THE BOMBPOPS

INTERVIEW WITH SINGER / GUITARIST POLI VAN DAM BY JOHN B. MOORE I t was close to a decade after The Bombpops formed that they finally delivered their first LP, Fear Of Missing Out. And, despite the line-up changes, the fits and the starts, the result was wildly satisfying. As a reward for their patient fans, the L.A.-based band are now quickly following up that debut with Death in Venice Beach, out on Mar. 13, 2020, via Fat Wreck Chords. It’s an equally impressive album, albeit one with darker themes.

Poli van Dam, co-singer and guitarist for The Bombpops, admits these songs came to the band pretty quickly.

“Recording Fear Of Missing Out, a couple of the songs there were older, a couple came quicker leading up to the session,” she says. “But [this time], since we had done it already, and we had the experience of recording before, we had a bit of a fire under our asses. And the excitement was there as well.”

Van Dam notes that after assembling in the recording studio this time around, everything seemed to flow better for the band.

“I wasn't as freaked out or scared,” she says. “For me, at least, it gets super overwhelming in the beginning. But we'd been through this before, and I knew we could get through it.”

The band left their native California for Colorado to record, as they did for the Fear Of Missing Out sessions, linking up with producers Chris Fogal (The Gamits) and Yotam Ben Horin (Useless ID) once again.

“With Chris Fogal and his family The result is a remarkably cohesive thing that's always on my mind. I there, they're like family to us, you album, one that doesn’t lose any never feel one hundred percent. I know?” van Dam says. “When we of The Bombpops’ fun pop punk think sharing these types of things were there recording the first time, sound, but has a cautionary tale ultimately brings people together. they were talking about having about life in its lyrics. They can relate.” kids, and this time around they had two babies. It’s like home “It is darker,” says van Dam. “We’re Surprisingly, Jen Razavi, who there. That comfort that we felt portraying that love, but also the co-founded The Bombpops with there is so important.” dark side of Los Angeles. And I was van Dam, came up with equally also going through a bit of a thing dark lyrical material for her songs, It was within that family atmoat the time. Looking back at all the despite never discussing the consphere that the band felt secure songs, it totally makes sense. I was tent with her partner in crime. enough to tweak the music they’d drinking too much, and being despend the last year working on. pressed, and dealing with anxiety. Both chalk it up to coincidence. It's a trip listening to that. It's real, That, and the fact that Razavi “I think that any human being has and it definitely has this theme. had been re-watching movies by those moments, especially as an You can feel this uneasiness.” David Lynch that frame L.A. in an artist,” says van Dam. “Where you ominous light. think you're married to your song, In one of those songs, “Double Arand you’re a little unsure about rows Down,” van Dam describes liv“Jen and I are so close, and we go taking suggestions. It's so huming with Type 1 diabetes, a struggle through a lot of the same stuff,” bling, but it's not like you're comshe has dealt with since being divan Dam says. “I don't want to pletely changing the songs, it's just agnosed at the age of 16. In particspeak for her, but I struggle with adding that sparkle, the arrangeular, she talks about a seizure she anxiety, and this is the way I chanment that it needed. At the end had on tour in the fall of 2018, an nel it. And Jen is channeling these of the day, it's our choice whethincident that could have killed her. movies in a lot of her lyrics, which er or not we want to make those I think is really cool. We both love changes. In the end, everyone just “Before now, I've never written a Los Angeles and we love where cares so much, so we're throwing song about being diabetic and we are, and I think we're in the out ideas, but it can get to be a lot what that entails,” she says. “Diabesame vibe. We're best friends and when there's six people in a room tes is something that I have to deal we spend a lot of time together.” and everyone has their opinion.” with every fucking day. It's some�� �� ��

Pop punk four-piece The Bombpops started in San Diego, are based in Los Angeles, and are signed to Fat Wreck Chords—the indie punk rock stalwart label that practically defined California pop punk music from the ’90s and beyond.

For a band weaned on Blink-182–hometown heroes to The Bombpops—and a slew of Fat Wreck bands, the marriage seems ideal.

“A lot of people just assume I had an older brother who introduced me to punk rock,” says Jen Razavi, singer, guitarist, and co-founder of the Bombpops. “And I do have an older brother, but he listened to bands like Tool and Nine Inch Nails. So, I kind of had to figure it out on my own.”

In 1997, Razavi’s main source of music came from listening to the radio, and at one point, she asked a friend why she liked bands like Green Day and Blink 182 and not the standard Top 40 pop music fare.

“And [that friend] said, ‘Well, you like punk.’ And

I thought that was the coolest thing ever, saying ‘I like punk!’ But I do remember going to school and telling someone that, and they definitely corrected me and said, ‘You like pop punk,” Razavi says.

When she eventually met up with a 14-yearold Poli van Dam at a shared live music space, they started hanging out. At the time, van Dam was also a Blink 182 fan—a shared punk rock gateway drug. But the older Razavi would go on to introduce her new friend to a slew of other California punk bands.

“Jen introduced me to a whole lot of new music. All the Fat Wreck Chords bands,” says van Dam. “I remember driving around in a car with her listening to Millencolin for the first time. My dad would play bands like The Ramones and Violent Femmes for me, but Jen introduced me to bands like No Use For A Name and NOFX.”