Jen Razavi just got new tires all around. A little steel was beginning to show, she says, in the treads on the last set. “They’re awesome,” she says. “Hopefully the new ones will last.” A good thing, considering the road miles ahead: in October, as part of an extended road trip, she and her band mates in the Bombpops will drive to Cleveland and Pennsylvania to play two shows with their idols, NOFX and Anti Flag. “Then, we’re going on a huge U.S. tour,” she says. “When we come back, our homecoming show will be November 6 at the Metaphor Café. That’s gonna be our record release and our come-home show.”
The Bombpops EP Like I Care is scheduled for release on October 4, and as such is the north county band’s debut on Red Scare Industries, a Chicago based punk label. “They’re home to a lot of really good bands out right now like Teenage Bottlerocket, the Menzingers, Cobra Skulls, and the Copyrights, all of our favorite bands,” Razavi says. “It was actually a pretty good deal for all of us.”
The Bombpops have a little of that Go Gos thing going on, only in this case, the sound is harder and faster. The melodic hooks are all in place but with much less of a pop radio feel. Razavi and Poli Van Dam play guitars, sing, and write the band’s music. The all-guy rhythm section consists of recent addition Neil Wayne on bass, and drummer Dylan Wade. “A lot of our influence comes from late ‘90s Southern California skate punk. Bands like Fat Wreck Chords, No Use For A Name, that’s definitely the kind of style we’re going for.”
But, a homecoming gig at the Metaphor Café in downtown Escondido? The Bombpops are seasoned veterans of hometown rocker clubs like the Shakedown in Point Loma and the Casbah. The Metaphor, it turns out, is an eclectic all-ages neighborhood coffee shop and hardly seems the place for the Bombpop’s heavy artillery two-guitar front played through a wall of Marshall amps. “Yeah,” Razavi laughs. “We’ve got two stacks and a big old bass rig and a drum set, so it is a really loud thing we’ve got going on.” But she disagrees about the venue fit. “We kind of grew up at the Metaphor, playing shows there. I know that it’s a favorite place to play for a lot of bands in San Diego.” She points out that the Metaphor has a big glass window, this said perhaps in deference to patrons who prefer less volume. “Even if you don’t go inside, you can still watch the show from the outside, which is kinda funny.”
Jen Razavi just got new tires all around. A little steel was beginning to show, she says, in the treads on the last set. “They’re awesome,” she says. “Hopefully the new ones will last.” A good thing, considering the road miles ahead: in October, as part of an extended road trip, she and her band mates in the Bombpops will drive to Cleveland and Pennsylvania to play two shows with their idols, NOFX and Anti Flag. “Then, we’re going on a huge U.S. tour,” she says. “When we come back, our homecoming show will be November 6 at the Metaphor Café. That’s gonna be our record release and our come-home show.”
The Bombpops EP Like I Care is scheduled for release on October 4, and as such is the north county band’s debut on Red Scare Industries, a Chicago based punk label. “They’re home to a lot of really good bands out right now like Teenage Bottlerocket, the Menzingers, Cobra Skulls, and the Copyrights, all of our favorite bands,” Razavi says. “It was actually a pretty good deal for all of us.”
The Bombpops have a little of that Go Gos thing going on, only in this case, the sound is harder and faster. The melodic hooks are all in place but with much less of a pop radio feel. Razavi and Poli Van Dam play guitars, sing, and write the band’s music. The all-guy rhythm section consists of recent addition Neil Wayne on bass, and drummer Dylan Wade. “A lot of our influence comes from late ‘90s Southern California skate punk. Bands like Fat Wreck Chords, No Use For A Name, that’s definitely the kind of style we’re going for.”
But, a homecoming gig at the Metaphor Café in downtown Escondido? The Bombpops are seasoned veterans of hometown rocker clubs like the Shakedown in Point Loma and the Casbah. The Metaphor, it turns out, is an eclectic all-ages neighborhood coffee shop and hardly seems the place for the Bombpop’s heavy artillery two-guitar front played through a wall of Marshall amps. “Yeah,” Razavi laughs. “We’ve got two stacks and a big old bass rig and a drum set, so it is a really loud thing we’ve got going on.” But she disagrees about the venue fit. “We kind of grew up at the Metaphor, playing shows there. I know that it’s a favorite place to play for a lot of bands in San Diego.” She points out that the Metaphor has a big glass window, this said perhaps in deference to patrons who prefer less volume. “Even if you don’t go inside, you can still watch the show from the outside, which is kinda funny.”