Forrest Yingling was 15 when a friend’s dad drove him and four other teenagers to see Green Day at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was his second big gig. The Riverdales opened, giving him the chance to see members of Screeching Weasel onstage, and “Insomniac” was still a new record.
That memory sits behind Bad To Worse’s new cover of “Jaded”, released today as part of Coffin Curse Records and Punk Rock Radar’s Green Day tribute CD. The York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania band play it as a straight hardcore song. They stay close to the original rather than rebuilding it, while vocalist Alan Landsman pulls the vocal into Bad To Worse’s own style.
“Personally, I really loved that song when it came out,” Forrest said. “The video was badass. The way it played right after Brain Stew was groundbreaking. When we applied to be a part of the Coffin Curse Records & Punk Rock Radar Green Day tribute CD that was the first choice. It just made sense for us and it translated to our style. We play it pretty straightforward but Alan puts a personal touch on it by singing it Bad To Worse style.”
Green Day were also one of Forrest’s routes into punk. He was 13 when “Dookie” came out and described it as “a portal” that led him towards other bands. Two years later came the Harrisburg show and “Insomniac”.
“This was my second big concert ever and it was pretty monumental for me,” he said. Recording “Jaded” decades later brought that history back around.
“When it came to having the opportunity to be on this compilation, it was a full circle experience to be able to cover a song of Insomniac.”
The cover also appears on the vinyl edition of Bad To Worse’s first full-length, “These Are Our Streets”, which begins shipping today through Shakin’ Hips Records.
It joins two other additions, “Rope Burn” and “26th & Howard”, extending a record built from working-class experience, old punk-show memories, prison time, anxiety, local history and the daily cost of getting through life.
Bad To Worse formed in 2023 and feature Alan Landsman on vocals, Forrest Yingling on guitar, Barry Schmidt on bass and Matt Bear on drums. Between them, they have played in Poison The Well, Until The End, City-State, Eden Park, Police State, Thee Sporadics and Target Nevada. The point here is not the list itself. Bad To Worse work without a principal songwriter or fixed leader, and the songs can begin with anyone in the room.
“It might be a drum idea, a bass line, guitar riff or someone might have a whole song written but then we each add our own style and flair to it or maybe come up with a new structure or whatever,” the band said.
Alan writes most of the lyrics, though the others still contribute ideas. Their shared tastes overlap, but not completely, which leaves the writing open rather than tied to one narrow version of punk or hardcore. They also feel the band are getting better as they write, record and play more shows together, with that progress already audible in the newer songs and the stuff currently being written.
They have kept the pace up since forming. In June, Bad To Worse released two songs on a split tape with North Carolina’s On The Block. They also won the Central Pennsylvania Music Award for Best Punk Band.
Alan was initially wary of walking through “These Are Our Streets” song by song.
“Every line on this record means something to me. If it didn’t, it would not have made it on the record,” he said.
He is often the last member to finish his parts for that reason. He also did not want his explanations to close off what another listener might hear in the songs.
“Cost of Living” opens with the pressure of simply existing. Money is part of it, but the song also deals with the mental, emotional and spiritual cost of day-to-day life, along with the helplessness that can follow. Alan also wrote it around taking risks and refusing to accept a path that no longer fits. People can feel stuck, he says, while the biggest barrier often sits between their ears. The band placed it first because it starts hard and heavy without easing into the record.
“Trouble Loves Me” goes back to Alan’s youth. He remembers making wine in his closet, drinking it and heading to a punk show at The Loft in Baltimore. A lot of the album reaches back to the members’ first encounters with punk, not only through references but through the attempt to recover what those nights felt like before adult life complicated them.
“Bikes” stays in that period. Alan and his friends “borrowed” one of their parents’ cars without permission so they could get to a show. It is another memory of being young, careless and completely fixed on whatever was happening that night.
“For The Win” needs almost no explanation from the band: “BTW vs everyone.”
“Comeback Kid” is about the familiar tough person who arrives at a show already looking for trouble. Most people who have spent time around punk and hardcore rooms will recognise the type. As the band put it, “oh yeah … we know that guy.” Or maybe they are that person.
“Thome” takes its name from baseball player Jim Thome, chosen for his combination of strength and humility. The song comes from Alan’s years in physically demanding jobs, including building cell phone towers.
Alan also sees the song through his stepson, who is choosing to enter a trade with the full support of his family. When Alan was younger, he remembers a broad push towards college, degrees and white-collar work. Meanwhile, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and mechanics remain in high demand and keep daily life working.
His father and grandfather were union electricians, so “Thome” also belongs to them. One passage means more to Alan than most: “Take pride in forgotten crafts, take pride in calloused hands, take pride in the place you live, we built this with our hands.”
“The Bridge” turns to Pennsylvania history. The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge was burned by Union militias during the American Civil War to stop Confederate troops advancing towards Harrisburg, Lancaster or Philadelphia. The destruction forced those troops to move towards Gettysburg instead. Bad To Worse use that local event as the centre of the song rather than treating their home area as a vague backdrop.
“Truth & Consequence” is the one for which Forrest wrote the lyrics. It came after the end of a toxic relationship and stays close to the breakup itself.
“Count Time” is Alan’s account of time spent in federal prison. The band offer no extra decoration around it. The subject is direct enough.
“Less Than Nothing”, first released on the band’s demo and seven-inch, deals with social anxiety and the ways people suppress their own convictions to gain acceptance. Alan’s problem is not awkwardness itself, but the decision to copy the beliefs of whichever group someone wants to enter.
“One of the most unattractive qualities in the world is being inauthentic,” he said. “This scene was built on sincerity and individuality and when people try to be something they’re not in order to fit in they miss the whole point.”
“Start Tomorrow” is a play on Gorilla Biscuits’ “Start Today”. Its subject is procrastination, which made it an obvious final song for the original version of “These Are Our Streets”.
The expanded vinyl adds “Rope Burn” and “26th & Howard”, and also includes the “Jaded” cover. “Rope Burn” first appeared as part of a two-song digital single, with “26th & Howard” following on July 24. It is now streaming everywhere.
“Rope Burn” addresses mental health, suicide, addiction and struggles that often remain hidden behind ordinary interaction. Its central line is plain: “Everyone is fighting battles you may never see.”
Alan chose not to dissect it further.
“The lyrics for ‘Rope Burn’ are pretty personal and mean a lot to me,” he said. “I wrote them in hopes that they may mean something to someone else.”
“26th & Howard” takes its name from the intersection where one of the band’s favourite venues is located. Alan wrote it after attending a show there with Forrest. The singer onstage spoke openly about difficult parts of his life and put everything into the performance. That moment stayed with Alan long enough to become the final original song added to the record.
The setting around Bad To Worse matters just as much as the old stories. Matt, Barry and Forrest grew up in South Central Pennsylvania’s punk and hardcore scenes.
Alan came through Baltimore and Washington, DC, then Florida. All four understand the practical importance of all-ages shows because they lived through periods when their local scene lost momentum and the nearest dependable option meant driving one or two hours to Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington.
South Central Pennsylvania had a strong run of venues and touring shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Its position between several larger cities made it a useful stop. Bad To Worse want to bring some of that back, though York recently lost an all-ages club and currently lacks a proper regular venue.
The answer has been familiar to anyone who grew up booking punk shows outside standard clubs: American Legion halls and VFWs. These are the same kinds of rooms the members attended as teenagers.
The infrastructure may be inconsistent, but the bands are there. Bad To Worse name Mr. Nice Guy, Fashion Crime, Crown of Steel, Ambushed, Jay Veil, Darcechoke, Broken Ties, Mid Rats and Back to Life among the punk and hardcore acts working around them. New bands are continuing to start up around the area.
“We are all about all-ages shows, DIY culture and the community aspect of punk and recognize how vital unity is to our scene,” the band said.
That thinking extends to the physical edition of “These Are Our Streets”. Shakin’ Hips Records are pressing 200 copies. Each one comes with a hand-numbered hype sticker on the front cover and a handmade zine containing lyrics and credits.
“It all boils down to DIY until we DIE,” the band said. “A lot of what we do is a throwback to being young punk kids. Zine culture was huge when we were teenagers. The style of the zine we are including with our records is also a nod to those times. It’s handmade with scissors and a glue stick.”
The limited run adds a collector’s element. “It’s something that I would be stoked about if I bought a record,” Forrest said.
The reasoning is still simpler than scarcity. The band wanted the album to be something a listener could hold, open and read while the record plays. Physical media still gives the finished project a presence that a stream cannot reproduce.
“As an artist it’s very fulfilling to complete a project and be able to tangibly touch the finished product,” Forrest said. “I also love the feeling of sitting down and listening to a record and reading the lyrics as the song plays. I guess you can do that with streaming too but it’s not quite the same.”
Bad To Worse will mark the vinyl release tomorrow, Saturday, August 8, in York, Pennsylvania, with False Sense, Crown of Steel, Sick Move and Darcechoke. A CD edition through 31 Records is also planned.
Vinyl is available at shakinhipsrecords.com, with wholesale enquiries for record shops and distros handled through [email protected]. More from the band is at linktr.ee/badtoworsepa.
Forrest also pointed to another full-circle moment from the band’s year, documented in this video.
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