Born in the shadows of the evergreens and the cornstalks. Born to howl sad songs at the stars to the wheeze of the blessed accordion. They call me The Pickpocket. Look for me by the train tracks. Cheers!
Hard to believe that it was a year ago that we played at The Funhouse with Professor Gall, Red Stitch Circus Phenomenon and God’s Favorite Beefcake, on what would be their last show. But, here we are again. Punk As Folk 2013!
The Funhouse is gone, our boys our gone but the music lives on. This year, I compressed the lineup to the cream of the crop from last year’s four day extravaganza. The legendary Blackbird Raum, our home town buddies The Mongrel Jews, San Francisco’s amazing Sour Mash Hug Band, our co-conspirator and folk punk legend Danbert Nobacon (who will also be acting as MC for the evening) and, closing out the night, your Bad Things. Also, a young lady named Porch Cat will be busking out front…who knows, we might even join her. Continue reading →
Yeah, that’s right! 11 years! Hard to believe, isn’t it? Well, here we are and we’re going to celebrate godammit!
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.
One of the coolest thing about being in a band is meeting folks that are profoundly moved by your music. As a die-hard music fan, I know how the music that you love becomes the soundtrack to your life. So many of my memories are directly associated with songs. Whenever I hear those songs, it takes me right back to the emotional landscape of that moment more than any picture or video can.
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. Continue reading →
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. Continue reading →
Happy Holidays and all that crap! The Bad Things are currently on winter break, to hunker down and work on this new record. We’ll be back in February.
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.
This Thursday we will party with the ghosts of our lost friends and shake the rafters with singing and celebration. You can read more about the event here and here’s a spot from last night’s news report at 6pm on KOMO TV featuring our own Jimmy the Pickpocket.
Captain Panto lays down vocals for our next Top 40 hit!
Brendan Patrick Hogan
Jimmy the Pickpocket
The board
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.
So, it’s been six months since the Cafe Racer shootings. Seems like a lifetime ago and yet again, it seems like yesterday. We are playing two shows in December to raise money for the families and lone survivor of the shootings. I think right now, more than ever, these folks need our help and it gives us the opportunity to remember our friends, honor their memory and have a good time drinking and singing!
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.
Tonight, The Bad Things will be headlining our favorite dive bar on Capitol Hill with the great Franz Nicolay, formerly of the Hold Steady and World/Inferno Friendship Society. Also on the bill will be some sweet orchestral pop courtesy of Seattle’s Exohxo. This is a show not to be missed and we can’t wait to see all your smiling, drunken faces! Bad Things go on around midnight….as it should be!
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.
Hard to believe that it was a year ago that we played at The Funhouse with Professor Gall, Red Stitch Circus Phenomenon and God’s Favorite Beefcake, on what would be their last show. But, here we are again. Punk As Folk 2013!
The Bad Things 