A matter of months ago now, I got a fairly nondescript email, which simply read: “Hello. We wanted to send you the newest EP by our band BIG LIFE. It’s called If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time and it comes out June 7th on Setterwind Records. If you’re a fan of melodic, Dischord-inspired hardcore, like Dag Nasty, Rites of Spring, and Embrace, as well as newer bands like Truth Cult, Praise, and Drug Church, well, you’re gonna f**kin’ love this sh*t.”
It came complete with a link to stream/download an early copy of the EP along with a special encrypted password. BIG LIFE, whom I’ve written about an had featured previously here across the pages of IDIOTEQ released their debut self-titled EP in April of 2023.
BIG LIFE is self-described as “…a Hardcore Punk band from the Detroit suburbs, …Husker Dü, but from D.C., …Minor Threat, but playing Fugazi’s songs, …Hardcore with no mosh parts (or all mosh parts?), …never gonna beg you to “MOVE UP!” at the show, …Melodic Hardcore, but not in that way, and …catchy, hooky, and well aware of the f**king mess we’re all in.”
This time, as opposed to talking to Ryan Allen, I got a chance to speak with BIG LIFE vocalist and frontman Dan Nixon about their sophomore EP, If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time.
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Along with Nixon and guitarist/backing vocalist Allen (Extra Arms, ex-Thunderbirds Are Now!,) BIG LIFE also features the talents of bassist/backing vocalist Sean Gauvreau (Grey Gardens, ex-Black Dahlia Murder) and drummer Jordan Vonzynda (Hidebehind, ex-Due North.)
BIG LIFE’s If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time EP is now available on Setterwind Records in multiple formats.
Check out my interview below with BIG LIFE’s own Dan Nixon. It was conducted, via email, this past May and has been lightly edited for general clarity.
Who are the members of BIG LIFE and what is each member’s role within the band?
Dan Nixon: Ryan Allen (Extra Arms, ex-Thunderbirds Are Now!) on guitar, Sean Gauvreau (Grey Gardens, ex-Black Dahlia Murder) on bass, Jordan Vonzynda (Hidebehind) on drums, and Dan Nixon on vocals.
How did the various recording processes and techniques employed across If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time differ from your self-titled 2023 debut EP?
Nixon: Not much, actually! We went back to Chuck Huber at Drifting Sun Studios, who did a great job with the first EP, and he knocked it out of the park again. One notable difference: we released this one on vinyl, as opposed to cassette, and the mastering that Paul Miner did for that format sounds especially huge when compared to what’s streaming digitally.
What’s the intended meaning or significance behind the EP title, If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time?
Nixon: A lot of these songs are pretty cynical about the way these giant, growth-at-all-costs tech companies seem to constantly be promoting “the next big thing,” yet never really deliver much beyond slick marketing. They’re not things we need and at their core, are simply very expensive bad ideas. The title is kind of a tongue-in-cheek sales pitch; like, “if you’re the kind of sucker who’s easily impressed, boy, have we got the product for you!”
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Can you briefly explain the concept behind the EP cover artwork and its relationship to the EP title and the themes heard within?
Nixon: The artwork is inspired by Sci-Fi Pulp novels from the 1960’s back when all of the technology we take for granted now was still alien and threatening. All the hype around A.I. lately and the jobs it promises to do “more efficiently” made me think of a new and “improved” human with clunky old robot parts. I don’t think we’re the only ones who wouldn’t mind a little less influence from Big Tech in our lives, but there are still salesmen out there pushing “the next big thing” that think human nature and emotions are just more inputs to an algorithm on a server somewhere. The character on the cover is just an exaggerated combination of man and machine.
Who or what would you readily cite as some of your greatest sources of inspiration and influence while recording If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time?
Nixon: I think we still retain a lot of the same mid-80’s Dischord [Records] DNA (Dag Nasty, Rites of Spring, Embrace,) but we stretched out a bit with these new songs. Lyrically, things got a bit angrier than a lot of the Revolution Summer-style songs on the first tape and I think that steered the music in that direction a bit, too. We got faster and sharper, but still can’t avoid aiming for catchy hooks, too.
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What did the assorted writing, creation, production, recording, etc. processes behind the making-of If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time generally entail?
Nixon: Rather than having an idea to make a batch of songs with one cohesive sound, they each came about individually throughout the entire last year. For instance, we’ve been playing “Here for A Moment” since before the first tape came out, but didn’t finish “Bad Ideas” ‘til the week before recording.
Typically, Ryan brings an idea or a riff or, maybe, even a full rough demo to practice, then, we all contribute pretty organically as we’re learning the songs. It rules being in a band with creative, experienced musicians that can learn the basic shape of a song right away and start iterating on it and adding their own ideas. Dan gets to work on the lyrics once everything starts to gel musically.
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How did you guys end up linking up with Setterwind Records to release If You Like Bad Ideas, It’s A Very Exciting Time?
Nixon: [Jacob] “Jake” [Weston] and Luke [LaFountain] have continued to be incredibly supportive since we first hooked up last year and have since helped put out a ton of great stuff. We, naturally, hit them up as EP #2 was coming together and they were psyched to get involved again.
Would you mind sharing any similarly-minded or otherwise noteworthy artists from in or around your area of Detroit, Michigan with our readership?
Nixon: We’ll take this opportunity to just shout-out a bunch of other bands on Setterwind [Records]: Drop Rate, Snakeout, Normal, Seed Toss, Feign, Silktail, [and] Melodic Canvas. And, of course, Extra Arms, Hidebehind, and Grey Gardens (Ryan, Jordan, and Sean’s other bands.)
If you could cover any Dischord Records/DC Hardcore/Revolution Summer era songs, which would you chose and why for each?
Nixon: We’ve done a few old Punk & Hardcore covers and we played Minor Threat’s “Filler” at a couple shows last year. I think if you ask the rest of the guys, they’d probably choose something a little more highbrow.
What’s planned next for BIG LIFE?
Nixon: Summer vacation? Plans are in-the-works for more summer and fall shows, but right now, we’re just psyched for people to hear this record; we’re incredibly proud of it.
