined equipment. We started one of their infamous chants and were pointed out. Then meeting them afterward felt like something else. There is just something about Europeans and their sense of community. I felt like one of them. I mean, I was certainly dressed for the part, but I think seeing a band from across the ocean and knowing how much it must have taken, along with such an epic performance really cemented my drive. This is what I want to do.”—Steve “Rath” Cutter

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This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2024.