Bay area duo IN LIFE will release their debut full length album, Strawberry Blonde (pre-order) on 8 September. To whet your appetites member Nick Noro has joined TGEFM on our latest Roll of the Dice interview series.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats in advance on the release of Strawberry Blonde. What can you tell us about the band and the album?
It’s our best music. A perfect blend of indie rock and shoegaze. Is it for everyone? Yes. Yes it is.
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?
I don’t know if there was a single moment? Finding Slayer around 2001-2002. Then definitely this one Oakland Metro Exodus show I went to in 2004 was a huge turning point for how I’d live life. I’m really lucky my mom/dad never shunned me for being obsessed with music when I was young. Grateful for that.
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?
Well, first off – saying and doing things that could best be described as sinful. Secondly – I trusted some people when I was a teenager who ripped me off for some music. I don’t actually think other people playing your songs is a bad idea but if they’re doing it out of malice or you never agreed to it? That’s not ok. People who say “I have no regrets!” I envy that (or perhaps I don’t even understand their sentiment). Life is ugly and complicated. Sure we cannot change the past but how are you supposed to mature and grow if you cannot admit you ever made some mistakes?
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?
This band Manos de Fierro is a really good death metal/hardcore band from the east bay. If we’re talking about indie rock/shoegaze there’s been a lot of good bands from the continent of Australia the last 5 years that we like – The Chats, Viagra Boys, & Amyl and The Sniffers.
Once the world has its hands on Strawberry Blonde, what’s next for IN LIFE?
A couple hard regrets, a breakup and possibly death.
What do you wish I asked about or that you had more of an opportunity to speak about during this interview?
I’d really like to direct attention to my hand tattoos. We don’t do feudalism anymore – and rightfully so – but I’ll be fuckin damned if you lump me in with everyone else after this fresh mandala heals.
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.
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/
