“Waiting For So Long” is the new EP from Southwest Florida Ska-Punk band, Bargain Bin Heroes. They signed to Havoc Underground for this release, and they plan to follow it with strings of shows throughout Florida and the South East.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Bargain Bin Heroes, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hello this is Eric (Bass/vocals) For me music was always in the house. My mom would put on old Beatles, The Who, The Kinks,etc, so it was always there. But it was around 15 or 16 years old when a friend first turned me on to “Punk Rock” that made me want to pick up an instrument and learn to play. It was the popular bands at first, of course, Rancid ,Green Day, NOFX. But when I heard them, it was just something I could relate to right away, and even though it was fast and loud, the melodies reminded me of music I heard when I was younger.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
Eric (Bass/vocals) - It's tough for sure but we all make it work. As a band we try and be very understanding of everyone’s personal life. The biggest part of any band is communicating, if some one has weekends they can’t play a show because of work, family, etc. that is fine we just let each other know and a band calendar helps a lot with that.
Your latest release is 'Waiting For So Long'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Eric (Bass/vocals) - The title kind of came about in two ways, one is a line in one of the songs. And the other is just it took us a bit to make this EP, we had started just before the Covid outbreak so that held things up a bit and then just some personal things got in the way, but we are very happy with how it turned out so even though it took a while it was worth it.
Where did you get the inspiration for this EP?
Eric (Bass/vocals) - Just life I guess? You think as you get older, things are gonna calm down but they don’t really do they? I mean you may not question your self as much anymore, but still questioning the world, life, love, and loss become even more prevalent as you get older.
How long did you work on the 'Waiting For So Long'? Was it an easy process for you?
Eric (Bass/vocals) I've been in a lot of bands in my time. And grateful for each and everyone of them. But I do feel with BBH, We are always on the same page when it comes to writing songs. With playing as a band together for so long, you start to know what the next person is going to do and at same time we find ways to push each other, that way we're not writing the same song for each release.
How do you know when a work is finished?
Eric (Bass/vocals) - I think it was when our engineer(Stew) said “that’s it we’re done” lol j/k. I mean it’s hard to say, we’ve spent quite a bit of time on this one. And we’re happy we did. You got to be careful not to over do it though or you’ll never release anything. I think you just get to a point where you know as a musician and within the band you can be happy and proud of it.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
Eric (Bass/vocals) - Well there’s been lots of great shows/performances over the years, lots that we're fortunate to play a lot of great events in the area. Pink it up, Florida Underground Fest, 239 fest, The Annual pizza party at the Brass Mug (Tampa ) is always a great time. It’s really hard to pick one, we try and make each show memorable.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
Eric (Bass/vocals) - I’m pretty greatful for the support Bargain Bin Heroes receives. Things have definitely changed over the years though, some aspects of social media are beneficial to bands. I feel it’s a little easier to get going and network now a days, but the idea of getting huge and getting the million dollar record deal seems to be a thing of the past, but really I’m ok with that.
Who is your favourite musician?
Eric (Bass/vocals) - Oh gosh that’s a tough one.
Always been a fan of Joe Strummer (The Clash) and I feel Tim Armstrong (Rancid) has always had a bit of influence on my style.
I know there’s others but yeah those two for sure.
What are your plans for the future?
Eric (Bass/vocals) Just to keep playing and writing music with All my friends :)