15 years ago, a young, long haired, Birkenstock wearing lad named Brian Franklin found himself lost in downtown Tampa (at 3am in the morning) walking with Frank "Rat Bastard" Falestra, legendary Noise artist, employee of a major airline, musicologist, and locally known as the guy who recorded some of the first (and last) demos of South Florida's Most Popular and/or Interesting Bands.

The two had just finished recording Franklin's first solo album, a collection of long acoustic dirges that seemed very much out of place in Rat's punkish sort of ethos. Nonetheless, Rat adopted Brian like a stray kitten, determined to provide him with much needed exposure to stuff that "did not suck like U2."

Rat insisted that the hotel they shared was walking distance from the bar. Rat was wrong. What seemed like hours later - they were still downtown, and Rat, despite the fact that, medically speaking, should have been in an alcohol-induced coma, was no worse for the wear. It was all about the music.

Suddenly a whirring sound began.. soft at first... but then louder and louder. It sounded like a train was coming. The wind whipped up. Rat was undaunted and unafraid... and went on in his musical calculus proof.

Out of nowhere a gang of 15-20 inline skaters burst past Rat's left shoulder. At 3 am. It was a dark, updated version of "Gleaming the Cube" without Christian Slater. It scared the shit out of Franklin.

Rat, however, did not stop. In fact, he acted like nothing strange had just happened. He was just going on and on about how U2 was really influenced by some Parisian punk band or something. Never missed a beat. Totally oblivious.

It was vintage Rat.

A few years later, Franklin began to realize that this strange man wasn't just musical... he was literally "a musical." Or a rock opera. Something like that.

Pieces of what he knew to be Rat's life became more interesting strung together. His work for the airline. The fact that he hated hippie music but surrounded himself with acoustic artists. That he had the best t-shirt collection in history. A history of hot women around him. That he literally had fans around the world, and yet the average listener would rather be at Guantanamo than spend 10 minutes listening to his band.

However, domestic life and suburbia had left Franklin musically bankrupt. He needed assistance. Someone who understood Rat's complexities and could offer a harder edge to the presentation.

Enter Rob Elba.

From a purely musical perspective, most of Rob's friends probably raised an eyebrow at the collaboration. Was Rob going soft? What would Franklin do to Elba's well earned reputation as one of the "hardest rocking men in Weston, Florida?"

In fact, it took years of badgering and discussion before Rob consented to even look at the lyrics. But once he did... the music began pouring out...

Now, less than a year after their first honest attempt at co-writing, they have a long array of songs, a great band, and a show. Not really a musical. More like Tommy, except it's the audience that's growing deaf, not blind but needing reading glasses, and definitely not mute.

No doubt Rat will think it sucks, and that the true originators of the Rat Opera Sound was this Dublin band back in the 80s.