| Bandaid Brigade the musical project of Zach Quinn (PEARS), Brian Wahlstrom (Scorpios, Gods of Mount Olympus) and friends Paul Rucker (Armchair Martian, Street Dogs, Drag The River) and Chris Fogal (The Gamits) will release their debut album ‘I’m Separate’ on January 21, 2020. Recorded at Black in Bluhm Studios in Denver, CO, and co-produced with Fogal, the album finds the members of Bandaid Brigade stretching beyond their collective punk roots with ambitious songwriting, polished arrangements, and a throwback sound that draws some detectable influences from early progressive rock, a heady mix of Springsteen‘s attitude, Elton John’s artistic balladry, and classic pop-rock disco grooves echoing ABBA and Earth Wind & Fire. Bandaid Brigade says: “It’s quite possible that this is the best album ever made. We hope you like it as much as we think you think we think we do.” The duo has so far shared two singles from their forthcoming album ‘Break The Grid’ and ‘Travel Light‘, the latter of which the band produced a hilarious music video for which can be viewed here. “The thing that I kept thinking about the whole time was how much it reminded me a lot of a post-first-album The Clash,” says Quinn on the inspiration for the new project, “but then, I also thought to myself, ‘This is also way easier to listen to than Sandinista! ever was.’ We had the advantage of being able to look retrospectively over decades of rock and pop, and we were kind of able to pull from all of that—all the good stuff, and leave all the bad stuff out. You know, one band that kept coming up as we were making the record is Genesis, but Genesis songs are sometimes eight minutes long. We were like, ‘Well, that’s not necessary. We don’t need to do that.’ I feel like there were elements of that, all different examples of that.” As for the band itself’s genesis, Quinn made his name fronting critically acclaimed New Orleans-based hardcore punk band PEARS, whilst Wahlstrom is a classically trained opera singer and pianist whose touring and recording career is rooted firmly in punk rock, and has included frequent collaborations with Joey Cape (Lagwagon). The duo connected on a tour produced by Cape’s label, One Week Records, which brings artists into a high energy, week-long write-arrange-record process that culminates in a completed album and follow-up touring. The pairing fully leverages the combination of Quinn’s raw edge, Wahlstrom’s finesse, and the lyrical power of dual songwriters. To celebrate the release, Bandaid Brigade will take to venues in the UK and mainland Europe for an extended run of shows for which details can be found below. Bandaid Brigade Live Dates 29.01. Surrey (UK), The London Stone 30.01 Leeds (UK), Wharf Chambers 31.01 Edinburgh (UK), Banshee Labyrinth 01.02 Dundee (UK), Rad Apples 02.02 Stafford (UK), Red Rum 03.02 Exeter (UK), The Cavern 04.02 London (UK), New Cross Inn 05.02 Canterbury (UK) Lady Luck Bar 07.02 Mechelen (BE) De Club 08.02 Lennestadt (DE) OT Grevenbrück 09.02 Solothurn (CH) Kofmehl 10.02 Zurich (CH) Hafenkneipe 12.02 Weinerstadt (AT) Triebwerk 13.02 Linz (AT) Sputnik 14.02 Zwiezel (DE) Jugendcafé 15.02 Saarbrücken (DE) Devils Place + further dates tba Bandaid Brigade will release their debut full-length ‘I’m Separate’ on January 21, 2020 |
