Interview: Tomorrows Bad Seeds

Interview: Tomorrows Bad Seeds


On tour with The Wailers, The Pier caught up with Tomorrows Bad Seeds to find out what the next decade may hold for these Hermosa Beach rockers. Our very own Chad Hillje discusses a possible Live Album, what to expect with their own Record Label and a potential gig on the moon…Enjoy!

The Pier: You guys are first and foremost musicians as well as entrepreneurs. Juggling both touring and running your own record label “Urban Tone Records”, how do you guys create balance between both endeavors?
T.B.S: Having a good team! Everybody in the band and our people behind the scenes work together to keep the ball rolling. Both projects go hand in hand together, ya know? It’s lot like a husband and wife relationship. We are the husband and the wife is our record label.

The Pier: Your record label seems to gravitate towards the heavier sound by signing your only other artist “Amphetame” to the label. Is that the direction you guys plan on going with the label?
T.B.S: We don’t want to put a limit on any particular genre. We are open to be doing anything. Good music that’s all. We as a band put everything into our music. There is no one sound we want to create. It’s whatever we are feeling, jamming and rehearsing at the time and whatever the song calls for and we make it work. The influences in the band are really broad. Moi is influenced by Stevie Wonder and a lot of reggae and r&b. Matt is influenced by a lot of hip-hop, reggae and punk rock and the list goes on and on for the rest of the guys. That’s why our music is so diverse as well as the individuals in the band. It’s the evolution of music you know? As an artist you can’t tap into just one style. Music is constantly evolving.

The Pier: It only keeps getting better and better. Do you guys plan on signing any new artist to the label anytime in the near future?
T.B.S: Not at the moment or for the next 2-3 years. We definitely want to see other artist develop and do stuff but we need to become that staple first before we can bring on another band with us. We are still a band in our infancy ourselves. So, that being said, there is not really room for us to be working on another band’s career at this time. We want to see another band push themselves that hard independently on their own to show that if we were to bring them on a team, they can take care of themselves and be responsible as well, that way we can grow together. We don’t ride coat tails and neither should any other band for that matter.

The Pier: You guys have released two albums, Early Prayers in 2007 and Sacred for Sale last year in 2010. Are their plans for a 2011 third studio release?
T.B.S: There is definitely a lot of talk about it. Things are kind of moving so fast and every time we try to get in the studio, we get an offer to go on tour and play shows. We never really want to pass up an offer to play shows because to us it’s more about gaining more fans because there is definitely a lot of people that do not know who “Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds” are and someday we want our band to be a house hold name.

The Pier: How about a live album?
T.B.S: Definitely! We don’t have the proper tools to be doing that at the
moment. Our sound guy is definitely learning and getting better and we don’t have a monitor guy right now. When doing something like that it’s good to have all those things dialed in pretty tight. We did an acoustic tour in December and recorded all of the shows and will be coming out with a live acoustic album but as far as a full band recording a live show… Not anytime soon.

The Pier: We will be anxiously waiting for that day. You guys have shared the stage with many top bands such as 311, Pennywise, Authority Zero, The Wailers, UB40, Steel Pulse and the list goes on. What band would you like to share the stage with next?
T.B.S: Oh man! Manu Chao, Incubus, Rolling Stones man! We are down to go on tour with any band. One band we would love to tour either Europe or the U.S with is called Enter Shikari. Look them up if you have not heard of them. That band is awesome!

The Pier: Lady Gaga or the Biebs (Justin Beiber)?
T.B.S: (Laughs) Like we said. Any band…

The Pier: Where do you see “Tomorrows Bad Seeds” in ten years?
T.B.S: Still playing shows! Hopefully we will have ten more albums by then as well. If they start doing shows on the moon, we will probably play there too.
The Pier: Now that would be a show to see! Thanks so much for your time guys. Good luck with the rest of your tour.


Interview by: Chad Hillje
Edited by: Kyle Hillje
Photos by: Dave Norris & Mark Franzen