Grab your s’mores, your bug spray and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media is about to take over Northeast Pennsylvania with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing local acts like The Suicide Machines, Bad Cop / Bad Cop and A Wilhelm Scream, will take place from 1 September until 3 September, tickets are available here. Shawna Potter of the absolutely fucking brilliant, Baltimore act, War on Women joined TGEFM to discuss his band’s upcoming appearance at Camp Punksylvania for the latest installment of our Camp-centric Roll Of The Dice interview series. Check it out below and I’ll see you at the campfire!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! You are gearing up forCamp Punksylvania in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists such as War On Women?
It’s a lot of bang for your buck! Instead of playing a few small shows with unpredictable attendance, we get to play in front of tons of people, some of whom would have never seen you play otherwise, and we get to see friends play without having to book an entire tour with each of them to do so.
War on Women is unapologetically inclusive and political. If you had told me a decade ago we’d be looking at a campaign trail made up of an octogenarian who can’t stand still without tripping over his feet, a federally indicted con-man crying oppression from his gold-plated, chandelier festooned bathroom in his private resort, a puss-in-boots meatball motherfucker trying to fight a cartoon mouse and an anti-vax Kennedy who can’t decide on any platform beyond licking the boots of Joe Rogan, 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 the shitshow happening inside the dumpster fire of American government. How is the already absurd presidential race and performative legislation playing into your songwriting and your mental health?
Um, it’s not great, Ed! I was talking to a friend recently about how what we do can be reactionary, adrenal, angry, etc, and because of the nature of this pandemic we’ve entered into a more contemplative state. It’s different, and it makes trying to find out what’s actually happening in the world a task I must psych myself up for. Social media used to be a place where I could find like minded people, you know, like “finally someone is as big of a feminist killjoy as me!” but that connection feels so rare among the sea of bots, maga weirdos, and general negativity. And I think the contemplative, internal, “stay at home to be safe” mindset we’ve (rightly) been through, is a really weird place to like…watch our rights being stripped away by the corrupt supreme court. I feel like, yes, they were playing the long game, but they waited til we were at our weakest, our most broke, and it fucking worked. We should be out in the streets setting things on fire like the protesters in France.
You have been such an influential act that means so much to so many of us. Does the high bar you’ve set for yourselves in the past help, hinder or affect your creativity today and to what extent?
Well I have no idea if that’s true but that’s kind of you to say! Yes, we do push ourselves, we are not interested in making the same record twice if we can help it, and I don’t want to put a negative feeling onto it like “hinder” but it’s definitely…a thing. I’m sure we all feel it to varying degrees, but speaking for myself it makes me appreciate the songs that come easy. I think I take a bit more time with the ones that don’t, I let myself edit and tweak and veer and start over if that’s what needs to happen, instead of saying “eh, it’s good enough.” We are in the middle of making an album now, actually, so this is fresh in my mind! I feel like I was less inclined to say “that’s fine” which of course is more frustrating in the moment, more work, but the end product is something you can really feel proud of.
In this age of social media, members of the Q-Tang Klan have been emboldened to aggressively spew their ignorance with arrogance and anonymity, spreading misinformation at every turn. Where would you direct our readers to stay informed without having to wade through the bullshit from the traitors shouting from their bully pulpits?
One of our new songs is about this! I’d say for me, whenever I hear any kind of news story that seems biased in any way, I remind myself to follow the money. Who stands to gain from this. Sometimes it’s as simple as the news outlet itself! But that’s been a helpful little nugget to me over the years. In researching a couple new songs, I came across hearyourselfthink.org and they have a good guide to help you counter the effects of fear-based media. I’m sure there’s a ton of stuff out there, but lately I’ve been reminding myself to be mindful about how I get news. To not just doom scroll on Twitter, but seek out a couple trusted sources, local, national, and global, and check in with them. Which is tough to do!
We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked. What’s the state of the live scene from your point of view?
Well, lots of cool shows happening again, just not a lot of masks. I don’t judge anyone that wants to play, attend, or work a show – we’ve been playing and attending shows – I just try to wear a mask when I can. I want to shout out our local radical bookstore, Red Emma’s, for still having a mask policy. I don’t know of any other place that does.
You’ve been in this scene for a while, 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? What pieces of advice do you have for the up and coming acts performing at Camp Punksylvania?
There is no one show or one tour that will make or break you. You can say no, for your own mental, physical, and financial health. But, if you’re able to say yes, then do it, because great opportunities are rare and not promised to continue. This is a long game. If you need fame or money to stay in it, then you’re gonna be really disappointed, so you have to just love playing music. I have plenty of regrets, most of which I certainly wouldn’t share here [laughs], but there were times in my life I thought suffering was necessary to make great art. It’s not. Other than that, end your set on time, break down your drums *OFF* stage, and never drink another band’s beer!
Any summer camp worth its salt knows there needs to be a lot of different activities to participate in. What activities would the members of War On Women be in charge of if Camp Punksylvania was an actual sleepaway camp? Who would you assign as counselors?
I mean…we have an album called Capture the Flag, so that seems obvious. (Go watch the fun music video for it, by the way!). But, to have a little more fun with it,
I’m going to assume for this made up scenario that the camp isn’t gross, there’s no mosquitos, and there’s a pristine and refreshing lake. With all that, I’d be outside near the water, so a lifeguard? Row instructor? Jenarchy would put themselves in charge of the entire camp. Sue would hang with the indoor kids who sunburn easily. Brooks would help the kids put on a musical or talent show. And I think as long as Dave could sit and chill under an umbrella, just yelling and using a whistle, he’d coach soccer or something. I did NOT run this answer by anyone, these are all made up and likely totally wrong!
What song are you performing at the end of the season campfire/talent show?
Hmmm, maybe “Barracuda” by Heart? Actually, no, I have been around a campfire with friends playing songs on tour after a show, and Brooks and I played “Bruce Wayne” by an amazing band called Forget Cassettes out of Nashville. So, that one, since we already know how to play it.
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?
All of them.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
No matter how cool we think our scenes are, there’s always some jerk trying to ruin the party. I encourage anyone attending the festival to learn the 5 Ds of Bystander Intervention so they can watch out for the most vulnerable punks among us. Everyone deserves equal access to leisure time! Let’s do our part by not letting hurtful and hateful comments and actions slip by unaddressed. Check out this simple video, or buy my book Making Spaces Safer to learn more.
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/
