Bad Bad Hats is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band consists of Kerry Alexander, Chris Hoge, and Connor Davison. Named for a trouble-making character from the Madeline children’s books, Bad Bad Hats is defined by a balance of sweet and sour. Their music honors classic pop songwriting, with nods to nineties rock simplicity and pop-punk frivolity. Through it all, Alexander’s unflinchingly sincere lyrics cut to the emotional heart of things.
Alexander and Hoge met while attending Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In 2012, they formed Bad Bad Hats with friend and bassist Noah Boswell, and began performing around the Twin Cities. That same year, they were signed by Minneapolis label Afternoon Records.
Their 2015 debut album “Psychic Reader” caught the attention of outlets including The New Yorker, NPR, Pitchfork, and Paste. Since the release of “Psychic Reader,” Bad Bad Hats has toured the U.S. extensively, supporting artists including Margaret Glaspy, Hippo Campus, and Third Eye Blind.
“Lightning Round,” the band’s second full-length album, finds Bad Bad Hats more confident and mature than ever. Producer and collaborator Brett Bullion (who also produced “Psychic Reader”) encouraged the group to record live in the studio, an approach which pushed the band outside of their comfort zone and lends many songs on the record a loose, organic feel. There is a vulnerability in this (fluttering tape loops, a few wrong notes) and it makes the music on the new album feel as honest and unpredictable as Alexander’s lyrics. In this spontaneous environment, Hoge, who is known to play every instrument in the band, delivers some of his most inspired musical performances yet. As for Alexander, she’s still writing love songs, ones that recount with cinematic swell the subtle joy and pain of the everyday. Her vocals are supported by open, breathing arrangements that feature lush keyboard sounds and woody guitar tones. Davison was recruited to play drums on the album and became a full-time member in the process. His drumming and melodic contributions give the new songs a level of nuance not heard in previous releases. From November 2021 here is Bad Bad Hats live at The Linda.
Eric Margan began formal music training on the flute and thereafter began experimenting musically with on the guitar, piano and bass on his own time and in his own way. At 14 he formed his first band, a three-piece rock group in which he was co-writer, bassist and singer. Margan also played bass in a number of jazz ensembles and combos throughout his high school years until he entered The College of St. Rose on full scholarship majoring in Music Industry. It was then and there he focused on his passion of songwriting and recording. He also earned top academic honors, studied and mastered the double bass, continued playing flute the bass guitar the piano, singing and playing in bands. Eric really kind of plays everything. His time spent on the double bass performing in classical chamber orchestras and chamber ensembles became for Margan part of the sound construction that he would become uniquely known for: the indie chamber rock sound. A master of orchestration and a gifted writer of poetry Margan is now writing sophisticated and engaging songs, orchestrating each with a unique combination of sounds and breathing life into each with his inspired and sensitive lyrics. The centerpiece for all of his music is his band The Red Lions, for which he is the front man. Margan often quotes Duke Ellington, “my orchestra is my instrument.” From the vault c. 2009, here is Eric Margan and The Red Lions live at The Linda.
In early 2015, house music dj and dance music producer Jennifer Maher Coleman (DJ Jennifer Haley) and indie rocker Paul Coleman (Mount Mole, Sinkcharmer, Beaked Whale, The Operators) combined their aliases and their musical sensibilities to form Haley Moley. Moody synth and guitar rock over electronic beats ultimately blossomed into a full-on five-piece with the welcome addition of Andrea Kosek (aka DJ Goldeedust, keyboards) Pat Thorpe (of DJ duo Partyhorn, bass guitar) and Mike Broomhead (also of Partyhorn, drums.) With a high concentration of electronic, funk, and disco dj’s on board as well as decades of rock experience steeped in atmospheric, dirty guitars, Haley Moley delivers a complex amalgam echoing these disparate roots and emerges refreshingly uncategorizable. This is Haley Moley live at The Linda.
Thanks for sticking with us this week. Join us next week as we travel back in time, listening to the sounds from distant past with Jerry Gretzinger 2011, The Waterboys 2013, and Jimmy Webb 2011. For more information about The Linda or any upcoming events follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or visit thelinda.org.
