Miguel Chen (bass) Teenage Bottlerocket
What is your name and band/label/etc?
My name is Miguel Chen and I play bass in Teenage Bottlerocket, a punk band from Wyoming. We are on Fat Wreck Chords and we love it!
What are your top five albums that were released in 2012? (In order 1-5)
- NOFX - Self Entitled
- Masked Intruder - s/t
- The Hextalls - Rock You To Sleep
- The Vindictives - Mono Flexi EP
- Toys That Kill - Fambly 42
What band did you discover in 2012 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
The Punchlines from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The whole premise is taking bad jokes and turning them into pop punk songs. For example one song will start with the verse "what did the Buddhist say to the hotdog vendor" and the chorus will be "Make me one with everything." Probably our most listened to record in the van this year.
How will you remember 2012? (In terms of music)
I will remember 2012 as TBR's best year yet. We had a new record Freak Out released in July and a ton of tour dates with so many great bands. We were lucky enough to play shows and your with NOFX, Dropkick Murphys, Smoke or Fire, Toys That Kill, Masked Intruder, Less Than Jake, Bouncing Souls and so many others!
What can we look forward to from you in 2013?
We are setting up a lot of tours for the upcoming year, both in the US and overseas. We're looking forward to coming back to a lot of our favorite countries and cities as well as travelling to some new places!
What records are you looking forward to most in 2013?
I hear Masked Intruder is working on a new record, that will rule. Also new Alkaline Trio.
Fundraising sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have made a strong impact on the ability of artists to release music. Do you think this approach is a trend, or will it continue to shape how artists produce their material?
We don't really have any personal experience with those sites so it's hard for me to say. I will say that we all love music so much that we would do just about anything to keep doing it. It seems as if kickstarter provides some bands the opportunity to keep playing and making music so that's a big plus. There is also the issue of hard work though. I think bands that really work hard can use those sites to advance their careers, but some might just be trying to skip the hard work part and use kickstarter as a short cut to success. Music is just like any other business, there aren't really any short cuts unless you're Bieber or some other hack. For the rest of us hard work is a must.
