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, War On Women and A Wilhelm Scream, will take place from 1 September until 3 September, tickets are available here. Dan “Bopper” O’Day, founding member and guitarist of The River City Rebels joined TGEFM to discuss their upcoming appearance at Camp Punx 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! I could be crazy, but I seem to remember seeing you guys every year at Warped Tour whether I was going to the Jersey, New York or DC stops. Now you are gearing up for Camp Punksylvania in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists like yourself?
I think it means you get to make a lot of new friends and network with bands from all over the place. We made so many friends over the years at Warped Tour that lead to long lasting friendships and tour opportunities. Everyone one from Flogging Molly to Madcap and Left Alone. I’m hoping this years Camp can provide a similar thing.
What’s the state of the live 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, do the current cultural and political landscapes have on the two of you and your music?
Live music seems to be really hurting. It’s not from covid but the lack of the younger audiences finding it. Trends in music are steering away from loud punk bands and heading towards the stuff in vogue like electronic and hip-hop stuff. We really need another young punk band to start that fire again like Green Day did back in the 90’s.
Any summer camp worth its salt knows there needs to be a lot of different activities to participate in. What activity would you be in charge of if Camp Punksylvania was an actual sleepaway camp? What song are you performing at the end of the season Campfire?
hmmm I would have to say nightly Dance parties. Each night with its own theme followed by some midnight swimming!
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?
I’m excited for the up and coming bands I know nothing about. I look to be inspired and love going in blind with an open mind. I also love The Suicide Machines 
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Follow River City Rebels on Facebook and instagram and we look forward to bringing the heat this September!
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/
