Grunge punks Bummer talk signing with High Dive and their upcoming EP

Kansas City’s Bummer puts out an insane amount of volume for being just three dudes. The grunge punk trio has become known for short sets which pack hooks and volume in equal measure. It’s that mix which makes their sludgy rock appealing to more than just guys who smoke dope and listen to Kyuss, and a likely factor in their recent signing to area label High Dive Records.

High Dive will release Bummer’s next EP, Spank, digitally and on 10-inch vinyl come next March, but we wanted to get the details now. We spoke with the band’s Matt Perrin (guitar/vocals) and Mike Gustafson (bass) about their signing, and what we can expect when Spank comes out next year.

The Pitch: How did you end up on High Dive?

Matt Perrin: Kyle [Rausch] from Shy Boys actually talked to us a while back at Middle of the Map Fest last year about potentially releasing our new stuff on High Dive. Fast forward a couple months and we ended up talking to Jeff McCoy about it, he loved the idea and now here we are.

Mike Gustafson: We wanted to do a physical release and Jeff was really into doing vinyl.

Why an EP, rather than a full-length?

Perrin: Because we’re poor and didn’t have enough money to record a full length. We originally planned to do four songs, but since we knocked out those four in the studio, Justin Mantooth – the guy who co-produced and engineered our record – gave us a deal to record two more.

Gustafson: We didn’t have enough songs or enough cash to record a full length. We’re wanting to do a full length for the next release.

What’s up with the one-word album titles? Is this to make shit mysterious?

Gustafson: I have no idea why we do one-worded album titles. It just happens. The only EP that doesn’t have a one worded title is Young Ben Franklin. I always gave Matt crap about looking like a teenage Ben Franklin so that’s how we came up with that one. We called our second EP Milk because Matt is obsessed with drinking the shit. We decided to call our new EP Spank because spanking butts is fun.

What do you think a physical release with Spank will offer over a strictly digital one, like with Milk?

Perrin: Music is a lot different when you get to physically hold it in your hands. Nothing beats getting a record, opening it up, and looking at the inserts and other little shit people like to throw in those things. Anyone can listen to the tracks, but having all the tiny obscure stuff is what, personally – in my own opinion – makes having a physical copy so rewarding. I hope that when someone picks up our 10-inch, they just get excited to say they have it in their collection.

Gustafson: Digital is always nice because it’s a great way to share music, but I feel like people actually want to have records, CDs, cassettes, whatever from the bands they dig. We didn’t have merch for the first year and a half or so. Enough people started bothering us about it so we decided to put some out. We’ve never been on vinyl before so we’re all pretty excited about it. Hopefully people will dig it.

Is there anything new on this recording to expect, given your first releases came pretty soon after forming?

Gustafson: We recorded four new-ish songs (they’re old to us now) and two songs off of Milk. The new EP was recorded live and Justin really knew what we were going for on this one. We wanted it to be pretty damn noisy, have a bunch of low end, and have it be as aggressive sounding as we could.

Perrin: We wanted a fuller sound that replicated our live shows more, and I feel like we achieved that recording at Westend Studios. Whole lotta beef.

What plans do you have to celebrate the release — publicly, that is? I imagine privately will involve fun best not mentioned in writing.

Perrin: We’re still getting all of that in the works at the moment, but we know for sure we’ll be having some record release shows. Definitely one at Mills because we love Judy, and playing on her new stage is fun as hell. There will probably be a second at another venue, but like I said before, we’re still working out all those kinks.

Gustafson: We’re for sure doing a release show out at Mills [Record Co. in Westport].

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=290709965/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/

Bummer’s Spank EP will be out on High Dive Records in March, but you can catch some of that newness live when they play New Year’s Eve at the Riot Room with Radkey, Drop A Grand, Mace Batons, and Scruffy and the Janitors. Details are available here.