Ahead of their two very sold out shows, we got to ask Bad Bad Hats a few questions. Read what they had to say below, and don’t miss them in the 7th St Entry this Saturday December 16!
Liz Legatt: What does your band name mean and where did it come from?
Kerry (of Bad Bad Hats): Bad Bad Hats is a reference to the Madeline children’s books. I used to read them when I was little and I watched a cartoon version on VHS tape. In the books, a “bad hat” is a person who’s a trouble-maker or up to no good. When I was making a scene as a kid, my parents would ask me if I was being a bad hat. I don’t know why it was in my head when we were naming the band, but it’s nostalgic for me.
LL: Bad Bad Hats met and formed while attending Macalester College—so really, the Twin Cities are your stomping grounds. What’s your favorite part of performing for your local fans?
BBH: We love being a Minneapolis band. It’s such a supportive scene and very inspiring too. The local show is always the best. Lots of friends and familiar faces. It’s really special to us to see people coming back to the shows, who know the words and are excited to see us getting bigger. We are very grateful to our fans. We like the local show too because we like sharing the stage with our friends.
LL: I was able to attend your show with Hippo Campus in November 2015, and I must say that you have the funniest stage banter in between songs! Do you usually come up with your content on the spot?
BBH: Almost all of my stage banter was something I came up with on the spot at some point, though now there are a few bits that I do at almost every show. I’m glad people enjoy the jokes. We don’t ever want to take ourselves too seriously. I’m happy people can connect with the music in a real and serious way, but can also have fun with us at the shows. Making music brings me joy and I want to share that joy with our fans.
LL: Is there a song you’ve written that came completely out of nowhere? If so, what were you doing when it came to you?
BBH: “Psychic Reader” was actually a last-minute addition to our first album. We were about to head into the studio and we had all the demos ready. But I had this idea and Chris and I recorded a quick little voice memo. When Brett, our friend and producer, heard it, he was like, this has to be on the album. He helped us finish the arrangement and he wrote the bridge. So it ended up being a really cool collaboration. But, yeah, a lot of songs feel like they kind of just drop from the sky. It’s a thrilling experience when the right words and melody comes to you.
LL: Do you have any stories you can share with us about adventures on tour?
BBH: Oh wow. Tour is the greatest adventure of all. You meet so many people and see so many cities in such a small amount of time. It’s a crazy feeling to be in Seattle one day and then a week later be in Arizona. On our last tour with The Front Bottoms, we had to drive from Charlotte to Philadelphia the day of a show. We left ourselves plenty of time, but we forgot to factor in the fact that it was the day before Thanksgiving. It was the worst traffic I’ve ever experienced and it was so bad that we showed up at the venue fifteen minutes before we were supposed to play. Thankfully, everyone at the venue was ready for us and got all of our stuff on stage, got us sound-checked, and we ended up starting two minutes early. Success!! We earned our Philly cheesesteaks that night.
LL: What should we keep an eye out for next from Bad Bad Hats?
BBH: Well! We’re working on a new album. We’re almost finished recording. So that’ll be coming out in the somewhat near future which is exciting! Then just expect more shows. More rockin’ and rollin’.
Blog by Liz Legatt (Marketing Intern)
