#bad waitress

it was hard to capture the energy in the room

so much fun after no live music for soooo long ahhh, everybody was LOVING IT

Getting To Know...

Bad Waitress.

Toronto-based punk band Bad Waitress released their debut album No Taste last week, on Sept 3rd, via Royal Mountain Records. With a ferocious and exhilarating energy, captured expertly by Grammy-nominated producer Dave Schiffman (PUP, The OBGMs, Trash Talk), No Taste delivers a crash-course in Bad Waitress' brand of razor sharp punk rock over its ten songs.

No Taste finds strength in mood swings, from upbeat “groovin down the street” songs like ‘Strawberry Milkshake’ to “I'm gonna punch everyone” songs like ‘Lacerate’. Traces of Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Stooges can be heard throughout the album. The band also cite jazz as an inspiration. Moon’s background playing improv jazz, blues and swing makes it an essential force, at the core of Bad Waitress’ music and collaborative process.

We had a chat with the band more about No Taste and the making of the album as well as getting back to touring. Read the Q&A below.

Hi guys! How are you? How have the last 18 months been for you as a band?

"Hey, thanks for speaking with us! The last 18 months have been absolutely nuts. Before the pandemic hit we were rolling along at a steady pace, ticking off a bunch of things we had wanted to achieve as a band and to have it come to a grinding halt was really disappointing. We had this record done back in the summer of 2018 and were looking forward to unleashing it on the world- it felt weird to have to hold onto it for so long! We were constantly creating with each other and having that outlet taken away really sucked. We’re happy that it seems like the musical community is finding ways to forge ahead and keep that magical energy alive."

You’ve just released your debut LP No Taste. What can you tell us about the record? Who were your musical influences?

"We’re so stoked to release it! There’s a lot of different vibes in it- some songs are kinda catchy and sassy, some are a bit darker, and some are a bit more delicate which I think might be unexpected in contrast to the EP we put out a few years ago. I think with this LP we explored some more adventurous song structures and just had a lot of fun weaving all these crazy sounds together. It’s so hard to pin down our influences; honestly world happenings and human connection and literature and drag all seep into what we do, maybe even more so than the music we listen to. We channel everything we consume into what we make. But generally we've listened to a bunch of Idles, David Bowie, Sonic Youth, Gang of Four; I'm sure that's all muddled up in there somehow."

Please take us through your songwriting/creative process for No Taste. What was your favourite part and what did you find most challenging?

"We write in a few different ways. Sometimes Kali would bring a song to us with the bones written out and we’ll add in our parts and work around what she’s made. Sometimes we’d end up just jamming and latching on to a riff or a beat and go off that- it’s a really cool feeling when you weren’t expecting to write anything concrete and suddenly it’s spilling out of you and you’re all just playing off each other. That would definitely be my favourite part, ‘cause you’ve gotta be really in tune with your bandmates and let the noise take you where it wants to go. But that can also be the most challenging part- if you can’t find your way within what’s being played it’s a very powerless feeling. Luckily we seem to be made to make music together so that doesn’t happen too often."

What do you hope fans/listeners will take away from the album?

"Whatever they need to. There’s a lot of specific stories being told on this album but it’s addressing things many people can relate to. We hope it brings people confidence and comfort and the guts to do whatever crazy shit they wanna do."

Finally, what's next for you guys? I see you have some tour dates coming up at the end of the year with Kill Birds. You must be so excited to get back on stage!

"We miss playing shows SO MUCH and it’s gonna be SO GNARLY once we get to tear it up on stage again! That tour with Kills Birds will be a good one, and before that we’ll be playing FME in Quebec and Supercrawl in Hamilton in September. We’re gonna be writing a whole lot more now that we’re able to see each other again and hopefully we’ll have another album written before the next year is over! And of course we wanna tour as much as possible!"

Bad Waitress - Acid Brain

Video for Acid Brain, which comes from Bad Waitress’ six track album, Party Bangers Volume: 1, which was released on the 24th April 2018. The video was directed and edited by the band.

The band say about  the vdieo “Acid Brain is an adventure into multiple dimensions of madness, written and filmed in the aftermath of two-day acid bender"

Bad Waitress are a four piece punk rock all female band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are comprised of Kali-Ann (Vox/Guitar), Eva (Drums), Jess (Bass) and Katelyn (Lead Guitar).