Bad Bad Meow

#195 on the UK top 200 week of March 10 - UK Charts

Carolina natives Bad Bad Meow revel in their fusion of folk tradition and punk rock n’ roll. Sharp and textured, the ensemble makes use of their unique instrumentals, and sound like a deep south version of the White Stripes. Check out “Dance With Me” from their latest EP, “Run Through the Middle”.

Why we love them: Bad Bad Meow erases the pseudo division between punk and country, until twang merges into hard-hitting rock. They are tight without feeling forced, lovable without being campy, and exude uniqueness without being strange. - Local Loop Chicago

The Challenges of Recording After Your Studio Sells Their Console

PRE-PRODUCTION

What was your pre-production like on this project?

We have had these songs for a while, and played out regularly. The songs were well rehearsed; it was just a matter of finding the right time and place [to record them].

We knew we wanted a different approach from the lo-fi home recordings we’ve done in the past.

When we found out about Engine Studios and that there was open time available, we just jumped on it. It was really a happy coincidence.



Why did you record at Engine Studios?

To be honest, I hadn’t heard of Engine Studios until our then bassist encouraged us to check it out. Turns out a good friend of his and fan of the band had been working there as an engineer for the past year and a half. After seeing the gold records on the wall from Iron and Wine and Modest Mouse, I quickly became intimidated and excited. I knew right then this was a once-in–a-lifetime opportunity for humble garage rock band to record a huge sounding album that might get some attention. The studio was set to relocate in a couple months so we actually snagged some of the last available studio time.

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PRODUCTION

What kind of sound were you looking for and how did you achieve it?

We wanted an album that was super clean, clever and interesting sounding. We wanted to throw everything we had at this album by getting some of our talented friends to add some amazing things to it.

How does it compare to your last release in terms of style and the creative process?

We actually re-recorded a couple of songs because previous recordings just didn’t do the songs justice. We didn’t have access to all the tools and equipment necessary to capture the songs in a way we were happy with.

Did you use any special gear or recording techniques on this one?

The Sphere Eclipse C console is extremely rare, one of only 15 or so. It was great to have access to that – doesn’t hurt that it sounded phenomenal as well. Outside of all the other really great equipment listed above, we mainly stuck with simple and effective recording techniques. The focus was on getting the best and most natural sounds from the source so we didn’t have to spend a lot of time messing with things in the mixing phase.

What was your philosophy on live, full-band takes versus individual tracking?

It really depends on what the situation calls for. The live element is definitely important for the sound of this band, and the energy is much better with everyone playing together in the room at the same time. We tracked drums, bass, keys, and guitars live for this one. Later on we overdubbed acoustic guitar, piano, additional percussion, flute and the main vocal tracks. Some things just work better as an overdub.

Any special guests?

Will Huelsman from Teenage Rage on keys and vocals. Natalie Grace from the The Boombox Face played organ and clavinet. Liliana Carriz added flute and accordion. Outside of engineering, Mike [Novak] also laid down some percussion tracks and über-feedback electric guitar parts.

What did you try to accomplish in the studio that you’re not able to do live?

I have always been told that we were much better as a live band. I wanted to prove to everyone that we could make a quality studio recording, as well. Doubled vocals and guitars, multiple piano tracks, and auxiliary percussion are things we can’t really do live, but go a long way in the studio.

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What were the toughest challenges you faced?

Since the studio was relocating, they actually sold the console we started on. This worked out well because we got upgraded to the Sphere in the A room, but there were definitely a couple late nights. Mike [Novak] ended up mixing the entire record in his apartment. Also, getting all the people involved on the same schedule is always a difficult task.

Any funny stories from the session that you’ll be telling for a while?

The song “Two Fools in Love” is a vocal duet between Will and myself. We used one mic and sang together in the live room with all the lights out. I think we did about nine takes, each more ridiculous than the last. Mike and Max [Brink, bass] were literally crying from laughter in the control room.

POST-PRODUCTION

How did you handle final mixing and mastering?

Mike had to do all the mixing at home since the studio was no more. Once it came time to mix the record, we kind of anticipated this and made sure to get the best tones possible on the way in. My old friend [Hans DeKline] from the late-’90s band Maypole in L.A. took care of the mastering at his mastering house Sound Bites Dog.

What are your release plans?

Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify and anywhere digital music is sold.

ALBUM INFO

Band Name: Bad Bad Meow
Album: Run Through the Middle EP & Drink and Regret EP
Recording Studio: Engine Studios
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: January 1, 2013 for RTM EP; TBA for the D&R EP
Produced & Engineered by: Mike Novak
Mastered by: Hans DeKline (Sound Bites Dog)
Artwork by: Tika Lynn
KEY GEAR

A whole slew of some of the finest recording gear available. Highlights include:
Sphere Eclipse C console
Trident 80B console
Vintage Neumann tube mics including: m49, u64, m367
RCA KU-3A directional ribbon mic
EMT 140 and 240 “gold foil” plate reverbs
Electronaut M63 hand built tube mic preamp
Fender Rhodes, Hammond M3 organ, Hohner Clavinet
For more visit badbadmeow.bandcamp.com.
Have a unique studio story to share? Email editorial@performermag.com. - Performer Magazine

Bad Bad Meow has released their latest album on April 25th. - Radio One Chicago

The problem with being cute is that you can only be so for a finite amount of time before folks catch on and start trying to peel the veneer back so that they can see if anything exists deeper down. Look at Curly Sue, the 1991 film where a scrappy young girl is mentored by a resourceful, yet unrepentantly trickster of a lout, played by Jim Belushi, who uses his youthful charge as a means to charm unsuspecting individuals into providing food, money, and board. It all works so well for the pair for awhile, but as time wears on, and others begin to see through the armor (the Achilles Heel being Sue’s inability to spell a simple three letter word, despite knowing countless 20 dollar words, all memorized and part of her gallery of parlor tricks), the pair find that redemption is a little harder to acquire than just flashing a smile and having a cutesy quip and anecdote at the ready.

Bad Bad Meow exist, on the surface, as something of an example of this concept of cute hiding potential depth – I mean, look at their name, a combination of a hard adjective and an instance of onomatopoeia, meant to evoke within the listener, an image of a cat snarling in a corner, not necessarily attempting to defend itself against an ongoing attacker, but more occupying that edge of the space because that’s the out of the way place where the feline can glare at the rest of the room through scratched up sunglasses while smoking Parliaments laced with catnip. Certainly, platitudes of high literature aren’t being made here; on a recent interview on Radio One Chicago on WLUW, the joke was made by one of the band’s members when I asked how they wished to grow and evolve in the coming year, that one of the first items on their to do list was to change the name of the group to Worse Worse Meow. Couple the name with the visual art that adorns the group’s EP’s and singles – cartoon cats in various states of pose and action – and already you’ve got a band that may not immediately hit the listener with the sense of urgency that they’re necessarily taking any of what they’re doing seriously, so much as playing up one of the eternal favorites on the Internet’s mass list of things guaranteed to make people go ‘squee!’.

As it would turn out, Bad Bad Meow have been taking themselves to task fairly hard, and despite their playful moniker, the group’s latest EP, ‘Altered Beast’ boosts a trio of songs that have shown the group evolving and maturing past their previous efforts and growing their sonic palette to become a stew born of the need for fusion more than the basic rib tips and mashed potatoes that have composed much of their earlier work.

The moody keys in ‘Diana’ are the first thing to jump out and comes courtesy of new band hire, Natalie Grace Alford, now playing double agent as she juggles her own solo music in tandem. There’s a swinging element in ‘Diana’ that re-calls the kitsch and creep of the mid 20th century, bringing to mind old Ed Wood directed C-listers that take place in alternating jump cuts between cob web laden funeral home viewing rooms (the verses where Alford’s organ drones at a dirge like crawl) and smoke filled bars where a random carnival band of gypsy rock and rollers (later to be revealed as the film’s antagonists) is tucked away on a side stage grinding away at their instruments as the protagonists of the film question their way across the bar from one bar fly to the next in search of leads on what’s been making the town go crazy. At all points of listening, one can hear the ghosts whistling through the barren leaved trees of the North Carolina roads where this group has its roots, bringing the unit into close proximity with other southern rooted groups like The Pine Hill Haints, who also trade on the craft of sketching out moody soundscapes that wrap themselves like brittle skin around an eerily spooky skeletal framework.

The somber mood entrenches itself further on “Intimate Shuffle”, a piece that finds vocalist Alen Khan yelping loudly, “Can you hear me sin? Oh, God, can you hear me sin?!”, as if he were Judas moments before the betrayer hung himself in the Potter’s Field. There’s an Americana like feel that weaves throughout these three songs with the most immediate thing coming to mind in listening to Khan’s vocals being the assumption that they’re a cousin to Isaac Brock during his more manic moments. Hints of a more drunken Murder City Devils pop up here and there, as well, while the general circus feel of the keys that weave and wind throughout re-call the spaghetti western antics of Murder By Death had they been less concerned with Satan taking over a gold miner’s town, and more focused on watching Beelzebub do his dirty work over the tight ropes under the big top, instead. “Mexico” takes the group further out into the sand and dust and sees the unit fading out without a sigh, as if the tequila had been over salted before making its way into the recording studio and put the band into a state of lethargy before they could finish what they were trying to do.

It takes nine minutes for the trilogy of death jams on display here to play their way out and like a quick survey of a cadaver at the final viewing, one feels, upon lingering on these tracks, that there should have been more time spent getting to know the departed. Bad Bad Meow have done a great job at teasing the listener with the “Altered Beast” EP, but more than anything else, one finds themselves fiending, like cowboys desperately seeking out the next watering hole, for more, and in good time, it would be fascinating to see how this self described group of “acoustic country punks” expand the narrative of their musical world into a new full length record (there last having seen release over three years ago) where we can explore the outlandish characters and sounds that they’ve created. - Notes and Bolts

Friday, October 15, 2010
Q&A: Bad Bad Meow

Posted by Andrew


Open mic nights are interesting. A lot of what’s played is good, but nothing mind-blowing or eyebrow-raising. It’s a great platform for an artist to perform live without the pressure of an actual show, to be able to hone their skill while keeping the bar safe from jukebox trolls. But every once in a while you hear a band that actually stands out, that gets the crowd into it. This is how I became introduced to Bad Bad Meow. Originally from North Carolina, drummer Sarah Sydow, singer/guitarist/evil genius Alen Khan and an ever-rotating cast of characters have been kicking around the Chicago scene for the past couple months. If you drop by the Gallery Cabaret on a Sunday night, odds are you’ll see them perform. More interested in a full-length set? Check ‘em out at a free show this Saturday, October 16 at the Mutiny opening for the Pear Traps.


I had a chance to talk with Sarah about her musical bond with Alen, silly band names and Meg White.


WCR: So you don’t have anything recorded right now...


Sarah: Well, we’re still in the process because I just got up here at the beginning of August. We have 20 songs that we did, because Alen writes really fast. I always have to be careful what I say around him because next thing you know he’s going to turn it into a song. We were having a conversation about something that will remain a mystery, and I was like, “Al, write me the song ‘Touch it Where You Touch It’” because we thought that was so funny. The next day, he’s like “I got it!” and it’s quite the local favorite here at Gallery Cabaret. We’ve got a bunch of females that scream for it.


There seems to definitely be a sense of humor within the band.


Absolutely. I think that’s one of my favorite things about being in this band. When you get a bunch of musicians that are really good together, and you can just absolutely have fun with it. We take ourselves only half seriously. It’s just life. It’s just music.


You all just seem to be very casual. 'This might happen, this might not happen, no big deal either way.’ Does that translate into the songwriting process as well?


Yeah, dude. Al is like an evil genius. His brain is just always going.


Quick backstory: We met in New Bern, North Carolina. He’s from Charlotte, I grew up in New Bern. He just happened to move there. I was running the bar back home and started an open mic. Al and his buddy Frank moved down there, me and my best friend who was my long time bass player, we’re like ‘this guy is awesome, he’s crazy, this is fun.’ So we just all connected. Played at open mics for two years. And then me and Alen went to a Waffle House one time. It was the most we’d ever hung out at one time. Bonded over a waffle sandwich. He moved to Chicago in November of last year and was trying to get me to move ever since. I came to visit in June, by the third day I was sold on it.
When I was running that bar, it was like 5 o' clock on a Friday night and the band canceled, so I had just randomly texted Al, and I was like ‘Hey man, I was going to pay them $500, I’ll pay us $500 if you think we can play all night.’ And it was only me and him and we played for four hours. I had never heard any of the songs except maybe a dozen that we had played at open mics and we just went for it. He and I just have this weird synergy with each other.


Any reason Alen chose Chicago?


He kind of fell in love with it, too. You know, we’re grownups, we’ve got our regular jobs. He was working for US Cellular at the time. I think he ended up coming up here and same thing. I don’t know how anyone couldn’t love Chicago. I’m from New York and we lived half an hour outside New York City and I’ve spent time in Los Angeles, but there’s no city like Chicago.


So is Bad Bad Meow the final band name?


Oh man, we were going back and forth with band names. Back in the day it had been Perfo and then for awhile we were the B-Sides, but then there was a couple bands that had the B-Sides, so we scratched that, we were the Slapchops and then we were going to be Always the Bridesmaid. Then Alen had ended up having this conversation with this girl about being allergic to cats and I remember he texted me, I was on the way to the friggin post office and he sent me the name, and I laughed so hard. It was the stupidest name ever, I loved it. Our slide guitarist [Chris] hates it [laughs] so we knew it was perfect. It was just one of those names you don’t forget. You should hear the album names we come up with.


Care to divulge any?


[laughs] The funniest one is, uh, "Pussydoodle." Obviously just hearing the name Pussydoodle conjures all types of mental images, I think that’d be hilarious. "Dirty Happiness" is another we’ve kicked around. Chris hates Pussydoodle, which of course makes me think it might be perfect.


So you’re recording right now. What’s the timeline for that, when do you anticipate a release?


It’s getting pretty close. We knocked out the drum tracks pretty quick. I have my company 8th and Grace Recording. We have a big practice space at Music Zone - we do all the drum tracking and vocals there, all the live recording. We’re doing all of the cello tracks and all that stuff at our apartment, which is driving our neighbors crazy, but it sounds really good. They can deal with it, our lease is up in a month anyway. By the end of the month I don’t see any reason why it’s not gonna be at least, if not done mixing, really close and then shoot it off to get mastered.


What would you say are key influences?


Alen listens to a lot of indie stuff. I don’t really listen to this kind of music at all, which is kind of fun for me. I listen to everything from A Fine Frenzy and Adele to contemporary Christian rock to Angels and Airwaves and the Used and Taking Back Sunday. Alen listens to the more obscure stuff. We get compared to the White Stripes a ton. I think because we’re a duo with a chick drummer. No offense to Meg, but I’d smoke her [laughs]. We hear that Al sounds like the guy from the Violent Femmes a lot and we’ve been compared to the Pixies.


Hold on, that’s Alen [answers phone]. What are you doing? I’m talking to Andrew and he’s recording me talking to you on the phone right now. Want me to put you on the speaker phone? You wanna sound all sleepy and creepy? Where are you at? Get on the train and bring your ass. Oh, you’re still there. What time do you get off? [laughs] Hold on, let me put you on speaker phone, because that was funny. What did you say?


Alen: I said I’m glad that I’m not there and it's you doing this and not me because I’m really bad at those kind of things. Have you started yet?


Sarah: Yeah, we’ve been talking for half an hour and drinking a pitcher of PBR. We wanna drink Old Style!


Alen: I should be there.


Sarah: You should bee!


Alen: So what are you talking about?


Sarah: I said that I would smoke Meg White! [laughs]
Posted by Andrew on Friday, October 15, 2010
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- WindyCityRock.Net

This Chicago based band began in a small town in North Carolina; bringing their southern indie rock sound to the North. Bad Bad Meow has a style that is a nod to the White Stripes and The Violent Femmes.The two front runners in Bad Bad Meow are Alen Kahn (Guitar, lead vocals) and Sarah Sydow (Drums, backing vocals). They were featured on episode #43 of Homoground. You can listen below:

The CD, Big Phat Pussy, begins with the song, “La La La” and begins you on a country rock voyage into the life of Bad Bad Meow. Alen’s falsetto voice hits flawlessly while Sarah carries through with her backup beats and vocals throughout the entire CD. Their song, “Drink and Regret” truly showcases how strong this band is with their punch-in-the-face lyrics and robust sounds. Bad Bad Meow forces you to face the evils in your life and then drink them away with smile on your face. “Wheel” most exposes their country influences as it asks that million dollar question, “How does it make you feel?” If you happen to live in the Windy City you are bound to see a free show by them at the Gallery Cabaret on any Sunday night.

Recently I went up to Chicago to hang out with Sarah and meet the new lady in her life. By default, I met Alen and he even let me crash at his house a few days while in town. It was three days of seeing the sites, drinking in the night and eating at their favorite Mexican restaurant. Of course, I introduced them to Homoground. I have since returned from the Windy City but they have agreed to let Homoground & friends in on their life a little bit.

Homoground: How did the band conspire?
Sarah Sydow – Al and I met when he moved to New Bern, NC (where I grew up) and would jam a few songs at an open mic for over two years. He moved to Chicago at the end of ’09. We recorded a record just before he moved as The Slapchops. It was great. Al had been trying to convince me to move to Chicago with him. Finally in June of 2010 I came to visit and he won. I moved a month & a half later. He had already been playing with our lap steel guitarist Chris Ray by the time I got here. Al had been wanting to change things up a bit so he switched from an electric guitar to an acoustic and we renamed the band Bad Bad Meow.

HG: Who contacted who about starting the band?
Alen Kahn – I actually came up here to do music and continue my old punk garage band called Perfo with new folks. It didn’t have the same feeling and I didn’t want to do the same thing over again. I made the decision to go acoustic and that time Sarah was still in NC but I convinced her to come up here for a few days and then she fell in love with Chicago like I did. Last year she decided to truck up here.

HG: Where did the name Bad Bad Meow come from?AK – I was dating this girl who would spin things that I would say. I was talking about how I was allergic to cats and she said “yah buddy, bad bad meow!” It stuck in my head and I texted it to Sarah as a joke and she loved it.
SS – I laughed so hard and told him it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard and I loved it. That’s kind of been the foundation we’ve built the band on. If it makes us laugh and it sounds like it’s crazy… run with it. It’s worked great for us.

HG: Why was it decided that Chicago was the place to unleash your talents?
AK – Chicago is a very diverse and open minded city….plus the amazing music scene doesn’t hurt.

HG: Drink of choice during a set?
AK – tequila!!!
SS – and Old Style

HG: Who writes the songs? Is there one that is a favorite to perform?
AK – I write the songs and Sarah helps defines and shapes the song. My favorite to play is Moon Shadow because it can be really long and ridiculous. Sarahs favorite is Drink and Regret.
SS – Al Jolson is another favorite. I can’t help but laugh every time Al sings “I sing like Al Jolson. I sing like Jack Johnson” cause he uses these hilarious voices.

HG: Is there a favorite venue/bar that Bad Bad Meow has performed/wants to perform in?
AK – We love the Gallery Cabaret! It is our second home and is close to our actual homes.

HG: Will there be upcoming tour dates after the CD release? What’s the future for Bad Bad Meow?
AK – We have tons just check our FB.
SS – I’m thinking world domination… that’s a good place to start.

HG: Anything you feel I left out? Anything you want to make fun of me for? Anything specific you want to elaborate more on?
SS – Ehhh… well since we’re doing this over email it’s hard to tell if you’re wearing any silly pants or anything. I do think you may have a boogie in your nose though. No no… the left nostril.

Bad Bad Meow is set to officially release a vinyl and digital download November 30th, at The Empty Bottle in Chicago, IL. - Homoground.com

Bad Bad Meow delivers an energetic in-the-moment performance of clever and edgy lyrics and melodic lines that you will find yourself singing along with for days after the show. They have successfully created their own unique style rooted in the traditions of country, rhythm and blues, and psychedelic rock with a punk rock swagger. Fans of The White Stripes, Violent Femmes, and the Pixies will be pleasantly surprised. Branding their sound as “Americana Punk,” Bad Bad Meow migrated from North Carolina to take the city of Chicago along for the bad bad ride. After years of playing together, singer/guitarist/evil genius Alen Khan and drummer Sarah Sydow joined up with Chicago slide guitarist Chris Ray and bassist Max Brink. They are joined regularly on stage and in the studio by a supporting cast of musicians equally as charmed with the music and enthusiastically connect with the ideology of Bad Bad Meow. Bad Bad Meow released their first full length album “Big Phat Pussycat” on vinyl and digital download. The album presents a collection of addicting, perky melodies and rhythm including “Mother Father,” “Wheel,” and “Run Through the Middle.” Its release received a spirited welcome from long time fans and serves as the perfect introduction to those not yet familiar with the band’s brand of unmistakable melodies and unrestrained fiery zeal. Big Phat Pussycat showcases the wide range of Alen’s vocals, from folkie crooning to fervent howls, and the dynamic exchange between instruments that is the pinnacle of their live shows. - Raw Artists

Record review: Bad Bad Meow - 'Big Phat Pussycat'

By Andrew Hertzberg

About a year ago, I did one of my first interviews for this website with Bad Bad Meow’s drummer Sarah Sydow. In it, we discussed possible first album titles. At the time they were kicking around the idea of Pussydoodle, but have opted for the slightly less offensive Big Phat Pussycat. Released back in May (yeah, yeah, better late than never, right?), the debut LP shows a surprising dynamic between the tracks and all the slide guitar you could ask for. The band centers around Sarah behind the kit, Alen Khan on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Chris Ray on slide guitar, and a rotating cast of characters filling in on bass and other surprises. Sarah and Alen have played together in infinity +1 bands going all the way back to their days in North Carolina before moving to Chicago. They haven’t lost their southern charm since moving the great north, making equally sure they don’t get too serious, nor too silly.

The album kicks off with "Mother, Father," a deceitfully straightforward rock song, but a great introduction to Khan’s heart-on-the-sleeve vocals that bring to mind Frank Black (Black Francis, even) but with the hint of a southern accent. "La La La" is actually just as cryptic, hectic and head-spinning enough to be a Surfer Rosa b-side. Remember when I mentioned the dynamics of this record? The together-forever doo-wopish ballad "Run to the Middle" is followed by the self-explaining punk-blues, garage-stomp "Drink and Regret," turning the remorseful “I said it / we never / should have gone to bed together” into a cathartic chorus at the end. Of course, this is followed be the track that may have inspired the regret, the piano led "Touch It!" that just demands to swing your partner round and round (dance floor optional).

Bad Bad Meow made sure to make their mark in the tradition of rock star excess with ‘Country Repeat’ which could be the theme song to Benny Hill if it was set in the South. ‘Please Wake Up’ sounds like Alen was actually crying in the studio when they recorded this, the abrasive slide guitar, playful xylophone and electric pianner adding to the eeriness at the end of the song. The album closes out with the entirely not subtle "Drugs" which alone warrants the comparison to the Violent Femmes that they often receive. Overall, listening to the album is just as emotive and fun as it is to see BBM live. You can tell Sarah and Alen have a great chemistry from playing together for a while, while simultaneously being open to what other creative minds have to add. - WindyCityRock.Net