Interview: Know Your NYC Bands with Bugs in the Dark

BeatCrave is stoked to bring you art-rock band, Bugs in the Dark, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. This Brooklyn punk band is taking NYC by storm with their throwback style to the 90s (when there was actually honest music). Karen Rockower (vox/guitar), Zach Glass (vox/guitar), and Zeph Courtney (drums) have revived the DIY sound and it’s never sounded so good (at least in this millennium). The hype is all true, kids. Bugs in the Dark is making that grimey but empowering roar in their music to give us hope again. Rockower’s vocals could easily be mistaken for Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O when their lyrics are relayed through a megaphone in “Gasoline,” and the lengthy intro in “Ave M” punches you in the gut telling it to tell your brain something great is coming your way.

Want to see them live? Their next show is on February 19th at Cake Shop. A good venue with a good band will probably produce a good crowd… which means you should make sure you get there early to get a good view. We hear their performances have been “fuck yeah” inducing. Until then, check out our exclusive interview with vocalist, Karen Rockower, below!

You guys have been compared to the greats: Sonic Youth, Pixies, Sleater-Kinney, and more. What do you think of this?

It’s fantastic to be compared to people we love. Look, we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here. Basically, all we know how to do is make music that we like. Music that we would want to listen to. If we accomplish our goal, we’re displaying who we like through our own filter. Ideally you should hear who our influences are but with our own voice. The coolest thing is when we see people from bands we love in the audience.

Where does your name, Bugs in the Dark, come from?

It’s funny how a name develops more meanings the longer you have it -like a tattoo does. The thing I think of most is childhood fears. I was terrified of bugs in the dark. Then when starting this band, we talked about it being a “shot in the dark”, something we had to do regardless of the seemingly impossible success. It’s also because it’s hard not to feel like a little pest as a NYC band. Especially when you’re first starting out. There is an unavoidable feeling of the city being “infested” with bands, artists, and actors all trying to make it into the light just like you are – another bug in the dark.

Many current co-ed bands slip into the shoegaze genre. Why do you think this is?

Hmmm. I never thought about it that way. So many of the co-ed bands we are inspired by seemed to avoid that. We’re all big fans of X and they couldn’t be further away from shoegaze. I would say the same about Blonde Redhead, The Pixies and Sonic Youth.

What’s the secret to paying homage to your influences without sounding like a copycat?

The creative process is a fragile beast. If you think about pleasing an audience or making money while you’re writing, you’re doomed to sound manufactured. I believe it’s all about being genuine. You have to tap into a very honest place and let go of your censor.

How did you all meet?

Zach and I met in 2000 working backstage at a theatre in the East Village. I ran a showcase for poets and musicians and Zach became a poet who read every week and I was hashing out songs. We started playing music together and eventually we decided to start a band. We met Julia (our original drummer) through an old friend. When we formed Bugs in the Dark we gave ourselves 3 weeks to write a set. It was all so frantic but we were completely aligned. It was like falling in love. We used to be able to rehearse in our apartment (which is unheard of in Brooklyn). So we rehearsed all the time. Before we knew it, we played a show and luckily, the momentum hasn’t stopped.

This past May our drummer, Julia, had to move to LA and she couldn’t keep playing with us. It was so sad to lose her because it wasn’t like there was some blowout or something. It was just circumstance. She wanted us to keep it going and supported us finding another drummer. We spent a long time searching and found Zeph Courtney. We also wouldn’t be where we are without our producer, Mark Turrigiano. Sometimes he plays bass with us, which is always fun. He’s a surrogate band member.

Brooklyn is constantly churning out great bands. Why does Brooklyn seem to be the center of all this creativity?

Living in NYC is so stimulating, stressful, inspiring and exhausting. Many people have jobs in Manhattan but live in Brooklyn and they think of Brooklyn as their place to decompress. You can run around Manhattan all day and come back to Brooklyn, sit in a bar or on your couch and write about it all.
There’s also SO much music. A lot of good stuff and lots of bad stuff. If you’re going to write, you are determined to be good. The competition boosts your work ethic.

The term, “art rock,” always pops up in a description about you guys. What is your definition of “art rock?”

We’ve always considered ourselves a punk band, but the term punk has gotten so muddled and confused, who knows what that means anymore. Art rock is still open to interpretation. I think of it as an artistic evolution of rock.

Did you guys always know you were to going to become an experimental band?

Yes. We’ve always steered away from the obvious. Not that we don’t like pop. We like anything that’s done well. Before the band started, Zach and I had just read a book called Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad. That book really inspired they way we wrote and promoted our band.

How long did it take to make your video for “Gasoline?”

One day! My brother, Kevin, made the video. It was his first music video and he wanted to make it in one day without spending any money. It was so much fun to shoot that video. I can’t wait to do another one with him.

Which bands currently influence you guys right now?

O’ Death, Animal Collective, Jesus Lizard, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Walkmen, Santogold, Schwervon, Medic Medic, Aunt Dracula, Joanna Newsom, The Fall, MIA, Velvet Underground…We saw a great band last night called Appomattox. I could go on and on.

Quick-Fire Round:
What is your favorite place to play a show in NYC?

In Manhattan it’s Cake Shop. It has the best vibe. Brooklyn is totally different. We love Southpaw, Glasslands and Vanishing Point.

When’s the last time you got black-out drunk?

I’m impressed that hasn’t happened. If it did, I don’t remember it. Zach got very drunk on his last birthday. I got embarrassingly drunk on tour when we were playing with our dear friends, Medic Medic, in Pittsburgh. I felt great until I woke up.

What’s the best hangover food?

An apple. Zach would say bacon, egg and cheese.

When people start getting naked at your shows, what’s the first thought that comes to your mind?

It’s working! We’ve had a few shirtless mosh pits. It’s fun. I have a chipped tooth from a guy crashing into my microphone.

Tell us one thing about yourself we probably don’t already know.

We just adopted a rescue dog named Trolley.

Photography by Jim Gentry