Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Reed of The Very Bad Days.
Hi Brian, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Dan and I used to rock out in a basement bedroom covered in Mickey Mouse wallpaper. We played silly 90s pop-punk songs, followed ABAB formulas like they were sacred texts, and we knew a tune was right when it made us laugh.
We grew up, we got jobs, we got married. We lost friends, we lost family, I lost faith. We got older, got jaded, got dark and divorced, we got weird, and now everything’s funny.
We still play in a basement, but our wallpaper is better. Aric joined us and now we’re more 90s than ever before. We powered through a pandemic and we’re still having fun, writing songs about the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days that made us who were are.
And we still know a tune a right when it makes us laugh.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been smooth like butter. But more like butter when it’s full of old toast crumbs. Also, the butter has been in the fridge, so it’s really hard. It’s been hard, like butter. Things have been hard.
We had picked up some momentum before the pandemic, which was obviously tough on every musician everywhere. It wasn’t easy to check out and sequester when things felt like they were on a roll. But we’ve been very thankful for the time we took together over the past couple of years, tweaking and rebuilding our set and recording our upcoming EP, “You Call This an Apocalypse?”
Also, Dan keeps bringing boxes full of bees to practice and releasing them in my house. He thinks it’s hilarious. I think it’s bees.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We write dark and catchy tunes about the terrible, horrible, no good very bad days. We’re proud of how we’re able to weave silliness and levity through darkness and come out with something people can dance to. If Jack Black joined the Chili Peppers, or Cobain was a President of the United States of America, or Harley Poe met Harvey Danger, The Very Bad Days wouldn’t have to rock so hard. But here we are.
What does success mean to you?
A guiding principle is that if it makes us laugh, we know we’re onto something. At the end of the day, if we have a good time jamming and laughing in the basement once a week, that’s a success.
We felt successful when even the asshat booking agent who heckled us through our set told us he liked us. We felt successful when the drunk girl in the front row begged for a Nirvana cover and danced even when we played Neutral Milk Hotel just to tease her. We felt successful when we completed an EP in the middle of a pandemic and realized the vocal outtakes were filled with laughs.
Pricing:
- You Call This an Apocalypse? | EP | Released June 24, 2022 | $4 | theverybaddays.bandcamp.com
- Hug Brian | $50
- Hug Aric | $60
- Hug Dan | Free but he will have bees
- Vinyl EP crowdfunding pledge | $28
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theverybaddays.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/theverybaddays/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/theverybaddays
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theverybaddays
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCevtOzoxOi134ExBoKXtRDA
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theverybaddays
- Other: https://theverybaddays.bandcamp.com
