13 Questions with BAD WIRES
I usually don't care to hang around and engage artists after their sets, and rarely hang out long enough to catch them after they cool down, but i needed to let these BAD WIRES know that their performance had 1) caught my attention, and 2) totally impressed me. I introduced myself to vocalist and bass player Corey Cottrell, and guitar player Conner Gray Johnson, and gave them my best collection of "hell yeah" sentiments. They kindly obliged my advances. Real sports. I then quickly retreated back to my den with my tinnitus and cottonmouth.
What follows is a 13 question interview I sent to BAD WIRES with hopes that anyone in the band would fill it out and let me post it on The Orange Noise. Well, 2/3 ain't bad, and guitarist Conner Gray Johnson was on the the road with his other Outfit Stagecoach Inferno; so he gets a pass, for now. Solid dudes. Solid band.
CC: I threw the name Bad Wires out there after Damien and I had been working up a handful of songs for almost a year. At the time I was thinking about how much good and bad can come from people's internal chemistry. Creativity, depression, love, so many of our experiences come down to chemical reactions in our brains and bodies interacting with the physical world. I was especially thinking about some of my favorite song writers who have battled major depression and hardships in their lives, and while it wasn't good for them health wise, a beautiful meaningful song came of it. To me Bad Wires as a name is a nod to the creative element in us that is born of these, well, bad wires in our heads.
At the time we were jamming with a different guitar player. He thought Bad Wires was one of the best rock names he had ever heard. My wife on the other hand said, "I don't know. It sounds like you got your wires crossed or something." Between those two responses I knew it was a keeper.
CGJ: It was in the works by the time I joined the project, and was tossed around for a few months before we decided that it was beyond perfect. It’s wildly suggestive of the (bad) chemical reactions in our minds that begin the creative process. The name always takes me on a roller coaster ride that starts at the very meaning that Corey mentions above, and ends somewhere in a futuristic wasteland. The name can antagonize technology for me, and as it begins to let us play god more and more each day, we become hyper exposed to incredible things and our attention spans become exhausted. I romanticize with the idea that a dystopia in the future, forcing us to rebuild, is the only real way we’re going to create those special things again.
CC: Damien and I stated jamming together two weeks after I moved to Louisville, back in 2016. We tried a few guitar players, some really good ones and a couple ...uh.....not very good ones. For a variety of reasons it never worked out. Either they weren't into us, we didn't feel we were getting the sound we wanted from them, they didn't like our jokes, they had shitty gear, we didn't like their jokes, or whatever combination it was getting the same result. Damien and I finally decided we were just going to be a two piece or just have a good friend make noise on guitar rather than be a guitar player.
Damien and I finally decided we were just going to be a two piece or just have a good friend make noise on guitar rather than be a guitar player.
DC: We have been together as a 3 piece for just over a year.
CGJ: It already feels like three years crammed into two weeks.
3. If your band was an egg laid by an animal, which egg laying animal laid you?
CGJ: It already feels like three years crammed into two weeks.
3. If your band was an egg laid by an animal, which egg laying animal laid you?
CC: Spider. When we hatch there's too many of us and if you don't smash us quickly we get everywhere.
DC: A platypus! Because they are awesome freaks of nature with just a little bit of everything in their makeup.
CGJ: I just got done fighting a god damned flea infestation at the apartment I just moved out of, and I don’t even have a dog. I suppose there was vermin in the basement or something that was keeping them around. I learned just how viral those bastards are, and now I must tip my hat to them with this answer. I aspire for this band to have the same infectious nature as flea eggs. No fleas in my new home, by the way.
*Nervous-compulsively checks ankles*
CC: My absolute top inspiration has always been No Means No. First time I heard their music I was like "Holy shit! You can do that on a bass?!?" Their music, in particular the album Wrong, changed my life three separate times. They should probably be numbers 1-4 frankly.
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| BAD WIRES @ Louisville Is Dead 2019 |
Minutemen are a constant on my playlist. Their music, almost more then anyone else, is art come to life. It doesn't sound like anyone else, it's political but not preachy, it takes these turns you don't see coming, and it is very much its own thing.
Dead Moon is one of my favorites for their heart and determination as much as their songs. Watching their documentary is like going to church for me. Their songs are love songs and songs of hope for outcasts.
Got to put Motorhead on the list, that should require no explanation. (With a nod to the Fugazi, the Melvins and Big Business as well.)
CC: The great thing about now is every fucking tool is at your fingertips. You are really only limited by the bullshit in your head and life. Whereas in the past you either needed to completely create your own infrastructure without ready access to the tools, or be a part of an industry, all while dealing with the bullshit in your head and life. The downside is we live in a 24/7 content needing vacuum that can be hard to unplug from, is bad for mental health and has fucking ruined my attention span.
DC: Tool, Primus , Mars Volta, Faith No More, In Flames. All for various reasons and it’s hard to pick just 5 but I guess these where my favorites coming up.
CGJ: My top bands are morphing constantly. This is a bit of a mixture of bands that really defined certain periods of my life, and bands that I just plain fucking dig right now:
CGJ: My top bands are morphing constantly. This is a bit of a mixture of bands that really defined certain periods of my life, and bands that I just plain fucking dig right now:
Whores
ZZ Top
Motörhead
Thin Lizzy
Earthless
ON: Corey, you should start your own blog. I'll follow your suggestions. New music, new me.
5. Would you rather be a working musician in the era of social media and over sharing, or a working musician in the era of wooden computers?
ZZ Top
Motörhead
Thin Lizzy
Earthless
ON: Corey, you should start your own blog. I'll follow your suggestions. New music, new me.
5. Would you rather be a working musician in the era of social media and over sharing, or a working musician in the era of wooden computers?
CC: The great thing about now is every fucking tool is at your fingertips. You are really only limited by the bullshit in your head and life. Whereas in the past you either needed to completely create your own infrastructure without ready access to the tools, or be a part of an industry, all while dealing with the bullshit in your head and life. The downside is we live in a 24/7 content needing vacuum that can be hard to unplug from, is bad for mental health and has fucking ruined my attention span.
In hindsight something I loved about pre-internet music was the mystique to everything.
In hindsight something I loved about pre-internet music was the mystique to everything. It was almost impossible growing up where I did to find any information about my favorite bands, which made them larger then life and made me super excited when something came around. It felt so much more important and meaningful to find their records back then, because they were scarce and coveted. With streaming you have ready access to all knowledge and the ability to find any album with the touch of a button, it becomes overwhelming and almost meaningless. It can feel disposable. So there's pros and cons.
Ultimately I'm here now. I think I'd always rather be here now.
DC: I prefer the old school style of promoting and being a band. I’m old and missed the whole s oak media thing. So I’m still learning on how to use that more. Luckily Corey and Conner are much more educated on the social media side. I know, I know how can I be in a band and not be somewhat good a social media. I’m working on it.
CGJ: How strange would it be to hope for something in the middle? In a doomed future that we like to daydream about like a kamikaze, I like the idea of busted technology only being able to take us so far again, and revisiting a more hands-on approach of yesteryear. I’ll still print flyers and hang them up for shows and whatnot, but that doesn’t resonate with folks quite as directly as social media can when it’s done right. I’m getting better at using it, and I really hate that.
6. What are your biggest musical influence(s) and why?
CC: Rob Wright's (No Means No) bass playing, it showed me the way. Fred and Toody (Dead Moon) because they lived a beautiful life and never stopped following their dream and passion. They figured out how to incorporate those passions into a home life and be true to themselves, their relationship, and their families. Dischord Records, make your own system instead of joining theirs. Easier said then done, but that should be an influence for everyone.
Townes Van Zandt, my family are country musicians. His sad songs are etched in my bones and have been there in hard times. Plus he routinely talked about how no one really writes a song, they just plug into whatever was sailing though the air at that moment. I feel this. Arguably his greatest song is If I Needed You. He once said, 'Man, anyone could have written that song. You just had to be sitting in the right chair." I owe more to this style of music and voice then is evident in my own playing. Bo Diddly, because you need to dance when you're cooking.
DC: My biggest influences would be Maynard Keenan, Mike Patton, Josh Freese and Phil Collins. All are amazing musicians and almost any thing they touch is amazing!
CGJ: Lemmy always regarded Little Richard as the pioneer of rock and roll. Little Richard said his biggest influences were “choo-choo trains and the church”. That answer is fucking wild to me. Is Little Richard an influence of mine? Not really, and Lemmy totally is, but there is a far more direct answer to the question. My “choo-choo trains and church” are in the form of anxiety troubles I had when I was younger, a few difficult psychedelic experiences also when I was younger, and a car ride with my father at an extremely young age. He played the song “Frankenstein” by Edgar Winter when I was like 3 and I remember feeling mischievous about it.
7. Your fans: brooding nodders or 'bow throwing maniacs?
CC: They nod broodingly while throwing items. Usually not bows.....
DC: I think our fans aren’t sure if they should nod there heads and take it all in or just let loose and let it all hang out. Please keep bows, knees and feet to yourselves though!
CGJ: I’m hoping for some archery of some sort. If somebody impales me on stage out of appreciation, I’ll feel like I did something right.
ON: I took a blind spinning-back-fist from a young lady at a show about a year ago. You can assume my opinion on the spinny-kicky-punchy shit.
8. Stage rig rundown?
CC: Damien plays a pork pie kit. I use a Rickenbacker bass run through a Verellen Meatsmoke with an Ampeg 8-10 cab and a Fulltone bass overdrive pedal.Conner plays a Gibson through a Verellen Lokus into an Atlas cab (6-12 I think?) with a variety of pedal goodness. I'm usually on Damien's left, I try not to be in front of him because drums are the most important part of a band and we like to look each other in the eye. Conner is usually on Damien's right, but really he's all over the place shaking his hair and giving himself whiplash.
CGJ: We don’t want to clear the room by any means, but excessive volume is a major component to our sound. My Verellen head is essentially a 100 watt hybrid circuit of a Hiwatt, Sunn Model T, and (some) Vox-yness ass well, but with a gain channel. The gain channel sounds like a bass-heavy, chewy Marshall JCM 800 head, and I throw a variety of overdrives in front of the gain channel to tighten everything up. The goal is to have such a “large grain” characteristic to the distortion that it sounds like a fucking tractor. I rotate a few octave up and down pedals, and use a tape delay pretty heavily throughout the set as well. I’ll set the volume of the echos pretty low and the number of echoes pretty high, so if I’m playing something complicated, it *just* gets screwed up and overlapped enough for somebody to not know exactly what’s going on. There is also a looper pedal I just for samples, and a few ring modulators and bit crushers I have my eye on, but I won’t add something to my board if it’s going to keep me from performing. Too many toys can prevent a wild stage presentation. Anyway, everything goes through an Atlas 6x12 just to be that much more ridiculous.
ON: Damien, your's def looks the lightest.
9. Is your zen spot the studio or the stage?
CC: When the set is worked out well, we play it well, and there is a receptive audience there is nothing comparable. You feel that energy that Townes talked about, and its pure Zen. Or rather pure Tao, (sort of interchangeable.) It's a magic feeling where you are outside of you and riding the wave everyone else is on. When the night is right I'll always prefer this.With that said, even a bad day of mixing is a blast and trance like.
CC: l take the one big one. I can't focus on fighting 100 anything at once.
DC: I agree with Corey. I’ll take the big one def can’t handle 100 of anything at once.
CGJ: I’m imagining Corey and I turning our amps up all the way and vibrating 100 tiny grizzly bears into dust.
11. Tour van stops for gas. You go inside and buy 1 beverage, 1 snack, and 1 random thing. What are they?
CC: Coffee, coffee, and coffee. Later my stomach hurts and I'm cursing myself. Later still I have a headache and I probably can't sleep. Then I grab a coffee in the morning.
CC: He would love it. I'm super happy for 15 year old Corey.
DC: 15 year old me would have a lot of questions. Prob be happy I’m still playing music but scared to death of everything else.
CGJ: 15 year old me would be terrified of the volume.
13. Favorite Louisville band that you are NOT in?
CC: Louisville has such a rich roster of great bands dating back 20 years, it's impossible to say who my favorite is. Growing up it was Slint, Rodan, Freakwater, the For Carnation, King Kong, stuff like that. In terms of current bands that we've gotten to play with, Shi is probably top of my list. They have consistently blown me away with how heavy and focused they are. Killer tones too. Waxeater is always fantastic, a great balance of angry sounding music and funny banter.
DC: I def like Waxeater and Stonecutters for local bands. Always fun to play with and from what I can tell they aren’t major assholes.
CGJ: My favorite question. Wombo.
*My honorable mentions are all friends of mine in the heavier music circles. Blind Scryer, Shi, Stonecutters, Waxeater, and Goddess all do this shit pretty well.
DC: I prefer the old school style of promoting and being a band. I’m old and missed the whole s oak media thing. So I’m still learning on how to use that more. Luckily Corey and Conner are much more educated on the social media side. I know, I know how can I be in a band and not be somewhat good a social media. I’m working on it.
CGJ: How strange would it be to hope for something in the middle? In a doomed future that we like to daydream about like a kamikaze, I like the idea of busted technology only being able to take us so far again, and revisiting a more hands-on approach of yesteryear. I’ll still print flyers and hang them up for shows and whatnot, but that doesn’t resonate with folks quite as directly as social media can when it’s done right. I’m getting better at using it, and I really hate that.
6. What are your biggest musical influence(s) and why?
CC: Rob Wright's (No Means No) bass playing, it showed me the way. Fred and Toody (Dead Moon) because they lived a beautiful life and never stopped following their dream and passion. They figured out how to incorporate those passions into a home life and be true to themselves, their relationship, and their families. Dischord Records, make your own system instead of joining theirs. Easier said then done, but that should be an influence for everyone.
Townes Van Zandt, my family are country musicians. His sad songs are etched in my bones and have been there in hard times. Plus he routinely talked about how no one really writes a song, they just plug into whatever was sailing though the air at that moment. I feel this. Arguably his greatest song is If I Needed You. He once said, 'Man, anyone could have written that song. You just had to be sitting in the right chair." I owe more to this style of music and voice then is evident in my own playing. Bo Diddly, because you need to dance when you're cooking.
DC: My biggest influences would be Maynard Keenan, Mike Patton, Josh Freese and Phil Collins. All are amazing musicians and almost any thing they touch is amazing!
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| BAD WIRES does their own heavy lifting. |
7. Your fans: brooding nodders or 'bow throwing maniacs?
CC: They nod broodingly while throwing items. Usually not bows.....
CGJ: I’m hoping for some archery of some sort. If somebody impales me on stage out of appreciation, I’ll feel like I did something right.
ON: I took a blind spinning-back-fist from a young lady at a show about a year ago. You can assume my opinion on the spinny-kicky-punchy shit.
8. Stage rig rundown?
CC: Damien plays a pork pie kit. I use a Rickenbacker bass run through a Verellen Meatsmoke with an Ampeg 8-10 cab and a Fulltone bass overdrive pedal.Conner plays a Gibson through a Verellen Lokus into an Atlas cab (6-12 I think?) with a variety of pedal goodness. I'm usually on Damien's left, I try not to be in front of him because drums are the most important part of a band and we like to look each other in the eye. Conner is usually on Damien's right, but really he's all over the place shaking his hair and giving himself whiplash.
...the rest I have no idea. Guitars and bass I think.DC: I currently play a Pork Pie 4 piece kit with Zillion, Paiste and Sabian cymbals. The guys both rock Verellen amps but the rest I have no idea. Guitars and bass I think.
CGJ: We don’t want to clear the room by any means, but excessive volume is a major component to our sound. My Verellen head is essentially a 100 watt hybrid circuit of a Hiwatt, Sunn Model T, and (some) Vox-yness ass well, but with a gain channel. The gain channel sounds like a bass-heavy, chewy Marshall JCM 800 head, and I throw a variety of overdrives in front of the gain channel to tighten everything up. The goal is to have such a “large grain” characteristic to the distortion that it sounds like a fucking tractor. I rotate a few octave up and down pedals, and use a tape delay pretty heavily throughout the set as well. I’ll set the volume of the echos pretty low and the number of echoes pretty high, so if I’m playing something complicated, it *just* gets screwed up and overlapped enough for somebody to not know exactly what’s going on. There is also a looper pedal I just for samples, and a few ring modulators and bit crushers I have my eye on, but I won’t add something to my board if it’s going to keep me from performing. Too many toys can prevent a wild stage presentation. Anyway, everything goes through an Atlas 6x12 just to be that much more ridiculous.
ON: Damien, your's def looks the lightest.
9. Is your zen spot the studio or the stage?
CC: When the set is worked out well, we play it well, and there is a receptive audience there is nothing comparable. You feel that energy that Townes talked about, and its pure Zen. Or rather pure Tao, (sort of interchangeable.) It's a magic feeling where you are outside of you and riding the wave everyone else is on. When the night is right I'll always prefer this.With that said, even a bad day of mixing is a blast and trance like.
DC: I def love the stage more. The performance is where it’s at for me. To many computers and programs I know nothing about in the studio. I enjoy learning the studio and working with the guys there but the stage will always be my fave. It’s raw and in the moment and will never be the same twice.
CGJ: The only way I can record decently is to pretend I’m on stage. So I suppose that makes the stage my preference. My anxiety gets pretty sickening when it comes to playing live, and the only way I can get it to calm down is to outrun it practically. There’s something pretty special and humbling about that process to me. If you see me standing still at a show, I promise you that I’m having a tough time.
10. Would you rather fight 1 grizzly bear sized hamster, or 100 hamster sized grizzly bears?
CGJ: The only way I can record decently is to pretend I’m on stage. So I suppose that makes the stage my preference. My anxiety gets pretty sickening when it comes to playing live, and the only way I can get it to calm down is to outrun it practically. There’s something pretty special and humbling about that process to me. If you see me standing still at a show, I promise you that I’m having a tough time.
10. Would you rather fight 1 grizzly bear sized hamster, or 100 hamster sized grizzly bears?
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| Bad Wires is: Conner Gray Johnson - Guitar Damien Cooke - Drums Corey Cottrell - Bass, Vocals |
DC: I agree with Corey. I’ll take the big one def can’t handle 100 of anything at once.
CGJ: I’m imagining Corey and I turning our amps up all the way and vibrating 100 tiny grizzly bears into dust.
11. Tour van stops for gas. You go inside and buy 1 beverage, 1 snack, and 1 random thing. What are they?
CC: Coffee, coffee, and coffee. Later my stomach hurts and I'm cursing myself. Later still I have a headache and I probably can't sleep. Then I grab a coffee in the morning.
DC: Beer, Banana Taffy, Random Button for my hats.
CGJ: Tall Modelo especial, Spicy Nacho Doritos, and a pair of cheap sunglasses.
12. Would your 15 year old self like your music?
CGJ: Tall Modelo especial, Spicy Nacho Doritos, and a pair of cheap sunglasses.
12. Would your 15 year old self like your music?
CC: He would love it. I'm super happy for 15 year old Corey.
DC: 15 year old me would have a lot of questions. Prob be happy I’m still playing music but scared to death of everything else.
CGJ: 15 year old me would be terrified of the volume.
13. Favorite Louisville band that you are NOT in?
CC: Louisville has such a rich roster of great bands dating back 20 years, it's impossible to say who my favorite is. Growing up it was Slint, Rodan, Freakwater, the For Carnation, King Kong, stuff like that. In terms of current bands that we've gotten to play with, Shi is probably top of my list. They have consistently blown me away with how heavy and focused they are. Killer tones too. Waxeater is always fantastic, a great balance of angry sounding music and funny banter.
DC: I def like Waxeater and Stonecutters for local bands. Always fun to play with and from what I can tell they aren’t major assholes.
CGJ: My favorite question. Wombo.
*My honorable mentions are all friends of mine in the heavier music circles. Blind Scryer, Shi, Stonecutters, Waxeater, and Goddess all do this shit pretty well.
FIN