Monday, October 26, 2009

Bad Thoughts

"Bad Thoughts' first rehearsal was the day after Nikki Sudden died, in Warn Defever's well-appointed basement (still my favorite rehearsal space that I've ever used). The group's primary motivation has been a social one; we mostly just enjoy each others' company, and if we get around to writing songs and arranging them, then great. I was tired of being in groups with people I didn't know particularly well, and to that end, asked three of my closest comrades to join. Copped our name from my favorite Funkadelic song, and set out to play very repetitive music. I remember being in a deep Malcolm Mooney appreciation at the time, and was also really enthusiastic about Mancunian sounds and Steve Marriott and Ana Da Silva's guitar styles. Oh also, there's this incredible song by Flowers that Sam and I were obsessed with. Played our first concert a few weeks after forming; Bohemian National Home in Detroit with Shoplifting and Slumber Party. Everyone's gear was massacred by the end of the set. People seemed indifferent, but that's not uncharacteristic of a show here.

Waited about a year before we recorded properly, again at the Bohemian with Warn, Dion Fischer, and Hitoko Sakai engineering and telling us to do it again or not. Recorded a lot of songs that afternoon, like nine in a two hour session? We always recorded live (vox too) so that helped expedite things considerably. Anyway, four of those songs were up to snuff and we used them as an excuse to start M'lady's Records and issue our first two singles. Played many insane shows, my favorites to date were my birthday party in 2007 (which was also Finally Punk's Detroit debut), and the opening of the UFO Factory (was that 2008? no it musta been late 2007). UFO was sort of our Mercer Arts Center, but instead of the Oscar Wilde Room, there was just the one room, and considerably less people in attendance, and um also we were not a party band.

First single came out in August 2007, second in January 2008. Wade and Sam designed the first sleeve (rather menacing), and Veronica Ortuño (M'lady's co-chief) designed the second (Malevitch homage / new suprematism). M'lady's really has its foundations in those two singles.

We waited yet another year, and recorded two more songs that we were very excited about. Morgan wrote 'Oh Jena' as a response to the insanity that was national news for a minute coming out of Louisiana, lots of talk about nooses and trees and things that didn't make any sense. 'Keep It Easy' was written by our hero Mark Perry. We borrowed the arrangement from the Folk In Hell cassette, not the Reflections' version, for those keeping score at home. This comprised our third (and my favorite so far) single, with a beautiful sleeve designed by Morgan (in tribute to the Jena Six and Henri-Georges Clouzot - put that in yr pipe and smoke it!)

Bad Thoughts hasn't performed in about 18 months; Sam moved to New York to attend NYU, and now he's in Queens. I miss him. Right after we stopped performing, I ran away to join Chain And The Gang, Morgan's deeply in school getting her doctorate, and Wade is the saxophonist in Druid Perfume. We promised one another that we'll meet up again soon, especially if its to back Vivien Goldman on a nationwide tour. Or the Anxious Rats; they were excellent."

-- Brett Lyman

Ladies and gentlemen, for your listening pleasure, Bad Thoughts.



Make Yrself Necessary b/w G.E.D. Defiance (M'lady's)
1. Make Yrself Necessary
2. G.E.D. Defiance





















Non Violence b/w Night Time Is Waiting (M'lady's)
1. Non Violence
2. Night Time Is Waiting






















Oh Jena b/w Keep It Easy (M'lady's)
1. Oh Jena
2. Keep It Easy















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