Interview With 'The Bad Bees'

Firstly, introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the band and how you came to be?

After four years starving for performance at college, four old friends met together in a smoky basement and started the project that would become The Bad Bees. Jacob Barbadoro, Bryan Kelly, Brandon King, and JT Melvin spent youth and young manhood together, always sharing the bond of music. Forming from the ashes of a few abandoned projects, The Bad Bees are the product of a small town with a passionate music scene.

What were you all up too prior to the band, was this always the chosen path or did you have other dreams and aspirations?

We all went our separate ways when it came time to head off for some higher education. The band and making music was just an afterthought. Now everyone was consumed with the day to day grind of being full time college students. It wasn’t until years later that we all found ourselves back in the same town. We had all successfully completed the necessary steps to grant you access to the “real world” but we just weren’t buying it. We all were hungry to see if life could offer more than the 9 to 5. The band became our way to get there.

Tell us about your latest EP and why our readers should check it out.

It has sneaky Metal elements to it at times. Pockets full of hard hitting energy that will make you whip your hair back and forth. Presented with crisp, clear tones and groovy rhythm sections. The EP starts off big and ends with a bang and all throughout you find yourself being pulled through beautiful soundscapes with plenty of fast changes and arrangements to keep your ears interested.

Who would you say is the bands main song writer or is it a group effort and where do you draw your inspiration lyrically and musically from?

Writing has always been a very open process for us. Not only in the manner we arrange songs but inspiration wise as well. Some people might assume that when it comes to writing isolation and extreme focus are good tools. It always seems though that the best lyrics or melodies come to mind during the most mundane of times during your daily routine. Often when you are trying least to be creative, and so that’s what we try to emulate in our writing process. Naturally letting ideas develop, be influenced by, and come out of our lives.

As a band what do you believe is your greatest achievement to date and why?

In the past two years we’ve been lucky enough to put out two solidly produced EP’s. We’ve had some big breakthroughs in many ways but at the end of the day it’s all about the music and we’re just really happy to be able to contribute.

Have you ever come face to face with someone within the music scene who has left you awestruck and why?

Back in November we had the chance to play with a group called Little Image out of Dallas TX. As far as live performances go they were on par with most major national acts. On top of being super tight players they had an entire visual setup that was nothing short of mesmerising. You get the feeling of being totally immersed in the performance when you see these guys. The fact that they were bringing this level of quality to a DIY show is what impressed us most.

What do you enjoy most about touring?

We’ve always appreciated the honesty that comes with touring. It gives you a chance to get outside of your normal circles and see what’s out there. What type of reaction will we get from totally unbiased crowds when they hear our material? It gives a greater sense of what’s helping or hurting you.

If we were to head out to one of your live shows what can ourselves and others expect?

We always try to think of our sets as if they were movies. It has a start and a finish with movements in between that drive forward a narrative. Its 45 minutes of a single, flowing, coherent piece that has little to no commercial interruption.

If you had one artist/band that you could go on tour with tomorrow who would it be and why?

Our tastes in music from member to member is, as with many groups, a pish posh array of styles and genres and subgenres of many sorts. There is one band, however, that we have all always shared a common love for. That band is Mastodon. Besides being huge fans of their music, we have always been attracted to the aura of light heartedness the group puts out.

You can spend an hour with a musical icon living or dead, who would you pick, why and what would you speak about?

We really got after each other with this one. Afterall so many good scenarios, how do you come to a decision!? When the dust cleared we came to the compromise of having beers with Elton John while he played piano to us and we all discussed what it means to truly be alive. Why? Why the hell not is the real question.

What is next for yourselves?

We’re looking at these next few months as some serious grind time. Coming off of this latest EP we want to be promoting it as much as possible. The decision was made to give ourselves a little more time before hitting the studio again compared to the time in between 'Fast Paced Space' and 'Big Pretty'. Assuring us plenty of time to work on and bring to life new material in its best possible shape for future listeners. We plan to venture back into the studio in autumn of 2018.

And finally and most importantly is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?

McClane’s wife is Holly OF COURSE it's a Christmas movie!

Website - thebadbees.org

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thebadbees/