Bad Snacks Interview
Bad Snacks (00:00:00):
The messaging was just constantly given to me that I was never going to be good enough. And it felt like I was good enough for now, but that's also because I started young, so I developed early, and then by the time I was a teenager, kids were starting to really surpass me in terms of technical ability, and it was really discouraging. But at the same time, I also realized it was because I wasn't practicing nearly as much. These kids were waking up at 5:00 AM to practice before school and then practicing after school. And I was like, what are you doing? What are you talking about? And I think it took me a really long time to realize it was because I didn't love the music in the way that I needed to. And it's not because I don't love classical music. I love classical music so much, but it's not my style of music. It's not my genre.
Leah Roseman (00:00:57):
Hi, you're listening to Conversations with Musicians with Leah Roseman. This podcast strives to inspire you through the personal stories of a diversity of musicians with in-depth conversations and great music that reveal the depth and breadth to a life in music. This episode features Bad Snacks, a producer and multi-instrumentalist known for the use of violin with lo-fi and dance influences. We talked about her experience when she went viral on Andrew Huang's "4 Producers Challenge" with over 4.5 million views dealing with online boundaries, with sexism, finding inspiration, and enjoying the learning process. Bad Snacks is also an educator. She coaches fellow producers privately and runs a successful YouTube channel where she posts content related to music tech and beat breakdowns. Due to her love for cutting edge music tech, she's worked as a key demonstrator with several of the industry's largest names like Ableton, Roland and Moog. Also, she's taught as an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music for Electronic Production and Design.
(00:01:55):
We talked about her unique educational path and choices she's made along the way to carve out a successful career, and in fact, what success really means. She spoke thoughtfully about important topics such as music education, developing creativity, imposter syndrome, and keeping a healthy perspective. Like all my episodes, you can watch this on my YouTube channel or listen to the podcast on all the podcast platforms. And I've linked the transcript to my website, leahroseman.com. The podcast theme music was commissioned from composer Nick Kold, and you can use the timestamps to navigate the episode. Before we jump into our conversation, I wanted to let you know that I have a new way you can support this independent podcast through a beautiful collection of merch with a very cool, unique, and expressive design from artist Steffi Kelly. You'll find that link in the description of the episode. This weekly podcast is in season four, and I send out an email newsletter where you can get access to sneak peeks of upcoming guests. Have a look at the description of this episode where you'll find all the links . Now to Bad Snacks. Hi, thanks so much for joining me here today.
Bad Snacks (00:02:59):
Hi. Good to be here.
Leah Roseman (00:03:01):
I have to admit, you're the first electronic music artist I've had on the show. It's not because I haven't been interested, but honestly, I'm a little intimidated as someone in her mid fifties. It's just not a genre I've listened that much to, except with my 25-year-old daughter. That's all she listens to. So when I found out your story and that you also play violin and you incorporate that as a violinist, I was like, oh, this is an angle. And then when I looked at your YouTube videos and you describe your process and I it's like, light bulbs were going off, I was like, I get it. I get what they do, how they do it. Very cool. So when did you get into this style of music?
Bad Snacks (00:03:44):
I got into this style of music in, well, I've always been a lover of electronic music, whether I realized it or not, but I think I really realized it in my actual making of it. I was in my early twenties actually, in some ways. In some circles it would be considered maybe a little bit of a late bloomer, but I had been playing classical and a bunch of other styles of music up until that point. But I started producing electronic music when I was just about 21.
Leah Roseman (00:04:20):
And what was the most surprising thing once you got into the process?
Bad Snacks (00:04:25):
The most surprising thing? Well, it's a couple things. I guess maybe what was the most surprising was how at home I felt with it, especially because my introduction to electronic music was actually through instrumental hip hop, essentially. And in LA we call them, we just call them beats. It's the beat scene. So it's this kind of cross point between electronic music, jazz, hip hop, and I didn't really have a background in any of those styles of music. I've always loved jazz, I've always loved hip hop. But it wasn't until I started making it that I was like, oh, I have such a love for this style of music that I think it's actually really translating, even though I don't necessarily know what I'm doing. I'm kind of throwing paint at the wall. You know what I mean?
Leah Roseman (00:05:22):
And you generously shared your process, and then things really took off. So I understand there's a couple of turning points. By the time Google, you got the big commission from Google, did you know that you had their attention or?
Bad Snacks (00:05:38):
I had no idea. I had no idea. So yeah, I had been sharing content on YouTube very, very transparently as part of my learning process. It was actually meant to be an accountability system of being like, I'm going to upload my process as I'm, and I'm going to be super transparent, because that's kind of what I was craving as a learner as a student, is I just wanted to see somebody be really bad at it and see how they were getting better. And I ended up striking kind of a chord, no pun intended, with a synth community online because I was using this little device called an organelle. And so that was how I was getting traffic in the first place. And what's interesting about getting any kind of traffic online is that you don't know who's following you, and it only takes one person who's kind of tapped in to really make something happen.
Leah Roseman (00:06:35):
Well, obviously your gear's really expanded since the organelle, but what did it allow you to do
Bad Snacks (00:06:41):
Specifically, the organelle, it's still one of my powerhouse pieces of equipment, and it's this little box. It works off of Pure Data, which is an open source type of coding language. But basically what that means is that you can get this little box to do anything. You can get it to be a synthesizer in terms of it generates its own sound. You can turn it into a sampler so you can import samples onto it and make them playable. But the thing that I found the most helpful about it was actually this one patch called Guitar to arp. And it's funny because obviously it was designed with a guitar in mind, but I was like, well, why not throw my electric violin through it and see what happens? And it totally synthesized the sound and just turned it into this really cool synthesizer type of sound.
(00:07:31):
And that was really the genesis of, I really count that as the beginning of my electric violin journey, because up until that point, I had had an electric violin, but they were kind of just more for practical use of playing live events where I don't have to have a mic, I can just plug directly in. But it never sounded good to me. So this was the first time that it was like, oh, actually the key is to not make it, try not try to make it sound like a real violin, but really try to make it sound like its own thing. And that was a big aha moment for me. So the organelle made that possible. Okay.
Leah Roseman (00:08:08):
One of your videos, I think it's just called My Pedals for Synth Violin, which is I think maybe three years old that I went through that with interest. What has changed in your setup since that time?
Bad Snacks (00:08:20):
To be honest, really not that much. I have definitely downsized. I have become a little bit more of a minimalist the further into my career that I get, and that's for a couple of reasons. Some of them are more practical. Some of them are just like I found out which pedals I really needed and which ones maybe I didn't need so much. But these days, let me see if I can think about it off the cuff, my pedal board, I have my volume first and foremost so that I can actually adjust. And then I have a para eq, which is this EQ pedal that has all kinds of parameters, but it's really great because it helps to sculpt the sound so that it doesn't sound too tinny. You also can totally eliminate the boom. It has a boost on it, so you can make it extra loud during solos. And then I have my organelle going into my Meris Enzo, which is another audio to synthesizer pedal, and that one's really cool and has some really cool characteristics to it. And then I have an AMP Sim, which is, right now I'm using the Universal Audio Ruby, which is meant to emulate a vintage amplifier. So it has this really nice kind of warm drivey quality to it that it makes the violin sound a lot more full.
Leah Roseman (00:09:44):
Okay. Would it be okay if we included just a clip of that video so people can hear some of the sounds?
Bad Snacks (00:09:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
Leah Roseman (00:09:52):
Okay, cool. This is a clip from Bad Snacks' YouTube video, My Pedals for Synth Violin, and you'll find the complete video linked in the show notes.
Bad Snacks (00:10:13):
(music) So there's that. That's my lead sound. I also use this for the Pitch shifter a lot. I like using lower fifths to kind of create some edgy patches (music) , and that's where having a little bit of dry signal from the organelle really comes in handy is because there's a little bit more signal. Another thing that I should mention is that if you are not familiar with putting a pedal board together, the way that you want to organize it is by which
Leah Roseman (00:10:49):
The Google Audio Library can, from what I understand, people can use that material. What are the permissions that are allowed by that?
Bad Snacks (00:10:58):
They're completely copyright free. They're completely copyright free, so you can use them as, I mean, a lot of people use them as background music for their videos, so they can do that without getting copyright strikes, which is a huge thing for the online community. So places, obviously YouTube, it was meant for YouTube, but also using it for other platforms like Twitch and stuff. A lot of creators end up getting these copyright strikes, and sometimes that can either force them to mute entire segments of their videos, or the getting permissions could be a huge process. So it was Google's way of basically kind of insourcing from creators. And I ended up doing three volumes with them. So there are 30 instrumentals that people can use for their videos there. The only thing is that they just can't be monetized off of the platform. So somebody can't just take the, basically you can use it for whatever they want, except they can't do anything that puts a copyright on it. So if they were to try uploading it to Spotify, which some people have tried, that falls outside of the jurisdiction, but everything else is free reign.
Leah Roseman (00:12:13):
Okay. Yeah, no, I listened to some of that. I really liked it. So could we include some of that then? Yeah, sure. Okay, great. Yeah, I was curious about the sharing process, and did they ask for a certain tempo for those? No.
Bad Snacks (00:12:27):
No.
Leah Roseman (00:12:27):
Okay.
Bad Snacks (00:12:28):
Nope. It was very open ended. They kind of just gave me a list of adjectives, and they were like, we want something that fits under the romantic vibe or the happy vibe. It was very open-ended.
Leah Roseman (00:12:40):
Okay, this is a clip from Bad Snacks', Google Library, volume three, Kate's Waltz (Music)
(00:12:46):
and then five years ago with Andrew Huang. That was another huge turning point for you. So that is such a cool video, and it has almost 5 million views this 4 Producers
Bad Snacks (00:15:18):
I know.
Leah Roseman (00:15:19):
And I love how you describe your process. It's like you're very good teacher, it's very clear, and it's a great track. And that's on your neat tape too, right? Oh, shoot. That's where I ended up.
Bad Snacks (00:15:29):
Yep. Yeah. Yeah, that was quite the process. That was quite the little chapter for sure.
Leah Roseman (00:15:38):
And when he asked you, you were a bit intimidated, right? It was like,
Bad Snacks (00:15:42):
Oh, totally. I mean, I knew of him. I had actually participated in some of his online challenges under a different name previously when I was really just starting out. And I really love what Andrew does and how he's just so generous with his information, and he is so passionate about what he does, and he has such a joy for what he does. So when I got the email, I was like, wait a second. I didn't know you knew who I was, so that was kind of crazy.
Leah Roseman (00:16:12):
So for people that aren't familiar with it, can you describe what that show is and was?
Bad Snacks (00:16:17):
Yeah, so it's a series done, Andrew Huang is this YouTuber who does a lot of everything music related, everything electronic music related, although he does touch a lot of genres, but he has this series called 4 Producers Flip the Same Sample, and basically we're all given the same source material. So in our episode, it was a segment of a pianist playing just a little lick. I think the total, it was like 21 seconds worth of audio, and he sent it out to three other producers and then took it himself, and he gave us 24 hours to make something of it. And then we submit it, and then we get the other tracks a couple of weeks later, and we film our responses and stuff. But it's such a cool series because it's like you really see how people just approach it so differently. It is such a very clear example of what creativity looks like for different people. And it is a cool series. I mean, it's a really cool concept. I think a lot of people really resonate with it.
Leah Roseman (00:17:28):
And it's interesting about prompts, even you were just mentioning Google, anyone creative, whether you're writing a poem or whatever it is, it's best to have some direct inspiration, right?
Bad Snacks (00:17:38):
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that's why I ended up feeling pretty good about it, because the writer's block can happen at any given moment, and with the kind of prompts and stuff that I was given, it flowed. It just flowed. So it happened in a very quick 24 hours.
Leah Roseman (00:18:01):
And as a result of that video, you kind of went viral, right?
Bad Snacks (00:18:06):
Yeah, a little bit. I was just telling somebody the other day, if I remember correctly, at the time, I had 5,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel, and overnight, literally overnight, it jumped to 25,000 after that video.
Leah Roseman (00:18:23):
And you didn't have an infrastructure in place?
Bad Snacks (00:18:27):
I did not. I was totally DIY, didn't have a team, was just kind of doing things on my own because I was still kind of very fresh to the industry, still very much considered, and I still consider myself a student in a lot of ways, but especially back then, I was just learning a lot. So I really appreciated the traffic. Absolutely. There's not a single part of me that is like I wasn't ready, but I learned a lot in the process, and I think there was a lot that I just didn't have a heads up for that nobody ever really does. But as a result of that video, that did kind of prompt me into getting my own team and building the infrastructure and that kind of stuff takes a really long time because you have to find the right people that you want for building that team. So at the time, I didn't have that infrastructure, but it really prompted me to build it.
Leah Roseman (00:19:31):
You had started to go by the name Bad Snacks at that point.
Bad Snacks (00:19:35):
Yeah, yeah.
Leah Roseman (00:19:36):
Can I ask about your artist's name, where that came from?
Bad Snacks (00:19:40):
Oh, yeah. It is an inside joke that just has completely taken over my life at this point. I used to work with my, still work together sometimes, but my friend Scott, who was much more established in the industry than I was, and I was kind of taking lessons from him, and we were working at his studio a bunch, and I was bringing him demo tracks just to get his feedback, being like, what do you think about this? What do you think about that? So we had been working on this track and we didn't have a name for it, and at a certain point it was kind of like, oh, are you hungry? Do you need something to eat? And he was like, I'm trying to think if I have any snacks. And I went and I was like, well, I got a bag of hot carrots in the car. They had just been sitting in the car and it was a really hot day in LA. He was like, that sounds terrible. So we ended up naming the track. We hadn't had a name for it, so we called it Bag of Hot Carrots, just on a whim, just as a temp name. And then it just turned into this gag of what's bad snack going to be. We started naming the tracks after various bad foods.
Leah Roseman (00:20:47):
That's great. And do you use your name, like is it partly a privacy thing too?
Bad Snacks (00:20:55):
Yeah. Yeah, it definitely is. I think it's a combination where I used to do a lot of solo work under my full name back in Massachusetts when I was living in the Boston area, and I used to do a lot of session work that way too. And I think I just really wanted to create a very strong separation because stylistically, this project has nothing to do with anything I was doing beforehand. I was doing folk singer songwriter Americana type stuff back in Boston, because that was actually kind of the primary industry. It was the primary style of the music industry of Boston, which was very small. It was a very small scene. And coming to LA and having this kind of, for lack of better words, like a rebirth creatively with my creativity and wanting to get more into electronic music, I specifically remember being like, I need to compartmentalize. I really need to compartmentalize, and I need to treat this project completely separately from everything else that I do. And then as time went on and things kind of blew up, I'm so glad that I had this kind of artist name to go by just because it does create a lot of separation, and I feel like I can be myself in my own private circles. And then when I'm Bad Snacks, it's another thing.
Leah Roseman (00:22:28):
So I was looking up some of these genres trying to understand, I had an idea what that was, and there's this synthesis of musical backgrounds you do bring. And your latest album is hybrid singing. It's not the instrumental hip hop.
Bad Snacks (00:22:44):
Yeah, yeah. You're talking about the EP that just released, yeah,
Leah Roseman (00:22:47):
Sorry, Home Music. Yes.
Bad Snacks (00:22:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, no, it's definitely a departure. I've been kind of toying with the, because I used to be a songwriter. I used to be a singer songwriter, but for a very different style. But I know I can sing. I don't actually really consider myself a singer because it's like I am too lazy. I don't do my vocal warmups. It is so bad. But I like to sing when it serves the song. But I've always been a production first kind of person. It's funny, it's like even when I listen to music now, a lot of people will listen to the lyrics. I listen exclusively to the music. I actually have no idea what the song is about half the time. And so I think that kind of gets reflected in my own work and how I prioritize my vocals.
(00:23:46):
The reason that also not every single one of my tracks has vocals on it is because I'm very, very particular about the things that I want to sing about. I have a very kind of high threshold of what I'm willing to put out. And it's been a really, really long journey of even getting to this point because I think I really wanted to take a step back from the singers songwriter stuff specifically to focus on production. And now that I feel like I have pretty, I feel like I have my sound, I feel like I am always working on it. I'm always trying to get better. But now that I have these things kind of way more figured out and I feel very comfortable as a producer, it's like now I'm bringing back the songwriter element of it. And it's been good. It's been really good for me artistically
Leah Roseman (00:24:35):
That, iiwannabe, really great riff on that. I thought we could just use a clip. If we just had some clips of shorter clips, then people will be driving towards the whole album if they like what they hear, hopefully.
Bad Snacks (00:24:49):
Yeah, totally.
Leah Roseman (00:24:51):
You're about to hear a short clip from Home Music iiwannabe (music)
(00:24:53):
I, and like you do, there's this very cool animation video and it features chromonicci. And I was curious about this collaboration
Bad Snacks (00:25:57):
With chromonicci or the animator, or both?
Leah Roseman (00:25:59):
Both Sure.
Bad Snacks (00:26:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So chromonicci is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant musician. And what's funny is that we actually had a show together in Denver on the same night, but the way that the show was set up, it was actually kind of almost a dual venue show because there were two rooms in the same venue. And it was funny because he was playing one room and I was playing the room right next door, and we actually never got to connect connect. We never got to say, hey in person. But we both checked out each other's sets and then reached out online a little bit later and ended up on a phone call. And we realized that we just had so much in common. I think our first phone call was three hours or something like that. We just couldn't stop talking.
(00:26:51):
And I've been a fan of his work for a while. He is one of those people that he's known what he is been doing for a really long time, and I still feel very fresh to that whole scene in a way. And so a lot of people really look up to him for, they call it the nicci bounce. What he brings to that, and he's been really getting into his r and b singer songwriter era, and which he's so good at. So he's kind of like what I would consider a Swiss Army knife person where he is got just so many different killer skills. And we were talking about how it was this funny joke where we were like, I can always write that first verse, but the second verse is what kills me. And I started writing this song that was so personal to me, it was about a very significant breakup in my life.
(00:27:42):
And the first verse, I was like, okay, I got it. I said exactly what I needed to say. I wrote the hook. But then I was like, second verse, second verse. I'm drawing a blank here. And I was like, wait a second. What if we just reach out to chromonicci and pretend that it's his first verse? And he got it back to me so fast within a day. And the song wasn't originally supposed to be on the EP, but we just knocked it out so fast. And not only that, but I had sent him the stems. I had sent him all of the different parts of the song that I had written thus far production wise, and I just printed out and I was like, Hey, do with it what you will. And he just added in so many cool elements and rearranged it in this really cool way. So also on a production level, it was very much like a 50 50 collaboration.
(00:28:44):
And then with Mitch, I was actually at my friend, he goes by Shrimp nose. I was at his show and I was looking at his visuals and I was like, oh my God, these are really good. Who did this? And I went to my manager, I was like, do you know who did this? And he was like, oh, yeah, that's my friend Mitch. And I was like, that's our guy. That's our guy. We got to do this. And the song is pretty long. It's a really big ask to animate over four minutes worth of music. But the storyline that he came up with after we told him what the song was generally about when we gave him a mood board and stuff, and the storyline that he came up with just hit me so hard. And he just put so much work into it, and it just turned out so beautiful. So that whole collaboration, I feel like it's very rare for things to go that well.
Leah Roseman (00:29:42):
This is a clip from like u do featuring chromonicci from Home Music.(music)
(00:31:38):
It's very interesting to me, your return to Berklee and the reality that you couldn't attend so many people, they have this dream. In fact, another one of my guests, it was similar idea. That was always the goal, got in, got a scholarship, but simply there's no way it was going to work.
Bad Snacks (00:31:59):
Yeah, that story is really interesting and very validating for me at the same time. And in retrospect, it was absolutely the right choice for me personally to not have gone. And it definitely, it was the harder path, no doubt, because I was very alone for my college years. I was back in my hometown, and there kind of was nothing else for me to do except work and try to figure things out. So I was working at a hardware store, I was working some cafe jobs, and then I got my first job teaching violin at a music house teaching kids of all ages.
(00:32:48):
I think had I gone to Berklee when I really wanted to go to Berklee, I would've received an amazing education. I absolutely would've taken advantage of it, and I would've made a lot of really great friends. I just know these things about myself. But what I allowed myself to do by giving myself space is I allowed myself to try out different veins and figure out actually what was working and what wasn't working. And I don't think I would've found electronic music the way that I did had I gone to Berklee, because when I was applying to Berklee, I was going very string focused. I would've gone into their string program, which was very much geared towards new, I know this sounds funny, but new trad, like new traditional. So a lot of neo Scottish, neo Irish, but very jazzy. They had this bluegrass, this folk resurgence. I love that style of music. I think there's something that really resonates. I grew up in a folk background, but I don't think I would've found electronic music had that been the case. And I think I am so much better off for it because I really took my time to find it.
(00:34:07):
So it is interesting. And then again, it is so validating that years later, they reached out to me. They reached out to me to teach in EPD, which is the electronic production and design department. So it's like that absolutely never would've happened if I had actually gone. And that's just how the dice rolls, because also my eldest brother went to Berklee. I have a lot of friends that went to Berklee. And it's funny because I talk about how I probably would've made a lot of friends when if I had gone to college, but came out to LA and I met people who had gone to Berklee, and then they introduced me to their friends that went to Berklee. So I actually have a lot of those same Berklee friends. I just didn't go to college with them, but I still hang out with them.
Leah Roseman (00:35:06):
Hi, just a short break from the episode, which I hope you're enjoying so far. I wanted to let you know that I have a new way you can support this independent podcast through a beautiful collection of merch with a very cool, unique, and expressive design from artist Steffi Kelly. You'll find that link in the description of the episode. If you want to check out over a hundred episodes you may have missed in addition to your podcast player or YouTube, I have an extensive website, leah roseman.com with show notes, transcripts, the complete catalog of episodes, and you can sign up there for my weekly newsletter to get access to sneak peaks of upcoming guests. Please do share your favorite episodes with your friends, follow me on social media and share my posts. And if you can spare a few dollars to help support the series, that would be amazing. You'll find that link in the show notes along with the merch store. I'm an independent podcaster and I really do need the help of my listeners. Now, back to the episode,
(00:35:58):
Then when you moved back to Boston to teach at Berklee, it wasn't the right fit actually for you at that time.
Bad Snacks (00:36:06):
Yeah, yeah. I was really trying out different options for myself, I think, which is such a privilege when I think about it, the ability to try out other types of lives. There's a lot of flexibility that has to go into that. I left LA during the pandemic and accidentally got stuck in Portland. It's a long story, but I ended up living in Portland, Oregon for a couple years, just kind of by accident, I think as a result of the pandemic. And then after that I was like, well, I want to leave, but I don't know whether I should go back east and maybe be closer to family and try something else out, or I wasn't ready to go back to LA yet. I think something in my mind was kind of like, it's not the right time. So I went to Maine actually for a little bit, and then that was when I got the call from Berklee to try to start teaching the following semester.
(00:37:09):
So then I ended up moving down to Boston, and I think I'm from the Boston area originally. So I was like, well, this will be really interesting. There's this kind of thing in astrology, the Saturn return, which is every 28 to 30 something years, like early thirties, this, it's like when Saturn comes back to the original place, it was when you were born. And so there's a lot of speculation around that of it's people coming. They're either coming back to their nesting grounds or they're completely changing the course of their life. It's like one or the other. And I was like, okay, well, this is my way of coming back and trying a more stable life. I also had a partner who is very, very stable, and I just was kind of like, well, what does it look like to have a regular job with a regular community and maybe not traveling so much and just so wasn't ready for it? I was actually shocked at how not ready for that I, and I think I used to think that I was too much of a home body for the music industry because traveling can be really exhausting. But then once I started traveling less, I was getting restless. So it ended up just not being the right fit. And it wasn't because of Berklee necessarily. I think it was because of just me and my life, and I just wasn't ready for that kind of pace of life.
Leah Roseman (00:38:46):
Yeah. Well, I mean, your heartbreak is very much in this home music album, so people can hear about it.
(00:38:55):
If we go back to some of your earlier work, I really like settle in from bathtub bumps 2020.
Bad Snacks (00:39:04):
Yeah. Yeah. That whole beat tape was literally designed. 2020 was the most insane year. It was really stressful. And I remember it was also an election year and the week of the election, I had already been working on this project, but then I was like, you know what? We deserve a treat. We deserve a bath. That was kind of the idea behind bathtub bumps. So with Settle In actually was that specific track was meant to emulate the feeling of basically wind chimes, the way that wind chimes can kind of really transport you to a different place. And there are these Japanese wind chimes that you can get them tuned in different keys, and they're supposed to represent different elements and whatnot. And so I think I was just kind of leaning into that a little bit. But then also I had my sub harmonica and semi module synth, which is, it's kind of a randomness machine. You never know what kind of blips and bloops you're going to get, but I stumbled upon this just really beautiful, very in tune sequence, and it kind of just all works together. And the whole idea is we're settling into a new space for the next however many minutes. I forget how long the Beat tape is.
Leah Roseman (00:40:40):
This is a clip from Bathtub Bumps from drift. (music)
(00:41:31):
Yeah. So what you were just about, it's like some kind of randomizer audio randomizer.
Bad Snacks (00:41:38):
Well, that's what I like to call it because it's analog. It's analog, and it's a sequencer. So it has a built-in clock. It has actually several built-in clocks. And the sub harmonic on this is very techie. So I'll try to explain this because it is, I mean, even for people who are synth nerds, it's like kind of a doozy, but the sub harmonic on it is a semi modular analog synthesizer that works off of subharmonics. So you set a primary frequency, but then you also set sub frequencies and they respond to each other. They create overtones, but then you can also set different sequencers, and it works also as a polyrhythmic sequencer. So you have these two frequencies, but you can also set them at different rates. And so that you have basically two sequencers that are working in tandem. But the thing is that when you're working with analog gear, nothing is snapped. So the pitch isn't snapped to be in tune, so you get a lot of microtones. And then also the tempo isn't snapped to be a perfect BPM. So then these poly rhythms that you're getting are also very in the micro zone. So that's why I call it a randomness machine.
(00:42:56):
But what I love about it is that it yields results that you wouldn't plan for. They're actually kind of impossible to plan for.
Leah Roseman (00:43:04):
That is very interesting. And you're so good at explaining complex things. That's really No, really. So you keep mentioning, your tapes, you literally do sell cassette tapes as part of your merch?
Bad Snacks (00:43:16):
I do. I do.
Leah Roseman (00:43:18):
Now we have a cassette player. But are people of your generation buying cassette players?
Bad Snacks (00:43:23):
They actually are. And it's funny because when I'm touring, some cities are like, what? Who has a cassette player anymore? And other cities will just eat them up. It really is dependent on what areas you're in. But yeah, I mean, especially out here in Los Angeles, there's a huge market for it.
Leah Roseman (00:43:47):
I understand they're better for archival purposes than CDs, right?
Bad Snacks (00:43:54):
Yeah. I think at the end of the day, it's something to be reclaimed in something so physical. And I think that's also why people are now resonating with things like cassette and with vinyl, because it's basic mechanics, right? It's like, yeah. I mean, there's something about it. And not only that, but one of my things that I really love about cassettes is I love the natural degradation that happens over time. Love the detuned ness. I love the warp. I love hearing a tired tape. I actually really love that sound. It feels well loved. It feels well worn, and I don't know, there's something almost romantic about it to me. Okay.
Leah Roseman (00:44:51):
Yeah, my husband was saying that maybe he was referring more to reel to reels, but the tape is actually better archivally, like it's going to last longer than a cd, which can easily be scratched or I dunno if the other,
Bad Snacks (00:45:03):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it also just depends on how well you treat them. I think that's the better question is who's in your house?
Leah Roseman (00:45:14):
You have a really good video about imposter syndrome, which it really resonated with me. I thought it was really great and very thoughtful. And there's a great quote of yours. You said, self-criticism is a voice that doesn't even make a sound, but it has so much power over us.
Bad Snacks (00:45:32):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think it's something that anybody in the creative process is going to deal with, and I actually don't know why we don't talk about it more. I think people are getting to this point where now we know what imposter syndrome is, but even that is kind of a newer concept where imagine in your classical training that your teacher goes, well, it's okay to have imposter syndrome here. And you'd be like, what are you talking about? So not part of the culture. It's really not part of the culture, but it happens to everybody. And I think there are just certain mindsets that really help me. And that was what I was trying to do is just create a video of these are the things that I think about when I'm deep, deep in it. And it kind of reminds me there's this phrase that my dad really likes to use, which is rule number one of businesses don't go out of business.
(00:46:34):
And what I love about that is that metrics of success change for everybody. But the thing that I actually think is very successful, what I deem as successful is the ability to continue, the ability to keep doing it. And I think that that's something that I was trying to emphasize in being very candid about imposter syndrome, is that it's like at the end of the day, you can't let this stuff get in the way. You can't let yourself get in the way. Actually, the thing that blocks you from being successful, successful is just being able to keep doing the thing. But we don't look at it like that. Usually we look at success as benchmarks, but I like to think of success as a perpetual motion.
Leah Roseman (00:47:30):
I love hat. Yeah, I agree. And in terms of, well, it's sort of related. I mean, we talked about being famous and all this learning to ignore comments,
Bad Snacks (00:47:46):
Which is something that I'm still very bad at. I talk about it in the video actually, where I have this moment where I'm shaking the mic, where it's like people tell you to ignore these things, and it's like we know that it is very easy to say that to somebody. It's extremely easy to say, just ignore the comments. But the truth is that the comments are really hard to ignore. I mean, you're putting out your most vulnerable work, and you also don't want to shut yourself off the very real constructive criticism. You don't want to shut yourself off to the very real feedback that people are leaving and also the meaningful feedback that people are leaving. And I think it is good advice. And simultaneously, I think we need to take it a step further of being like, okay, so that's one way to look at it.
(00:48:44):
But also, what are the coping mechanisms for when you do look at the comments, what are the ways in which you can build up your own confidence so that you know how to parse through what is a constructive comment and what is just somebody going off the rails? And that's something that I've gotten significantly better at. And it's funny because my partner now also works in the YouTube space. And it wasn't until we had gotten, we have this little video that is kind of going pretty viral right now, and going through that with somebody else is actually pretty fun because we are looking through the comments and you get all these just people just saying whatever it makes, it could be motivated by all kinds of things, but when you have somebody there who also understands and gets it and can help you parse through it, it becomes this thing to laugh about. And that was new for me, and I was like, oh gosh, if I had only had this a few years ago of just somebody to laugh about it with would've made a huge difference.
Leah Roseman (00:50:03):
But I was also wondering in terms of just the productive comments where people just want help and advice because you can't respond. You have too many people looking at your videos.
Bad Snacks (00:50:14):
Totally, totally. No, I mean, it's true. It's true. And things that are really good questions that are easy to answer, I will. But yeah, there is just simply too much. And it does raise another point, which is something that I've had to also deal with, which is parasocial relationships. And I think it's partially because I also really do try to make myself available, maybe not so much on YouTube because YouTube is just the wild West, but I have a discord where it's a much more intimate community where people usually can get ahold of me in some capacity or another. But even then, it is drawing boundaries online is a really very new thing. And it's an interesting one because I think the thing that also nobody prepared me for is how people will oftentimes feel entitled to your time. And also the amount of times that people treat me like tech support is hysterical, do a demo of some random pedal and then they'll email me being like, Hey, my pedal doesn't work. What's going on? I'm like, I don't know. I didn't make it. I just know what it does. So it can be a little funky like that.
Leah Roseman (00:51:35):
Yeah. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about the early part of your life because you were really in the classical world, so I can completely relate. And one of my motivations for putting so much into this podcast is to show the world that there is such a breadth and depth to life and music. And a lot of us just think of it as a tiny box, I would say, no matter what part of it we're in, but especially for classical players. And so it's really wonderful to show people, Hey, look at Bad Snacks, look what she's done. But when you were 11, homeschooled, practicing presumably many hours going to youth orchestra, what was that like for you in terms of your vision for the future?
Bad Snacks (00:52:18):
Oh, yeah. Well, my vision for the future was very different then because I wasn't really, you can ask a child what they want to be when they get older, but that's a very futile question to ask for a very productive answer for the most part, because I think it was the case that I was being shown a future. I was being modeled a future, and I didn't have any other ideas of what it could look like. I specifically remember I was doing this one camp when I was 12 years old, and it was an international camp, so there was a lot of Russians that had come over, and they were also doing the camp. And I had this professor from Russia from St. Petersburg who did masterclass clinics around the world.
(00:53:21):
And I remember I did this masterclass with him, and we needed a translator in the room. And he asked me, he was like, do you want to be a professional violinist when you grow up? And I remember my teacher who's also Russian, she translated that for me and went to me and said, this is what Professor Shulman is asking. And I was like, yeah, of course. And I remember feeling a lot of pressure in that moment because I was like, that feels like a really big, they're telling me you have to decide now. And I think the mentality behind that was, which isn't, it's not false. They were saying a lot of your critical technique is developed before you're 13. A lot of the critical physical technique that you're going to carry with you into adulthood, which is true. I kind of have the same vibrato that I've had since I was 12. I have the same bow hold that I've had, say, I have the same pinky balance problems. They weren't wrong, but I think at the time, it just felt like they were asking me to make this big decision. But actually, and I kind of kept following that, being like, I'm going to be a violinist. I'm going to be a professional violinist. But then I would go to these youth orchestra things and I was having a great time, but the messaging was just constantly given to me that I was never going to be good enough.
(00:54:53):
And it felt like I was good enough for now, but that's also because I started young, so I developed early. And then by the time I was a teenager, kids were starting to really surpass me in terms of technical ability. And it was really discouraging. But at the same time, I also realized it was because I wasn't practicing nearly as much. These kids were waking up at 5:00 AM to practice before school and then practicing after school. And I was like, what are you doing? What are you talking about? And I think it took me a really long time to realize it was because I didn't love the music in the way that I needed to. And it's not because I don't love classical music. I love classical music so much, but it's not my style of music. It's not my genre. And that was just never posed to me as an option.
(00:55:47):
Where was the modeling for that of violinists who were doing, we're doing instrumental electronic music, but also in a non hokey way because people should show me, what was it, the Bond quartet, I think it was what they were called. And they're these four beautiful women, and it's very Las Vegas coded, and they're doing all these re-imagined works. I was just like, this feels so hokey to me. It's a taste. It's a taste. I'm not trying to knock on them, but I just didn't resonate with it, even though it was like, oh, but look what all these other strings can do. So anyway, all is to say is that it took a long time to even figure out what my lane was, but by the time I figured it out, I felt so grateful that I did study classical music for as long and as intensely as I did, because I can technically kind of play whatever I want to. You know what I mean? I don't feel the limitations of what I can do on a technical level. So it all serves the music now.
Leah Roseman (00:56:52):
Yeah. Did you study other instruments growing up or later?
Bad Snacks (00:56:57):
Yeah, my high school, I went to public high school and they did not offer orchestra, which is fine. I was already doing BYSO, but they did offer concert bands. So I did trumpet and trombone and baritone for a while, which was great. I took guitar lessons for a while. I play guitar very, that was also a big outlet for me as a teenager, was playing guitar. And everything else is kind of just self-taught. Also, I know I took harp lessons for a little while there as well, but my viol teacher requested that we stopped because it was ripping up my pads. So it can be a little bit of a tough instrument. So
Leah Roseman (00:57:44):
Were you homeschooled when you were younger before high school?
Bad Snacks (00:57:47):
Yes. Yeah. I actually wasn't homeschooled for terribly long, it's just that I was homeschooled during a very developmental period. So I was only homeschooled from when I was seven to 10 or 11. So it was second grade to fifth grade. So three years-ish. But in that time, that was when my studies with the violin really took off. So that's why it kind of gets echoed in a lot of interviews is because it was like, that was when I took violin the most seriously as a child. But after that, I went to a math and science charter school for a bit, and then I switched over to just full on Massachusetts public school for high school.
Leah Roseman (00:58:31):
Okay. Oh yeah, some of your influences. I was looking because you were featured on Brainfeeder's, the Hit and Flying Lotus, and I was looking, and he's the grand nephew of Alice Coltrane. What a cool connection is that.
Bad Snacks (00:58:44):
Yes, I know. I know. And Alice Coltrane is amazing. She's amazing. I love her work.
Leah Roseman (00:58:51):
Yeah, no, I was listening to her when I interviewed Destiny Muhammad, who's a jazz harpist in the Bay Area, and we talked about her. So he gave you this opportunity to be featured on Brainfeeder's, The Hit, and I think it was in your video about imposter syndrome, where you talked about procrastinating for that opportunity.
Bad Snacks (00:59:15):
Yeah. It's funny because I tell people at this point in my life, especially because I've been performing since I was a baby, essentially, nothing really makes me nervous anymore. I don't get stage fright except when I know that somebody I really respect and admire is in the audience, and then I get super sweaty. And to be offered to do a set for The Hit was just like Flying Lotus is one of my biggest influences immediately. Any coolness that I have immediately leaves my body as soon as I start thinking about that, what that interaction is going to look like. But I also felt, in a way, my music is very kind of campy in some ways. It's meant to be intentionally a little bit cheesy.
(01:00:19):
There's this kind of lightheartedness to half the catalog, I would say, where it's like, it's goofy. It's goofy, it's bright colors, it's pastel, it's this big part of me. And then the other part of me is kind of a lot more thoughtful, dark, broody kind of types of production and, excuse me, artistic outlet. And I specifically remember feeling like I don't have enough material to fit the brainfeeder vibe because so much of what I do is so campy, and I just don't think it's going to land with their audience for some reason. And that took a lot of getting over, and I know it's very trite advice, but it's like at the end of the day, they asked you and they want you, so bring you. And that's exactly what I did. And I put a lot of extra effort into it, did this whole light show, and we had the projected visuals, and we made this really cute, cozy thing.
(01:01:29):
And not a lot of people know this, but the table that all my synths were set up on, I had made that table myself. So it was just a very curated vibe, and I think it went as well as it could go, and is in every step of my career, there's always going to be things that I look back on that I'm like, eh, that could have been a lot better. But honestly, it's so much better to have done it than to not, because it really does feel like such a notch in my belt. And I feel very proud to say that, oh, yeah, I have a set with Brainfeeders, The Hit, it's on YouTube. You can literally check it out.
Leah Roseman (01:02:11):
And another influence, Kate Ellwanger, who goes by Dot. So I was checking her music out. And do you regard her as a mentor and an influence?
Bad Snacks (01:02:23):
Well, she literally had a mentorship program under Unspeakable Records, which was a record label that she founded specifically to highlight women producers. It was a space for women and gender expansive producers to get together and get this mentorship. And it's funny because we actually only ever did a couple sessions together, but those couple of sessions were exactly what I needed at that time. And I think she really set me up on a very strong path, even just with really, it was only a couple hours worth of sessions.
Leah Roseman (01:03:07):
It's a pretty male dominated corner of the music industry.
Bad Snacks (01:03:12):
Yeah, it is. It absolutely is. Yeah.
Leah Roseman (01:03:16):
So I'm assuming you've been the recipient of some direct misogyny and maybe some that's more hidden?
Bad Snacks (01:03:23):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the whole spectrum online and my community has gotten a lot better about flagging things that are really not so great, but it happens everywhere. There are videos that I had to take down because of the kinds of attention it was receiving, where it became more about, there was one video in particular where it became way more about my body than it was about the track that I was doing. And it was so uncomfortable. And in my professional life, it still happens all the time. It, it's microaggressions things that people don't even necessarily clock. Like the most common example that I give, because it's very innocuous at first, but then you realize that it actually kind of stems from this bigger issue, is whenever I show up to my own gigs, if I have, I have a couple tour managers that kind of alternate, and one is female, one is male. And if the male tour manager comes with me, the staff will always introduce themselves to him first. Or they'll ask him, are you Bad Snacks? And then they'll ask him for the tech specs, they'll ask him for the rider, the tech rider, which is everything having to do with inputs and outputs. And he doesn't know. He doesn't know all that it's my gear. And it's like things like that.
(01:05:06):
And there's also kind of this pendulum swing aspect to it too, where there are certain opportunities that I've had to ask. There is almost a tokenization thing where I've been put on a gig where they actually didn't know my music. They didn't know anything about me, but they put me on the lineup because they wanted to fill a quota. And I also don't appreciate that. You know what I mean? It's things like that. But yeah, there's a whole spectrum of it. And basically anything under the sun that you can imagine.
Leah Roseman (01:05:45):
Well, going forward, what do you think you and other women in the space can do?
Bad Snacks (01:05:52):
Get our male friends to talk to each other, because also, I'm kind of like, it's not my responsibility. I'm doing my job. I am doing my job. I'm educated on what I'm talking about. I am very visible. People know who they can know who I am. They can know my music. I mean, look at you so many details about before this interview, which I really appreciate. But this information, it's not secret. And I think I'm happy to always have these conversations. And I was just talking about this the other night, where anybody who follows my page long enough completely understands that I am part of so many organizations that are very femme centric, gender expansive. I've done so many workshops for things like Femme House. She knows techs. They used to be Beats by Girls, but now it's called We Make Noise. I've done workshops for so many of these organizations, and it's very important to me. And at the same time, it's also about men talking to other men. And I think that's just something that I, I'm, I want to say working on, because it's like the men in my life are tremendously supportive, and I feel very, very lucky. And to take it a step further, it's like, yeah, that is kind of what needs to happen. So in the meantime, my job is to just be my best self and make a case of this is worth supporting.
Leah Roseman (01:07:36):
Yeah. Yeah. I was just thinking about when, I forget where I heard you talk about this, but I think it was, and it doesn't matter where, but there was an exercise, a creativity exercise, the roadmap exercise for deep specific listening. I think you might've got that from her. I thought that was very cool. Do you want to describe that a little bit?
Bad Snacks (01:07:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's an amazing exercise that, yeah, it was one of the first assignments that she ever gave me. But the roadmap exercise is essentially that you take a track that you wish that you had written, something that you really love, and you listen to it maybe two, three times over a 10 minute window. And in that 10 minute window, you take a pen and paper and you write down every single thing that you notice about that track everything that you can be as specific as possible about, of like, oh, I love the way that it transitions into the chorus. I love the way that the chorus is minimal, just bass drums and vocals. I love this one little screechy scratchy noise. I love the drop, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Just like these very specific things. And what you do is you take the reference song and you put it away and you promise not to listen to it for a couple of weeks, but then you look at what you just wrote and that is your roadmap to a new song.
Leah Roseman (01:08:48):
I love that for so many reasons. One of them is I think it really translates to different areas of creativity.
Bad Snacks (01:08:55):
Oh yeah, totally. Totally. Yeah. I mean, I still teach a lot. I teach a of one-on-one lessons, and it's one of the exercises that we do the most is it's active transcribing, so it's very active, interactive listening, because that's how we expand our toolbox. And then at a certain point, we have to stop listening. We have to stop listening to external influences and do what I call it like a marination period where you just kind of stew in your own creative juices for a minute and see what that yields.
Leah Roseman (01:09:34):
I'm curious if your years being a violin teacher, if that translates now into your work teaching production.
Bad Snacks (01:09:42):
Well, if you can teach a three-year-old how to hold a violin and make it make any kind of decent sound, I feel like that kind of does translate having to talk to, because for a really long time it was just kids. I was working with kids average between three and 12 years old and a lot of seven, six to eight year olds, specifically that elementary school age. And I think, if I'm being candid, violin is maybe one of the less interesting things for a child to learn in 2024, especially if it wasn't their idea, which I mean, quite honestly, a lot of the parents, they were kind of dropping their kids off for it's enhanced babysitting sometimes. Like the kid doesn't want to be there, but if you can make it interesting and if you can make it make sense and you see that kind of click go on where they're like, oh, then it's like, that's all I'm ever trying to get. And I think, yeah, that was kind of how I learned how to explain things like, yeah, if you can explain it to a 6-year-old, you can explain it to anybody. So yeah, I like to think that that translates
Leah Roseman (01:11:08):
And goal setting as well. Right.
Bad Snacks (01:11:12):
Yeah, totally. Well, I mean, it is kind of interesting because with teaching violin, it was kind of like we're always working towards the next recital. We have this end goal. We have to come up with a plan of how we're going to reach that end goal. With my production students, I think what's challenging actually is that there usually isn't an end goal. It's kind of never ending. And I think a lot of people get very overwhelmed by that because it's like, well, how am I supposed to measure my success? And is that success question again, where with violin students, every recital is a new notch, and you're hopefully moving forward and going to the next most complicated piece, recital after recital. But for a producer, I mean, the closest equivalent is finishing a project, like finishing an EP or finishing a single. And even then the process is super not linear because creativity changes. Creativity doesn't necessarily come in notches. I think we just learn how to better guide it.
Leah Roseman (01:12:24):
You mentioned EPS and singles, and I was thinking, so when Home Music was released at first, there was a sort of technical glitch on the streaming platforms, the wrong order. Yeah.
Bad Snacks (01:12:34):
Yeah. It was unfortunate.
Leah Roseman (01:12:37):
Well, I listened to it on Bandcamp, which I am a big fan of, but this whole idea of concept albums comes up with many of my guests, and one of them recently was saying how you're better off releasing singles because then you can get on different playlists in terms of that whole ecosystem. And then I was talking to a friend about it and he was saying, no, because that's ephemeral. What's going to last as the album. What do you think about that?
Bad Snacks (01:13:06):
It deeply depends on who you are and what your goals are. And I think there's a whole industry of artists where singles really work for them. And I think actually they thrive off of the ephemeral nature of it. I think it allows them to move on, which sometimes can be really hard. And there's also a marketing aspect to be made about output, which is a very unromantic way of looking at making music. But it is true for some people. And then the art of the album, it is a labor of love. And there are some artists that I know, I have this one friend who's been working on her record with her duo for eight years now, and she went to me and she was like, the goal of this is I want to make something that lasts beyond my timeline. And I thought that that was just so impactful, and it's such an artistic statement. And so I think it really depends. And in a way, I feel like I can't really speak to it too much because I actually technically haven't released what you would call an album or an LP. I've released Beat Tapes. So Beat Tapes are a collection of instrumental beats, but they're kind of conceptually, but it's not so much.
(01:14:32):
It's a collection of instrumentals that I wrote during a certain time in my life, and I'm so happy to put those out because it feels like a sonic picture of my life. And with the ep, this was my first time doing the EP format, and I still have kind of mixed feelings about it sometimes because it's like, yeah, there is a case to be made about, it's called the Waterfall Release where you release one single and then another single, and then it all kind of collects into this big ep. And I think one of the things to keep in mind is that depending on where you're at in the music industry, sometimes most of the hype really just is before the release. And it's this very counterintuitive thing that happens where as soon as it's released, there's no reason for it to be picked up.
(01:15:32):
It's this very, very confusing thing because it's like you want to build up all of this hype for something that hasn't been put out yet, and then you put it out, which is the whole point. And then there's nothing to build hype on about it's marketing something after it's been released is significantly harder for some reason. So that's something that I've always been trying to wrap my head around, but I think that's what really helps about the singles is that it's like, okay, we are releasing parts of it and it is for the longevity of the project, but then as soon as the project releases, it's a completely different story. It's very, very strange. So I would just say it's a personal preference.
Leah Roseman (01:16:10):
Yeah, it's interesting for me in this space because doing a music podcast and more people have discovered me, I'm actually booked out for all of the year, but the people are always sending me and their agents, this album's about to be released. Would you do something? Well, that doesn't work for me. Right? It's like I plan way ahead and I do these in depth interviews. It's not about just someone's new album. I mean, sometimes with guests I've already had, we'll do a little catch up with a new album release, but I can't do that all the time. So I think about this stuff, and then I often talk to people about albums they put out quite a while ago, and I think they're happy to shine a light on those projects because they did put so much of themselves into it at the time.
Bad Snacks (01:16:53):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
Leah Roseman (01:16:57):
Oh yeah, there was, speaking of your output, your neat tape 1, which I think was your first volume, that wasn't Google, if I'm right, homecoming 2018. Yeah. Yeah. I thought it might be nice to include a little bit of that too, unless you feel like it's too old.
Bad Snacks (01:17:16):
I mean, I'm always happy to shine a light on that project. I think neat tape 1, every single track on there is going to be very special to me because it was really just me figuring it out that I kind of joke with my students that every project that you release, it's getting your PhD in something or getting your master's in something. So for instance, with this EP that I just released with Home Music, I mean that really felt like getting a degree in dance music and DJing. I've just been learning so much. And neat tape one was absolutely getting my degree just in getting started. And I think when I listened back to neat tape 1, which doesn't happen very often, but when I listen back or when somebody posts it or brings attention to it, it does, it brings me a sense of pride of I can pick apart everything that I don't like about that record. But at the end of the day, it's just like I'm so proud of that work, especially with the resources that I had at the time
Leah Roseman (01:18:27):
From neat tape 1, this is a clip from, I'm not mad at that.(music)
(01:18:30):
So are you using your violin more or the same as you were when you first started doing this?
Bad Snacks (01:19:15):
I would say probably just about the same. I think the difference, one of the things that's been tricky in balancing being a violinist and a producer is sometimes I write songs where the violin's actually really not necessary. And there's a part of me that's like, man, I know it's a calling card. I know it's what gets people really excited when they come and see me live. They love the violin solos, and there's a part of me should I squeeze something in there? And then I'll try to do that. And it always sounds contrived, and so I try really not to do that. So it's really nice when songs come up. I want to be, for instance, that violin solo is one of my favorite parts of the whole EP. It is just such a moment for it to happen, and really it just happened so naturally, and I'm trying to think. Yeah, no, I think there's violin on every single track and of the EP, but there have been, for instance, I released a song called Lucky. That was kind of my introduction into more dance spaces. It was a little bit more of an upbeat tune, and that doesn't have any violin on it. And honestly, it's kind of refreshing too. It's nice to nurture the other parts of me and very much make it known that it's like, yeah, these are the other things that I do besides violin.
Leah Roseman (01:20:48):
And when you're looking for material to sample, do you have places you go to?
Bad Snacks (01:20:54):
No. I mean, sampling is the thing that I can't help. It's actually drives some of my friends nuts. I'll be in a restaurant with them and then I'll hear something, I'll be like, hold on. And then I have to hold my Shazam up to find out the name of the song or get a recording of it. My voice memos on my phone are just so deep. And then also one of my favorite things to do on the planet. It's like one of my great joys is going to a record shop and going to the discounted section and just finding these old, crazy wonky records that in a way it feels like breathing new life into 'em and giving them a second wind. And I think that's one of the beautiful things about sampling is that you're giving what was a good idea that maybe didn't get the time of day into a new recycled idea. And I don't know, some of the stuff that I find when I just pick up random records, I'm like, I never would've thought of this. I never would've heard this. It's so interesting to me. So I really love that stuff.
Leah Roseman (01:22:06):
It's funny. I just realized, of course, I did feature an electronic music artist, but he does a lot of other stuff too, Socalled, but we didn't feature that music on the episode, but we did talk about this, finding the old records and using them and just came back to me so many episodes. I was curious to know about a couple things. Maybe one thing is the festival circuit and what your aspirations are and knowledge of the international scene in Europe as well as in this North America.
Bad Snacks (01:22:35):
Yeah. I can't speak to the European scene almost at all because I've never played an electronic show in Europe. I want to so badly. But it's such an endeavor between getting visa stuff. And then right now, the issue too is just finding the right booking agent, because my booking agent does North America exclusively, and he's so great to work with, so I love working with him. So I can't speak to Europe, but in terms of North America, yeah, the festival circuit, I mean, it's new for me. I wasn't really a festival goer until I started getting booked for festivals. So it's a new culture for me, but it's been so fun, and every single time that I go to one, it makes more and more sense to me, and I get very excited. I've always been excited, but it used to be more intimidation, and now it's more like, oh, I can't wait to show the crowd this one, understanding the crowd better. Yeah, I mean, it's also just such a great, for me, it's a great way of performing and traveling because I love having the balance of a home life and also being able to travel. So doing the festival circuit is great because it's really like you fly into a city, you spend a couple days there doing the festival, and then you fly right back. And everybody's just so happy to be there. And it's such a great place to meet and connect with new fans. And yeah, I've just been having such a good time with it.
Leah Roseman (01:24:11):
And excuse my ignorance about this, but when you're doing those shows, is it all prerecorded or is there an element of improv in the moment?
Bad Snacks (01:24:20):
Well, the things that are elements of improv are, the violin solos are never the same. I definitely jam on the violin quite a bit. And the DJing, the DJ effects are improv. So I will actually go into my sessions and I will cut mixes that are specifically for the festival. So they're essentially the parts of the song that I can't play live. And then we'll throw that into either my sampler or my CDJs, which are the big DJ decks. And then, yeah, the effects change how I transition songs might change. Also, when I do hybrid DJ sets, usually I'm doing those improv. I never know what song I'm going to play next. I'm kind of just vibing with the crowd. So there are definitely improvised moments for sure. I would say that on a instrumental instrumentalist perspective, it is mostly that my violent solos are improvised.
Leah Roseman (01:25:25):
I'm glad I asked that. I was curious, and maybe to wrap things up, I was just thinking about self-reflection, and I know you're into goal setting and aspirations, and I'm guessing you probably journal.
Bad Snacks (01:25:38):
I do. I need to be a lot more disciplined about it, but typically, I actually, I journal the most when I'm on planes. Okay. Yeah.
Leah Roseman (01:25:48):
Do you worry when you travel you might lose your journal or something?
Bad Snacks (01:25:53):
No, no. I'm actually shockingly good at not losing things.
Leah Roseman (01:26:00):
No, I ask because I'm a journaler, but if I'm traveling, I'll bring a different notebook. I think if I lost that the last eight months of personal musings, I wouldn't want that to get lost.
Bad Snacks (01:26:12):
No, that's very valid. That's very valid. But yeah, I mean, I think I also, I travel so much, and also when I'm outside of my regular routine, that's when I feel the most reflective. So I think that's when I feel the most inspired to write everything down. So I actually have specific journals for every tour I've ever done.
Leah Roseman (01:26:34):
Okay.
Bad Snacks (01:26:36):
Yeah.
Leah Roseman (01:26:37):
Well, do you have any new projects coming up you want to talk about?
Bad Snacks (01:26:42):
Well, right now, right now I'm definitely chewing on the whole Home Music project, and right now we're working on trying to make it a series. So the idea is that for people who like house music and dance music, but might consider themselves maybe a little bit more on the introverted side or they get overwhelmed by club spaces, we're trying to do these things in more intimate spaces that also kind of encourages people to meet each other and hang out with new folks and just turning it into a community event. So that's, there's that where we have the festival circuit coming up. So I'm about to play a bunch of festivals. I got one in Illinois coming up at the end of this month, and then a few in Oregon and Northern California and Seattle and stuff throughout the summer, and just kind of slowly starting to piece together the next project, which is really exciting. I feel like I've learned so much in this project and just really enjoying the time for now. It feels like a very special period where it's like the project is done and now I get to just perform for a bit.
Leah Roseman (01:27:57):
Awesome. Well, thanks for making time to speak with me today. It was super interesting.
Bad Snacks (01:28:02):
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
Leah Roseman (01:28:05):
I hope you enjoyed this episode. Pleased to share this with your friends and check out episodes you may have missed@leahroseman.com. If you could buy me a coffee to support the series, that would be wonderful. The link is in the description. Have a wonderful week.
