Interview by: Lindsy Carrasquillo
Bringing their punk style to the Vans Warped Tour this summer, Bad Cop/Bad Cop are a band you definitely don’t want to miss. Playing alongside acts like Anti-Flag and Fire From The Gods, Bad Cop / Bad Cop will be calling the Hard Rock Stage home. We caught up with vocalist and guitarist Jennie Cotterill about their upcoming plans for the tour that include working on base tans, catching up with old friends, and releasing their brand new album, Warriors, on June 16, 2017.
Your first album, Not Sorry, was released in 2015. What has the reaction from fans been like?
Solid! We have been able to tour a lot on that record and people seem to be happy to see us wherever we go. There are always internet trolls who hate everything, but so far, none of them have left their basements.
Your sophomore record is set to be released this summer. How does this new release differ from your previous work?
We handled the writing and recording differently for this record. Not Sorry was a combination of songs we’d played together for years and songs we wrote mostly as a group. Warriors was recorded in small moments over a long period of time, so that involved a lot of one person going in and tracking with Davey–or working with Mike.The rest of us didn’t get to see what we had until it was time to lay down our respective parts. Lots of big surprises. Also, the subject matter more directly addresses social issues we care about, and we all agreed it’s time to share our love of feminism with the world and put some of the misconceptions within the broader musical community to rest on that topic.
You recently released the single “Womanarchist,” what made you decide putting that song out first?
It’s a great song and a good time to talk about getting to a center point of reason.
Through May, you’ll be touring through the West Coast as well as playing Pouzza Fest. What should fans expect from your set?
We’re playing mostly new songs, and a handful of our favorites from past recordings. So far, nobody has been upset or hollered out for something that wasn’t on the set list. There will always be wild dance moves from Linh [Le] and everybody giving it 100 percent.
This summer, you’ll be playing Van’s Warped Tour. How do you plan on preparing for being on the road for so long?
Pretty sure we’re all focusing on our base tans and cardio.
Are there any particular bands you’re looking forward to seeing on Warped Tour this summer?
We LOVE War on Women! So excited to see them all summer! I’m excited about a lot of bands I used to go see as a teenager at Warped Tour like Strung Out and Sick of It All and Suicide Machines, it makes the whole situation that much more surreal. That Goldfinger album with the space babe on the cover was everything to me when I was 13 and just beginning to play guitar. Always happy to see Municipal Waste. We are buddies and practice space roommates with the Barb Wire Dolls and we are also completely in love with our TM’s [tour manager’s]girlfriend and she’ll be doing merch for someone else on the tour [laughs]. It’s gonna be a pretty wild summer.
How would you describe your sound to people who haven’t heard of Bad Cop/Bad Cop before?
Catchy, hard-hitting, melodic punk rock with three part harmonies. Made by ladies.
With playing so many shows, how do you plan to bring variety to your set while on tour?
Things always get weird pretty quickly on the road. The sun can do strange things to a person, it could get completely out of control.
Promo photo by Lindsay Byrnes
