In the late 1980s, countless hard rock bands littered the smokey local bars and nightclubs across America. Support your local rock was advised and Bostonians did just that while embracing a homegrown three-piece called RAT ALLEY that delivered gritty whiskey-fueled swinging rhythms and a good time with swagger. RAT ALLEY was a late 80s hard rock band that played various clubs throughout the Boston, Massacauttes area. The band included guitarist Johnny Williams, drummer Mike Fitzgerald and bassist Chris Dahlstedt. The members of RAT ALLEY were not newcomers to the local scene. In fact, one could say that the band was a continuation of an earlier heavy metal band in the area called IRON RAGE. Fitzgerald would replace Iron Rage Tommi Gallo, who would go on to join SPREAD EAGLE. Sometime later, Williams and Fitzgerald would be searching for a new bass player. They met with local bassist Chris Dahlstedt (formerly of the band NASTY and an early version of TIN PAN ALLEY), and they instantly knew they had the right combination. With the addition of the new bassist Dahlstedt and the sound beginning to go in a more hard rock direction, the trio decided to change the band name. On New Year's Eve 1989, the band renamed themselves RAT ALLEY, after a notorious alley in Boston where the band often partied. RAT ALLEY played various clubs throughout the Boston area including;, The Channel, The Rat, Axis, Bunratty's, Edible Rex, The Rock Pile, The Atlantic Lounge, and the Green Street Grill and opened for various national acts such as OVERKILL, T.N.T, D'PRIEST and WORLD WAR III. They played the notorious "Dangerous Dames" gig which earned The Channel a hefty fine for nudity and shutdown the club for a week. RAT ALLEY's delivery of Rolling Stones/Aerosmith-type dirty hooligan rock n roll was well-received by locals just looking to have a good time. That winter RAT ALLEY cut a 5-song demo that sold over 300 copies at the local Tower Records within the first three weeks of its release. The demo would also receive some regular rotation airplay on local radio. The demo received an excellent review in Metronome magazine that would lead to RAT ALLEY being approached and offered a record deal by Cherrydisk Records. The band was close to signing the contract but suddenly decided to end the band in January 1992.
