Philadelphia ska quartet Catbite is part of a recent crop of ska bands that, if not exactly reviving ska (because it never went away), are at least reminding people of why it is so damn fun. TGEFM got in touch with Brittany Lun and Tim Hildebrand for a round of Roll of the Dice. We rolled a TEN.
1) So glad to have you for this. Your second album, Nice One, is getting rave reviews and came in at #5 on my personal top 12 of 2021 list. What are your biggest influences on this album?
Tim: I’ve always been way more into traditional ska and two tone, and only recently have grown to appreciate a lot of the third wave ska bands. I never gave a lot of them a chance, for instance never listened to more than three Suicide Machines songs until about 2 or 3 years ago and now they’re one of my favorite ska-adjacent bands. So, I was definitely listening to a lot of them while writing music for this record. But also just a LOT of weird and not ska-related stuff like Joyce Manor, and Sum 41 and My Chemical Romance were in my head when I was jotting ideas down. Also I am always heavily influenced by The Clash and Elvis Costello.
2) I had tickets to your big NYE show in Detroit with We Are the Union and I was so disappointed when it got canceled. Do you think you and Bad Time Records might try that again?
Brit: It was super disappointing that we had to cancel but obviously it was for the best. Hard to say if that exact show will happen again but I’m sure something similar is bound to come up in the near future!
Tim: probably won’t be rescheduled as a NYE show, but I could see that being a whole tour or Or something.. Idk our record label roster absolutely fucking FUCKS. I’d tour with any and all of them. Great people, great fun, great ska.
3) I hope it’s okay to ask this, but you’ve seemed willing to talk about it when I asked you about it on Twitter: You have two songs on Nice One in which Brittany is singing to women: “Excuse Me Miss” and “TV Screen Beauty Queen.” There’s not a lot of artists where you specifically hear women singing love songs about women. Was there a conscious decision to include these songs for the sake of LGBTQ representation?
Brit: “Excuse Me Miss” is based on a relationship that Tim and I both were involved in with another person. I am bi and so when I write it’s usually about experiences or relationships that I’ve been through.
4) So far, every release you’ve put out has had one big-name cover on it. On your split with Onnigone you covered The Clash’s “White Riot,” on your self-titled album you covered Elvis Costello’s “Sneaky Feelings,” and of course Nice One has that beautiful cover of Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” What do these artists mean to you and why did you want to cover them?
Brit: For me the Selena cover was important as a Latina. I grew up listening to her and a lot of other Spanish artists because I’m half Peruvian and my dad was always playing music in the house.
Tim: The Clash and Elvis Costello are my 2 biggest influences and all-time favorite artists. They were very innovative in how they brought Jamaican music and creatively introduced it into punk rock and rock and roll. They both could be considered ska bands if you tried hard enough, but the genre defying-ness that both do has always been so inspirational to me. So it just felt right to cover their music in a Catbite fashion.
5) You just finished up a few dates opening for Suicide Machines and have dates coming up supporting such big names as The English Beat, Mustard Plug, Screaming Females, and even Jeff Rosenstock. What does it mean to you to get to tour with such big names?
Tim: It’s just absolute bananas and we are forever grateful to all these bands reaching out to us to have us join them. Also wild since my first ever punk show I went to was Bomb The Music Industry! back in like 2006 and now he’s bringing my ska band on tour.
6) You just put out an awesome cover of The Silencers’ “Policeman (Kick Me in the Head),” literally the only song ever released by this ska-punk supergroup. What made you want to cover this obscure song?
Tim: We were asked to cover a song from the Stubborn Records discography for a comp they are putting out. We saw Sic & Mad’s version of “Policeman” was on there, so we asked if we could cover that, but then we just did a hybrid version of that and the Silencers version, and even re-wrote some of the lyrics to tie in with modern politics. I first heard the Silencers version from the Give Em The Boot comp, and then I’ve even got to perform it live several times with my old band backing Vic Ruggiero. It’s a very meaningful song that is also extremely good and unfortunately holds up even though it’s 20+ years old. Also there are a few other Silencers songs that made it to Rancid’s Life Wont Wait Demo Sessions.
7) I have to ask, who’s dog is that in the “Policeman” video? Because he’s adorable!
Brit: It’s Tim & I’s beautiful baby boi Nacho Bizness. He’s nice guy.
8) Your label, Bad Time Records, is really blowing up right now, between you, We Are the Union, Kill Lincoln, Dissidente, and so many others. What are your thoughts on your label mates?
Tim: all killer no filler.
9) You have a lot of fun interacting with your fans on social media and it’s allowed you to make some of your inside jokes part of your brand. I’m specifically thinking of the Burger King shirt you put out with the four cokes on it. How much thought do you put into how you interact with fans online?
Tim: all of our fans rule and we consider them our friends. It seems silly to not want to interact with them or to place ourselves higher than anyone.
10) I’m going to finish on the same question Jeff always ends these on: What are the best bands out there that our readers might not know about?
TIM: Our label has been putting out nothing but gold, some other ska adjacent bands: Matamoska, The Loving Paupers, The Pomps, The Holophonics. Also some non ska: Soul Glo, Froggy, Teenage Halloween, Ghosh,Not Your Baby, Crazy and the Brains, The Homeless Gospel Choir
Catbite’s newest album, Nice One, was released 06 Aug 2021 via Bad Time Records. The band is going to be playing gigs and out on tour throughout the spring. You can check out the poster with all of that info below. Be sure to visit their official website, which also includes links to socials, as well as streaming and purchase options.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. Interviews may be lightly edit for content and clarity.
Julie is punk rock, lesbian time lady from the future. The greatest things in the world are punk rock and science fiction. Check out her website JulieRiver.com!
