Bad Cop
Bad Cop & Jeffrey Drag Records boss Adam Christopher Moult.
In the half year or so of waiting for a new Bad Cop album, frontman and Jeffrey Drag Records operator Adam Moult presents the premiere of an unreleased home recording from summer 2012 titled, “Ain’t from Here”. It’s one of those songs that makes you realize why you feel in love with Bad Cop from the beginning. It might re-open your eyes to the holy church of rock & roll and why it remains a necessity in all of our respective lives. It will re-invigorate your belief in the goodness of Southern rock, exhibiting an amp & alcohol addled outlet of constructive aggression that comes from a place more raw than typically heard or seen on the east & western coasts.
“Ain’t From Here” takes a classic punky turn through the vintage vinyl section of counter-culture heroes to take on the bridge & tunnel bunch. The snide chorus call of “they don’t understand, ’cause they ain’t from here, man,” rails against the yippy-class takeover of town that poses any threat to the character of Music City. Protesting against the squares with big rowdy chords and angry progressions and clamoring percussion, Bad Cop rails against the man and takes the power back while preaching the blues to the clueless. “Ain’t From Here” is an anthem for everyone anywhere that is watching their beloved communities becoming over ran with start-up junk offices, excessive influxes of luxury commuter vehicles, odd waves of evictions, and a world that conforms to the influx of out-of-town money looking to buy up the entire town. For more on this, with insights into the forthcoming Bad Cop album, stay tuned for our recent interview with Adam Moult featured right after the following debut.
Tell us everything you recall about the making of this summer 2012 unreleased beaut, “Ain’t From Here”.
This track was made with an older lineup. It features Alex Hartness on guitar, Mikey Owen on guitar, Mike Gicz on bass, and Kevin Kilpatrick on drums—all incredible musicians—check these guys out. Much love to all of them. Honestly..I have no idea why we never went forward with the track, 2012 was a crazy year…so was 2013…and 2014, ha ha…the track was written pretty randomly. We had just got off our first huge tour so we were all hyped…we got together, jammed for a while, and recorded it over the course of a couple hours. Sorta crazy it was written and recorded in one day. I’ve always loved this track, so I feel privileged to be able to show people some old b-sides I was able to make with some of Nashville’s most talented musicians.
I wrote the lyrics to this song in the height of Nashville becoming an “It- City” (hence the title “Ain’t From Here”) sort of venting a little frustration with “out of town yuppies” coming to Nashville and trying to “steal the sauce,” turning Nashville into Williamsburg part two.
…You can move to the south, buy a cowboy hat, Neil Young record, and some boots.. but you’ll never understand what it’s like to grow up in the dirty, dirty…It’s a different world. But, I think I’m beginning to ramble…
Tell us how you felt Bad Cop’s sound has progressed from the time of this home recording from 2012 to now.
Bad Cop has progressed an insane amount since this recording. So different. First off, I am now playing with new members, notably Charlie Abbott…he’s a wild man. As far as the sound, we’ve strayed away a little from the proto-punk based rock n roll, and been crafting more pop structured songs. I feel they’re more accessible, as I was in an obsessive White Album and Thank God For Mental Illness phase while working on the new stuff. It’s two totally different worlds. But I love them both. The songs and sound is ever evolving, that’s what I love about Bad Cop. It’s my split personality… I feel it’s similar to Brain Jones Town Massacre in that way. Any haters of BJM, I’m sorry, but they’re one of the greatest bands of our time.
What information can you officially/unofficially leak about the new album.
What can I leak? As Kanye would say, it’s gonna be a masterpiece ha…but seriously, it is. It’s been a work in progress since 2013. I spent from 23-26 working on this album. I put everything I had into, treating it as if it’s my last statement or piece of work.
We actually just finished with the mixes prior to me opening up this interview. It was recorded with one of my favorite producers, Chris Grainger, throughout summer 2015. It features Matt Erickson, Charlie Abbott, Alex Hartness, and some other amazing musicians. I don’t know if I can say too much more other than it’s filled with “Gemini-Syndrome”, and I am more confident in this record than any piece of art I have ever participated in.
Next in the Jeffrey Drag Records camp?
We just released a single from an incredible band called “Liqs”. Next up we got… BukuSteez, Scotty Rockwell, The Slovaks (our first UK artist), and Dan Luke and The Raid. All of those aritst have something very special about their craft, and are fascinating characters, along with being incredible artist. I can’t wait to show them to the world.
We are also starting a new division of Jeffery Drag that will be called Gemini-Eye-Records, which will primarily be focused on rap/trap/hip hop, whatever you wanna refer to it as. That should be a big move. Shout out to Cropsey for helping me mastermind Gemini-Eye…and remember these names—BukuSteez, The Slovaks, Scotty Rockwell, Dan Luke and The Raid, Liqs.
What are you absolutely ecstatic about at this moment in time?
Ummm, So many things. Life. Being (somewhat) sober and clearheaded, the Chicago music scene, THE SLOVAKS (the UK’s finest), Chris Grainger, not having to get Tidal to listen to TLOP, all the beautiful women who’ve moved to Nashville, Adam Saylaby, and taking Jeffery Drag down to South America this year, but that’s a suRprise for another time. I guess I am really ecstatic about a lot of things. 2016 has this incredible energy to it. Everything I do I base off energy and how it feels, and curating art with my best friends…feels really good right now. The energy is at an all time high. I fuckin’ love it.
What’s the greatest thing about Nashville right now?
BukuSteez. That kid is the truth. The blooming hip hop scene, Bolton’s chicken (as usual), Scotty Rockwell, and Daniel Shultz…Daniel’s technically from Bowling Green, but I just adopted him as my son, so he counts for Nashville. I could keep going, there’s so much positive energy here, but we’ll wrap on that.
Hear more from Bad Cop & more via Jeffrey Drag Records.
