Metal trio Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol brought their high energy to Portland’s Mississippi Studios for a 4/20 to remember. Hailing from Austin, Texas, this doom-wop crew features guitarist Leo Lydon, bassist Aaron Metzdorf and drummer Sean St. Germain – three talented musicians with a hard ass sound. Hot on the heels of their CA$H GRAB tour which rips through almost every geographical region of the U.S., Rickshaw Billie and the boys are setting themselves up for an epic 2026. Nearly all dates have sold out, proving what fans already knew by their first listen – that Rickshaw’s addictive sound has no choice but to spread.
With a new album set to come out this fall, and the recent announcement of their fourth annual Big Dumb Fest in Austin on May 31, this trio is barreling straight ahead, no holds barred. We were stoked for the chance to sit with the guys after their sold out 4/20 gig – thanks for taking the time RBBP! Read on as we talk about the bands’ Big Dumb Fest, tunes on tour, what makes a perfect burger, and more.
Website + CA$H GRAB tour dates
CYM: Thanks for being here! Congratulations on the tour and selling out Mississippi Studios. I wanted to ask about the bands’ upcoming Big Dumb Fest – you guys are in your fourth year! How did it start, and where do you see it four years from now?
Aaron: I think it was our booking agent’s idea. Once we started working with him, he was like ‘Hey, you know you have this return show right after your first West Coast tour, why don’t you do something?’ We used to do a lot of hood rat street parties with food vendors and homies, so we wanted to do that but on a bigger scale. And I don’t know that it was ever supposed to happen more than once. It was kind of a party for our friends.
Leo: Kind of to tease the release of Big Dumb Riffs because it would happen like five or six months before, and then it just became a thing to do every year.
Aaron: We wanted to share that with our friends who are chefs and in other bands and stuff. So it was a way of giving them a platform to do their thing too. So yeah, I guess it was probably a little bit of consciously giving back because we toured a bunch at that point, and coming back home to something like that was our way of being able to share that success with all of our friends.
CYM: We got a little sample of the new album tonight. How’s it going?
Leo: We got all the singles wrapped up and ready for releases throughout the summer. The album will come out in the fall. So after this tour, we’ll decide on what the 2nd half of the record is going to be, which we’ve never done before. We usually just have the songs and we go and just record them all at once. So now it’s kind of cool, we’ll have a different kind of insight into a different angle of the record when we get back.
CYM: Awesome. We can’t wait to hear it. One of my last questions – when it comes to burgers, do you like fatties or smashies?
Aaron: Smash burgers probably. I mean hmm, yeah… we’ve got so many friends doing it. The smash patty thing is definitely popular.
Sean: I will fully go on the record that I am kind of over the smash burgers, as a consumer and a cook. I think there’s a space for all burgers. There is. But there is something special when you do take the time to carve out a classic, thick, just basic American cheeseburger. Nothing fancy, no extras – just lettuce, tomato, onion on a 1/3rd lb burger. So you can still sear it, but it’ll cook quickly; you can still get a nice medium rare on it. It’s got to have some heft.
Aaron: Wait, what are the ones in the box you could get as kids?
Sean and Leo at the same time: What, Buffo Burgers?
Sean: Okay, we’re changing the answer to Buffo Burgers. It’s a classic American cheeseburger. Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with it. That’s that backyard grill. Hang out with friends-drink some beer-burger. That’s the best burger. But stop putting them on brioche buns.
CYM: Last question, what are you all listening to right now?
Aaron: There’s a traditional Brazilian/Tropicalia and psych artist, Gal Costa. The record is called India, and I’ve been obsessed with that. The Mike Westbrook Concert Band put out a record called Love Songs. Really great – think like, high school marching band horn with a rhythm section. It’s fucking sick. And then a lot of Sonny Sharrock, like free jazz. He put out 3 albums with his wife, Linda, in the early 70s that take a little bit of discipline to get through, but I think they’re beautiful. So that’s what I’ve been listening to heavily lately.
Leo: I’ve been super hung up on the Exhorder record, The Law. It came out like a month after Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power, but it sounds like a bonus Pantera record. And I never knew about it, and I’ve just been hung up on that for the last 6 months. And more recently, uh, this Thursday, I think, um, another Austin band Portrayal of Guilt is putting out their new record, and the 3 or 4 singles that they’ve released I’ve been spinning nonstop. It sounds really good.
Sean: I have not been listening much lately.
Aaron: What podcast have you been rocking in the van?
Sean: Well, it was a short drive today, so I listened to 2 episodes of one of my War Hammer podcasts. I’ve been listening to American Sharks because I’ve been learning their set for one of the shows this tour, so that’s been a thing. Oh, you know what I did listen to? The new Corrosion of Conformity record. And it fucking slaps. It’s excellent. It’s really good. And then I’ve been meaning to listen to the new Neurosis record, but I still haven’t gotten around to it. That might be on the drive tomorrow.
