-Interview- Bedpan Fight (5/26/15)

Brooklyn, NY punk band Bedpan Fight gets interviewed and talks about their start with music, the NY music scene and upcoming plans. Check it out below.

From: Brooklyn, NY
Sounds like: Punk Rock

1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Bedpan Fight” and is there any meaning behind it?

BB: I started playing piano at age 5, and picked up guitar, drums, and vocals along the way! Today, I run a Music/Audio Production company based out of Brooklyn called If And Only If Productions, serving local bands, film makers, and voice actors. Our sound developed from just the right jumbling of beer, weed, and depression; and our desire to bring back some good ol' 90's melodic punk! I think Tim's friend Ryan from Go Gadget Go came up with "Bedpan Fight," but I still don't believe him.

Doc: I started fucking around on guitar at 15 and bass at 17 because hooray for punk rock, but I didn't really start to pretend to practice seriously until, like, last year. I think Babs' version of how we develop our sound is pretty spot on. It also helps that we're terrible people. I don't remember who came up with Bedpan Fight, it was already a potential name by the time I joined. Personally, I like to tell people that Bedpan Fight means whatever you want it to mean, but usually think of it as two anthropomorphic bedpans going at each other with switchblades.

TS: I got started with music singing Simon and Garfunkel songs with my Mom between tricks in the alley behind our house.

Beatz: I started playing when I bought my own drum set used in Sam Ash when I was 13 with the money I earned cleaning chimneys with my father. I started learning how to play by watching instructional VHS tapes and developed my fast punk playing by joining my cousins thrash/hardcore punk band named ASSRAMMED out in Valley Stream, Long Island. Band names really don't mean much to me, the music and the attitude does.

2. What do you want your listeners to take away from your music?

BB: Don't always take yourself too seriously and/or "Jesus Christ, I'm so in the mood for a chorizo burrito right now".

Doc: That they should buy us drinks and that you're never too educated to act like an idiot. Also, "My goodness, the Doctor is quite a stud." in the case of listeners who are queer ladies.

TS: We have so much fun doing this and we want people to sing along and have as good a time as we are.

Beatz: I want people to say "damn that drummer can play, I wonder if he'll eat cookies off my nipples?" The answer is YES.

3. You guys recently shot a video for the track "Final Breakdown", how did that go?

BB: We just got the rough cut back from our Director Jon Mittiga, and it's looking good!

Doc: That was so much fun. I do love an excuse to drink out on the street in the early afternoon. All of us were laughing and cracking jokes the whole time. I thought I was gonna fucking die when we shot Tim's scene. Didn't take that long either.

TS: It was a day of belly laughs for sure.

Beatz: I originally wasn't going to be in the video because I was on tour with another band at the time of the first shoot date, but they ended up doing a seconds day and I was able to be there to sit in a chair and laugh at Tim.

4. What can people expect from your live show?

BB: Sex, Male nudity, punk rock, and gin.

Doc: Abortion jokes, lots of references to fucking, and surprisingly good harmonies from a pack of aggressively silly morons.

TS: And sometimes a free kazoo.

Beatz: Fast, loud, and fun/funny music and jokes. It's kind of like a live band stand-up comedy routine but I sometimes show dong.

5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?

BB: The Queers, Screeching Weasel, and Lagwagon?

Doc: The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Tied For Last, and Koffin Kats.

TS: The Sheckies, Tied for Last, and the Bloody Muffs (and Go Gadget Go).

Beatz: Blink 182, Sum 41, Rancid, the Transplants, the Exploited, the Casualties, Midnight Mob, Annie Activator, The Murder Junkies, and Iggy Pop.

6. Any crazy show stories?

BB: Did an unspecified substance with Mark from Guttermouth when we opened for them lol.

Doc: Once we got heckled by a guy that looked exactly like a young Johnny Ramone. That was pretty freaking surreal. I don't remember all that many of our shows too clearly, if ya get me.

TS: That was me Doc and I look about as much like Joey Ramone as you do.

Beatz: I'm not the original drummer so I've only played about 4 shows so far. Ask me again after 10 shows.

7. What’s your take on the current state of punk?

BB: There are a lot of interesting new bands popping up with the "post" label attached to them (e.g. post-hardcore, post-punk), which have a heavier feel about them (something that I actually do like). I think with the right pushes, classic punk rock as we knew it can be brought back into the light.

Doc: There's so much amazing music being made by so many bands all over the world right now. Punk is doing just fine, you just gotta look for it. Also, bands really, REALLY need to do more to put themselves out there. It's super fucking frustrating when I see an awesome band and then it turns out that they don't keep people updated on their future gigs, don't record ever, don't have merch, don't have any gig footage, and don't engage with fans and potential fans. If your band is functionally invisible the second your set is over, then you're not actually doing very much for the scene.

Beatz: There's current punk?! I thought we were it....


BB: This is a very interesting question. It seems that since there are a billion bands trying to make a name for themselves in big cities across the country, we lose sight of the multitude of show-going communities in small towns. In NYC, you must develop your following and keep them interested, as there are many other options for entertainment each night. When we've played in Port Jervis, NY for example, there's always a built-in crowd!

Doc: Super fucking competitive in NYC. Not only are there a billion bands, there's a billion places that have live music on a given night. You have to be memorable if you want people to come see you specifically. The crowds are a pretty mixed bag, but I wouldn't say we've ever had a "bad" crowd. Tiny, sure, but there's so much other shit to do that the people who come out for a show are there because they want to be. I haven't hit a gig in New York that wasn't in NYC for about the past 4ish years, so I can't really answer the second question. The bands that come to us from Long Island and upstate are generally pretty good but I dunno what their scenes are like.

TS: Punk isn't dead.

Beatz: The Long Island original rock scene is terrible. It's oversaturated with really shitty metal bands and pay to play venues. NYC is better but they don't like to pay good bands for live music because there are so many bands that suck and are willing to play for free.

9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?

BB: Illegal music downloading doesn't allow for the band to collect residuals due to them. A happy(ish) medium to this lately has been Spotify. Although bands actually make a fraction of the royalties they would otherwise, Spotify allows the user to create comprehensive playlists of the music they like based on one song or album!

Doc: Eh, I kinda have mixed feelings about it. I've pirated too much shit in my day to say that I'm opposed to downloading music illegally, but I don't think you can call yourself a fan of a band or artists if you've jacked their shit and done fuck all to support them. My pirating was always try before you buy. At least come out for a gig or buy a shirt or whatever. I think a lot of non-musicians don't really realize how much time, energy, and cash goes into making music. Honestly though, I'd rather have someone steal my music than have some greedy asshole pay me a third of a penny for each song play and ten cents per album sale. Yeah, I'm getting fucked either way, but the first person is at least telling me that I'm pretty first.

TS: I'd give our music away if I could.

Beatz: With the invention on the internet and YouTube music is like porn....free. If you're a popular touring band you'll make your money selling out live shows and selling merch.

10. What’s next for Bedpan Fight?

BB: Record a full length album at If And Only If Productions, Inc. and get a tour going!

Doc: Yup, what Babs said. Hopefully, the bass lines will be recorded by August. Unfortunately, my involvement in the band will have to be greatly reduced after that because I have to move to Atlanta to start earning a PhD. Hopefully, I can still come up and play a gig from time to time.

TS: Ditto.

Beatz: New verses by me in some songs and plenty of fights with bedpans.

11. Any shoutouts?

BB: Haters, Doubters, and your mom.

Doc: Tied For Last, The Bloody Muffs, Gorgeous Ladies of Blood Wrestling, Annie Activator, The Violence, and Caroleen on The Scene for being awesome people, Otto's Shrunken Head for being an awesome bar, End Transmission Games for giving us a shout out in Psionics and being mad supportive of my involvement in Bedpan Fight, and myself for being a studly, brilliant, female Adonis/Casanova hybrid.

TS: Hey Mom! You won't have to pull tricks anymore. I'm gonna be famous!

Beatz: My lovely supportive parents, Jesus Christ, Annie Activator, and all the fans that come out every night to support and keep the scene alive.