The Sewer Rats are brothers Dan and Mike Nissen. Born and raised in the Midwest, their wide array of influences show through in the music they play. Fairly new on the scene, both have been playing music in Sioux Falls, SD for quite a few years. The Sewer Rats style is stripped down, basic rock and roll. With a wide variety of instrumentation, their sets keep audiences guessing. Recollections of dark bars and everyday people, their lyrics suggest a hope that shouldn’t be lost. Their debut album, Save Yourself, was released on December 30th, 2009 Booking and Contact Information: Sodaksewerrats@gmail.com www.myspace.com/sodaksewerrats www.Facebook.com The Sewer Rats Argus Leader Newspaper Article Brotherly bond: The Sewer Rats stray from other Sioux Falls bands, come together to build strong freshman album Even before rock band The Sewer Rats' debut album has been released, brothers Dan and Mike Nissen already have their second album written and ready to record. Starting the original band one and a half years ago has unleashed their creativity. On the band's first album, "Save Yourself," the brothers played nearly all of the instrumentation. That made the planning process and studio recording more time consuming. "It took awhile to get it all orchestrated down to what was going to be happening, since there's only two of us," says Mike Nissen, 21. "We just had to pore over our songs a bit more and really put them under a microscope and make out the orchestration," says Dan Nissen, 25. The Sewer Rats will play a CD release show Wednesday. The Good Life, which includes singer/songwriter Tim Kasher from Cursive, also will play. Just because The Sewer Rats are a duo doesn't mean they lack the musical force of a full band. Mike Nissen is classically trained and plays instruments like the Rhodes piano, violin and guitar. Dan Nissen plays instruments like the clarinet, drums and xylophone. The Nissens both have played in other Sioux Falls bands, including The Smoke & Mirrors Bands. The brothers say they left the band to have more control over their sound. "You have four or five band members; sometimes the band only needs two. What do you do then? ... Sometimes, it's easier to make a very stripped-down rock and roll song. Sometimes, all it needs is an acoustic guitar and vocals," Dan Nissen says. Tom Davoux of Sioux Falls recorded the album and played drums on a few of the songs. The Nissens played in the band Rifflord with Davoux. The album has a number of introspective songs, including "A Gold Digger's Paradise" and the title track, "Save Yourself." "I think a lot of people can take something from the lyrics (of "Save Yourself"), depending on what's going on in their lives," Dan Nissen says.