The Bad Things

Rank #26 Seattle, WA Folk / Junkyard Cabaret / Gypsy Punk

About

Members: Jimmy the Pickpocket, Mad Wilcox, Stanislav the Gypsy, Captain Panto, Brendan Patrick Hogan, Lord Kamke

Label: Silent City Records, Hooked on Wax

Manager: Pickpocket Productions

Bio: In 2002, The Bad Things were formed out of the ashes of A Midnite Choir, a cult favorite in the, then burdgeoning Seattle underground cabaret scene. Upon the demise of the Choir, Jimmy the Pickpocket and Mad Wilcox began playing new songs on the wet, Seattle sidewalks under the Bad Things monike... See Full Bio

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Status

: Got tickets yet? Moving quickly. Help the @_CafeRacer_ fund & save a spot for 11 years of #junkyardcabaret: http://t.co/1Kql0YJADk

Press

“Vaudeville, cabaret, drunken alley cat music, I have a soft spot for these genres. The imagery conjured by The Bad Things, both lyrically and musically, transports you to the dirty streets and back alleys of a 1920's metropolis. Grab your whiskey and forget about your heartaches, cause these drunken clowns got your misery beat.”

— Mark Ostler, Seattle Rock Guy.com

"The Bad Things play gypsy punk-waltz polkas for psychotic carnies"

— Trent Moorman, The Stranger

“Six years ago on the rainy, polluted streets of Seattle the darkly funny band The Bad Things first took shape as an all-acoustic vaudeville group with a legion of instruments and a heap of charmingly devious characters. Traditional music collides with latter-day black humor and despair in a raucous cacophony of antiquated/obscure instruments like the accordion, banjo, melodica, saw and a pair of steel boob-drums called “the Funi ta-ta’s” to name just a few.”

— Annie Reinke, What's Up Magazine

"In their press sheet, Seattle "junkyard cabaret" outfit The Bad Things dubs their brand of punked-up klezmer boogie "the music of the Post-Apocalyptic Depression Era." A cursory perusal of any news source indicates that we've reached that milestone, so we might as well embrace the soundtrack. The Bad Things crank out a mad, spiraling gypsy swing that will appeal to anyone who loves DeVotchKa, Gogol Bordello, the Circus Contraption band or life itself..."

— TheSpellout.com

“WHAT: Known to some as Seattle's premier "junkyard cabaret" band, this sextet is a carnival on wheels. SOUND: As if a bunch of Gypsy marauders were performing macabre circus sideshow songs around a campfire in the middle of an abandoned cabaret that serves wine in a jug and mead on tap. FLUENCES: "Lyrically, I was inspired by the train-hopping gutter punks that I kept company with as a young man. While I never hopped trains, I loved the stories told while drinking under bridges and around campfires, and I think we all had a deep love for folk and old-timey music."”

— Shawn Telford, Seattle Post Intelligencer

"The Bad Things know that you're here for the show, for entertainment. They are a vaudeville act in that they help us forget our problems for awhile, we get caught up in it all. In a way it's too bad that the band is performing now because they may have missed their perfect venue: The Bad Things should have been playing the ballroom when the Titanic went down."

— Sepiachord.com

"If you've been wondering what "traditional post-apocalyptic music" sounds like, well The Bad Things will demonstrate. Formed from the aftermath of A Midnite Choir, they play folk and Americana laced with punk rock and dementia"

— The Stranger's 2007 Bumbershoot Guide

"Working with the intriguing, antiquated ingredients of traditional Klezmer music, Appalachian balladry, and a strong streak of Gypsy folk and Mexican influences, The Bad Things are both charming and creepy."

— Hannah Levin, The Stranger

"As an avid fan of the novel "Geek Love" and all things reeking of Coney Island, I find that (The Bad Things) demented carnival tunes...resonate vividly in my addled brain."

— Kurt B. Reighley, The Stranger

"I never would have imagined such a display of carnival-esque debauchery. I was simultaneously delighted, amused, turned-on (!!), horrified, and inspired. The audience this band draws to shows are as much a part of the circus scene as the band itself."

— Erinn J. Hale, ThreeImaginaryGirls.com

"The punk influence...courses through the sensibility of The Bad Things...the outfit mixes folk, mountain music, and Klezmer into a seamless and delerious live show...the (instruments) might all be acoustic, but the energy is bare wire punk, with a joy buzzer of hillbilly thrown in for good measure."

— Nate Lippens, The Stranger

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Songs

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Just Four Weeks

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Death of the Inferno

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Drunken Doughboy

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Lopsided Lullabye

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Other Country Blues…

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Videos

The Bad Things - Just Four Weeks (Crocodile Cafe, 2012/10/01)

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Shows

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Thu
Jun 27

The Crocodile
Seattle, WA, US | 7:00pm
The Crocodile
Seattle, WA, US
Thu Jun 27 7:00pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
Details

The Crocodile & Silent City Productions present (One More) Vaudeville Show - 11 Years of Junkyard Cabaret with The Bad Things Featuring performances by: Sinner Saint Burlesque, Miss Mamie Lavona and her White Boy Band, Bakelite 78 and special guests throughout the evening. Hosted by Armitage Shanks, the Carny Preacher Thursday, June 27, 2013 at The Crocodile - 2200 2nd Avenue Doors at 7pm. Show starts at 8pm SHARP! $13 advanced/$15 day of show $1 of advanced tickets sales benefits the Victims of Cafe Racer Shootings Memorial Fund. This event is 21+ with ID www.thebadthings.com www.sinnersaintburlesque.com www.reverbnation.com/missmamielavona www.bakelite78.com www.thecarnypreacher.com www.caferacerlove.org

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John Ulvang
enjoyed all your songs!
Kerry Leigh
Love your sound and what you're doing! - Kerry Leigh
Ben Aaron
Nice work, Guys. Good luck on your Halloween show. Wish I could be there. From a fellow folkie, -Ben Aaron
LOST CITY BAND
great music !!! ps. our pet monkey is dancin' to your songs right now !!!!