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.
The ska outfit Omnigone is made up of former members of Link 80 and Kitty Kat Fan Club and preparing to release Against The Rest this Friday, 31 March (pre-order). The record, sure to toe the line between ska and hardcore, will feature guest spots from Steve Choi (RX Bandits, The Sound of Animals Fighting) and Jay Navarro (Suicide Machines) among other guests. TGEFM was lucky enough to work with frontman/songwriter Adam Davis about the new record, his time in Link 80 and advice for the next generation to follow in his large footprints.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats in advance of the release of “Against The Rest.”. What can you tell us about this project and the songwriting process on this album?
This album was primarily demoed at home. Baz & I are used to hashing things out for hours in a practice space, refining a song over hours & hours until everyone is happy with it. Our new writing process allows us to work alone, but with the aid of fake drums & a simple interface for guitar/bass, we can flesh out a full song before ever stepping into a practice space. The demos don’t sound great, but that’s beside the point. As long as we know what the songs should sound like, we’re good.
Ok wait: that’s not entirely true. “One More Minute” was written 21 years ago. It started as a Link 80 song. As Link 80 was slowly edging away from ska, Baz attempted to bring the band back to ska with this song. We played it live A LOT, but it never got properly recorded. So, the words are different, the bridge is different, the horn part is slightly different, but it’s a 21 year old Link 80 song.
I won’t call it a ska revival because ska is something that’s never gone away, but there is a massive rejuvenation of the scene with Dissidente, We Are The Union, Kill Lincoln, Catbite and so many more. What is going on out there that has gotten so many people back on their boards to ride this latest wave of ska?
I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, playing the Link 80 reunion in 2016 lit the fire in me to want to start a new band. It took me until 2019 to commit to the idea, mostly because it just felt daunting.
I’ll say this though: ska is dope. It doesn’t have to just be dumb flicky flicky songs with bad sounding horns about food. It pairs so well with other genres of music. It has a versitle rhythmic quality that feels good to move to. It’s based in anti-racism. Playing ska is fun. More bands would play ska if there wasn’t a stigmatism that 8-bars of ska in your punk song makes you a ska band.
Omnigone has a rotating lineup, how does that play into the songwriting process? What are the pros and cons to this approach?
The core of Omnigone is Baz & I. Beyond that, it allows us to include friends who can’t commit to a full time band. It also allows us to include members who have other projects! At last count, at least 20+ people have contributed to Omnigone either live or on a recording.
The best part about recording is nine times out of ten, everyone records their own parts. Outside of a chord progression & a vocal melody, I trust other musicians to bring their own ideas. Every time, they come up with something better than what I would have tried to force.
The only con is band photos. No one ever knows who is in the band, outside of Baz & I.
When you joined Link 80 you were all pretty young, looking back now, what advice would you have for the young, up-and-coming acts you play with?
There is a lot: don’t name your band something stupid. Prioritize sleep & eating well. Drink lots of water. Tour as much as you can. If they give you 30 minutes for your set, play 25. Take your drums off stage before you break them down. Always get paid. Invest in good recordings. Record often. Learn how to do everything. Collaborate with other bands. Keep your songs shorts. Watch the whole show. Don’t talk to cops, & don’t antagonize cops.
Link 80 is such an influential band and means so much to so many of us. How is that high standard you set in your times or with them playing into the writing and/touring process? Does the high bar you’ve set for yourself help, hinder or affect your creativity and to what extent?
Link 80 was a band that everyone went all in on. We practiced three days a week for 3 hours at a time when we were home, & we toured 8 months out of the year. We lived off of $5 a day & everything went back into the band. When you’re living like that, you’re putting everything into writing & performing. So, maybe you’re setting a high bar to others, but you’re constantly reaching for that next level. You have blinders on to every thing else.
Link 80 is now the template for how I write music. If I get stuck on a part, I can just go back to what we would have done back then, & I find the answer. I think a lot about Joey, about Matt, about Nick. I wonder what they would do, & it provides the inspiration I’m looking for. Maybe it’s different for Baz, but that’s how it works for me.
What’s the state of the scene from your point of view? We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked. What impact, if any, does the current cultural and political landscape have on the band?
That’s a lot to unpack. Let’s go piece by piece. State of the Scene: the scene turns over every 5 years. New bands start, new venues open, new kids find punk music for different reasons. Here in the bay, it’s on a high tide right now. Lots of young bands doing wild shit, like False Flag & Surprise Privilege playing a show on BART. Hardcore bands like Scowl & Spy who ten years ago were the kids going to shows. There is a general “don’t give a fuck” vibe running through everything because everyone lost a few years.
For Omnigone, we have done the most gigging post-pandemic, & we still treat the situation seriously. Our band masks indoors at all the shows except when we are on stage, we mask going into gas stations or truck stops. We had one member catch COVID during our run in September, which meant shifting our line up around to finish the shows. Andrew (of Flying Raccoon Suit & Joystick) is a phenomenal bassist in addition to being a rad trombone player, so he just scooted over. You have to be ready to make things work on tour.
Politically, it’s more important than ever to clearly state where you stand. Gone are the days of “fuck the system” being your rallying cry. We stand against racism, classism, homophobia & transphobia.
We believe the police should be defunded & those assets should be redistributed to programs to help the community. We believe in the power of the youth to show us the way to a better future.
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 know about?
Noise Complaint, Still Alive, Flying Raccoon Suit, Half Past Two, 8Kalacas, FUSKA. Also, all the Bad Time Records bands. Catbite should be the biggest ska band on the planet right now.
Not to put the cart before the horse, but after the album release and the Omnigone dates on the Bad Time Records Tour, what’s next for Omnigone?
We have a show with Eichlers & Half Past Two in Sacramento on April 28th. It’s at the room above Harlow’s, the Starlet Room.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
I’m just glad that people are enjoying ska & ska punk again. It’s rad music, it not inherently dorky. Don’t be afraid to like what you like. Also, if there’s something you want to do with your life, start it today. You’re never too old to follow your dreams. Fuck ageism, fuck giving up.
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/
