Bad Buzz

Punknews is excited to premiere the new single/video from Toronto's Bad Buzz! "Talkin' Shit" comes off of the quartet's upcoming EP Try Harder, and features a catchy, upbeat sound reminiscent of the best of bands on the poppier end of pop-punk have ever put out. The EP is due out May 31st, and is a follow up to the band's 2017 LP Far From Home.

Vocalist/guitarist Ross Carvelli has this to say about the making of the video:

"The video came together quite quickly after we settled on the concept and sourced enough weird objects to write lyrics on. We shot and edited it in one day. The animation took a little longer, but we did everything ourselves. It was a lot of fun and very liberating."

If you like what you hear, check back with us as Bad Buzz plans to release a new track from the EP every two weeks, culminating in the final track on May 31st when the EP comes out and they'll be throwing a release party to celebrate. You can check out the new single, and the details of that release gig, below. - Punknews.org

Following the release of their 2017 debut album, Far From Home, Toronto based punk band, Bad Buzz, have released their latest single. “Talkin’ Shit” is the first track off their upcoming follow-up EP, Try Harder, which is slated for release on May 31st.

“Talkin’ Shit”, along with it’s humorous and creative lyric video, is a pop-punk banger that is as energetic as it is catchy and nostalgic for the 2000s. The song stands unique among Toronto’s growing revival in the punk style as it seamlessly maneuvers through melodic passages along with crunching power chords. Regardless, “Talkin’ Shit” is bound to stir up a whole lot of excitement for what is to come! - Canadian Beats

One question I’ve been wanting to ask Bad Buzz, a Toronto-based punk rock band, is whether or not they still get nervous after playing at big venues. Finally, I got my answer.

“We definitely get a rush from it,” they tell me. “We all have a lot of experience now in front of crowds of different sizes, and we always practice our asses off to ensure we have our set down tight for each show. So we’re all quite comfortable on stage.”

Playing in a variety of spaces, including Canadian Music Week and the Smiling Buddha, isn’t so intimidating anymore for the punk-rock band that may remind you of a spunkier Fall Out Boy or Green Day. Troy Fullerton, Andrew Laurie, Tristan Loria, and Ross Carvelli are the four band mates that make up Bad Buzz. The band wasn’t always keen on sticking to the punk-rock sound initially.

“Our initial goal was to be a skate punk/garage punk band with fast, energetic rhythms and catchy guitar lines. Throughout the years, we’ve expanded our sound and now draw from our influences in the alt/hard rock and pop punk scene when writing new material.”

The band’s debut album Far From Home boasts some tunes that take pride in musical realness. The authentic vibes that spur out of the record come with an attitude, one that claims punk rock music is back to dominate.

Carvelli, Laurie, and Loria first formed Bad Buzz together in 2014, and later added Fullerton on when they needed a second guitarist to allow their music to reach its full potential. Their musical background isn’t too shabby—the band claims that they’ve dabbled with music production before and have even been in other bands before coming together four years ago.

Although Far From Home released recently in September, they’re introducing new singles at some upcoming shows. Since drummer Tristan spent some time away near the end of 2017, the band mates used their time to collaborate on new material in time for his return: “Since he’s gotten back, we’ve been able to flesh them out and develop them to a point where we’re all really happy.”

Pressing on details about the origins of their band name, they give me the inside scoop on how band naming isn’t as complex as some people might be under the impression of. In fact, they only settled on “Bad Buzz” after the last member of their group joined in: “It took us a while to settle on a name we all like. It was nothing specific, just us goofing around with ideas and that’s the one that stuck. We decided on Bad Buzz just before Troy joined.”

Their most memorable show was at the aforementioned Smiling Buddha, a music venue in downtown Toronto catering to live metal punk and comedy shows.

“We set a date for the show and worked backwards to figure out deadlines for each of the major milestones in creating the record. It takes a long time to get vinyl pressed, and we wanted to ensure we’d have them in time for the show. We ended up getting them the week of. The show was a blast and the place was packed. A lot of our friends and family came out to support us, which meant a lot.”

On Far From Home, you can expect music coming from places in the heart, to downright love ballads. A memorable one for me was Wait for Me, where they cue typical over the top melodrama belting out: “You lead me to believe you’d wait for me.” - The Medium

Punk rock and pop punk fans of the early oughts will likely feel a pang or two of nostalgia while listening to Bad Buzz’s latest release, Far From Home.

The recently formed band is based out of Toronto, where they’ve played some of the city’s major venues, but the band’s members are from four “different but equally shady towns across Canada.” They certainly have some of that irreverence that comes from starting up a punk band—mixed with a mischievousness that feels straight out of the heady pop punk days of old.

It doesn’t feel too off the mark to compare Bad Buzz’s burst of nostalgia to mid-peak Blink 182, especially as the album kicks off with a track called “Without You” (even if the song itself leads with an edgier, darker tone). It’s a distinctive Canadian punk sound on the first few tracks, between some metallic slides and lead Ross Carvelli’s youthful vocals.

“I don’t care if we stay here/just as long as we party incessantly,” Carvelli sings on the melancholic love song, “This Ride Tonight.” Bleak vocals clash with tempo, even as a party ethos pairs up with some fancy word work—layering and pairing a number of unexpected elements.

The pop punk starts to trickle in about halfway through with a wholly typical love song in “Wimp.” The album’s single, “Slipping Away” feels straight out of the past as it looks back on some old high school days—while sounding an awful lot like a three-piece band that wrote the soundtrack to many high school years.

It’s an infectious track that makes the rapid passing of years feel a little less terrifying—thanks, in part, to how easy it is to get back into that particular groove. Along with “Wait For Me,” it fills the second half of the album with two great earworms as the band brushes it all off—and turns a bout of homesickness into a pretty fun party.

Top Track: “Wait For Me’

Rating: Strong Hoot (Good) - Grayowl Point

Following a year of tirelessly performing around Toronto and the surrounding regions, the city’s latest punk outfit, Bad Buzz, have released their debut album, Far From Home.

Opening with the crunching power chords and melodic lead lines of “Without You”, Far From Home grabs the listener, immediately pulling them in. The song feels dark and the gravelly vocals only add to that, but what stands out most is the Bad Buzz’s use of rhythm and lead guitar tracks throughout much of the song, giving the song- and ultimately the band- a much fuller song. This is a reoccurring technique that, by the end of the album, feels distinctive to the group’s style; whether it is the intro and rhythmic breaks in “Blocking Out The Light”, the sludgy intro of “Mindwaves”, or throughout “Slipping Away”, the album’s lead single.

What continues to make Far From Home an exciting album is the band’s unique songwriting voice that gives the album a wide sense of variety, making for an enjoyable listening experience, as well as giving the band a better sense of musicianship. The title track is a prime example of this as it seamlessly blends a quiet, spacious, and subdued verse with a hard-hitting chorus that sounds as if they are from two different songs yet works so well together. Of the records eight songs, however, “This Ride Tonight” feels like one of the strongest and most unique with its swaying 12/8 shuffle over thick distorted chords and ripping lead lines.

Far From Home is a unique blend of all eras of punk that is largely fueled by Green Day styled pop punk, Social Distortion, and a touch of The Ramones for good measure. In this regard, Bad Buzz stands out immensely from much of the punk scene that exists today. They play pop punk with a sense of integrity, maturity, and modernity that they do not quite fit in that scene traditionally, nor are they grimy and aggressive enough to be considered among modern punk’s rougher crowd. In this sense, Bad Buzz is blazing their own trail through the modern punk scene in a way that is unique with an emphasis on evolving the genre. - Canadian Beats

Inspired by the sound of skate punk bands such as Millencolin, NOFX, and Gob, the Toronto natives came to life in the summer of 2014. Originally a 3 piece consisting of Ross Carvelli (guitars – vocals), Andrew Laurie (bass), and Tristan Loria (drums), the band added fourth member and second guitar player, Troy Fullerton in 2015.

“Our debut LP Far From Home came together over a 6 month writing period, with the exception of “Wimp” and “This Ride Tonight,” which we originally wrote for our self-titled EP released in early 2016. We teamed up with Hamilton-based producer Matt Gauthier, who worked with frontman Ross Carvelli and his former band Brews Willis on their last release. We recorded at Boxcar Sound Recordings in May, and Gauthier mixed and mastered it through the summer. It was released on vinyl on September 29th, 2017.

The album pays homage to the punk and alt-rock we listened to in the 90s that helped shape our formative years as musicians. It’s music that we never abandoned as the broader musical landscape shifted, and it’s certainly weaved into the songs on the record. The tone of the record also reflects the music of that time, in that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. We have some hard, in-your-face songs like “Without You” and “Wait For Me,” but then we have more lighthearted songs like “Wimp” and “Slipping Away,” for which we made a music video. That mix of tone and influences resulted in a record that doesn’t just live in the punk rock realm. We like the idea of appealing to people with a range of musical tastes, because why not? As a band, we have quite the range, and we feel that you can write a cohesive record that welcomes fans from all over the rock and roll spectrum.”

If you’re into catchy guitar riffs, you should definitely listen to their single ‘Wimp‘! - What Happened to Your Band?

There’s nothing like a room full of heads bobbing in tune to the band on stage, and that’s exactly what Toronto’s Bad Buzz brought to the Bovine Sex Club on Wednesday.

Bad Buzz, with distorted guitars and the fastest drums this side of the Gardiner, is just plain old fun. It’s pop punk to get you dancing. It’s the kind of punk rock that gets into your bones and just fills you with energy—a buzz, if you will.

There are pauses in all the right places, and amazing details, like the specifically placed thud of a bass or the quiet twinkle of a guitar, makes for a fun listen live or at home.

But live… man, you’re in for a treat.

The punk rock foursome played a great mix of old and new – like “Wimp,” a fun, down-n-dirty pop punk song off their first EP. They also treated the swelling Canadian Music Week crowd to new music that will likely appear on their yet-to-be-recorded album.

If you missed them on Wednesday night, you’re SOL: the group is taking a break from shows to record an album. But keep up with them on Facebook. - Raz Mataz Magazine

Bad Buzz‘s “Crazy, Stupid” is the punk I’ve been craving for quite some time now. There’s just not enough punk going around the music scene these days. The fast-paced, guitar-shredding track is full of anguish and self-loathing but instead of sulking with those emotions, we get an urge to punch holes in walls. That’s the true essence of punk; taking those negative emotions and putting a load of electric energy into them. Hell yeah. - Milk Crater

Indie Music Spotlight – Top Inbox Picks - Middle Tenessee Music

The Horseshoe was a host to a pretty rocking party... - Joe Taylor, Blast Toronto

Following about two months of singles, Toronto punk band Bad Buzz has released their latest EP, Try Harder. The sophomore EP, following their 2017 debut album Far From Home, includes the four singles which they have been releasing biweekly since April 12th along with one additional track. Ultimately, Try Harder makes for an exciting addition to the band’s growing discography.

Kicking off with their first single, which was accompanied with a music video, “Talkin’ Shit” opens the EP with a strong melodic, pop-punk anthem that is sure to be a hit on the stage. Quite similarly, “Day And Night” continues to develop the EP with a bouncing swagger.

That being said, Bad Buzz shines brightest on the latter chunk of Try Harder. Between “If It’s Right”, “Under Attack”, and the previously unreleased “Hanging On”, the band seems to dig deeper into their punk roots, turning tones reminiscent of early Green Day, The Offspring, and Social Distortion through a modern pop-punk filter. “If It’s Right” is a heavy, almost grungy rock track which builds a wall of distorted and fuzzy guitars, that also features a fiery solo while “Under Attack” follows in a similar direction to deliver an exciting and dynamic example of songwriting. Opening with a lo-fi acoustic introduction, “Hanging On” closes out the album with a building, mellow, and reflective track.

All in all, Bad Buzz’s follow up EP, Try Harder, pushes the band forward from where they started on 2017’s Far From Home. As a whole, the five-track EP is very strong and, while firmly planted in pop punk, feels expansive in style and sound; ultimately making Try Harder a great step forward for Bad Buzz. - Canadian Beats

Bad Buzz, a group of punk rockers from Toronto, Canada are streaming their new EP, Try Harder, which is out today with a bonus fifth single that is only available on the EP.

The fun and energetic band have made the EP available on all the streaming services and for purchase – click here to buy it – or listen to the whole of Try Harder below. - Dying Scene

For the past month and a half or so Punknews has been premiering a new track off of Try Harder, the new EP from Ontario's Bad Buzz, about every two weeks. Well, the day is finally here and we are excited to premiere the new EP in its entirety!

However, we'll start first with the final track for those who just want to jump to something new. "Hangin' On" starts out small, and works its way up to a big ending:

As for this funky schedule which saw each song made available in a staggered timeframe, let the band what it meant for each song as well as the EP as a whole:

"Try Harder" is a collection of five songs inspired by five different styles of punk rock. They work when packaged together, but they also work as stand-alones, which is why we decided to release each track individually over the weeks leading up to today. The only track not previously released on its own is 'Hangin' On,' which really stretches the definition of what we consider punk rock. The record was recorded live off the floor at Boxcar Sound Recording in Hamilton with Matt Gauthier producing (who we also worked with on "Far From Home").

It all falls into place now!

Not only is the new EP available, but Baz Buzz are playing their EP release gig TONIGHT! You can go ahead and stream the entire EP, and check out the details of that gig, below. - Punknews

For the past month and a half or so Punknews has been premiering a new track off of Try Harder, the new EP from Ontario's Bad Buzz, about every two weeks. Well, the day is finally here and we are excited to premiere the new EP in its entirety!

However, we'll start first with the final track for those who just want to jump to something new. "Hangin' On" starts out small, and works its way up to a big ending:

As for this funky schedule which saw each song made available in a staggered timeframe, let the band what it meant for each song as well as the EP as a whole:

"Try Harder" is a collection of five songs inspired by five different styles of punk rock. They work when packaged together, but they also work as stand-alones, which is why we decided to release each track individually over the weeks leading up to today. The only track not previously released on its own is 'Hangin' On,' which really stretches the definition of what we consider punk rock. The record was recorded live off the floor at Boxcar Sound Recording in Hamilton with Matt Gauthier producing (who we also worked with on "Far From Home").

It all falls into place now!

Not only is the new EP available, but Baz Buzz are playing their EP release gig TONIGHT! You can go ahead and stream the entire EP, and check out the details of that gig, below. - Punknews