Pop-punk usually gets a bad rap, partly because the name of the genre is somewhat of an oxymoron.
However, local pop-punk band Tough Stuff utilizes erratic rhythms and fun lyrics that could be considered silly, but are actually quite charming.
Their EP, titled “College,” explores the college party lifestyle. The theme of the EP is heard throughout with fun lyrics that are better heard then read.
The release begins with a song called “Ceremony//College,” which seems to complain about a girl who plays games with the lead singer’s heart.
After a little verbal therapy the song completely changes its poppy tone and subject by singing about that college life that many know and love.
“We don’t have to worry / About waking up to early / We did not register / Morning f–ing classes / Kicking all our a–es.” It’s important to note how the rhythm and pace of the lyrics are executed with the choppy music.
The album is only about 10 minutes long, but that’s enough time to understand what their music is all about.
Tough Stuff has more music available on Bandcamp and while “College” is their most polished release to date, it’s not “sonically perfect,” which is part of the charm because it gives a sense of what they might sound like live.
Whether it’s the sing-along pop segments or the fast paced punk sound, their approach to music is a bit messy, but overall, it’s fun and it works.
Bassist Brandon Kent said their new album will likely have more mature subject matter. Tough stuff is planning for the new album’s release in early October.
“It’s not going to be the best album ever but it’s definitely something we can be proud of,” Kent said.
Q. How did the project come about?
Brandon Kent: Well … I play bass and I’m in this dancey punk band called Tough Stuff. We started a little over two years ago.
Mitchell [Rodriguez] and I started the band and we have had a string of drummers, but somewhere along the lines we met Nate [Torres] who is our current drummer now. We recorded our “College” EP with him. That is our most professional recording we have as of now. So that’s pretty much all that people have been listening to.
As of right now we have been writing an album. We have been in this band for two years. Pretty much the whole point of the band is that we love to tour and travel, socialize and meet new people … We enjoy having fun.
Q. Where have you guys traveled?
BK: Our first tour we did was up the coast in the Bay Area. Then we decided to play a bit more of the West coast, by that I mean places … like Long Beach, Fresno, San Jose, San Francisco, Berkeley, Redding, Eugene, Portland.
Q. Is this when you guys were starting out?
BK: Yeah, this is only with that EP. It’s still all we have now, so in a sense we still are touring with the same EP. So we did that all the way up to Seattle and then we came back home. The next summer we decided to get a bit ahead of ourselves so we decided to embark on a U.S. tour. Well, technically it could be an international tour because we hit Vancouver in Canada.
Q. That’s so sick!
BK: Yeah, we went up the West coast again and then toured from Idaho Falls to Missoula, Montana. From there straight to Minnesota as far east as Akron, Ohio, then down to Alabama. Then we cut across the whole southwest area to Arkansas, Texas, Arizona until we got back home.
Q: So how exactly does that happen? How do you guys play all these shows?
BK: It’s pretty frequent to hear band managers to be too intimidated to do such a huge tour on their own. People ask us if we have a tour manager, but you really don’t need any of that.
You need that will and ambition to do it. I think that’s a cool thing about the D.I.Y. scene; you really have to do it yourself. We utilize platforms like Facebook to initiate conversations with people who might be able to help us.
For instance, if I needed to book a show in some city in Washington and I didn’t know anyone I would start with what I have, which is probably a friend in the bay area and [ask them] ‘Hey, do you know someone in Seattle [or] someone who could help me out with a show at this area, this date, this time.’ They’ll send me a name and I’ll message that person … There have been times when I started with one person … and have made a full circle back to the same person.
You could understand the frustration, but it does happen. We just love to tour, we get ahead of ourselves in that sense. Like I said we only have that EP.
Q. But you guys are building a fan base, right?
BK: That’s true, but I’m not too worried about fandom. I’m more concerned about having fun. My thing is that if I’m playing a show if there is 50 people and none of them like us; then there is no point. I would rather play to two people who are not only going be not only great friends but also dedicated people … it’s all about the people. God, I sound like I’m running for president.
[Laughs]
I think we have this misconception that this band was made to party. It just happens that way I have heard people say ‘Every time you guys come to play we party really hard with you guys.’ I always think ‘That’s tight.’ I didn’t mean for that to happen. It’s cool to see that they expect the fun as much as we are. That’s the whole point of it … I’m trying to graduate and start my career … I [know I’m] not going to be in a band for the rest of my life, but it’s just so much fun right now.