Bad Licks sounds like they could have made music when your parents were teenagers. The Denver quintet has a retro sound that's heavy on noise and psychedelic guitars. And the lyrics have a timeless rock ‘n’ roll attitude.
"There’s a certain amount of anger in almost every one of our songs," says frontman Rett Rogers. "That’s one message that people can relate to."
Rogers names garage and punk bands from the 1960s and '70s like The MC5 and Cock Sparrer as influences. Those bands were born in tumultuous times. And they sang about it.
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Rogers says Bad Licks was originally more interested in those bands’ sound than their political themes. But now, he says there’s plenty of turmoil for his band to sing about. And their anger is on full display on the debut EP, “Lies.”
"I called it the 'Lies' EP because I just think it applies to everything," he says. "It’s just an easy thing to associate with the world right now."
The band wrote the songs a while ago. But Rogers says they feel more relevant after the 2016 presidential election.
"There’s a lot to be angry about in this country," he says. "Wealth disparity has been getting worse and got worse under the last president, so it’s hard not to be angry if you’re paying attention."
The song “Shake” came to Rogers in a nightmare. It’s about living in a dystopian society. But that vision might not be so far off from the way he views our country today.
Anger has been one of the backbones of rock and roll since it first started. Bad Licks are carrying the torch of that anger on “Lies.”
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