Bummertrash

I first came across Bummertrash at well Bummershed, @bummershed which occasionally hosts shows inside a D.I.Y space being a shed. From the first time I went I did get to see Bummertrash perform, but Bummershed has also grown and changed from the last time I went and it's going well from what I can see. A bit off topic, but listening to the album "Not Worth Stealing" does carrying nostalgic feelings for me as I listened to it. There are tracks on this album that I certainly enjoy such as Coffee, Katana, Scars, Topi Chico, and Grease just to name a few. From a few verses that have stuck to me as I'll be sharing them in the feature. Coming off strong emotionally as they share their stories and experiences in this album is what I enjoy and can some come off as relatable with is sad, life experiences to its self deprecating moments of ones self. Overall it's a very nicely put package put together with spilled coffee on it, but hey that's just the charm that these boys have. One of this week's features is Bummertrash, @bummertrash.

We begin with their introductions!

A: My name’s Angel. I guess I’m the face/voice of bummertrash and I also play rhythm guitar.

L: I'm Logan, I play the drums.

O: My name’s Oliver, I’m the lead guitar + creative director.

As they also share what they've been enjoying as of recently.

A: I’ve recently been binging Buzzfeed: Unsolved and I started playing Kingdom Hearts….again.

L: I’ve been enjoying watching movies.

O: Macseal.

I had to google what "Macseal" was, but I've listened to them before actually and I enjoy them. I can't get into Kingdom Hearts I recently sold my ps2 copy to The Flux for 2 other games to be honest. When it comes to movies due to @shinykid I've been more into an abstract experimental type binge along with my coworker lending me sci-fi DVDs.

They Go on to name a couple of local individuals as well

A: As for local artists, I really enjoy the things that @jammedgoods and @pink.bunny.marc have put out art-wise. As for musicians, I like my music a bit more on the “emo” side so I really enjoyed the new Gesture release as well as the new Riley! album. As for local businesses, there is this awesome family-owned record store on 10th St called Valley Vinyls that I think is really dope..

L: MGMT, Prince Daddy and the Hyena, Dogleg

O: Yruama and Shipley’s Donuts? Do they count?

When it comes to @jammedgoods I really love what they put out involving No More Heros along with Guilty Gear. Ah yes, Marc. They also have great work! I love seeing their work done on wood and don't remind me of the pregnant Hello Kitty its just too good! I'd have to check out the record store for sure and yes we do miss Yruama.

Due to the chemistry the band has together It makes me wonder on how they came together as they explain,

A: I’ve actually met Logan way back when we were kids and he’s been my best friend ever since. We grew up listening to the same niche of “emo” music and when we got to high school, we decided to start a duo band but eventually that fell off. but from the ashes rose the phoenix in the form of an acoustic solo project named bummertrash. so i ran with bummertrash for a few years as just a solo project until eventually i had decided to transition the sound from acoustic to electric and who else to bring on Drums then my best friend. and the rest I believe can be explained by the other guys.

L: I met Angel a long time ago since we were kids, although we don't remember how we met. then, I met Olly and Frank through Angel but knew of them through Jetwad and TV Flesh. I would say we don't have a distinguished sound or genre. we just play whatever Angel plays and whatever genre we like and musical ability we have. We did have another band that I would say was an experiment but it didn't work out.

O: I heard Angel for the first time at Sauce House in 2019 and didn’t try working with him till a year later. I just try to play tastefully so that the main focus is his lyrics and not the guitar.

I also remember listening to emo music and especially punk pop with my friends in high school and we had the dream to start up a band, but we never did due to our lack of knowledge of instruments, but oh well at least we still had music to listen to.

It certainly does sound like everyone has a background in music and it seems due to this they were certainly able to work something out together not just as friends, but as a band. From Sauce House, solo experiments, Jetwad and even TV Flesh there is certainly a lot that lead up to the creating of Bummertrash.

What experience do they technically have?

A: I was in a high school marching band. does that count?

L: I do not have any past band experience. Angel said to play with him so I did.

O: I was in the grunge-gaze act TV Flesh. I also played guitar in my high school jazz band. I made an album but that was after I became part of bummertrash

I would say marching band counts as I remember correctly in my interview with Vermin The Villain he started off with band and learning instrument to instrument. So yeah it does count! Anything that relates to playing instruments y'all are certainly certified.

For someone who hasn't listened to the album what can you say?

A: we’re just a few guys making music about girls and existential dread so don’t expect much from us.

I think from the album cover I knew what to expect. It's as they say "a picture holds a thousand words" and I was not disappointed. Listening to the first track in my car I was ready to take it all i, but expect to put into an "existential dread" along with your memories of high school crushes along with your memories of listening to Can't Be Saved by Senses Fail along with F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. by The Fall Of Troy or did I just bring up what I felt along with my memories as I listened to the album?

Listening to the song "Coffee" and having that transition from the beginning to the 30 second mark really hits off. If I heard correctly the song mentions "hacking out my lungs...screaming at my body won't you stay young" making me think on the idea of aging and even though it happens we have to accept it as it continues with "gotta drink my coffee as there's nothing left to say." A lot of emotions in just a few moments within the song song, but what do you have to say about the opening song to the album? I want to say it's a strong opener along with how it ends. It's just perfect with that sponge bob sample. Reminding me of my favorite bands sampling movies or shows.

A: interesting story about the opener, Coffee was actually one of the first songs on my first solo ep and since we were completely changing the style of bummertrash what better to symbolize the change than going back to where it all started. we had also used the transition in the opener to symbolize that change as well.

For for their change and bringing back it back to their roots it really works out well in general for their style and what the album holds!

On the topic of sampling shows and movies, what do you think it adds to songs? Not just yours, but from experience such as from what you may have listened to.

A: At least from my perspective, i believe it adds more personality to the songs. whether it be a funny sample like at the end of Coffee or something more serious, it really just shows what the band is into and also sets the theme of the song quite well the majority of the time.

I do believe this does add charm and personality as the artists that you are and coming together as Bummertrash. The album does hold charm and personality making it distinct for your sound/style along with what you were aiming for and I believe that they have nailed it. There's a song by Modern Baseball called "How Do I Tell A Girl I Want To Kiss Her?" and yes it's a sappy love song about a girl (which I'm a sucker for) and they reference these movie scenes back to back in part of the song from "When Harry Met Sally, The Notebook, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" along with like three more and it certainly adds more to the song and makes it more emotionally impactful. It can be used, but it can't be just thrown in, but in the case for Bummertrash it really does add in to their music as mentioned.

From samples to these references that I didn't expect. There's a song in the album by the name of "Katana" that I think says "she doesn't like The Fall Of Troy" . When I listened to that it literally made me smile because it's just so unexpected. I don't know if you expected someone to know that band, but it's interesting. Are these sorts of things mentioned personal to you?

A: as I said before, Logan and I had grown up around that whole “emo” sound so I obviously have that kinda soft spot for classic emo bands like MCR and Motion City Soundtrack. as for the anime references, let’s just say I was kind of a weeb in high school so if you knew me in that phase of my life, please forget.

Don't worry I too have had a "weeb" phase, but I still enjoy watching some Anime along with Manga because I can't let go of ALL of my roots. Listening to "Katana" really dug up my "weeb" memories along with a girl that I liked in high school which is just too funny to me and interesting what music can really bring up.

What can be said about the connectivity/relatability someone can have when listening to your songs? From Topochico being a "classy" drink from a glass which what I would think when I would see people older than me back then drinking it to "yeah she's the best she's fucking cool" to "screaming at my body won't you stay young" to "i should fix my self esteem if I'm to get out of bed ever again..and my self esteem is broken" like there's 13 songs in this album. There is something we can enjoy, think back to, and relate to. What do you think about that?

A: originally I had recorded these songs as just a way to cope and express how i was feeling at that time and i’m still doing the same to this day so if anyone can listen to these tracks and relate to them whether in a current situation or in past that would just be fucking amazing to me.

As soon as I finished "Coffee" I had to replay that due to lyrics and it just hitting me. Along with the songs mentioned being "Topochico" and "Katana" as previously mentioned in the question before this one. Even these songs are personal experiences put together in a Bummertrash package in the end the listener can put themselves in that perspective or even have lived a moment like that. Listening to the album and having shared my thoughts on these answers there is relatability and it dug up memories of mine as previously mentioned.

Do you have any favorite songs off the album?

A: if I had to pick a favorite, it would maybe be Katana because at first it was just this cringy 3- chord song about a girl I knew in high school. but once Olly joined the band, he added that magical bassline to it that added this whole new tone to it and made it WAY more catchy and just better in general.

L: I just love playing Fuck Ansem.

O: Favorite track has to be Katana because of the bassline. So, basically at the end of every verse, instead of just playing F, G, and C again, I played F, G, A, THEN D, G, C. it just turns the chords into minor chords for just long enough to keep things interesting and it’s a nice way to end off different sections of the song.

I would also have to agree that if I had to pick ONE song it would be "Katana." From the sound to the lyrics to it being catchy as well.

Is there anything you would like the listener to get out of the album? Any sort of feelings to evoke from the album?

A: if there was anything I would like for people listening to this album to take from it, it would be just that y’know shit happens but like that doesn’t mean you’re alone through it all. like if they can relate to at least one track on this album then that just proves that there is someone out there that has gone or is still going through the same shit as they are.

Yeah "shit" does happen and time passes. With this we can look back at these moments and learn from them. They are OUR experiences and we can look back it and feel upset or sad which is our feelings, but we have to have an understanding of it. It is our experiences and they are valid.

How long have y'all worked on this album?

A: Logan and I were already working on these tracks way before Olly had joined in. but once he joined, we were in the studio within a couple of months and we recorded over Black Friday weekend of 2020.

And now it's out of the oven for everyone to listen to!

How do y'all wish to grow from this album?

A: I just hope the experiences that i’ve had from recording this album to playing it live at shows will help me create some even better songs for our next album, which should be out within the next 30 years or so….hopefully.

L: I honestly would like to get better with fills and just chops in general because I'm not that good. I'm an amateur at best.

O: play better bass .-. also make some energetic, fast, loud rock stuff on my own.

There is certainly no rush when it comes to creating music and reading "I would like to get better" well for sure "practice makes perfect" and you just have to get in it and do what you can to get out of this "amateur" mindset, but you don't want to be overconfident, because there's also room for improvement and learning new things.

Bummertrash shares their thoughts on the local valley scene,

A: it’s kind of a funny story. as we were recording this album with our friend Carlos (who you may know from Sauce House, TV Flesh, Disease Freak, the list goes on), he was talking about another band he was recording, which at the time I think was Sycamore. but anyways, a pretty interesting point was made regarding how the scene was affected during quarantine and the pandemic and someone said that after things start opening up again, there was gonna be a renaissance of sorts. and they weren’t kidding. this year alone there have been so many amazing venues opening up and new bands forming and even new artists coming up into the

scene so it really just gets me excited to see what else the scene has to offer next year and so on.

L: The valley scene is amazing! it's so cool to be a small part of it and meet these other great people.

O: At the end of the day the valley has a very active art and music community with all kinds of different styles and who could really complain about that. I was a high and mighty piece of shit when I first started playing in bands around here, but honestly as long as it makes people happy and the musicians actually have the confidence to showcase their original material, who am i to judge?

Along with their final comments,

A: much love to anyone who took the time to listen to our album and we can’t wait to show you guys what we have planned for the future of this band. FUCK ANSEM!

L: no final comment.

O: hope you guys enjoy the album. more on the way soon.