Roll of the Dice: 10 questions with The Bad Ups

Philly punks The Bad Ups are about to release the new album Life Of Sin. Before the 27 September release, the band has joined TGEFM for the latest in our Roll of the Dice interview series. Check it out below!

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! Congrats on the new record, Life Of Sin. Let’s talk a little bit about how the record came into existence and came together. What was going on at the time that helped kickstart the storyboarding and filming process?

(Travis): thanks! Stoked on Life Of Sin! we hadn’t had a release in a few years and we had spent some time not doing anything at all during pandemic and not really seeing or jamming with each other…so I think there was just a lot of excitement when we could finally hangout again that we really wanted to put something out. I was going thru some life stuff and had just moved into an RV, so I was doing a lot of late night writing…so Chris and I and the other guys started piecing the songs together…we were just gonna do another EP then we were like “nah fuck that let’s do a full length!” And basically just laid out what we had, wrote a couple more songs, and hit the studio. We have a home studio that Chris engineers so it made it easy for us to sit with things until we felt content with it. We did the drums with our homie Scott Minner at The Armory studios and that kept us on track in a big way I think!

You’re shared stages with Face to Face, The Adicts and Bouncing Souls. 
What impact has the time with those bands had on your sound?

(Travis): we take inspiration from a lot of places but I guess I’d say out of all those bands, I think Bouncing Souls had the greatest impact. Mostly because they are one of our favorite bands of all time and we’ve worn out all their records…but also having spent the most time with those guys in particular, they’ve always just been really genuine awesome people and that sort of thing in this industry carries a lot of weight! People say don’t meet your heroes, but if Bouncing Souls are your heroes, please go meet them. They are incredible people! Also their guitar tech Tim is the best dude!

The Bad Ups are from Philly. It’s such an interesting, diverse and generally inspiring place that has bred so much amazing music, from country to punk and every genre between. Why do you think the area churns out so many brilliant musicians and songwriters? How does the area feed into the music you are writing, if at all?

(Chris): growing up skating the streets of Philly and going to local shows across the city, you can take inspiration from everything you see. From homelessness to the high end lifestyles, from south street to northeast philly, the creativity is endless there. 

The world has been going through some shit over the last few years. What affect, if any, have the cultural landscapes of the country and the world over the last few years have on your music or the live scene in 
general?

(Travis): I think we tend to write more about personal experience type things but I think the state of the country and the world has made it more apparent how important is to find your tribe of like minded people. Strong communities are built on love and respect and that’s gotten more important in the scene I think! 

What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?

(Travis): I think the most memorable moment, for me, was the night we played with The Adicts. Our homie Chitty volunteered to drive the band so the rest of us ended up getting super wasted…some of us throwing up out the van window, and some of us just being incredibly ridiculous…and then we stopped at a sheetz or something and I placed a massive order and somehow only remembered to grab a bag full of condiments and none of the food. It was just the funniest night in hindsight haha!
(Chris): we played a DIY show under 95 at Grays Ferry skatepark, there was a massive crowd of new people getting into the scene and a lot of familiar faces and everyone was just having a blast in the circle pits and singing along. Super awesome vibe!

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?

(Travis): –Zero Society “Pressure”-Bouncing Souls “True Believers” –Screeching Weasel “Video” –MXPX “Do Your Feet Hurt”-Rancid “Salvation”-Youth Brigade “I Hate My Life”-Social Distortion “Far Behind”
(Chris): –Bouncing Souls “Kid”
–MXPX “Doing Time”
–The Casualties “Punk Rock Love”
–Millencolin “Boring Planet”

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?

(Travis): No Ragrets

One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?

(Travis):  Some bands I been digging right now are Old City, Static Friction, The Manipulators, Cool Tone Brown, The Slads, and Béton Armé! 
(Chris): Old Town Wake, Brainwashed, Title Holder, TwentyTwo!

Once Life In Sin is out for the world, what’s next for The Bad Ups’ schedule?

(Travis): once Life Of Sin is released we’ll be playing shows and more shows! And more videos!

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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. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.