Coming in hot from Athens, Greece, the Rock band Bad Habits takes the industry by storm with their powerhouse single, "California."
Bad Habits merges the infectious power of 70s Proto-Punk with modern-day elements, offering listeners a sound rather familiar but highly authentic and very needed. With members whose musical backgrounds reside in Hardcore Punk, Thrash Metal, Pop Punk, and Active Rock, Bad Habits is here to deliver chills and thrills.
Their latest single, "California," takes listeners on a heated venture through California (or Athens) sun with help from Bad Habits' scorching instrumentals and the powerful female lead vocalist's stimulating delivery. With reminiscent lyrical content surrounding the better days we've once seen, it's inevitable for listeners to feel something from this sweltering single.
"California" opens with the upbeat and powerful Pop/Active Rock instrumentals and the powerhouse female lead's rath. As the instrumentals begin to paint a blazing atmosphere through punchy rhythm guitar and kicking drum patterns, the lead vocalist powers through and begin displaying her distaste for our present turmoil.
While wishing to go back to when times weren't so dreadful, she also describes relatable lyricism where our Saturdays are no different from any other day. The raging instrumentals Bad Habits' provides entirely complements the song's lyricism, as we can feel the anger and pain with each gripping melody.
Bad Habits has our heads banging with their recent hit, "California," as they wish to return to the golden state, we're right by their side, hoping that our present-day will have some pizazz once again.
We love the energy and power you deliver within your single, "California." Why did you want to create a single that releases your inner angst and anger towards our present-day turmoil?
To be honest, we didn't. There's no anger in the song, but yes, there is angst. The lyrics revolve around the theme of over-romanticizing the past and not living in the present. Everyone seems to be eager to sugarcoat memories or make unrealistic plans for their future lives. It's understandable up to a certain point because when problems and difficulties arise and you're buried in routine every-day tasks, it's easier to daydream than sort things out. And especially during a pandemic, it can be the norm. But it's wrong and everybody realizes it and regrets it sooner or later.
Regarding the blazing instrumentals within "California," how did you go about creating such vigorous instrumentals that go hand in hand with your lyrical content? What did your band's creative process look like?
Funnily enough, the whole song was completed in a rehearsal smoking break. We were playing Ramones/Runaways/Motorhead/L7 covers for fun up til then, and we had just decided to start writing our own music. So I decided to stay in the studio during the break and try to mess out with some riffs, came up with the main riff, and added the all-time classic chord progression for the chorus. The day we were recording "California", our producer suggested we had to change it up a bit for the verses so we also just kind of twisted & inverted the main riff.
How did your band split the songwriting within "California"? Do you have a typical method that works best for you, or are you fairly experimental with your songwriting approach?
There is no standard method. We approach it in a very simple way, one of us has an idea and we start building on it. The only problem with this procedure is it never really stops since there are always new ideas coming up for each song. For example, I still come up with ideas I'd like to try on "California", but you have to know when to stop and decide that the track is done. Otherwise, you're easily caught in a never-ending spiral.
We must ask, since living in Athens, what has your band experienced within the music industry dealing with the global pandemic at hand? How has it affected your creation?
The music industry wasn't prepared for this, nobody was. But thankfully we have a small thing called the internet helping us out in these hard times. We can still create music, we can still exchange ideas, we can still put out our music for the world to hear, and we can still connect with people that like our songs. We're kinda lucky in misfortune because 30 years ago we'd have no way of keeping the band alive during the pandemic.
What has been keeping you inspired and creative while creating new music this year?
Well, life. I feel music and lyrics are the exact reflections of one's experiences in everyday life, both the music we want to listen to and the music we create. Sometimes it's subconscious and ends up expressed through a semi-fictional story, sometimes you write down your thoughts word for word, but if you look through your own lyrics, you always find the reason you wrote them in the first place. The same thing happened with the lyrics to "California", at first I thought it was a made-up sob story about a guy growing up reminiscing of the past, but when I read them again after some time I realized where they'd come from, and why I wrote them. There are constantly thoughts/feelings/experiences you have to let out, and music gives you the perfect stand to talk to people about what's going on inside your head.
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