The Bad Penny (beta)

Welcome to the 80th installment of The Bad Penny‘s Pet Sounds series. We have a very special one for you today, because the pet owner who graciously participated has had such an immense impact on hardcore punk and screamo, the genres might have gone in different directions were it not for him.

The gent in question is one Tom Schlatter, a major character in the proverbial book of hardcore music. Since 1997, he has served as a member of, or otherwise collaborated with, 16 bands as a guitarist, bassist and drummer. His loyalty and integrity were tested when one of those bands, Saetia — which formed in broke up in October 1999 two and a half years after they formed.

Lucky for Schlatter — and the screamo community, Saetia reassembled in 2022 and, last year, released its first song in 26 years, much to the delight of punk-rockers listeners (especially those who were sold on the band in the first place, a quarter-century prior). Two more songs followed, and an EP should be on the way.

So, how did he handle all that turbulence, not to mention the pivotal roles he played in a plethora of other acts? Well, with pets, of course; they make everything better. Schlatter has more than most — two cats and two dogs — but, as he told The Bad Penny, he wouldn’t want it any other way. He explained why (and divulged a whole lot more) in an email we received on Friday.

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How did your two dogs and two cats enter your life?

Both cats are adopted from the SPCA (Columbia Greene/Tompkins Counties) and both dogs are from rescue organizations (Out of the Pitts/Peppertree Rescue) in Upstate NY.  

Did you intend to obtain four pets?

Never. Though, I suppose it’s like tattoos…you get one and then you’re hooked.

Please describe each pet’s personality, in your estimation.

Osie – Very mom-like dog, wants to know what’s going on and make sure everyone is OK at all times.
Lucy – Two modes of this dog…all out bananas wild or quietly sleeping next to me.
Rue – A true “I’ll let you know when I want to interact, otherwise leave me alone” cat.
Bea – A cat that always wants to be in the mix, hanging out and interacting.

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Do they play and wrestle a lot or mostly stay out of the way of each other?

There are chaotic spurts of playtime throughout the day, though it’s species exclusive. The dogs love to play the “bitey face” game or tug of war, while the cats just love chasing and tackling each other.

How difficult was it to train four animals?

Most of the training had to do with us as humans, our approach, our reactions and our routines. Putting all the onus on the dog or cat is unfair and once I recognized I needed training too, everything fell into place.

What are each pet’s favorite food?

Lucy can smell/hear when I peel a banana in the morning.  She comes running from the other room. It’s become a morning ritual now. Osie sees Lucy running into the kitchen and follows accordingly.  

Have any of your pets made appearances in your music, whether it be sound clips or in your lyrics?

My current pets have not. Past pets: Holly (dog) was commemorated in a song called “Holly’s Song” by my old band Black Kites. Boo (cat) was used for shirt/layout art for my old band Capacities.

Have any of them run away?

Lucy has taken to running through the neighborhood a couple of times. She’s still a young one, so that urge to explore at full speed is ever-present. I must admit it gives me an anxiety attack when its happens. When I catch up to her, she runs past me with this, “Look Dad! Isn’t this awesome?!” look.  

How have your pets improved your life?

There’s an aspect of unconditional love with an animal that every person who’s rescued a dog or cat knows.  There’s an unquestioning sense of connection to your life that one day you wonder how you ever lived without?

Osie is about 10, Lucy is about 3.  We figured Lucy would be the one initiating play and starting fights, but to our surprise it’s actually Osie who initiates most of it.  It happens so much that we now sing a song to accompany it. In the tune of Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin” we sing “Osie Be Starting Somethin” when it happens.

Head to Saetia’s Bandcamp page to learn more about the band (and buy some music).

For more editions of Pet Sounds, check out our extensive archive. Recent participants include Stephen Miller, Nicki Minaj and George Santos – and you won’t believe who we booked for the next show!

This entry was posted on 02/10/2026 at 7:20 am and is filed under Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags hardcore, post-hardcore, Saetia, screamo, Tom Schlatter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.