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. Kyle Johnson (vocals, rhythm guitar) of Scranton’s ska-punk outfit The Squalors joined TGEFM to discuss their 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! What can you tell us about The Squalors, your sound and what you stand for?
Tough question right off the bat! I like it hahaha. Well The Squalors are a 4 piece ska punk band from Scranton PA! We’ve been together for 10 years as of 2023. Our tastes and sound vary quite a bit as our backgrounds in music vary quite differently. But as our sound changes our message remains the same. We like to write about political and social injustices. Our struggles with mental health and sometimes a little humor. But for us it’s always important that we try to offer our take on solution to all the issues we write about.
You are gearing up for Camp Punksylvania in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists like yourself?
Festival circuits are by far the best part of summer! We are just coming out of our COVID hiatus and can’t begin to tell you how excited we all are that festivals have become such a more frequent part of society these days. We can tour small clubs all year round but festivals always bring everyone together. Especially Camp. Even though this is The Squalors first year, this is now my third year playing Camp and there is no other festival bringing family vibes like this one. Festivals always offers the chance for artists to meet new people and develop good relationships, but camp offers those experiences for life. We’re so honored to be part this year and to get the opportunity be part of the camp family.
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?
Man I wish mark was here to help answer this one hahahaha. We’d for sure be the group that’s up to no good. Whether it be filling the showers with worms, TPing the other campers cabins or skinny dipping in the lake. Sorry not sorry!
It’s wayyyyy to hard to pick just one good campfire song, knowing the nature of this band though it would probably be a drunken and aggressive cover of Spongebob’s “Campfire Song Song.” That has to be a thing right?
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?
This years camp line up is disgusting. Start to finish. I can speak for all of the band when I say The Suicide Machines are a must see. They’ve been Mark’s number one favorite for as long as I’ve known him. For me it’s gotta be Potato Pirates and War On Women. And let’s not forget the camp legacy bands. One of my favorite parts of this festival!
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Well I’d just like to end with this. Keep an eye on our socials. We’ve been lacking since the pandemic stole the life from us. But a rebirth is soon to come. I’d like to take this opportunity to share that there’s a lot of new music and other things to come thanks to our newest addition and extremely handsome Duds on lead guitar. Can’t wait for Camp
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/
