Our team recently caught up with William McDonald, who, alongside his band ‘Rat Salad’, won the Best Band Award for 2024 at Access Creative College’s Birmingham campus.
Why did you form the band and what style of music do you play?
The band was originally formed by myself on vocals and guitar and Jack on bass. Then after a few lineup changes, Fin and Beni joined on drums and guitar, having met after joining Access Creative College in Autumn 2023. We all had similar musical interests and got on well together as mates. We play what we call psychedelic-funk-metal (we don’t really know what we play but that’s what we’re calling it for now).
How do you approach songwriting, performing and rehearsing?
As far as writing songs goes, Will usually comes up with the initial idea, and then brings it to the rest of the band at rehearsals. That’s when we all play our part, and do what we all do best. And after everyone has played their part in the writing process and we’re all happy with it, that’s another song for the setlist.
With performing, we’re usually knocking around either Wolverhampton or Birmingham and our sets are usually packed with all our original music.
Congratulations on your ACC Award win. How do you feel?
Absolutely Jovial!
Tell us about your time at Access. What have you enjoyed about it? What have you learned?
We’ve enjoyed this last year a lot because of forming the band at the start of the year. I’d say the most valuable thing we have learnt is to effectively market ourselves.
What else has the band been up to outside of your studies and winning your ACC Award?
We’re always outperforming around Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and we are currently working on our first single, “Preggo”.
What’s your proudest achievement from your time studying with us?
Our proudest achievement so far was to win the Best Band Award this year.
What are your plans for the future? How are you going to take what you’ve learned at Access into your career?
We will utilise everything we have been taught about marketing to promote the band.
What advice would you give to someone considering studying at Access?
If you are thinking about studying at Access, go for it! The staff are phenomenal and the support offered is unmatched.
Lastly, where can we hear your music and see you performing?
You can see us live usually around Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and watch our videos on our Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – all at ratsalad_uk. And you’ll be able to hear our music on all platforms in the coming months as soon as it’s finished.
Socials: ratsalad_uk
You can also visit Rat Salad’s website for more of their music and info on upcoming gigs.
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