Bad Copy

Last year ended with a bang. LITERALLY. I was hit by a car and was feeling depressed and pretty pessimistic about the upcoming year despite the amazing support I have been lucky enough to receive from people I consider family. Major shout out to the amazing woman that stopped traffic to save my life and didn’t let that car run me over a second time or take off while I was down. All the love to my dearest Brad, my bandmates, my parents, and my brother for being superheroes this year. Extra thanks to all my chosen family that checked in on me to make sure I was okay.

2019 ended up being the best worst year of my life, in that the ups and downs were the only consistent notable events to even write about. I am very grateful to be alive though, because I very well could not have been alive to experience 2019. So in light of that, I will continue to my list or more lists. These lists are filled with tour adventures, shows, some new album releases (some of which I may or may not have reviewed yet on this very site) and of course, my unfortunate bodily function mishaps. It’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2019.

The Good

1. I was really lucky because I got to play bass on tour with City Mouse this year. City Mouse is fantastic. They may not have anything new out in 2019, but if you haven’t gotten a copy of Get Right you are fuckin’ up. It was an honor to have me and my recently concussed brain thrown in a van and dragged up and down the coast with these amazingly talented people.

2. I got to play Awesome Fest Presents: Canceled… twice… with two bands. That was tight. My band The Hammerbombs was down one Rob, so Matt declared that we were Kevinbombs and Bad Copy’s own Kevin Skalba (from False Positives) became an honorary Hammerbomb for the weekend. It was a mess; Ilya was blacked out from drinking sneaky tikis and trash cans with Matt all weekend. We somehow were able to practice before we played and let’s just say that it was good that most people watching either set were as drunk as they were. Somehow in all this chaos I was able to pull off that City Mouse set, which I was extremely nervous about. Again, I’m grateful that people were drunk while watching and I’m still not sure how that went but I hope it was good enough.

3. So many friends released some of the best music ever. Sad Girlz Club, Western Settings, Problem Daughter, The Lucky Eejits, Decent Criminal, Tsunami Bomb, and Dead Bars have all put out fantastic albums and have gotten quite a bit of love already from around the web (and Bad Copy staff). So here’s a list within a list of some albums that I personally think may have NOT gotten enough love this year quite yet!

Stranger Than Fact – Waves and Currents
Danger, Inc – Up and Away
Civil War Rust – Shaky
Lazy Hawk – Utah! Get Me Two!
Run Your Pockets – 2019
Build Them To Break – Lucky Strike
Kicker – Pure Drive!
Fleshies – Introducing The Fleshies
Lightweight – Spirits Down
Total Massacre – The System Works
Le Saboteur – Best in Tension

4. I was invited to my punk rock dad’s 50th birthday party (I call him my dad because Naes 100% helped me grow up from a dumbass baby punk into a dumbass adult punk) on a boat that went around the bay while Schlong and Arnocorps played.  Me and my boo got way too drunk and it was a really good time. There were other bands that played… but I can’t remember. I’d say more about it, but it’s pretty fuzzy.

5. I went to and played Pouzza Fest in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is extremely well put together; they have an amazing lineup each year and everyone should go if they get the chance. I absolutely love this festival and vouch for it 100%. It’s a good time, Montreal is a super fun city to explore and I am lucky I got to do it. I only threw up once this year too. It was an honor to get to play. My some rad bands I got to see were Ash Williams, Big Loser, Dead Bars, Arms Aloft, Lost Love, Rayner, Iron Regan, and an incredibly moving acoustic performance by Seth Anderson.

Lots of great hangs with great people.  I feel really lucky and fortunate to have been able to do any of these crazy amazing things this year.

The Bad (this list is as short as possible, I am trying to stay positive)

1. My cat’s health deteriorated rapidly while I was away at Pouzza Fest. She died shortly after.

2. For about nine months of the year (and still, but mildly), I experienced post concussion symptoms that prevented me from living my daily life as “normal.” It is a struggle. Daily I’m able to do a lot of things I used to do. However, with this added onto things I already am challenged with in my personal life, it has given me a new perspective on seeing the world.

3. A bunch of amazing friends and friends of friends are no longer with us. RIP to all of you, you talented amazing beautiful humans.You are missed. You are loved. That you even touched this earth and are in our memories will forever be a gift.

4. I lost my car and therefore lost a significantly easier way to transport myself to work and my band’s gear for most of the year. That sucked pretty bad.

5. I didn’t eat enough burritos when I was in San Diego. Why oh why did I not eat only burritos when I was in San Diego?  I was there twice this year! I had so many chances! I was fairly broke both times, but still. Epic fail.

The Ugly
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM READING ABOUT POOP OR VOMIT.

1. New Years Day, of course. I threw up after a night of drinking. Pretty basic. Now onto the more gross stuff.

2. I threw up at Canceled from drinking as per usual. I also ate some Thai food with Davey the day before the first day of the fest.  I threw up and had diarrhea twice after. I guess there was something in that curry I shouldn’t have been eating. Ate a few mistakes on the road due to fast food joints but our fearless leader mostly kept me safe from bad food choices.

3. On The Hammerbomb’s little mini tour, I ate the worst burrito I have ever eaten out of panic because I had only ate one burrito while we were in San Diego. It was horrible. I threw up behind the bathrooms at a gas station somewhere I don’t even remember. It felt like I was never going to stop throwing up chunks of this burrito that was smothered in what looked like canned tomato soup.

4. I went down a slip and slide that went into a large kiddie pool at the end of the night at a party that Civil War Rust, The Pathogens and Smokers played. The water was basically stewing with dirty drunk punk residue and I went in head first and got covered in it. That pool smelled awful, felt awful, but I was drunk and we got to the party late so was there really any choice but to go down the slip and slide? No, but eww.

5. My dumb band released an album. Oh why oh why did we do that? We worked pretty hard on it, but what can four drunk punks put together in a weekend’s worth of recording sessions? It’s up to you to determine if you want to subject your ears to it. However, everything else on Paper Street Cuts is amazing. Go listen to all that stuff instead. On a side note, we went back into the studio to record a song for a compilation that is coming out soon and I was horribly sick during the entire session. We recorded the bass last because I spent the day in the bathroom pretty much. Me and that toilet at Earthtone Studios became best friends. I got real tired of staring at that creepy baby painting in that bathroom.

Here we are, at the end. That was the good, bad, and the ugly of 2019 for me at least. Thanks for reading and if you made it this far, bravo and kudos to you. I somehow found a way to work in as many links as I could for friend’s bands… I hope you, the reader, can check out every single one and enjoy them.  Happy root beer, 2020 here we come!