Mr. Dinkles have never been particularly interested in keeping things too serious—even when the things they’re singing about are. The band pairs a punk attitude and a sharp sense of humor with songs that take on politics, frustration, and the general absurdity of trying to exist right now.
After a few turbulent years of lineup changes, touring, writing, recording, and essentially starting over in Los Angeles, Mr. Dinkles have found new momentum. Now a two-piece featuring Mac Rettig on vocals and guitar and Rocco Ramos on drums, they’re entering a new era with R.I.P.T., turning personal experiences and the world around them into songs meant to provoke a reaction.
We caught up with Mac to talk about rebuilding the band, finding community in LA, political punk, making videos that finally connected, touring Europe, and whether Elon Musk has heard “Letter to Elon.”
Thanks for doing this! To start, where are you both based these days, and how has where you're living been inspiring/influencing the band?
I’m in Venice and Rocco is in Hollywood. The more I play music the more I realize how important community is, meeting people and supporting others that are on your level. As a skateboarder in Venice, I’ve met so many artists that have helped me build the band, whether that be filming, connecting me to other bands, we’re having my community show up for me.
Rocco being in Hollywood has been really useful too because he also knows a lot of musicians and venues that we’ve connected with.
How did the two of you first meet, and how did this version of Mr. Dinkles come together?
I reached out to an old friend from the Seattle music scene who studied music in LA. I asked him if he knew any drummers in LA, and he forwarded me to Rocco.
The band originally started in Seattle. What was that scene like for you, and how much of Seattle is still in Mr. Dinkles today?
We would frequently play up in Seattle as that was our original scene, it was super accepting while LA seemed super daunting. Lately, due to my new drummer being based here and plane ticket prices through the roof, Seattle shows are more and more out of our way. Meanwhile, playing LA was super tough at first; no one knew us, it felt like we were starting from the bottom all over again. But with our consistency online as well as clawing through venues, we’ve since been getting callbacks and invites. It feels really good to see our hard work paying off.
Sorry for the generic question, but where did the name Mr. Dinkles come from? We have to know.
It’s my ex-drummer’s cat’s thought-to-be name but it was not actually the name. There was a mix-up in translation and we just kinda went with it, and I later decided to keep the name since it wasn’t actually her cat’s name.
There was a pretty big gap between What Happens When You Smoke Dr Ug in 2022 and the new music in 2026. What was happening with the band during those years?
Oof, so much. My bandmate and I were still trying to finish college while maintaining the band in 2 different states while also playing pretty frequently. My senior year in 2024 we were discovered by management of Jane’s Addiction and Lollapalooza; Micheal James and Ian Jenkinson, where I’ve since then been working with them and recording music with Robert Adam Stevenson. 2025 was just a year of writing/recording, planning, and death and rebirth of the band. When the band started getting more demanding, my old bandmate and I decided to split off so she could focus on her school and I could continue the dream.
Spring of 2025 I was too focused on booking my own tour and finding a drummer that I started burning out and making more and more mistakes — later losing my job, and going back to Seattle to stay with my parents and regroup.
I finally met Rocco, my current drummer, who was not only talented, but ready for whatever adventure awaited the band. That summer, we toured, promoted, and depleted ourselves of money for gas. I still had no idea how to promote our songs in order for it to go viral, playing dead shows, and I thought I was just annoying my current audience, finally my boyfriend who’s a videographer gave me some tips and tricks for how to maneuver a camera, and then our videos started blasting all over the internet. Which made us finally able to release our first single “eat chips and talk shit.” in January 2026.
“I’m not good at arguing in real life. So this is my way of coping.”
Mac, you've talked about songwriting giving you a way to make your point without being interrupted. Does writing still serve that purpose for you?
Yes, but now I feel like I need to serve more of a purpose with where the world climate is at. Writing RIPT was pointed in the direction of protest songs, songs to piss people off, and the point was to start political rivalry, to show where our own communities are at. And yet I still somehow managed to insert my own personal feelings and storytelling along with it. A lot of the time it’s not on purpose, but I really can’t write about anything genuine unless I can point it to something personal to myself.
There’s a lot of humor in your music, even when you’re talking about some pretty serious things. Has humor always been a way you deal with the world? Relatable if so.
Honestly you’d have to talk to my therapist. Sometimes I make things really tongue-in-cheek to prove a point. Maybe it’s how I would in theory like to win arguments, but I’m not good at arguing in real life. So this is my way of coping.
You have songs called “Letter to Elon,” “Socialism Ditty,” and “Eat Chips and Talk Shit.” Do you think there’s any chance Elon has heard “Letter to Elon”? Ha!
I am not sure, lol.
On that note, do you think of Mr. Dinkles as a political band, or are you mostly writing about your lives and the world around you and politics is just impossible to separate from that right now? Also, why do you think there aren't more political bands right now?
I honestly don’t know, I think I just write whatever comes to mind. The political climate is all everyone talks about right now, on top of me just trying to exist with where I’m at in the world. Part of me thinks that there aren’t more political bands right now because they’re not getting seen as much. The more I am in the music scene, there’s lots of political bands out there. But punk bands don’t promote themselves like other bands do, they’re punk. The last thing they want to do is blast themselves on algorithms that support the very things that they are against. However, that’s just my own theory from what I’ve experienced.
You recorded a bunch of songs during the R.I.P.T. sessions that didn't make the EP. What's happening with the rest of them? More music coming soon?
Yes, indeed.
Any touring plans coming up? And what would be the perfect bill for a Mr. Dinkles tour?
I think we are touring Europe in May hopefully lol. I’d love to be put on a bill with Getdown Services or Lambrini Girls. They are so awesome.
Have you had a “happened for a reason” moment recently—something that felt like a setback for the band at the time but ultimately worked out for the best?
Moving the band to LA. That was probably the scariest thing I’ve done, we built up a whole audience for six years and when we moved, it felt like we lost everything we worked so hard for. You have to work 10 times harder to get noticed in LA, Seattle felt like a nice safe incubator for kids trying to start bands cause the scene felt so small. But the people I’ve met in LA have been extraordinary, the experience that I’ve gotten moving around is something that I never would’ve gotten staying in the same spot. I’ve learned so much on how to promote my music, what it takes to get yourself out there, and even navigating real business. The only thing I can hope for is to keep going.
What’s something you’ve seen, read, or heard recently that’s stayed with you?
I was arguing with myself at the skate park and some old homeless guy looked at me and said “breathe, breathe, everybody has those days” that really stuck with me.
In a world where so much of life happens online—and everything can feel pretty insane—what’s been feeling real to you lately?
My boyfriend, my bandmate, my job as a swim instructor, my friends, my family, skateboarding and getting outside. I like making art too, but it makes me go insane after a while, cause I’m just inside my own head for too long.
Can you share a Mr. Dinkles lyric that sums up your state of mind right now or feels representative of where your heads are at?
No.
Lastly, what’s your current Good Call? A musician, artist, book, film, place, or experience you’d recommend everyone check out.
The Rat Utopia Experiment is a young femme-fronted band out of Seattle that just started really popping off. You should check them out!
Follow Mr Dinkles on IG @mrdinklesband.
Live Photos @fritzngigs
