We missed our 10th year anniversary last year as things just got too crazy after our practice space fire and the Cafe Racer shootings. I, honestly, didn’t even think about it until it had come and gone. So, why not an 11th year anniversary party? We always were a little “different” anyway.

The show is going to feature a whole slew of old friends and guest performers. Already slated to perform are opening bands Miss Mamie Lavona and her White Boy Band and Bakelite 78, both bands feature Bad Things members, are old friends and we can’t think of better openers. Armitage Shanks, our old compatriot from way back in the Midnite Choir days, will be hosting the show. The gals from Sinner/ Saint Burlesque will be performing throughout the night and guest performers include: former Bad Things MC/concertinist Danny Dead (!!), Danbert Nobacon, Melissa Cerise-Bullock (Bat Country), members of Orkestar Zirkonium and more.

And, in homage to the horrible tragedies of last year, we will be donating $1 of advanced ticket sales to the Victims of Cafe Racer Shootings Memorial Fund. Nancy, the organizer, told me that for the year anniversary of the shootings she hopes to transform the fund into a more general fund for all victims of violent crime and their families. Hopefully, we can help her get that started.

The shindig goes down on Thursday, June 27th at The Crocodile. You can get those advanced tickets here and I advise you do as this is sure to be a packed house.

Music can be life changing. Punk rock was the catalyst for me to reject the mainstream culture of my small town high school back in the mid-80s, despite knowing that doing so would pretty much guarantee that I would lose most of my friends, face retribution from metal heads and rednecks, bring my sexual orientation into question and instill distrust from authority figures who previously saw me as a “good” kid. But, I didn’t care! I knew that this was the greatest thing I’d ever discovered and I related to the anger and alienation that it represented. It was a way to say “I’m not like you” in a very public way and it shaped who I would be for the rest of my life.

When you realize that the music that you write and perform has become someone’s life soundtrack or affected their life in a profound way, it’s beyond an honor. Over the last ten years, we’ve had folks tell us that they got married to our music or met their current partner at one of our shows, that a certain song always takes them back to certain period of their life, that a song will always remind them of a lost friend, that their kid loves our music, that we inspired them to start a band or that their life was changed at one of our shows – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. It’s for these people that we keep The Bad Things alive despite lives that get increasingly busy with the addition of kids, jobs, homes, marriages, etc. If we know our music is making an impact in at least one person’s life, then we’re obviously doing something right.

One of those people impacted by our music has been with us since, almost, the beginning. He even went so far as to get our accordion logo tattooed on his arm! As far as we know, this is the only Bad Things tattoo in existence. This man is up front at probably 80% of our Seattle shows, always down to share a drink or smoke, always so stoked to see us and we can see in his eyes how much he appreciates our music.

So, when that person comes down with a serious illness, we rally and do what we can to help. If there is one thing that we learned from last year, it’s that the community that musicians and music fans build is a powerful tool that can help people weather through the hardest of times. Music is healing, music is life and music can be a tool to change people’s lives for the better. Maybe that’s a tad idealistic but goddamit, I saw it in action last year in the wake of nightmarish tragedy and now, I’m a believer!

The man we’re helping is Daniel Adam Driskill. I will respect his privacy and not mention his illness but, trust me, it’s serious and he needs our help. We’re aware that the money earned at this show will just be a drop in an ocean of medical bills, but it’s a small way for us to say thank you for keeping us going, for listening, for giving a shit about a band of drunken miscreants. We couldn’t do it without you D.A.D. and we hope soon you’ll be rocking out at one of our shows years from now with a clean bill of health. You can find out more about the show here and if you’re in Seattle, you better get your ass to The Comet tomorrow night for an incredible night of music and love.

- Jimmy the Pickpocket

9th Annual Cabaret Macabre. Photo by Justin Hills.

So, here we are. 2012 is over. It’s been a strange year for The Bad Things, to say the least.

We opened the year with a great show at The Comet, played on TV, visited our buddy Danbert Nobacon in Twisp for his 50th birthday, lost our practice space and thousands of dollars worth of equipment in a fire, had a busy and inspiring Folklife weekend and Punk As Folk showcase featuring, amongst other incredible acts, the last live performance of God’s Favorite Beefcake.

The week that followed was one of the worst weeks ever experienced within our Seattle artistic community, but, somehow, in the middle of it all, Mad Wilcox had an amazing marriage ceremony, lifting our spirits for a night. That beautiful night was followed by a month of fundraising shows, playing through multiple tears and multiple beers, and remembering our lost friends.

Then, a beautiful Seattle summer, which included playing with a member of The Specials and our favorite local ska band The Georgetown Orbits and a lively summer evening spent drinking Big Al’s beer and playing our tunes to the good people of White Center.

The fall brought an incredible show with our heroes Firewater at The Crocodile and the 9th Annual Cabaret Macabre. This winter has included more fundraising, tracking of our forthcoming album and a great evening spent playing Tom Waits songs with our friends. Here’s a taste of that (The Bad Things are chapter 8 in this 14 part series):

We lost a lot of friends and beloved institutions this year: Drew and Joe, the producer of our first album and Northwest legend Kearney Barton, our beloved Funhouse and the great Chumbawamba, who played their last show on Halloween in Leeds, England. Other amazing bands that we lost this year: God’s Favorite Beefcake, Bat Country and Titanium Sporkestra. All remaining members are continuing to do great things but those particular projects will be sorely missed.

To say we learned a lot would be an understatement. 2012 knocked us around quite a bit but judging by the last few shows and our recent recording sessions, it’s made us a better band. 2013 will bring a new album and a brand new chapter for this crazy bunch of drunken miscreants entering their 11th year as a band. Who woulda’ thunk it? Happy New Year everyone! We’ll see you on the other side.

As a special holiday gift to all our lovely fans who have been waiting with bated  breath for almost five years for some new Bad Things tunes, we are going to allow you to listen to a rough mix of one new song for one day only, Christmas Eve!

At midnight, Christmas Eve, this brand new Bad Things song will be available for streaming here, from our Bandcamp site. It will go away again at midnight on Christmas so check it out and let us know what you think.

Happy holi-daze from all us Bad Things!

The Bad Things went into the studio at the end of November and the beginning of December 2012 to start tracking the 4th Bad Things record. Get ready friends, it’s coming.

The first of these events is the Tom Waits Tribute Night where we’ll be playing two Waits songs alongside a bevvy of musical homies. I think we go on around midnight but the whole night should be great and it all happens at Conor Byrnes on Friday, December 7.

Then, on Thursday, December 13, we finally get to play the Cafe Racer! The last time I saw Drew, we talked about how The Bad Things and Beefcake needed to play the Racer. Well Drew, it’s finally happening and I know you’ll be there. This night is to celebrate Brown Paper Tickets Artist Ticket Program, which will raise funds for the cause. Artists Ellen Forney and Jim Woodring will be in the house reading from their new books, Queen Shmooquan will….well, be Queen Shmooquan, there will be music by Lonesome Shack, the legendary Baby Gramps, and, closing out the night, your beloved Bad Things. AND Sylvia O’Stayformore will be the MC. This will be an amazing night and I recommend you get tickets because space is extremely limited. Oh, and this show is ALL AGES! A rare opportunity for the kiddies to catch The Bad Things.

We are currently in the studio recording the fourth Bad Things record. This was our first day of tracking and I gotta say, it’s sounding great so far. Excited for you all to hear it.

We’ll be seeing you in December!

Franz is on tour for his new album “Do The Struggle.” Here’s a little sneak peak of what’s in store for you all this evening.

Back when I was in A Midnite Choir, there weren’t a lot of gypsy punk or klezmer punk or steampunk or punk cabaret or whatever-the-fuck-you-want-to-call-them bands. There was some interesting stuff coming out of Denver like 16 Horsepower, the Denver Gentlemen and Devotchka, some cool stuff from Boston, mainly Reverend Glasseye and his Wooden Legs, a few great bands out of the South like the Pine Hill Haints, the collection of weirdness that was starting to assemble in the Pacific Northwest….and, of course, New York had Firewater!

Personally, I related to Tod A’s punk delivery on their debut record “Get Off the Cross…We Need the Wood for the Fire.” I also loved his aversion from sounding too “vintage” like all the other bands in the scene at the time. He took Tom Waits swagger and mixed it with Gypsy grooves at a rock and roll volume and created his own multi-cultural sound, which he tweaked with mixed results over several releases. Of course, from Firewater we got bands like Gogol Bordello and Balkan Beat Box. It was Firewater that really lit the fuse in New York, from my, admittedly distant perspective.

I lost interest for a while but when “The Golden Hour” came out, I felt that they had hit  a new creative peak. I loved that I was starting to hear more of the ska influences coming through, mixed with the Eastern melodies and instruments and Tod’s always sneering punk smirk. We were lucky enough to open for them on that tour and now, with the release of a new record, which I have yet to hear, we are back, together again. Get your tickets quick because I think this is very close to being sold out. See you at the Croc on Monday.

- Jimmy the Pickpocket