Since the release of their sophomore album, Disappear Here last fall, LA’s Bad Suns have been going non-stop. With shows planned throughout November already (yes, November) Bad Suns promise to give their fans the performance of a lifetime, and they mean it. Their next stop in Colorado, following their sold-out show at The Bluebird Theater in November is this week at the Boulder Theater on Wednesday, June 14th.
We recently caught up with vocalist/guitarist Christo Bowman to chat about the album, upcoming shows and the band’s favorite Colorado stops. Read the entire interview below and catch Bad Suns in Boulder this month!
Interview by Nikk Banos
The last time you were in Colorado, you guys sold-out the Bluebird Theater. You’re currently on the Outskirts of Paradise tour, and you guys just announced the “Love Like Revenge” tour for this fall. You’ve been so busy! What has the journey been like for you guys, comparing it to the days you had to hustle pre-sale tickets?
It’s been a long and slow burning process, but we’ve been really fortunate with the release and reception of our sophomore album. We’ve sold out nearly every date of our past three tours and this one coming up in the Fall will be our largest to date. It definitely beats the days of peddling pre-sale tickets and flyers to strangers at malls and outside of local venues in Southern California. It also makes us appreciate those days immensely.
Do you guys have any places you like to go or things you like to do when you come through Colorado?
We love to get breakfast at Snooze when we have the opportunity. Fat Sully’s for a bomb pie. Shout out to the Lazy Lion in Colorado Springs.
Letting your inner fanboys out for a minute, who are some of the artists that you guys would want to be touring with down the line? Like what would be a dream come true for you?
Opening for Green Day would be a massive dream come true. That was a very important band for me growing up. Billie Joe is one of my biggest influences as a frontman.
Personally, one of my favorite of your songs (which is way too under rated if you ask me) is “Maybe We’re Meant To Be Alone.” I’d love to hear that song’s story if there is one.
I wrote the chords and music at my grandparents’ house outside of Seattle, Washington when I was 16. Immediately, I knew I had something special. However, at the time, Gavin, Miles, and I were making music which was heavily influenced by bands like Refused and Gallows, and this song had no place within that context. It sat in my back pocket for quite a few years before we were prepared to have a go at it as Bad Suns. The wait paid off!
Your lyrics are very poetic! Do you read poetry at all?
If not from direct life experience, I tend to get my lyrical inspiration from novels and movies. Tom Robbins, Stephen King, and Brett Easton Ellis are some of my modern literary heroes.
What was the process for writing Disappear Here like? Would you say that the record is more of just a bunch of songs you guys had written and had in the works once you hit the studio, or did you guys have a theme or particular idea in mind that you were aiming for?
We had a very strong vision going into this album. We were feeling incredibly inspired and operating at a new creative peak, which was exciting for us. When we completed ‘Language and Perspective’ I was wiped out creatively and took about 8 months off from writing while we toured. Once I was ready to approach the second album, I locked myself in my basement for a day and wrote/demo’d the instrumental for ‘Disappear Here’. That song was a turning point which helped to fuel the following year of writing.
You said in a recent tweet you guys will be “pulling out all the stops” on the Love Like Revenge Tour – what can we expect?
One of the best shows you’ve ever been to.
Do you guys have any big plans coming up following the dates the band currently has booked?
The plans are being plotted in the shadows.
For creative people everywhere young and old, what 3 records do recommend they go grab if they are looking for inspiration? Records that you think helped to shape you as an artist.
Radiohead – ‘In Rainbows’
Phoenix – ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’
Arcade Fire – ‘The Suburbs’
These were the sacred three during my high school years.
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