See how bad things can be
By Sue Misao
The Bad Things are coming to Twisp.
“We’re very nice people,” said Jimmy “Pickpocket” Berg, himself a Bad Thing.
Berg is one of the six Bad Things who will perform with Danbert Nobacon at the Twisp River Pub this Friday (Oct. 16).
Not surprisingly, The Bad Things play “music for the deeply flawed.”
With its origins in Eastern European cabaret music, the group now
incorporates Americana and other folk music into its Gypsy Russian vibe
sound, with some Tom Waits and Tiger Lilies influence thrown in. Upon
hearing Nobacon perform in Seattle last year, The Bad Things knew they
were the band for him.
“I was a huge Chumbawamba fan growing up,” said Berg of Nobacon’s
former band. “I loved a lot of their earlier anarchist inspired
material. I always followed them.”
Berg said when he noticed Nobacon was living in Twisp and playing at
Folklife, he invited him check out The Bad Things. “I thought we would
be a good fit,” said Berg. “We have a similar punk background and we’re
both doing folk music.”
Nobacon quickly became a fan. “It happened pretty spontaneously over
the last year and a half,” said Nobacon. “The night before I was due to
play at Folklife I got an e-mail from Jimmy Pickpocket saying, ‘Hey,
we’re playing too, we should meet up, I know all the old Chumbawamba
albums.’”
Eventually, Nobacon recruited the band to play on his upcoming
recording, which begins production Oct. 23 at The Tank Studio, which
was set up and run by Tom Pfaeffle, the sound engineer who was gunned
down at the Blue Spruce Motel in Twisp in July.
“I am humbled that we can be a small part of the process that keeps The
Tank up and running,” said Nobacon, “continuing Tom’s vision for a
quality but affordable studio and generating income for the Pfaeffle
family in these harsh economic times.”
Nobacon is the host of Winthrop radio station’s KTRT’s Mystery Motel Radio Show every first Wednesday of the month.
Both Nobacon and The Bad Things play what is often deemed beautiful,
happy sounding music accompanied by lyrics that can, at times, be
mildly disturbing.
“Our songs deal with messed-up characters, the end of the world, the darker things in life,” said Berg.
The show at the pub promises a mixture of songs from the forthcoming
album, some solo Nobacon tunes and a set of old world, punk rock and
junkyard cabaret mauvais from The Bad Things.
Show time is 7:30 p.m., yours for a “recession special” price of $5. For more information, call 997-6822.
Photo courtesy of The Bad Things
Date: 10-26-2009 | Volume: 107 | Issue: 22