Grab your s’mores, your bug spray, a shot of Malort and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media is returning to Northeast Pennsylvania to take over the West End Fairgrounds in Gilbert, PA with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing national and local acts like 7 Seconds, The Bronx, Less Than Jake, will take place from 5 July until 7 July tickets are available here. Meanderthal has joined TGEFM to discuss this year’s festival for the latest installment of our Camp-centric interview series: Happy Campers. Check it out below and I’ll see you at the campfire!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What should our readers know about Meanderthal; your mission, your sound?
To have fun playing music we love to play and keep creating fresh music.
What does Meanderthal have planned for us beyond Camp Punksylvania?
We are play the pre-party before Black Flag at the Sherman Theatre with Whiskey Bats, Old Daggers and Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster and we are releasing our first record on Wax Pax Records to vinyl which has a high possibility of arrival right before Camp!
We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
Us not starting this earlier
The punk and ska scenes have almost always been at the forefront of inclusion and diversity within the music scenes. The flipside of course is that the gatekeeping in the scene is also very prevalent. Why do you think the genre brings in such a welcoming community and is so happy to let everyone in and also seems to shut the doors so quickly behind themselves?
I think we are all people who have a passion for our scene with that comes the possibility of people losing out on opportunities everyone wants.. We know we are lucky to be part of this… Hope others get their chances as well
Many of the Camp Punx artists have not been afraid to get political, and Meanderthal are certainly no different. If you had told me a decade ago we’d be looking at a campaign trail made up of a pair of clueless octogenarians set to a backdrop of legal proceedings, foreign wars and record profits I’d have told you there’s no way things could get so bleak…but here we are and it turns out you’d have been underselling theshitshow happening inside the dumpster fire of American government that you perfectly summed up in “Choices”. How is the already absurd presidential race and performative legislation playing into your writing, the live experience and your mental health?
Unfortunately we as a society have gotten to the point where name recognition has more significance than policy… Two old men who both belong in retirement home instead of the White House… Power for power? Or puppets for corporate sponsors?
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst? On the flipside to that one… Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?
So many good bands Two For Flinchin, Maris, Super High Tech Jet Fighters, Black Friday Death Count, Applied Knowledge, Assemble, Who Me? The Treaties, Daylight Society, The Bucko’s and of course No Limitations in terms of PA.. Drug Church, the new Hot Water Music album, Down By Law, Calling Hours, Don’t Sleep,
If Punksylvania were a real camp, what activities are each of you leading?
Judging the talent show
Thinking of post show jams… what song are you performing around the campfire this year?
I could see us do “Choices” acoustic maybe “Hope” by Descendents as well
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see?
Of course Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster, Suburban Downgrade, Old Daggers, The Karens, One Revived, Whiskey Bats, Galaxy Has Eyes, 7 Seconds and Less Than Jake
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
No… I think we covered it here! Thank you for the opportunity for this interview!
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
