The newest print edition of The Big Takeover – for which its publisher, editor, and perhaps the best person on earth, Jack Rabid, has graciously allowed me to contribute for 23 years – is now available for purchase. If you believe in punk rock and for which it stands, buy it. Among my 10 contributions is an interview with Too Much Joy, who are having the times of their lives after reuniting 10 years ago. (Read their installment in my On Tyranny series here.) Buy the damn mag; it’s 170 pages long, a work of art in its own right and only costs seven bucks.
Major labels suuuck. This we know. But sometimes they get bruised by the little guys – let’s call them “Davids” – who manage to land a clean blow on the Goliaths. Scarsdale, New York’s Too Much Joy accomplished this feat when they regained the rights from Warner Bros. to their second LP, Son of Sam I Am – and that motivated the four lifelong friends who comprise the band to start recording and even play shows again in earnest.
The circumstances also gave Too Much Joy the opportunity to commiserate with how much the U.S. had changed for the worse when they got together in 2000. It’s a dialogue they continue to have now, and which they let The Bad Penny take part in as part of our ongoing series On Tyranny, in which musicians talk about the direct damage that Authoritarian America is having on their artistic careers and personal lives. If Too Much Joy can defeat Warner Bros., can’t the 75 million Americans who didn’t vote for Trump take him down too?
Enjoy this lively conversation with Too Much Joy vocalist Tim Quirk and singer/bassist Sandy Smallens, which took place exactly a month ago, and then hear from many more artists like The Locust, Brett Bradford from Scratch Acid, Bobby Conn, Deaf Club, Carcass, Moonspell and 50 more artists in the On Tyranny archive.
May these discussions motivate you to learn about the horrors happening in this country, spur you into action, realize that you are not alone, and get involved in the thousands of communities fighting fascism before it is too late.
Go here to Too Much Joy’s Bandcamp page for much more on the band. And stay tuned for the next print edition of The Big Takeover to read my feature story on them.
[Subscribe to The Bad Penny by clicking the “New Subscription” box in the upper-righthand corner of this page.]
When we had the pleasure of interviewing indie legend Too Much Joy this week, we talked a hell of a lot about their upcoming plans, a special reissue they have on the way, their take on Authoritarian America and much more.
We’ll be bringing you a couple of articles stemming from the 60-minutes-plus conversation with two of the Too Much Joy dudes, but as a way of whetting your palette, we present you today with an informative chunk of conversation with bassist/vocalist Sandy Smallens and vocalist Tim Quirk that wouldn’t have fit into the other stories.
Our exchange revolves around not just Too Much Joy but also Chat Pile. Specifically, Smallens addresses why he thinks other young bands should follow Chat Pile’s lead – not duplicating their sound, but learning how the best noise-rock band of the past five years interacts with their fanbase.
In the words of Ariel from The Little Mermaid, “It’s a whole new world,” and Smallens all but implores bands that want to build a strong fanbase to take note of how Oklahoma City giants Chat Pile have done so.
The Bad Penny (beta) 