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Long before stepping off the gang plank of Noah’s Ark with Kinky Friedman, Washington Ratso had an excess of experience shocking audiences.

 Ratso’s musical mayhem began with the Lee Brothers Band; a New Grass Revival style blue grass band.  Unfortunately, The Lee Brothers were ‘new grass’ before blue grass fans conceded that ‘new grass’ was cool.  The band so startled fans at one festival that they were asked to leave the stage in the middle of their show with the M.C. apologizing to the crowd for their music.

 Undaunted, the little Lebanese boy lurched on to the roots rock scene (and his first brush with musicians of the Jewish persuasion) with Tex Rubinowitz and The Bad Boys.  Eventually, The Bad Boys melted down and metamorphosed into Switchblade, a band that knew how to rock the house down.

 Fate stepped in to lend a hand, helping to propel Ratso to the next level of irritating the masses, when he was introduced to Kinky Friedman.   Kinky, mistaking him for a sycophant, recruited him and they have been musical amigos ever since.  Washington Ratso is a recurring character in Kinky’s novels as one of the Village Irregulars.

Although, he frequently tours the world with Kinky, Ratso can still be found rocking the house with Switchblade, but more often, can be found in our nation’s capital, where he is an Emmy award winning photojournalist.