Bad City was a five-piece

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

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. They were signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in 2010. The band released their debut album '' Welcome to the Wasteland'', produced by

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominated producer

Johnny K John Karkazis, better known as Johnny K, is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, musician, and songwriter. He owns Groovemaster Recording Studios in Chicago. In addition to the studios, his music complex includes a gymnasium, rehears ...

, on August 24, 2010.

History

While technically formed in early 2010, the evolution of the group began in 2008 when Chicago-based band

Powerspace Powerspace was a four-piece power pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They were signed to Fueled by Ramen. The band released their debut album, ''The Kicks of Passion'' produced by Marc McClusky, on July 31, 2007. History The band first began perfor ...

, including members Kevin Kane and Tom Schleiter, recruited Chicago natives Max Perenchio and Jake Serek as touring musicians. Just before the breakup of Powerspace, Perenchio and Schleiter began writing songs together for a new project.

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

vocalist Josh Caddy soon finalized the lineup which became known as Bad City. The band takes its name from its experiences writing and recording the album in an unfavorable neighborhood in the west side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Explained in an interview, "We were chased by gangs, constantly harassed by the dead-looking street people, even the kids out there are nasty. Don’t get me wrong, I love the city, but it is a bad city." After completion of their debut album, the band gained the attention of

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

of the

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Art, ...

. Describing the band as a "super fresh take on the Rock", Corgan invited the band onto the

2010 Summer Rock 'n' Roll Party tour. In August 2010,

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

frontman

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...

noticed the band's song "Call Paul Stanley" and further endorsed the band, calling their album "an absolute knockout and the best album I've heard in ages. A killer, cohesive album of great rock and bombastic production that has been sorely missing. Every track is a winner and Bad City raises the bar out of most band's reach. It's really that good". After a midwest tour with

Hinder Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...

, the band continued supporting "Welcome to the Wasteland" on another tour with

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

, followed by Canadian and West Coast shows with

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

. Bad City performed the theme song, "Fight as One", for the

Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American show business, entertainment company (law), company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York (state), New York, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment ...

animated television series, '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. In June 2011, vocalist Josh Caddy left the band. He was replaced on tour by former Powerspace vocalist, Alec Cyganowski. Bad City Performed on the inaugural "KISS KRUISE" in October 2011 aboard the Carnival Destiny. Strangely enough, the band did not perform their hit "Take Me For A Ride". In December 2011, Bad City played a farewell show in Chicago. Currently, guitar player Tom Schleiter is living in L.A., successfully producing, writing, and mixing music at his studio: STUDIO AMERICA under the pseudonym 'Tommy English'. Drummer Kevin Kane is pursuing his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at The University at Buffalo. Jake Serek plays in a band called The Gold Web. Max Perenchio died in a single-vehicle car crash on 26 November 2020, aged 33.

Musical Style

Bad City is praised for its anachronistic mixture of various rock genres including 70s

and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

inspired hard rock, ambitious 90s alternative rock such as

and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

, 80s-style sleaze metal, 2000-era riff-rock oriented bands such as

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...

, and power pop a la

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

. Regarding influences, Caddy said, "We took influences from all our favorite bands which happen to be from different decades, modernized it and brought it to a new level." Upon the release of '' Welcome to the Wasteland'' many critics pinned the band as

hair metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from hair follicle, follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick ter ...

, Perenchio responded, "I think it’s a semantic issue. I think people hear harmonized guitar solos, big hooks, and gang vocals and quickly assume Hair Metal for convenience sake. It's just a label, it's not a big deal. When I think of Hair Metal I think of a very cookie-cutter period that lifted the aesthetic value of Ratt’s Out of the Cellar and drove it into the depths of decadence. I don’t really associate Bad City with that, and our hair isn’t nearly big enough."

Members

*Josh Caddy - Lead Vocals *Tom Schleiter - Guitar *Kevin Kane - Drums *Jake Serek - Bass *Max Perenchio - Guitar

Discography

Albums

*2010: '' Welcome to the Wasteland'' (release date: Tuesday, August 24, 2010)(album) U.S. No. 182

References

External links

*
Bad City on atlanticrecords.com
{{Authority control Atlantic Records artists Hard rock musical groups from Illinois Musical groups from Chicago Musical groups disestablished in 2011