A Phone Call with Christo Bowman. A Bad Suns Interview.

by Lilli Banks & Sara Valenzuela

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Photo by Marisa Shirar
The DMV Team writers, Lilli Banks and Sara Valenzuela, had the opportunity to interview Christo Bowman, lead singer from Bad Suns.
Listen to the interview here.
      Christo Bowman (Vocals, Guitar), Gavin Bennett (Bass, Vocals), Miles Morris (Drums), and Ray Libby (Guitar, Vocals) are the members of the California-based indie band Bad Suns. They’ve come far from playing small bars around Los Angeles, currently working on their two upcoming tours; ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Outskirts of Paradise’ tour (find dates and tickets down below). With producer Eric Palmquist, their sophomore album, Disappear Here was released September of 2016. Bad Suns has surely made their presence known in the music industry. DC Fans lining up at early hours of the morning waiting to get a good spot at one of their shows, shows the dedication their listeners have put into the guys’ musical careers. They have made an impact. Nylon Magazine stating “the band’s sound is the sort of rock that we just never get enough of: anthemic without being soulless, hard-driving while still having a heart.”

 

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Photo by Marisa Shirar
If Bad Suns sounds familiar, you might recall that they were in Lilli’s picks for album of the year!
We were lucky enough to catch Christo during rehearsal and talk about the new album, their Heartbreaker & Outskirts of Paradise tours, and their long awaited Baltimore show.
      Nearly two years ago, the Bad Suns show at the Ottobar got cancelled due to the Baltimore Riots. Christo gave us insight on that day, “I can remember being in the room altogether trying to figure out what to do. At the end of the day, it was better to not go through with it. But since then, we’ve been really wanting to come back to Baltimore. We’re really excited to make up for the last time around. The show’s been sold out for a while and it’s gonna be really fun.”
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Photo by Eliot Lee Hazel
      The new album, Disappear Here was a turning point for the band. Christo said, “We really wanted to sort of push the envelope forward a little bit. We were much more aware of who we were as a band and we felt much stronger in our identity.” With the album, they also wanted to bring their own identity to shows, their glitter zia sun logo is part of the show.  “We knew that we wanted to bring the personality and the vibe and the feeling of the album cover and the album itself into each city every night.”


     They’re very excited to get back on the road. Lilli asked about the possibility of three songs that were missed on the Disappear Here tour, but we have to wait to find out if they make it on the set!  As a closing comment, Christo said, “At the end of the day, I think that’s always the goal. We want everyone that goes home to be like ‘Wow, I don’t wanna leave’ or ‘That was amazing. That was more fun than it could’ve been.’ We just want it to be an experience that sticks out in people’s lives.”
Check to see if they’re coming to see a city near you during their Heartbreaker or Outskirts of Paradise tour! You can buy tickets here.
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Staff Picks: 2016 Albums of the Year

By Lilli Banks

2016 was such a wonderful year for creating, producing, and putting out new music. I was flooded with new albums and singles which made my top two choices for this year quite difficult. I decided that my two favorite albums of 2016 are I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful, Yet So Unaware of It by The 1975 and Disappear Here by Bad Suns.

#1: I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful, Yet So Unaware of It by The 1975

I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful, Yet So Unaware of It is an album compiled of 18 songs. It’s quite a different sound than their debut album. The song has some upbeat songs with lots of instrumentals and songs that tell new stories. Matty Healy, lead singer and writer, has a spectacular vocabulary that creates a picturesque scene for the listener as the music itself creates the atmosphere. The album goes deeper into the writer’s life with his mother’s postpartum depression and questioning his identity, etc. Thanks to the language he uses and innovative uses of instruments, the songs take you to place where he is and puts you in the writer’s position. I find the album to be enticing from beginning to end especially with the way he takes you into his world. One of my all-time favorite songs, Loving Someone is featured on this album. It has become the anthem for the LBGT community, which is quite close to my heart. The song portrays a message that has the entire crowd at a show, screaming the lyrics. I was lucky enough to be one of the people screaming in the crowd after a heavy event in the United States. Hearing these songs live was something I was expecting to be quite similar to the studio album. Since The 1975 use a lot of beats and sounds from computers, I expected that sort of experience. It surely changed my world to hear it live. They created that strong atmosphere on stage which was brilliant to witness. It is an album that truly got me to fall in love with The 1975 and is now one of my favorite albums.

#2: Disappear Here by Bad Suns

Disappear Here by Bad Suns also reigns in my top two albums for 2016. As a sophomore album, some artists tend to change their sound and venuture more. They definitely experimented a bit more, but they were still able to capture the same sound and excitement that the first album, Language and Perspective had. Bad Suns music is perfect for jamming with your friends, your windows down, and the wind flying through your hair. This album kept that liberating feeling that I got with the first album. Disappear Here was the first single released off the album and definitely brought in a new crowd. It also brought such high anticipation for the release of the full album.There is not a single song off the album that I skip or wait for it to end. I was lucky enough to see 10 of the new songs on their Disappear Here tour. I am quite in love with Daft Pretty Boys, Love Like Revenge and Maybe We’re Meant to Be Alone. I was able to ask Christo, the lead singer and writer, about MWMTBA after the show. I grew even more of a love for the song. I hope to hear Love Like Revenge live when they go on their Heartbreaker Tour (there will be a gallery or review for that so stay tuned!). I highly recommend giving this album a listen and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Honorable Mentions:

(some albums were not released this year)

First Impressions of Earth – The Strokes

The 1975 – The 1975

COIN – COIN

The Balcony – Catfish and the Bottlemen

Blossoms – Blossoms

Disappear Here – Bad Suns

The Altar – BANKS

Glitterbug – The Wombats

ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI – The 1975

Wiped Out! – The Neighbourhood