The Bad Larrys Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD. What type of artist are you?
TBL. We are a five-piece band that plays gritty garage/psych/surf rock heavily under the influence of those original genre defining bands. It’s loud, energetic, groovy, intoxicated and inebriated, tastefully drenched in reverb, raw, raucous, and ravenous to be heard.
PD. Tell us the brief history of yourself.
TBL. The band is comprised of a few members who’ve played together in Delaware in different bands. Sean, our singer and guitarist, and Dave, our bassist, had worked together on some projects in the past. Jaret, our guitarist, joined a few months after Paul (drums) and Ethan (keys) had gotten together with Sean and Dave to form what is now The Bad Larrys. About half of the album we’re releasing was written before Jaret joined and he brought some riffs he’d been hearing in his head for a while which all sums up to over two hours worth of songs written and 
completed.
We spent all of last December writing non-stop and earlier this year we recorded 15 songs live, in single takes, to tape, in one day. The past year has been spent honing in on “our sound” as well as putting together a studio in Philadelphia, PA. to call home and to use as a tool to keep pumping out material.
PD. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
TBL. Generally speaking, the whole band is heavily under the influence of Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Ventures, Thee Oh Sees, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, all of those crusty garage nuggets that paved the way for Punk, organic cacao beans, pulp mystery books like the Jules de Grandin series, and sleep deprivation.
PD. What are your dreams and goals?
TBL. We’d like to take this show on the road and be able to share the stage with our favorite musicians. It sounds cheesy but we’ve been really invested in this and are super hungry to get it to burst. We dream of playing the Desert Daze fest in Joshua Tree, CA. as well as Levitation in Austin, TX. Gizz-Fest in Australia would be perfect. A man can dream, a man can dream..
We’re also talking about releasing four albums in 2018. We’re going to bunker down again in January and purge ourselves of songs we have written but haven’t recorded yet.
PD. Who writes your songs, what are they about?
TBL. It’s a very collaborative group effort. New equipment and instruments are crucial tools for inspiration but songs usually start with a guitar riff or bass line that we beat the hell out of as we gain a bit of an idea of where it might be headed. They seem to appear out of nowhere when we noodle in between songs.
Heavily structured songs don’t seem to be as important as putting together a dynamic rollercoaster. Sean is really good at writing lyrics and hearing melodies on the spot. Lyrics range from listing off places to fuck in public, seeing things and demons out of the corners of your eyes, Space Bladder Punch Rockets, etc.
Dave saves Jaret when we hit a wall with a song and has been known to contribute to lyrics as well. Paul is a human metronome and is patient enough to sit through all the noodling and keep us focused. Ethan knows just what to play to tie it all together. That kid can play the fucking keys!
We’re very lucky to have each other and make it an effort to push each other past the boundaries of our creativity every time we write a new song. There’s been a lot of individual development as a result of that and it’s something we appreciate each other for.
PD. How do you promote your band and shows?
TBL. Jaret and Dave run all of the band’s social media accounts and do their best to stay active through those mediums. Sean is an amazing graphic artist and whips up posters in a short amount of time and we all do our part to share those things individually.
PD. What do you think about downloading music online?
TBL. Legally? All for it. Illegally? All for it. That’s about as much as anyone should ever really have to say about that, right? We probably wouldn’t have had access to so much of the stuff we discovered when all of that pirating was on the rise. We like to think that we make up for it by supporting those bands when they come around on tour and purchase merch.
PD. What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
TBL. We don’t know shit about it really. We’ll find out soon enough, right?
PD. What song do you wish you’d written and why?
TBL. “Smooth” by Santana ft. Rob Thomas. That’s a no-brainer.
PD. What are some of your pet peeves?
TBL. When places sell deep-fried pickles and they’re spears and not slices. That sucks, a lot. Bandmates that crack open beers and leave them half-full all the time…looking at you, Dave. Faulty equipment. All of our gear is vintage and sounds amazing but can fuck us over when we least expect it. Oh yeah, and other bands named “The Bad Larrys.”
PD. What is your proudest moment in music?
TBL. Definitely when we all sat down in the control room after months of mixing and polishing up the album. We turned the lights off, and listened to it from start to finish as loud as we could tolerate. It was one of those moments we won’t be able to recreate and totally validated all the shit we went through during that time.
PD. Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
TBL. We haven’t booked much for next year, that should change very shortly but our next show is at The Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Conveniently located right across the street from the legendary brewery Jaret brews at. Here’s some info about the show:
“In an effort to bring together local artists and musicians, the Cullen family will host its 11th annual Music For The Arts on Friday, January 18th.
This event affords artists the opportunity to donate or display their work at the benefit while local musicians take the stage. If you are a photographer, painter, or any other kind of artist, this is a 
great opportunity to network and get your art out there for people to see.
Friends, family, newcomers and neighbors are invited to enjoy the sounds and take in some culture. $20 entrance fee/donation will be accepted at the door. All donations will be made in the name of our sister, daughter, cousin and friend to many — Christina Marie Cullen. She was a gifted artist, photographer and musician and this is the only true way to honor her life.
In addition, we are always looking for donations of all kinds — big or small — for our raffle and auction. It’s a great way to represent your business or art with this local community gathering.”
We’re always up for supporting things like this. A couple of us saw Dick Dale play there last year and being on that same stage will be fucking sweet. It’s going to be a hell of a night. We’ll be booking a short regional tour for the summer as well. Larrys out!
The Bad Larrys links:
Band location – Philadelphia Pennsylvania
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