teenage bottlerocket stay rad
[Photo by: Jamy Cabre]

Teenage Bottlerocket keep late drummer’s spirit in mind on new album

Teenage Bottlerocket are looking to keep it cool with their new album, Stay Rad! The band are teaming up with AP to premiere the new record.

Originally planned to be named The White Album in honor of Weezer and the Beatles, the band opted to name the album after a phrase scratched on a former crew member’s hat.

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“It was a phrase on our old tour manager’s hat, and I always thought it was funny,” guitarist Kody Templeman says. “I brought it up to Ray [Carlisle, vocalist/guitarist] because I thought it would be nice to have a silly title like ‘Total.’ He was into it, and the rest is meaningless history.”

Bassist Miguel Chen echoed this sentiment and remembers the hat fondly.

“That thing was way dirty and gross,” Chen says.

Holding references from hallucinogens to horror stories, Templeman says his favorite track acts as a history lesson on black metal.

“I had the title for ‘Creature From The Black Metal Lagoon’ kicking around for many years,” Templeman says. “It was a rip-off of ‘Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon’ by the Cramps. I love a lot of black metal, and I wanted to pay homage to it in a lighthearted way.”

Chen’s favorite track leans more sentimental and happens to be the only love song on the album.

“I wrote ‘I Never Knew’ about my wife, Lily,” Chen says. “It’s a true story. She makes my life way better.”

Despite their lighthearted nature, the album holds a deeper meaning for the band. This is the first album they’ve released (outside of 2017’s cover album Stealing The Covers) since the loss of their drummer, and Ray’s brother, Brandon.

“We definitely kept Brandon in our hearts this whole record,” Chen says. “I’d like to think he’d be pretty fucking stoked on the way Stay Rad! turned out.”

Check out the new album below.

Tracklisting

1. “You Don’t Get the Joke”
2. “Death Kart”
3. “Everything to Me”
4. “I Wanna Be a Dog”
5. “Night of the Knuckleheads”
6. “Creature from the Black Metal Lagoon”
7. “Anti-Social Mediav
8. “Wild Hair (Across My Ass)”
9. “The First Time That I Did Acid Was the Last Time That I Did Acid”
10. “I Want to Kill Clint Carlin”
11. “I’ll Kill You Tomorrow”
12. “Stupid Song”
13. “Little Kid”
14. “I Never Knew”

The album will be available for download and streaming tomorrow via Fat Wreck Chords. You can grab your copy here.

The band hit the road for a string of American and international dates later this month, with more to be announced. You can check out the dates below, and buy tickets here.

Dates:

03/27 – Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater
03/28 – Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
03/29 – Laramie, WY @ Laramie Center
03/30 – Denver, CO @ The Marquis
03/31 – Fort Collins, CO @ Hodi’s Half Note
04/18 – Cape Town, ZA @ Prison – House of Rebels
04/19 – Johannesburg, ZA @ Sundowners
04/20 – Durban, ZA @ The Winston Pub
04/22 – Nuremberg, DE @ DESI
04/23 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Musikclub
04/24 – Berlin, DE @ Cassiopeia Club
04/25 – Dortmund, DE @ Bierschinken Festival FZW
04/26 – Hannover, DE @ Mephisto
04/27 – Meerhout, Belgium @ Groezrock
04/28 – Karlsruhe, DE @ Alte Hackerei
04/29 – Milan, IT @ HT Factory
04/30 – Cordenons, IT @ ROCK TOWN
05/01 – Wels, AT @ SBAM Fest
05/21 – Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
05/22 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
05/23 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
05/24 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
05/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
05/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ Punk Rock Bowling
08/06 – London, UK @ New Cross Inn

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