DS Interview: Stacey, Myra, and Alex of Bad Cop Bad Cop

After a decade and a half, Bad Cop Bad Cop just keep getting better. With a refreshed lineup and record label, it’s obvious that their connection has only grown stronger. I got to catch up with the girls, minus Linh Le, for a candid conversation about changes, growth, chemistry, and why this chapter has felt like one of their realest yet.

Dying Scene (Spike): I just want to say thank you for all that you guys do, especially for women in punk. I’m a huge fan of everything you guys do. One of that being Bad Cop Bad Cop’s album from this year “Lighten Up”. What was the recording process of this album like?

Stacey Dee: Everything was different this time. Over the last couple years we recorded in ways that were kind of uncomfortable and separated. This time we actually played these songs together and we recorded all the music together. We really spent a lot of time on this record together instead of being apart, which is just a way cooler way to make a record.

Myra Gallarza: Yeah, this time we actually got to play our songs and work on them together before we went into the studio. Where before, we would just go in the studio and we’d be separated. It was like, I would play on something I just heard and then try to make sense of it and stuff, you know. So this is the best record we’ve done in a really long time because we got to do it together. 

What does that have to do with the switch from Fat Wreck to Hopeless Records?

Stacey: Well I will say this. Fat Mike would always produce if I want him to. I know he just retired, he’s a great friend of mine. I love him, but for the first time I didn’t want his opinions. This time I was like “I can’t give a fuck about what anybody else thinks of is, and wants to tear it apart. This is us.” I fucking really doubled down on, and we all did, on how this was going to sound, and this was fucking us. It wasn’t produced in a way where we had to change who we were. And that’s why this record is really fucking great.

What have you learned throughout the process of this release?

Stacey: This was a big change for us because we lost a lot of our production from years before, and a member. Then we gained Alex (Nicole Windsor), who was just so educated in music, and went to school for it. So there was a lot that she brought to the table in terms of structure and the way the things should go, or the wonderful ways that music works. It’s like, “you could do this, though, too, because it totally goes.” And it’s like “I never knew that”, you know?

Alex Nicole Windsor: Jumping into the band was so fun and exciting because I was a fan before I was friends with them and in the band. It’s a full circle moment for me to be able to jump in. I’ve always loved the harmonies and the songwriting and I’ve felt like being able to jump in and then add little bits here and there with guitar playing and the solos, the leads, and some of the songwriting stuff. Being able to bring my piece to it and that contribution felt like, for me, it felt very complete. It felt like we came together and we became this whole new thing that was, to me, like in “Captain Planet” when the rings all come together, it’s kind of like that. I mean, just the chemistry.

Stacey: Yeah, the way that we got to do this record together instead of apart was what made this record great. straight up. It sounds like us and it’s what our band sounds like. Myra was great on this record. She was like, “Take no fucking prisoners, I want to get through this day!”. And you did.

Myra: I’ll tell you, there was one song I swear to god I did 20 times… because some people couldn’t get their parts right. But that’s alright.

Stacey: Was that me?

Myra: Part of it was you, yes.

Alex: Something that was different too, like they said, in the past all these pieces would be taken and then put together and the record would come together in the end, whereas we kind of fleshed out the song ideas way before we got into the studio. So we knew what we wanted to do. And that allowed us to open up the time we were spending in the studio to have fun and add little bits and pieces of magic here and there, as opposed to like, “oh, let’s just figure out what we’re doing and hope we’re happy with it.” It’s like we know we want to do, now how do we make it fun, how do we have fun, and how do we add to it? How do we capture the magic of the songs? That’s really what it came down to.

You definitely did, we can definitely feel that when we listen to it. I think a huge theme of this record is self-acceptance and self-love. Can you telll me a little bit about your guys’ personal journey towards that?

Myra: This record is defintley about wellness. I mean we’ve always done records that are like, back in the day, breakups and silly things like partying and all that stuff. Then we got a little more political for a bit, we always are, but this record was more about wellness and all the things that the majority of us have been through. All lived experiences for sure. Whatever we write about is always referring to a life experience.

Alex: When it comes to the acceptance and the love and all that stuff, where we’re at in the world, alongside with who we are and where we’re at as people, it was just the right time for us to put a record out that reflected how we feel about everything, how we feel about ourselves, how we feel about the state of things, and how radical it can be to love yourself. Punk has always been kind of synonymous with anger and like masculinity, but we think that there’s something really punk rock about finding joy, finding strength in vulnerability, and being honest with yourself.

Stacey: Honestly, the anger and all that hostility comes from the side that we don’t want anything to do with, you know what I mean? So like being fucking empathetic to the point of saying, look, these are my faults. This is my shit and what made me crazy, wild and weird. I hope you’re okay, too. I want to connect with you. I don’t want you to go throw yourself up and off bridge or a building. Quite honestly I think that is a big part of this. Also, our past directors were unapologetically strong without reason. And I think that this record shows the reason. I think that’s the better thing, right? I don’t always need to be like “fuck you”. I need to be like “this is why I say that.” Well, once in a while, we should be (angry all the time).

Myra: With how things are going, it’s okay to be upset about these things, you know? It really is. We write about about talk about this is what we do because we’re very passionate about the things that we say, and the work that we do.

You’ve already played with some awesome bands already, but what is one that you would love to play with one day?

Stacey: Oh boy. Can we open for Iron Maiden? Never say never. Maybe The Go-Go’s won’t hate me anymore. Amyl and the Sniffers. I want The Distillers to come back. I’m a very big Brody fan and I want to see her come back in a very strong, important way. Who else? Green Day, I would love to open for Green Day. Oh my God. Green Day. That’s every punk fans dream, is so open for Green Day, or Weezer. That would be great.

Myra: Queens of the Stone Age.

Stacey: Yes. And Descendents need to take us on tour. Bad Religion needs to take us on tour. Yeah, Those are a couple fucking bands that need to take us out.

Myra: An ideal ideal show would be all our lady friends and have a ladies festival.

Stacey: Yeah, maybe we do a female festival. We’re gonna do it. More uterus and ovaries just hanging low.

Myra: Kathleen, if you’re reading, Bikini Kill. Please.

Stacey: Come on, Kathleen, come hang out with us, we love you. Remember at Riot Fest 2016 when we all hung out.

Myra: Shannon and the Clams, too.

We need to make that happen.

Absolutely that would be awesome. Now, what are some bands that you’re really into right now and you want more people to know about?

Stacey: Fea.

Myra: Rodeo Boys.

Alex: A lot of people know about this band already, but I’ve been on a Winona Fighter kick. Their newest record is just like unbelievably good.

Stacey: Catbite is great. Our old band member, Jennie, has a band called Reckoner. Go listen to them. The Last Gang. They are a band that’s coming up right now, a four-piece band of dudes from Long Beach that are really good friends of mine. Their music is so good that it makes me want to go sit and write music, really good shit.