Season 3 - Ep. 19 - What It's Like to Start a Punk Band During a Pandemic in the Midwest with Milwaukie's Bad Year
I am going to be speaking with the Milwaukie based punk band, Bad Year today about their band, their upcoming new music, and the state of midwest punk rock these days.
The band has released two EP’s to this point with a couple of singles as well since forming in 2019. Obviously, in hindsight that meant that right after creating the band, they had to take a massive hit from the pandemic.
So, the band name wasn’t just clever, it was prophetic.
We will be speaking with the band about all of this and more right after this.
Intro Music: "Colorado" by Birds Love Filters
Outro Music: "Snail Mail" by Speedway Sleeper
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Bad Year's Links: https://badyearmke.com/home
Make sure to check out Bad Year's recommendations: The Lawrence Arms, Direct Hit, Smoke Free Home, Gold Steps, Doubter, Knuckle Puck, Avenues
▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
0:00 - Intro
1:27 - How did Bad Year decide to start a new punk band in 2019?
4:07 - What was the decision behind adding Jake as a fourth member of Bad Year?
5:46 - How did Bad Year keep pushing forward once the pandemic hit?
13:01 - What are some of the bands that influenced Bad Year's sound?
16:31 - How did Bad Year make so many songs and release them so fast around a pandemic?
18:09 - What's the songwriting process for Bad Year? Does it start on acoustic guitar?
20:36 - What's the story behind the song "No Use" by Bad Year, and how do they connect to Tony Sly?
23:25 - What's Bad Year's perspective on rock music in the Midwest these days?
27:55 - What are some Midwest bands that are keeping the rock music scene alive?
30:32 - What's the story behind the song "Killing Me" by Bad Year?
34:23 - Does Bad Year tend to write songs more about their own lives or more about concepts?
38:41 - How does Bad Year go into creating their music videos? Are they pre-developed from the song or does the cinematographer/director decide?
43:18 - Is Bad Year making new music to create a full-length album or another EP & how are they recording their new music?
45:57 - Will Bad Year be playing any shows in late 2022 and early 2023?
48:36 - What new music does Bad Year recommend?
50:05 - Outro