Rat Skates

Lee Kundrat (born May 17, 1961), known professionally as Rat Skates, is an American filmmaker, writer and musician. He is best known as a director of music documentaries and his contributions to the thrash metal genre as a founding member and the original drummer of Overkill.

Early life Rat Skates grew up in a conservative middle-class household in New Providence, New Jersey, where he attended school, played sports and drew artwork. By age ten, he was listening to music daily from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Elton John during his Goodbye Yellow Brick Road era. He achieved semi-professional status as a skateboarder and was sponsored by surf shops in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. 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. Skates met Carlo Verni (later known as D.D. Blaze, then D.D. Verni) in New Providence High School in 1976, and they formed a punk group known as The Lubricunts. At age 17, they played the nightclubs CBGB, Great Gildersleeves, Max's Kansas City, Trudy Heller's, Bottany Talk House, The Mudd Club and The Showplace. 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. 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. From 1981 to 1984, he participated in the underground new wave of British heavy metal cassette tape-trading circuit that was shared between North America and Europe, that was the foundation for Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus to evolve into the genre known as thrash metal. 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 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.

In March and September 1983, Skates co-composed five original songs for a demo tape titled Power in Black. He dubbed individual cassette-tape copies for selling and to solicit for a recording contract, used a Xerox photocopier in a library to create a two-sided cover, and shrink wrapped copies using plastic film used to make fruit baskets and a hair dryer to include in their press kit. This resulted in offers he accepted for Overkill to place songs on two compilation LP records: 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, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Cliff Burton to live. In 1982, the Zazulas formed Megaforce Records, which debuted L.P. record albums from Metallica, Raven, Anthrax, Exciter, Manowar 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 to 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 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.

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!, 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. 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. 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 conceptualized Rock-Un-Rold, a musician's television talk show with colleague David Ellefson (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 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 Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Anvil, Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister), Karl Wilcox (Diamond Head), Dr. Patricia Basczcuk (Psychologist) and Robert J. Pisarek, Esq. (Attorney), and an excerpt from his commissioned work for Lynyrd Skynyrd. It is sponsored by the International Documentary Association.

Personal life Skates cites writers/actors John Cleese, Jerry Seinfeld, Will Smith and Tim Allen 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. They are both Christian conservatives, parents to three boys and currently reside in Texas.

Discography Artist Title Label Type Year Overkill Power in Black Blood Metal Music Cassette 1983 Overkill Overkill Azra / Metal Storm EP 1984 Overkill Feel the Fire Megaforce LP 1985 Overkill Taking Over Megaforce / Atlantic LP / CD 1987 Overkill !!!Fuck You!!! Megaforce / Caroline EP / CD 1987 Rat Skates / Bone to Bone Some Stuff I Recorded Independent Cassette 1988 Eric Cook (Koch) Ten Mile Road to Hell Wild Turkey Cassette 1989 Bomb Squad Live at Suite 16 Demolition Cassette 1991 Overkill Fuck You and Then Some Megaforce Cassette / CD 1996 Overkill Fuck You and Then Some / Feel the Fire Megaforce CD 2005 The Lubricunts Sorry About Your Roof Vector / Hottentots Download / Rhapsody / iTunes 2007

Filmography Title Role(s) Label YearWelcome to the Dream Director / Screenwriter MVD Entertainment Group 2012 Born in the Basement Actor / Executive Producer / Screenwriter MVD Entertainment Group 2007 Get Thrashed Actor / Associate Producer / Designer / Animator / Editor / Camera Lightyear / Warner Bros. 2008

Other appearances Title Performance Work Type Label Year Metallica Cast Biography Television Program A&E Networks 2009 The Last Bastions of Rock Cast Fritch Clark Documentary Film Urban Blight Films 2009 Death Rider Song Performance Metal Massacre V Compilation L.P. Record Metal Blade 1984 Feel the Fire Song Performance New York Metal '84 Compilation L.P. Record Rock City Records 1984 Songs (multiple) from Feel the Fire Live Song/ German Concert Performance The Metal Hammer Roadshow VHS Video Metal Hammer A.G. 1986 In Union We Stand Song Performance/ Acting Synch Headbangers Ball Beta/ Music Video Atlantic Recording Group/ MTV Networks 1987 Song Performances (Multiple) Live Song/ Concert Performance Videoscope VHS Video Atlantic/ WEA 1991 Song Performances (Multiple) Live Song/ Concert Performance Wrecking Everything/ The Batmen Return DVD Spitfire/ Eagle Vision USA 2002