Ruckus Proffit (Ryan Leisinger)
From behind his drum kit, Ruckus provides the relentless, driving heartbeat that keeps the band’s surf-drenched chaos from spinning entirely off the rails.
Ruckus has been playing in bands since his high school days, cutting his teeth in the Pacific Northwest underground scene across a dizzying array of genres. His musical DNA is a patchwork of subversion, having played guitar and drums in everything from garage rock outfits and industrial noise projects to outlaw country bands. You might have caught him over the years in bands like Diplomatic Immunity, Aardvark, Fire99, King Dinosaur, and Rodeo Kill. That sprawling, multi-genre rap sheet gives him a unique, versatile edge behind the kit. Influenced by the precise, driving, and no-nonsense brilliance of iconic drummers like Clem Burke (Blondie), Nick Knox (The Cramps), and Tommy Ramone, Ruckus channels a style that is pure, garage rock ‘n’ roll energy.
When away from his kit, Ruckus’s attention turns to a wide variety of high-strangeness. He is the mastermind behind Washington Bigfoot, a dedicated website documenting Sasquatch activity across the dense, dark forests of the Evergreen State. If it’s weird, unexplained, or hiding in the shadows, Ruckus is probably tracking it. He’s a walking encyclopedia on everything cryptid and odd, from Mothman and the Pacific Northwest’s own Batsquatch to water monsters, UFO phenomena, and other weirdness.
Whether he’s researching and talking about cryptids or laying down a ferocious beat that makes the floorboards of a dive bar shake, Ruckus brings a healthy dose of the supernatural to the conversation and the crack of his snare to The Proffits.
