I’d forgotten about the RAT distortion pedal until I read “this NYT interview.”:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/who-made-that-rat-distortion-pedal.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0 It did sound great, as I recall.

Anyway, I quite liked the Skinny Puppy and nuclear weapons references:

bq.. What were your fuzz influences?

In the ’90s, I was struck with a *band called Skinny Puppy.* All their vocals were destroyed with distortion. When Julian Casablancas of the Strokes was looking for a vocal sound, *I showed him this sound like nuclear devastation*. He said “That’s terrible. Can you just give me a sound like worn bluejeans?”

So distortion can give you anything, from old bluejeans to a hair shirt?
Yeah, and *sometimes you want your own personal nuclear device*.

p. Sometimes.