''It Ain't for You'',

The Badlees The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

debut EP, was recorded in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and mixed by

Bret Alexander The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

back at Susquehanna Sound in

Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania Selinsgrove is the largest borough in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population is estimated to be 5,761 for the 2020 Census. Selinsgrove is geographically located in the middle of the Susquehanna River Valley in Central Penns ...

. It was Alexander's debut as a producer and it featured four, well-crafted, catchy, and energetic songs, each of which could stand alone well as a bar room anthem.

Background

derived from the band

Bad Lee White The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

, which put out the album ''What Goes Around'' in 1988. Soon after there were several shifts within the band, including the addition of

Pete Palladino The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

as lead vocalist, with the former lead vocalist,

Jeff Feltenberger The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

stepping back to provide harmonies and rhythm guitar. On October 10, 1990, the band released the EP, which carried the deceptive title of ''It Ain’t for You''. Put in context, the title was actually derived from the more meaningful elder-to-younger monologue of the opening song of the same name; "…It’s too late for me, but it ain’t for you". The title song starts with a driving acoustic riff by Jeff Feltenberger and gradually builds with Alexander's layered guitars and the precision rhythm of drummer

Ron Simasek The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

and interim bass player Ric Stehman, filling in for Steve Feltenberger, who was now in the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. The first song also contains an excellent coda crescendo with vocal interplay between lead-singer Palladino and Feltenberger's background high harmonies. Another entertaining song is the closing number, a country-rock-ish, she-done-me-wrong song entitled "The Best Damn Things In Live Are Free". "Last Great Act of Defiance", co-written by Alexander and

Mike Naydock The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

, is perhaps the album's best song. It has an eighties-era Springsteen quality about it with a strong, storytelling lyric and precise, rockin' guitar riffs.

Terry Selders The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

, at the time working at Bassment Records in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, acted as the de facto manager of the band from afar and put out ''It Ain't For You'' on his newly formed independent label,

Rite-Off Records The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

. The cover of the album, taken by

, was a shot of an abandoned lot across the street from Terry's apartment building on Christopher Columbus Drive in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Pete Palladino The Badlees are an American roots rock band from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania formed in 1990. They released several independent albums and achieved national success with their 1995 album '' River Songs''. In 1998, after recording a follow-up album, ...

– Lead vocals *

– Guitars, keys *

– Guitars, vocals * Ric Stehman – Bass *

– Drums, percussion ;Production *

– Producer, engineer *

- Executive producer * Greg Frey - Engineer at Waterfront Recording * Gary Greyhosky - Engineer at The Production Block *

- Cover photo * Ken Madsen - Group photo

References

Modern Rock Review Badlees Profile, October 10, 2010The Badlees Archives by Alan K. Stout
*"The Badlees" by Nigel Tuffnel, ''Pennsylvania Musician'' Vol. IX #10 (p17), October 1990 *"Susquehanna Valley" by Keith Hummel, ''Pennsylvania Musician'' Vol.X #2 (p. 19), February 1991 *"Badlees Members Stick to Hard-Driving Sound" by Jennifer Danner, ''Harrisburg Patriot News'' (p.F8), February 17, 1991 {{The Badlees 1990 debut EPs The Badlees albums