Catbite
Scene Point Blank: This is your third Fest. Let's get some memories.
Tim: Against Me! doing 4 of their albums over 2 nights.
Chris: My most cherished memory from last year's Fest was finally meeting Adam Davis from Omnigone in real life after being internet friends for a few years. We all instantly hit it off and he came to our hotel to hang and bullshit with us until like almost 6am. Also, our No Doubt cover set was absolutely wild!
Brit: My best friend Kay was with us last year and we dressed up as devils and romped around all of Fest (:
Scene Point Blank: Do you remember your first impression of Fest? What was your first thought when you arrived, or your takeaway at the end of the weekend?
Tim: first thought was super overwhelmed when we got to check in at the Holiday Inn; end of weekend I was exhausted and happy.
Chris: After having so many friends and fellow musicians talk so highly about Fest for years and years and encouraging me to go, my first impression after my first day there in 2019 was literally, “Oh, I get it now. I see what all the hype was about, this is an incredible experience.”
Brit: First thoughts of Fest was how had I never been to one before when I’m from Florida, lol. My takeaway is that it's a beautiful time seeing old friends and meeting new and seeing lots of sick fucking bands!
Scene Point Blank: Were you nervous when you applied to play for the first time?
Tim: I don’t think so.
Scene Point Blank: Do you feel like "Fest vets" at this point?
Tim: Yeah, for sure. Once it feels like a family reunion, then I feel like I’m a vet
Chris: I definitely don’t feel like a “vet” at this point knowing there are bands that have played Fest 10-15 times. I think I more feel like I’ve been around the block and get how it works and the layout of everything.
Brit: I think we can’t be considered Fest vets until 25 years from now.
Scene Point Blank: What stands out to you about Fest crowds, as compared to a random tour stop?
Tim: it feels more like a vacation, and we kinda approach it as that rather than a regular show/tour.
Chris: Fest feels like a family reunion of sorts: there are a bunch of friends and bands and friend’s bands where you’re like “I’m not sure when I’ll see you next…but I’ll see yous at Fest”
Brit: Ditto to what Tim and Chris say.
Scene Point Blank: Are you touring to Fest 20?
Tim: Nope, flying in style, lol!
Scene Point Blank: Can you tease what's in store for your set(s) at Fest 20?
Tim: CATFITE!! (And also our Catbite set will be really good and hopefully the power won’t go out like last year!!)
Chris: CATFITE!!!
Brit: CATFITE !!
Scene Point Blank: Who are the bands you're looking forward to seeing most (from a fan's perspective)?
Tim: Flatliners, Menzingers doin’ the On The Impossible Past album, Cobra Skulls.
Chris: Being a hardcore kid, while also being a ska kid (yes, you can be both), PAINT IT FUCKING BLACK! See yous in the pit for sure! Oh, and The Menzingers playing the entire On The Impossible Past record is going to be batshit! Philly represent!
Brit: La Dispute, Flatliners, Vicious Dreams, Sweet Pill.
Scene Point Blank: Who are the bands you're looking forward to seeing most (because they're friends you haven't seen in a long time)?
Tim: The Bad Time Records and adjacent ska fam.
Chris: All of our fellow Bad Time Records bands, for sure! Plus like every band that’s on Fest the we’ve had the opportunity to play with before…and there’s a lot of them. Like if I had to list them I think I’d list half of the bands playing this year.
Brit: Excited to see our friend Chris Farren who we played with on tour with Jeff Rosenstock in the beginning of June!
Scene Point Blank: Who is a lesser-known band you think everyone should check out at Fest 20?
Tim: Bacchae
Chris: Bacchae
Brit: Church Girls!
Scene Point Blank: I'm sure you get a million questions about the state of ska in the 2020s. That said, how do you feel the current ska scene fits with the broader Fest scene?
Tim: I played Fest with my old ska band at Fest 14 and it was very very very differently received than now -- which is kinda like everywhere else. People in the masses are paying attention to ska again and that’s dope as heck.
Chris: I feel that they’re very complimentary of each other. In both scenes everyone is there for the music and to have the best time possible.
Scene Point Blank: Is "ska revival" a good or a bad term?
Tim: Yeah, it’s fine. Ska has obviously been around and thriving all over for decades with varying popularity. A lot of people are abandoning the stigma that ska is corny or taboo or whatever and that rules. Ska is great and I’m happy we’re able to introduce people to our music and our fellow ska friends’ music.
Chris: “Ska Revival” = good , “Fourth Wave” = bad.
Scene Point Blank: While punk, at heart, aims to be inclusive, to me it seems like the ska scene has historically been more diverse both in terms of artists and audience. First, do you think that's accurate and, if so, do you have any deep thoughts on why (and what other scenes can do to be more inviting)?
Chris: I’m not going to out what scenes aren’t the most inviting. I don’t think I have to. Most people generally know who/where/what they are.
I think what sets the ska scene apart from other scenes is that ska music, from its inception in the ‘60s in Jamaica, was founded on the ideas and ideals of unity and harmony. This notion, I feel, was absolutely reaffirmed within the 2-tone bands of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s in England. I feel this through line has been carried by ska bands across the decades and continues to do so.
Scene Point Blank: We're all struggling to stay positive with the current state of the world. What do you do to keep yourself balanced or, alternately, motivated for action?
Tim: Always working on something new, giving myself things to do and always being busy is what keeps me going.
Chris: We try to keep ourselves busy by constantly working on projects, whether it is covers or collabs. We usually have a few things in the works at any given time.
Scene Point Blank: Does touring still feel fresh after all the COVID interruptions and challenges?
Tim: Yeah, because we’ve never really toured before. We were amping up to start touring in 2020 but obviously had to cancel everything. I’ve toured a bunch in my life, and coming out of the pandemic with a fresh band and fresh perspective, I’m able to approach our touring schedule with a smarter attack than I might have several years ago.
Chris: Fresher than ever, honestly! With people not having attended shows for the better part of two years, I feel like the energy and excitement in the rooms we have been playing is palpable and growing.
Scene Point Blank: You just released Wavebreaker #2 with Mike Park. Two related questions here:
1) Bad Time announced Wavebreaker as a 7" series and, at #2, you already released a 12". Was that intentional or did the recording session just prove extra fruitful?
Tim: 12”s just look way cooler and aren’t more expensive. We could have fit the 4 songs on a 7” but go big or go home. Am I right or am I right?
Scene Point Blank: 2) What is your experience with Mike Park, leading up to and through this record? (And how did Wavebreaker #2 come to be?)
Tim: Mike Park is so freaking cool, but we literally have yet to meet him in real life. We became friends online over the pandemic and eventually Mike Sosinski from Bad Time Records asked us if we wanted to do a split with Mike P. We obviously said yes, but didn’t have any new songs. We then decided to do two covers for our side, but then Mike Park said, “How about I write you a song?” So he did (“Spiral”), and we arranged it into a Catbite song.
Scene Point Blank: What song from Nice One is the most fun or meaningful for you to play live at this moment in time?
Tim: “Excuse Me Miss” because it is about a relationship with someone that me and Brit, our singer and my wife, were in that was great but, at the same time, kinda fucked us both up mentally. And honestly it probably was a leading inspiration to us starting Catbite. We have been ending the set with it lately, so it’s kinda our last hoorah to get out any last bit of energy and leave it on stage.
Chris: “Call Your Bluff” for me right now because that song was based on Brit’s experiences of people telling you to give up on your dreams because it isn’t going to work out for you. A wise man once said, “Fuck the haters because they don’t mean a thing, this is what style we bring”…A wise man also once said, “So here I am, doing everything I can. Holding on to what I am, pretending I'm a superman.”
Scene Point Blank: Are you working on new material?
Tim: Oh yeah. I got riffs for days, baybee!
Chris: Almost always, in some capacity or the next.
Scene Point Blank: Are there any surprises (that would no longer be surprises) in the works, like new cover songs or a new direction in sound on stuff you're working on?
Tim: We have so many things recorded and half recorded -- got surprises for days. I even surprise myself because some of these we recorded like a year ago!
Scene Point Blank: Do any of you have cats? What are their names and favorite toys?
Tim/Brit: Derek - guitar strings. Amanda Bynes Too - food. Xena - dangling string/empty amazon box.
Chris: My sweet baby cat's name is Betty and her favorite toy is attempting to wake her humans up in the morning for breakfast.
Scene Point Blank: And, to wrap this up, I asked Kole (who contributes to SPB and, for the uninitiated, sells merch for Mustard Plug) if he had any questions for you. Hope you're ready for this:
Kole: If Catbite and Mustard Plug covered a song together, what song would it be and how soon do we get to hear that?
Tim: Hi Kole!
So, we’d cover “Trashin’ The Camp” off of the Tarzan soundtrack. Dave from Mustard Plug would sing Rosie O’Donnel’s parts and Brit would sing Phil Collins’ parts. We’ll probably record it this winter while we’re taking two months off touring for me to get a hip replacement and have it out on a flexi disc by late spring.
Chris: Oh boy…I think we’d crush a cover of “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass to be quite honest.
Scene Point Blank: Anything you'd like to add?
Catbite: SEE YOUS AT FEST!
