If you know anything about punk you have already heard about Joey Cape through his incredible California Punk efforts Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut. In addition to his punk stardom and incredible solo acoustic career, Joey has explored other aspects of music and today’s album is one of those side projects that pretty much speaks for itself. This is Bad Loud.
Why this album?
With my formative years in the 90’s punk was something that I was exposed to at nearly every turn. Falling in love with bands such as Bad Religion, Mustard Plug and more it would only be a short time before I discovered Lagwagon and, in turn Joey Cape. (Ironically, Ken Stringfellow from the Posies played with Lagwagon for a brief time and, if you have been reading my blog at all, you know my love for The Posies)
As I got older, so did the members of the bands I loved and, it was not ling before I discovered that Joey Cape and the late Tony Sly had been working together on acoustic tracks. Additionally, they had stealthily produced several solo acoustic works some of which were versions of songs I had loved from their previous bands. So, in 2011 when I stumbled across Bad Loud, I was overjoyed for alt rock version of the acoustic tracks I had already come to love.
The album itself is closer to his solo work than his punk albums but fully shows the range of this guys talents. Every track is well produced and honestly is a joy to listen to. Covering themes from accepting less than being first to finding joy in the simple things, if you listen carefully, you will notice a pretty introspective fair all stemming from Cape’s own acoustic work. Channeling his powerful voice from his punk bands and teaming with Carl Raether and Asher Simon, Cape released a fantastic rock album that, frankly, I am surprised not too many folks have head of.
Favorite Tracks?
As usual, here are some of my favorites, sorry for the quality, it was the best I could find.
One of my absolutely favorite tracks of his is Going For The Bronze. There is something honest about this song and how it tells us that it is okay to accept that you will not always be the best in everything.
Who We’ve Become. I love the opening guitar riff on this one a lot. The song itself is about how even if the world sucks, all that matters is if you like who you’ve become.
The Fish Rots from the Head Case Down. It’s an old metaphor for how organizations and governments tend to collapse, from the head down. The song, yeah, pretty much nails it.
Ok, where do I get it?
I couldn’t find it via my usual resource but you can grab a copy directly from Bandcamp here for $10 or Spotify of course. Give it a spin, I think you will dig it!
Late to the Game 2/25/2020
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