Vol. #239: Trunk Ride, Bottle Rat, Vandalizard & Indesposed
Rustbelt Rock Review
By: Z.M. Delgado
Rustbeltrockreview.com
Volume #239: Trunk Ride, Bottle Rat, Vandalizard & Indesposed
April 24th, 2026
Hello to all you fine Rock N’ Rollers. I hope this issue finds you well. I am ready to sit back and roll out another installment of the Adventures of Z.M. Delgado aka the Rustbelt Rock Review. This weeks edition begins with me fleeing my shit eater day job and rushing with all speed home. I arrived, quickly changed, slammed two slices of pizza, kissed the fam goodbye and was back out the door in less than 15 minutes. Then it was a B-line for the 5 O’clock Lounge with the pedal to the floor. Normally I wouldn’t be in such a rush, for a show at the 5. But tonight’s gig for some reason was advertised as an 8pm show, instead of the typical 9pm. More importantly I was rushing because, on the night in question, we were filming the latest episode of Heavy on Cleveland, featuring Vandalizard. So in due time I arrived, found an incredible parking space and walked towards the 5. Along the way I bumped into my friend and Heavy on Cleveland Co-Host, Jimmy “The Dook” Fedor of Roxxxstarradio. Together we headed into the 5 and began to scout the club. Before long we were joined by the remainder of the team, Kelly Funk of Funky Photos and Jessica Mowrer of Stargazer Studios. Together my fearsome foursome prepared for the arrival of band. It was around this time when we dipped to the patio and lit up a doobie. However it wasn’t wrong before a grumpy bartender came outside and bitched at us. So we put it out, and relocated to the street corner, where grumpy pants the bartender couldn’t bother us. While were finishing up our smoke, the first of the Vandalizard boys arrived and began to unload their gear. In time we had the whole band assembled and we returned to the patio to conduct our interview. After our talk was done, it was back out front for another smoke session, where we remained until the first notes of our evenings entertainment began to emerge.
Indesposed… and some guy in an Indesposed shirt that jumped in the picture.
Finishing the joint, we made our way to the stage. There, Indesposed was already firing on all cylinders. This Norwalk, OH band is made up of four members, Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. There music was noisy, chaotic and loaded with energy. It had a sloppy, loose feel of a band in a frenzy. It was fuzzy and aggressive; raw and abrasive. I remember they had great Drum work and really sick Bass lines. When we entered the Guitarist had left the stage and was on the floor rocking out among the fans. The crowd really seemed to dig it, at times clapping along to the beat. There was even some light, fun loving moshing going on down in front. The singer had excellent stage presence and was blazing with enthusiasm. He leaped from the stage and charged the crowd, moshing wildly. He knocked over the dude in front of me and nearly took me out in the process. Managing to keep my feet, I just barely held on to my notebook and pen. Midway through their set they played a song called “Meat.” This piece outlined all the finer points involving why one should never eat at Arby’s. On what I believe was their 6th song, the Guitarist took over lead Vocal duties, while the Bass player laid down another dope line. All in all I think they played 9 songs before calling it quits. The crowd cheered and set came to a close. With Indesposed now finished, the team and I returned to the street to blaze another doob.
Vandalizard
Once finished The Dook began to set up our audio/visual equipment. It was go time. Up second was the focus of our evening endeavor, Vandalizard. That meant it was time for the Heavy on Cleveland crew to snap to attention. The band got set and the fans filed in. I was immediately astounded by the size of the crowd at this point. The 5 was loaded with Punks, all ready to see the Vandalizard Rock. For those of you who don’t know, Vandalizard is a four piece band built from Vocals/Guitar, Guitar/Backing Vocals, Bass/Backing Vocals and Drums. They are known for their coarse, gravelly Vocals, two Guitar attack, lively Bass lines and tight machine gun Drumming. After a brief introduction, the jumped into “Show me the way to go Home,” a Punk rendition of the classic sea shanty, lifted from the film “Jaws.” Rolling along they launched “Bad Influence” a song about siblings and growing up wild. Hard driving chords gave way to Ska riffs and epic “Whoas!” emerged on the backing Vox. “Jenny Destiny” had great melodies. When they reached “Walk the Earth” their Guitarist began jumping about, as the Bass Player loomed and Rocked with his hair in his face. “Dissonant Dude” gave way to “Heartless” which had the crowd dancing. “On the Tracks” brought ripping speed and blistering power. Next they slowed it down a bit, and performed my personal favorite: “Roaches.” This is a testament to the power of a Punk Rock family. Not the family you’re born into, but the one you find at the show and in the streets. This song is pure nostalgia and it takes me back to my younger years every time I hear it. “Coyote’s Teeth” is a southwestern ballad which spins out a tale of immigrants crossing the border. It had smooth lead licks, a slick solo and a nice fat Bass line to boot. “The Thing from Railroad Street” was nothing short of Rocking, ripping, furious Punk Rock. They rolled this one directly into “Good Deeds” which is equal to it in sheer force. My notes describe the song as “a real Barn Burner.” Now I’m not entirely sure what that means, but in the moment I’d imagine it was probably true. To put it plain, the song is a beast. Finally closing out the set they dropped “The Grove,” another knock down, drag out Rocker. The crowd roared in approval as Vandalizard brought an end to an absolutely titanic set. While the band tore down, we smoked down. Once both tasks were finished, we shot our second interview with the band. Then it was back to the stage for the third act of the night.
Heavy on Cleveland! Are you watching?!?!
Bottle Rat
Up next was Bottle Rat from Pittsburgh, PA. This is a three man Punk band made up of Vocals/Guitar, Guitar/Backing Vocals and Drums/Backing Vocals. My initial notes express that the band was pretty good. I wrote, “Cool; Very upbeat fun vibe.” I also noted that it really reminded me of something, but I never could place what it was. They had really nice Bass lines and hard, fast, ripping Drums. Something else noteworthy was their backing Vocals. When all three voices came together it made for excellent layering. All in all they had a bad ass sound with a lot of heart. Their songs were short and sweet and they came in quick succession. The crowd seemed to love every minute of it, cheering and dancing. The Guitarist fed off this and left the stage and took his skills to the floor performing in the crowd for a time. Bottle Rat earned big cheers throughout their entire time and deservedly so. Over the course of their 15 song set they sufficiently battered the Five with relentless high speed Punk Rock. It was awesome. When they finished up, guess what, it was back outside. The rain was pouring down and as such we were forced to huddle beneath the awnings as we blazed.
Trunk Ride
Soon enough we had reached our headlining act, Canton, Ohio’s Trunk Ride. This four man outfit is constructed from Vocals, Guitar/Backing Vocals, Bass/Backing Vocals and Drums. They are known for their hard, fast and aggressive approach. They deliver power packed, short songs that pack a serious punch. Their sound is clean Vox, high speed riffs, crushing Drums and Bass. Across the board the stage presence is phenomenal. Especially their singer who is a whirlwind of activity: intense, energetic and in your face. The crowd dug it immediately. Their were cheers which led to dancing. Which in turn led to Moshing. The Pit grew fast. The moshing went from two dudes messing around, to a whole bunch of dudes really quickly. It maintained it’s ferocity for the entirety of the set… and the set was lengthy. I lost count of tracks somewhere around number 10 but they played well beyond that point. Based on the set list I saw I would say they played around 20 songs in total and they were blazers. The highlight for me was “By Design” but honestly the entire set was dope. The band played, the pit raged. The floor became soaked in beer as the show Rocked well passed midnight. Yet the fans remained and saw Trunk Ride through to the end of their incredible set. We cheered, we screamed and we applauded. It had been a great set, capping off a great night. The fans dispersed. Friends said farewell and then it was off into the night.
Eric Stevenson: The Official Tattoo Artist of the Rustbelt Rock Review
I ended up giving a few members of Vandalizard a ride home, and as we drove we reminisced about an evening well spent. Four bands, all great in their own way, playing a raw and unfiltered show. It was Punk Rock majesty and I am thrilled to have been a part of it. The Heavy on Cleveland portions of the night seemed to have gone well, which is always a relief, so hopefully we shall have a new episode soon. In fact, for all intents and purposes, it was a smashing success of an evening. With the exception of the grumpy bartender, I have no complaints. So that’s where I will bring this installment of the RbRR to a close. Thank you for supporting the Scene, for reading along every week and for being generally awesome, as I know all my readers are. Bang your Heads, Hoist your Horns and always wear your earplugs.
Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,
-Z.M. Delgado
Rustbelt Rock Review
Rustbeltrockreview.com
04/26/26
Links:
Trunk Ride - https://www.facebook.com/TRUNKRIDE/
Bottle Rat - https://www.facebook.com/BottleRatPGH/
Vandalizard - https://www.facebook.com/p/Vandalizard-100092590599377/
Indesposed - https://www.facebook.com/p/Indesposed-100078936134455/
Voice of the Underground
