After announcing their official name change last week (due to a cease & desist tendered by another band claiming to have trademarked their original name), East Bay hardcore band Bad World, formerly known as Bite the Hand, have just released not one but TWO awesome new singles available on all streaming platforms today!
On “Cold Rolled Steel” and “Unstoppable Force,” featuring Aldo Felix of Human Garbage, Bad World pull from influences like Bitter End, Terror, and Trapped Under Ice to create two of the hardest hitting tracks to drop this year, and they’re only just getting started! Bad World has even more music coming soon, including already recorded tracks to be released this summer and an LP in the works, along with shows in Portland and Tacoma (Just Another Gig) later this month and more tour dates to be announced soon!
I recently had a chance to talk to GVB (vocals) and Timmy Lodi (guitar) about the band, their unexpected name change, the new singles, and what they have coming up next! Check out the interview and be sure to check out “Cold Rolled Steel” and “Unstoppable Force” wherever you stream music!
For more information, check out their Instagram https://www.instagram.com/badworldhc_
Photos by: Ian Castro – https://castroian.github.io/ianshootsphotos – @ianshootsphotos
Where are you from and when was the band formed?
Timmy: We’re all based out of the East Bay, California. Spread out between Oakland, Berkeley, Pleasant Hill, and Hayward. I wrote all the songs off our first EP during the pandemic and we recorded them in early 2022 after GVB and I connected while he was healing from a broken back in late 2021.
Can you describe your sound in one or two sentences?
Timmy: Mid-2000s California hardcore with a touch of Texas crossover.
What do you hope listeners will come away with after their first time hearing your music or seeing you play?
GVB: How much fun we’re having and that they want to start a band now.
What are three artists or bands that influence your sound or the way you write and perform music?
Timmy: We pull heavily from influences like Terror, Cruel Hand, and Trapped Under Ice. I manage a lot of our initial songwriting and demos while GVB works on lyrics. We all work together to polish things up at the end. For our live shows, I think we can all generally say that we have an affinity with the style of 90’s NYC hardcore. Leeway, AF, and Outburst are all classics to us. There’s a video of Type O, Cro-Mags, Biohazard, and Leeway at L’amour in ‘91 that is legendary.
What’s your favorite place to eat or hang after a show?
GVB: Nation’s – bacon cheeseburger, two orders of cheese fries, and a water. One slice of chocolate crème and one slice of banana crème pie.
What is the origin story of your band name?
Timmy: Long story short, we actually recently had to change our name after receiving a cease and desist. For the first two years of our band’s existence we went by Bite the Hand. We released two EPs and hit a few regional tours. But, unfortunately, another band with the same name was threatening to sue us, so we decided to move forward as Bad World. We had about two weeks to change our entire band’s existence to meet their demands, but we’re honestly happy to move forward. Bad World was a working title for one of our new tracks so it came pretty easily to us.
Is there a particular city, country, or specific venue you’re dying to play?
GVB: New York City, for sure. Would love to play in the UK and Japan. Locally, at The Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, that’s my favorite venue ever. Skate ramps, graff, and punk. What else do you need?
On long drives between shows, what’s most likely to be playing on the stereo?
Timmy: Honestly, we’re pretty unhinged with the aux in the van. Last time we were on tour we listened to George Strait for like four hours. Sometimes our drummer Trey puts on the craziest podcasts. Really, whatever will keep the driver awake.
If you could put together the ultimate show bill with you and 4 other bands/artists, from any time period or genre, who would you choose?
GVB: Bad Brains, The Rival Mob, Antidote, Rude Awakening, and Shark Attack because I’d rather watch them than play. Sick ass show.
What’s going on right now and what’s coming up next?
Timmy: We were hyper-focused on releasing these two tracks before our shows in Portland and Tacoma this month. Now that that’s done, we have a few more recorded tracks that we plan to release closer to summertime, with the intention of releasing an LP after that.
We’ll be announcing some Texas dates very soon that I’m excited about, as well as some one-offs around the West Coast. Hopefully later this year we can make it to the Midwest and East Coast as well!
