{"id":23792,"date":"2020-06-29T14:31:28","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T18:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=23792"},"modified":"2020-06-29T14:31:28","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T18:31:28","slug":"interview-bad-time-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2020\/06\/29\/interview-bad-time-records\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW: Bad Time Records"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reed Romanko<\/em><\/p>\n

On his show ska is dead and we killed it that aired on June 29, WTBU’s Reed Romanko chatted with Bad Time Records’ Mike Sosinski. Read the transcript below.<\/p>\n

Reed Romanko: So Bad Time Records is a DIY ska punk record label, but there\u2019s more to every record label than the style of music it puts out. Could you expand on the more? What separates Bad Time Records from other labels in the scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike Sosinski<\/strong>: Yeah, I mean I think the first thing is that there aren\u2019t too many other labels in the scene which are just doing ska punk music. That\u2019s sort of one of the reasons why I started Bad Time, is because I\u2019ve been playing in ska punk bands for longer than I should probably admit. But for about 20 years, and with Kill Lincoln I just sort of got fed up with all of the \u2013 we were working so hard and playing so much and recording and touring all the time \u2013 and labels didn\u2019t seem to care, DIY communities also didn\u2019t seem to care, major labels certainly weren\u2019t interested. So, I said \u201cLet me just do it myself, let\u2019s just do it ourselves and let\u2019s do our own ska punk record label, and let\u2019s just focus on ska punk music.\u201d And of course that\u2019s a pretty wide net because I don\u2019t want to just do ska punk. But yeah, that was sort of the idea behind the whole thing: just do ska punk and that would be different enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Yeah, that\u2019s awesome! Peak DIY right there. In that vein, what were some of the challenges you encountered starting from scratch, making this record label?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019d been in bands for a long time, but I\u2019d never done a record label. I\u2019d never worked with other bands\u2019 music. But I found that it was pretty easy to just like \u2013 I started working with a lot of bands that I know. One of the first bands that I put out was we are the union, and I\u2019ve been friends with those guys for a long time, and Catbite, I\u2019ve known Tim from Catbite for a long time. So having a close personal connection with the bands made it a lot easier, cause there are a lot of little decisions that need to get made when you\u2019re putting out a record. Being on good terms with everyone and being close and being able to communicate was really important. Then the basic logistics of setting up your store, being able to ship all kinds of stuff, keeping supplies, doing all the graphics and promos, and all this stuff. It was a lot to learn! I used a lot of what I learned from being in bands and Kill Lincoln, but there was a lot of new stuff to learn, so I try to pick it up [laughs].<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Speaking about other DIY labels, you know Jeremy Andrew Hunter of We are the Union and Skatune Network fame worked with Counterintuitive Records to release Pick it the F*CK up. In terms of DIY ethics and message, I see some similarities between Bad Time Records and Counterintuitive. Do you think we might see some collaboration with them in the future? A split EP, a joint tour, anything, or with any other labels in the scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah, Counterintuitive is an awesome DIY label, probably the pinnacle of DIY labels right now, the amount of work they\u2019re doing is crazy. I actually learned a lot about them through Jeremy. I\u2019d love to collaborate with them, especially because that emo scene \u2013 I hate to put a label on it \u201cthe emo scene\u201d \u2013 but they\u2019re so connected and they\u2019re so supportive of each other, the bands on that label and the fans especially. I\u2019d like to take a lot of that feeling and put it into our community. I\u2019d love to collaborate with Counterintuitive, and actually there is a pretty significant collaboration that I\u2019m working on right now. I actually can\u2019t say anything about it because it\u2019s big, big news, but getting to work with one of my personal heroes and we should have some news about that soon, so stay tuned!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Phenomenal, you love to hear it! In regards to just Bad Time records, what\u2019s on the agenda for you guys right now? Any soon to be releases or exciting announcements you want to make or publicize?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah, a record we just released back a couple weeks ago \u2013 I\u2019m not sure when this is airing \u2013 we did a split with Catbite and Omnigone, Catbite from Philly and Omnigone from East Bay, California. Two very different ska bands that didn\u2019t know each other at all, but through the internet and through being on the label became awesome friends, decided to cover each one of each other\u2019s songs and do another cover and put it on the split. The split is excellent, it\u2019s a lot of fun! They also decided, we put out a special variant limited to a hundred<\/a>, that all of the proceeds from that variant are going to the national black arts foundation. Both bands decided they wanted to give back, especially during these tumultuous times. So that split is great, and I think by the time this airs, this will have been announced, but the new Kill Lincoln record is now available for pre-order<\/a>. It\u2019ll be coming out on August seventh, it\u2019s called Can\u2019t Complain. The first single called \u201cConfession Obsession\u201d is streaming everywhere now. I\u2019m obviously really excited about that record because I\u2019m in Kill Lincoln and I wrote those songs. So I\u2019m very stoked about that!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: As you should be! Going on something you talked about with the Omnigone Catbite split, with the ongoing uprisings following George Floyd\u2019s murder and countless others, many bands have used their platforms to help the Black Lives Matter movement. Bad Time Records and their bands have been sharing resources, encouraging petition signings, donating proceeds to causes, all that great stuff. There are also a lot of other prominent bands in the ska punk scene who are being kind of silent right now. What do you say to them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Of course, the phrase going around is \u201cSilence is violence.\u201d If you\u2019re in a position of privilege like I am and a lot of people on the label, you need to use your voice and you need to speak up. You need to help propel and project black voices and causes right now. For a lot of bands, I can\u2019t speak for all them, I\u2019m sure there\u2019s all kinds of\u2026 I really don\u2019t understand it. I would say \u201cOh, maybe it\u2019s politics,\u201d but it\u2019s not politics, it\u2019s human rights. It\u2019s life or death right now, so there\u2019s no reason to be silent. It\u2019s frustrating and I\u2019d ask them to take a look at where their priorities are, really get their stuff together. I\u2019ll not say a bad word cause it\u2019s radio [laughs].<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Thank you, I appreciate it! In that vein, you posted a \u201cMission Statement\u201d not too long ago, very well put, talking about Bad Time Records\u2019s commitments to antiracism, fighting homophobia and transphobia, standing up for the oppressed, all that very important stuff. These are built into the roots of punk and ska, of course, but you know people are ignorant. Did you receive any backlash to that? How did people respond?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t receive any backlash from that. People were extremely supportive. I have to say, I know on the internet especially, it\u2019s way too easy to find people who want to be idiots, want to be ignorant, want to troll, or do whatever they\u2019re gonna do. But actually people at Bad Time, in our comments, in our groups, especially in our bands and fans, have been super supportive, which makes me really proud of our community. Hopefully, maybe there are some people who didn\u2019t really think about these issues and maybe now they\u2019re thinking about them, that\u2019s what I hope. On the base level, I think, hopefully we\u2019ve just got a good crop of fans, so I\u2019m proud of that! People are very supportive of that mission statement, and it\u2019s common sense. I don\u2019t know how you can be in punk rock, how you can be in ska, and not be antiracist, antihomophobic, antisexist, antixenophobic. It\u2019s crazy! I don\u2019t know how you can be any other way, to be honest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Of course, one hundred percent with you. Now, correct me if I\u2019m wrong, although your latest full album release was with Grey Matter, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> The Grey Matter, that was a full LP. There was a split with Stuck Lucky and Still Alive, but that was staged at about like six or seven tracks, so it wasn\u2019t a totally a full LP. But yeah, the last full LP this year was Grey Matter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Right, cool. An integral part of their music is, you know, their actively antiracist and antihate lyrics. How important is that message when you\u2019re looking to add bands to the label? What exactly are you looking for when you\u2019re thinking of who you\u2019re going to sign to Bad Time Records?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> That message of antihate is the baseline, that\u2019s like the lowest bar. You have to meet that bar or I\u2019m not even communicating with you. Really, for bands I\u2019m looking for, I want bands that are really trying to propel the genre forward. Ska punk, it would be really easy for it to stagnate, and I think that\u2019s kind of what happened in the late nineties, early two thousands. It was flourishing for a while, then everyone wanted to do it, and then it just fell off the map because no one wanted to iterate on the genre. So I\u2019m really interested in bands that are taking themselves seriously, not really\u2013 I mean not too seriously. Listen, we\u2019re all having fun, it\u2019s music. A show is a party, bands can have fun, but there\u2019s a way to have fun and take yourself seriously, take your music seriously and your image quote unquote- I\u2019m putting up air quotes [laughs]. If Skadillac Johnny and the Ska Skankers email me and their music\u2019s great, I\u2019d be like \u201cYeah, but your name, it\u2019s kind of a joke. Why would you want to name yourself something that\u2019s kind of a joke? Ska\u2019s been thought of as a joke for too long.\u201d So I\u2019m looking for bands that take themselves seriously, want to move the genre forward, want to do something differently, and also are just good people. We do a lot of communicating, like I was saying earlier. I want to make sure we gel on a personal level. That\u2019s why a lot of the bands that I\u2019ve signed quote unquote again, so far I\u2019ve known or at least have met one or two of them in the past. It helps to know that we\u2019re real people out there, not just internet friends [laughs].<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: I\u2019m sure you know this better than a lot of people, live music and bands have been hit very hard by COVID-19. Could you talk about your experiences managing the label during a global pandemic? How have interactions with bands changed? Have fans been engaging more with Bad Time Records? What\u2019s it been like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> It\u2019s difficult for everyone obviously. I feel for venues, small music venues the most, because there are so many of favorite venues that are going to be the last to open, and I hope a lot of them survive. So if anybody\u2019s listening, think about your favorite small music venue and do what you can to support them right now, if they have a GoFundMe or something, because they can use your help. But for the label, it\u2019s interesting because it was sort of like business as usual for a while. It was scary because I didn\u2019t know what to expect, but the support for the community has been so strong, and I think people still want music right now. People have been buying records and being positive and the bands have all been supportive. You know it\u2019s tough with Stuck Lucky and Still Alive, when we decide to put out a record, they\u2019re like \u201cGreat, you\u2019re gonna send me this many records, and we\u2019re gonna go play all these shows, and we need these for our release show.\u201d And then it\u2019s like \u201cWhoops, no more shows, no more tours, no more nothing.\u201d What do you do with that, all those plans? So there were a lot of plans that were thrown out the window. I think generally we\u2019ve been okay. People have been really supportive; the community has been great. The one thing I\u2019m getting a little sick of is livestream shows. I think I\u2019m not alone in that, and it\u2019s great to do. It\u2019s the only way to connect right now as a band. We gotta figure out some new format. I\u2019ve got some ideas for a Kill Lincoln album release show, we\u2019re gonna try and do something a little different.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Oh, exciting! So this a bit of a personal question, I\u2019ve been a huge Kill Lincoln fan for the past five years, ever since I stumbled upon the \u201cGood Riddance to Good Advice\u201d music video in 2015. Do you think a You Were There pressing might ever come?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Oh my god, wow\u2026 I don\u2019t know, let\u2019s see how the new record sells! That will be a pretty big indicator. It\u2019s a small label, limited resources. At the moment, I\u2019d rather put the resources I have towards new music. If we sell out of all these Kill Lincoln records in a minute, I\u2019ll definitely heavily consider a You Were There pressing, but I think that\u2019s probably a long ways a way just because of resources. A lot of people have asked, it\u2019s awesome and I\u2019m very humbled that people would want that on vinyl, but yeah, I just don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll see, no promises.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RR: Alright, and to close it out, do you have any parting words for Ska fans right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Ska fans, thank you for being ska fans! Take the risk and listen to new bands. Not just on Bad Time, there are tons of new ska and ska punk bands out right now. I know it\u2019s hard when you have those ten bands in your roster that you\u2019re like \u201cI love these bands and I\u2019m going to listen to them on repeat.\u201d It\u2019s hard to break out and listen to new stuff sometimes, you really get momentum and you just want to listen to the same stuff. Give new bands a shot, try it. Especially if you\u2019ve been listening to the same couple bands from the late nineties. My favorites, the BossToneS, Less Than Jake. Try something new! There are bands doing really cool stuff. Bad Time is I think a good place to start, The Shape of Ska Punk to Come is a comp we did that benefits the ACLU, it\u2019s got tons of great bands. There\u2019s tons of bands so take a listen. Jeremy from Skatune Network has the best playlists, go check out their Spotify playlists because there\u2019s tons of bands you\u2019ll find, and you\u2019ll discover something you love. So be active, keep searching for new stuff, and when you find something you like, tell people about it! Share it, be vocal, and let people know because that\u2019s all we\u2019ve got right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reed Romanko On his show ska is dead and we killed it that aired on June 29, WTBU’s Reed Romanko chatted with Bad Time Records’ Mike Sosinski. Read the transcript below. Reed Romanko: So Bad Time Records is a DIY ska punk record label, but there\u2019s more to every record label than the style […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17168,"featured_media":23793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[1609,1610,783],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23792"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23792"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23796,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23792\/revisions\/23796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}