Introduce yourselves! Who is Bad Answer?
P: I’m Patrick, I’m from northern New Jersey, I write songs and play the drums, and as of writing this I have 420 pieces of physical music logged in my Discogs collection.
D: I'm Daniel, I'm from the Westerleigh neighborhood in Staten Island! I play rhythm guitar & sing. A fun fact about me is that I have a very large Beyblade collection. (I also met Pete Davidson at Royal Crown)
A: I’m Asher, I’ve lived in Bayonne my whole life, I play guitar, sing on some stuff, and I played synth at that one show and on the album. A fun fact about me is that I almost always have three packs of gum on me cause that way if people ask for gum I can give them options. Also I’ve seen Roderick Rules seven times.
When was your band founded? And what’s your band’s journey been like from then until now?
A: In 2021, mine and Patrick’s old band broke up so we put out an ad on Reddit looking for a singer and Dan was like “Hey, I’m a rhythm guitarist!” (the literal last thing we were looking for) and then I found out he lived like three blocks away from me. Weirdly enough, next to a Costco so when you think about it we’ve really had a full circle moment with that. It’s really quite profound. We’ve had a couple of other members that it sadly didn’t work out with. Love all of them. The band originally had 5 people in it! Can you believe that?!
P: Asher and I’s creative partnership, rivaling the likes of Lennon-McCartney and The Johns of They Might Be Giants, actually goes back to around early 2019. In 2016, at the ripe old age of 9 years old, I joined a cover band with a bassist and a pianist. Through a lot of trial and error, we settled on a singer, and a guitarist, Asher. From the get-go, him and I would jam on original material we made up (I may or may not still have some of the recordings from those days, I really don’t know) but the rest of the band didn’t seem too into it. Once the pandemic hit, it was tough to organize meetings and practices with those guys, so we broke the band up. They were and still are lovely people, it just seemed like they lost interest in the band. Right afterward, we took to social media to find a singer, we met Dan, and you probably know the rest!
D: I just moved to Bayonne from Staten Island & was looking for a band and I ended up on Reddit somehow. In the comments of a post, I found a guy named “BigOldDangus” looking for a singer. So naturally as Dan does, “I’m a rhythm guitarist!” and the rest is history.
What things do you want to continue doing and what things are you guys thinking of changing?
A: I’d like to continue talking about Costco at least once every show. In terms of changing things I wanna write realer songs. I love our songs but...
D: I really wanna continue the Costco tradition as well, but in terms of stuff I'm looking to change, I'd love to expand into the rest of the tri-state, and play to more people.
P: I’m more of a BJ’s Wholesale fan if I’m being honest. Aside from that, I’d like to go in a more Violent Femmes-ish style folk punk direction for future recordings.
If your band’s music was a home cooked meal, what kind of food would it be?
D: Chicken Parm
P: Beef Stroganoff
A: A singular, E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S…meatball.
Are there any fun behind the scenes stories or memories you can share with us that you can think of?
We were practicing at Pat's house, Angel from TPL was with us and Pat has a huge hill in his yard so naturally we rolled down it a few times. This isn't the first time this has happened. In mine and Pat's old band there was one time where we all rolled down the hill like 5 times, which we've been referring to as "The Hill Incident." It's become a tradition at this point. I believe in 5 years time everyone in the scene will have rolled down that hill.
What was the most fun show your band has played?
A: October 20th at the Hop Shoppe. I dislocated my shoulder five days before while we were practicing cause I was waving my arm up and down cause I thought it looked cool, so I was in a sling and couldn’t play guitar. So I figured out how to play all my lines on this cool synth I had laying around. The whole show was just completely thrown together and we were just winging it and had no idea how it would turn out. We also completely changed the set for some reason cause why not? I love stuff like that.
D: My favorite show was an impromptu acoustic set we did in Washington Square Park! We had a bunch of our friends come out and everybody was having a great time. Afterwards everyone hung out at the 7 Eleven off 6th Ave because it was raining, and overall it was a really nice day.
P: In June of 2023, we went to Asher’s place to practice. As the day went on, we decided to do an extremely last minute fully acoustic show literally under a bridge at Hudson County Park in Bayonne. Nobody showed up and it was really echoey, but we live-streamed it on Instagram and everyone had a great time. We also recorded our first demo EP that day.
How has Staten Island influenced the band and your music?
D: I was born and raised in Stat Nylan, I feel the overall vibe of the scene & growing up in such proximity really helped shape me as a musician and performer. I'm really inspired by the sheer amount of skill, love, and support from everyone.
A: I love Staten Island. I think having such a great scene around really makes me excited about being in a band. I feel like I’m a part of something cool. I really look up to the guys from TPL, Campaigner, and Scum Shots. I listen to all of their music and it’s an honor to play alongside them.
P: When I was little, my Dad used to drop me off at my Aunt’s house in Staten Island every morning at around 5 a.m. I have fond memories of listening to The Beatles with him in the car, looking at all the pretty lights and raindrops out the window. Every time I write a song, I try my very hardest to channel those vibes and memories into it.
What’s your favorite place on Staten Island and why?
A: The ferry. I love the ferry so much. I take it for fun sometimes. It’s very relaxing, especially at night. I love the ferry.
P: When I lived in Bayonne, My dad used to take me to this comic shop called “Comic Book Jones” on the Island. It was a fun place, but after a quick google search, it seems to be closed now. I’d also like to shout out Fenix, the first studio that Asher and I’s old band practiced at. Karen from Ghosts of Hope, I hope you’re still rockin’ out!
D: I really love Royal Crown, me & my girlfriend go there every other week and it's basically our spot. They have the best balsamic vinegar and sandwiches.
What is some advice that you can give to a band that’s just starting out?
P: RECORD! Record demos, live recordings, everything. It doesn’t matter how bad you think you are, recording and preserving things is so so so important.
A: Have fun and be kind.
D: Make sure everyone shows up to rehearsals and puts in work, and don't ignore red flags in band mates! (We learned our lesson.)
Do you have any shows coming up that people can go to?
D: We have a show January 6th 2024, at Jimmy's Bar & Lounge in Kearny, NJ! Be there or be square!
P: But Huey Lewis said it’s hip to be square…
A: And we have a song called Right Angle…
What’s the band’s goals for the future?
P: I’m planning for us to sell out Madison Square Garden by this time next year. I’m just kidding, although that would be nice. In reality, I’d like for us to sign to an independent record label and have our music out to as many people as possible.
D: I wanna be a local celebrity. I wanna be a really really good C tier band, like middle of the day Warped Tour band, you know?
A: I wanna record music we’re proud of and have some more adventures. I’d also like to get injured less in the process.
Where can people find you and your music on social media?
We can be found at @bad.answer on Instagram, xbadanswerx@gmail.com for booking, and Bad Answer everywhere you can stream music! (Except bandcamp, but we’ll be there soon!)
Do aliens exist?
D: I'm a firm blink-182 fan, so according to Tom Delonge, yes
A: Yes.
P: Maybe we’re the aliens… Ever thought about that?
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