What do exploding tacos, France’s Bordeaux region and a trio of musicians who play so-called “egg punk” music have in common? Well, a five-year-old band called Tacoblaster, of course.
Based in Bordeaux, the project is led by Tom Caussade — for whom the mere word “multi-instrumentalist” doesn’t do justice to the 11 instruments he plays on his band’s just-released fifth album, Digital Fun-Zone! (Howlin Banana Records).
In his first interview with an American music journalist, Caussade recalls how the colorful and wacky band came together, and how he landed on the smile-inducing name for it.
Federal agents scavenging around musicians’ residences in the hopes of finding “extremist materials” so they can imprison them. Government officials branding critics of the president as “terrorists.” Police creating blacklists of musicians and targeting them for harassment, abuse and even worse.
Where are those activities taking place? That we have to stop and think about whether it’s the U.S. or another country should give pause to all American residents. Those anti-democratic measures have been and still are taking place in Belarus, which dictator Alexander Lukashenko has ruled with an iron fist since July 1994. No other current leader has ruled a European country as long as he has.
In this video, we link up with vocalist, flutist and lyricist Katsiaryna “Nokt Aeon” Mankevich, who recently escaped her Belarus homeland after a court decided music and concert videos by her metal band, Dymna Lotva, were “extremist materials.” The resulting punishment was lifelong banishment from Belarus and potential imprisonment if she returns there.
We’re now at a point in American history when we’re no longer wondering if authoritarianism might take hold in the U.S. It already has. Thusly, the conversation is beginning to shift to how our authoritarian government measures up to others around the world in terms of stifling free speech, quelling protests and hijacking the voting process.
Remarkably, The Bad Penny had the unique privilege of interviewing Kim Ho, vocalist and synth player for Hong Kong dream-pop band Lucid Express, to shed some light on those matters and more.
Watch this clip from our recent conversation with the first musician from the Chinese musician to take part in The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series and decide for yourself which country is treating its artists better: “democratic” America or China, which is ruled by an authoritarian dictatorship.
In The Bad Penny‘s first interview with a Minneapolis band since ICE, CBP and other feds invaded their city, we touch base with Rob Taxpayer, a multi-instrumentalist for Minneapolis punk-rock band the Taxpayers. He insists the Trump regime, the media and bad actors on social media are deceiving the general public into thinking the city is back to normal. But in reality, the city looks so much like a war zone that Rob has to frequently remind himself that he is indeed still living in America, he says.
“This federal government is more willing to do stuff without worrying about the consequences of it,” he says. “That’s the difference between the first Trump administration and this one: [Now] They say, ‘Fuck you, we’re going to do this anyway. Fuck the courts. Fuck public opinion. Fuck America. We’re gonna do what we fucking want.'”
Oathbound, Seattle’s most promising progressive-metalcore band, are ready to finally make their big smash with the March 6 release of Colors in Grey (Eclipse), their debut LP. Three of the band members – Taylor Harper (guitar), Steve Schwarz (bass) and Travis Morlan (drums) – generously devoted a chunk of their Friday night to participate in the latest edition of Favorite Films, one of The Bad Penny‘s ongoing series.
And we couldn’t have had more fun with the spirited, genuinely good fellas. For proof, watch the video of our lively and loose conversation.
Creativity is the driving force in the musical works created by Philadelphia punk-rocker Devin McKnight (a.k.a. Maneka). He recently checked in with The Bad Penny to talk about Trump’s Authoritarian America and the fear that is sweeping across the country (and even the world). McKnight shares one of the more positive outlooks in The Bad Penny’s “On Tyranny” series. “My North Star is that It can’t get to the point where it’s crushing artists’ creativity, because it is that outlet that we’ve seen over and over again can bring people together,” he says.
It’s true and well-known that most Americans don’t know the nitty-gritty of government and politics. But we can distinguish between what is moral and not, and for that reason, we must fight for what we believe is right. VTB make a case for that claim — which every American should know –– during part of an interview The Bad Penny conducted on Wednesday with the grungy alt-rock-with-a-smattering-of-noise-and-post-punk.
For many, today will be somber, sober and sad, as it marks the 40th anniversary of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. Perhaps the fastest-rising star in the metal community, a bus accident cut his life short in 1986 in Sweden. He was only 24 years old. All metal fans, whether or not they liked Metallica, mourned Burton because of the tragic accident and because of his stunning gift at playing guitar. Burton continues to a hero in his hometown of Castro Valley California, the city holiday has received more attention
The city in which Burton lived is hosting Cliff Burton Day 2026, which will tangentially recognize the 40th anniversary of Metallica’s Damage Inc. tour. It’ll take place at the Chabot Theater. Starting at 7 p.m. PT, Burton’s family members, family members and work pals will share stories and memories about the family member so tragically lost. The event will feature live music too. Check out The Chatbot for more info.
That’s all the news we have right now, so we’ll leave you with three rad videos: the first, with Burton crushing it for 25 minutes; a discussion among haters who eventually came around to recognize Burton’ brilliance; and a pro-cam taping of Metallica playing “Orion,” a song primarily written by Burton.
Occasionally in our On Tyranny series, we deviate from our normal routing of interviewing musicians on the topics of Trump’s tyrannical regime and the ghastly horrors spewing from it like the 1989’s Exxon Valdez oil spill. We do so in order to demonstrate that the tireless efforts of protestors – the textbook definition of unsung heroes – are succeeding tremendously in their efforts to force the corporate media to increase coverage of the resistance’s war against fascism.
Another way the mainstream (let’s be generous and call them unaware) is finding it very difficult to block out or deny Trump’s reign of terror is when famous people join the resistance by proudly speaking out in public, threats of retaliation from Donald “I am your retribution” by damned.
With that in mind, we found it imperative to publish our third post about Bad Bunny, even if he isn’t returning our phone calls. How rude, especially considering that Bad Bunny copped his moniker fromour The Bad Penny! And yet how seismically important it was for the Puerto Rican rapper to cancel plans to tour the U.S. due to safety concerns.
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