The Bombpops Death in Venice Beach Interview

Who are The Bombpops? Well if you ask Jen Razavi, she’ll tell you, “The Bombpops are a four-piece pop-punk band out of Los Angeles.”

The Bombpops are Jen Razavi on guitar and vocals, Poli Van Dam on guitar and vocals, Neil Wayne on bass, and Josh Lewis on drums. Jen says the band is out of LA, Wiki says San Diego, and Facebook says Oceanside. We’re going to defer to Jen on this one. Co-frontwomen Jen Razavi and Pol van Dam founded the group. Poli was 13 and Razavi was 18 when they met. It would be a few years before the two met up again at a local music studio and played together. There was a Battle of the Bands, and the rest is history.

Besides these two, there have been plenty of lineup changes, including three different drummers and six different bassists. Finding the perfect fit for a band is hard! Neil and Josh seem to have settled in nicely.

Their influences are listed as 90’s Epitaph Records and Fat Wreck Chords bands, such as No Use For a Name, Pennywise, Bad Religion, Strung Out and bands like Green Day and Blink 182. It’s a great mix, and we love the way they’ve taken their sound and let the influences fall where they may.

Together since 2007, they’d released EPs and had tracks on compilation albums, but with all the lineup changes, it was ten years before they released their first full-length album.  Fear of Missing Out was released via Fat Wreck Chords on February 10, 2017. The Bombpops are ready to drop their second album Death in Venice Beach on Friday, March 13th and they’re headed out on tour to support its release. Were you looking for show info? Scroll to the bottom for tour dates and Facebook event links.

I had the chance to shoot over some questions for the band, and hopefully, I’ve asked all of your burning questions.

Q: On February 12th you released Double Down Arrows, can you tell us the story behind this song?
Poli: “Double Arrows Down is about my struggles with living with Type 1 Diabetes since I was 16 years old. Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas does not produce insulin, meaning that you then have to give yourself insulin with shots. Dealing with my blood sugar levels all day, every day is something that brings me down a lot of the time. I just wrote this song out of anger and fear, and now that it is out there, it feels so good. I hope to spread awareness about this disease.”

The Bombpops – Double Arrows Down (Official Video)

Q: On March 13th your album Death in Venice Beach drops, in addition to DDA, you’ve released the single Notre Dame. Tell us about the rest of the album?
Jen: “The rest of the album touches on some other dark themes. We’ve got murder, burning churches, disease, vengeance, star crossed lovers, adultery, all-nighters, suicide, hate-fuck worth breakups and even Fat Mike’s house, what more could you ask for?”

Q: I love the album art, what can you tell us about the artist and the concept?
Jen: “Mark deSalvo painted the cover. He’s responsible for the album art on some of our favorite records growing up including Let’s Talk About Feelings and Heavy Petting Zoo. We’re all fairly obsessed with Los Angeles, the seediness, the iconic scenery and the magic of Hollywood and its storytelling. We wanted the artwork to represent that and present itself as a love letter to Los Angeles or a love letter written on a postcard FROM Los Angeles.”

Q: You’re releasing 500 vinyl copies, why is vinyl important to the band?
Jen: “Collecting stuff is an interesting thing. It’s proof that you love something enough to be the first to have it or the only few to possess it. There’s romance in that.”

The Bombpops – Notre Dame (Official Video)

Q: Your supporting acts in Toronto and London (among others) are Tightwire & Billy Liar., how’d they get on the bill?
Jen: “Tightwire and Billy Liar are both on Red Scare. Red Scare was our first label, and it’s a family thing. We’ve toured with both acts before, and we all get along fabulously.”

Q: What’s your favourite thing about touring?
Jen: “Playing the songs live. I can’t wait to play these songs.”
Poli: “What we call…..”Space Madness”: a condition caused by prolonged confinement in a moving vehicle (in space or otherwise) with severely limited/impaired opportunity for social interaction or breaking of mind-numbing routine, usually resulting in temporary symptoms of derangement and lunacy. See also: cabin fever in a van… (But for real)”

Q: What does success mean for The Bombpops?
Jen: “Success is measured in different ways for different things. People loving your songs enough to sing along is the coolest feeling in the world. That is success to me.”

If I missed your question, check out the dates below, go to a show and ask them yourself!

EDIT: TOUR POSTPONED

The Bombpops Tour Dates

The Bombpops Links

Web / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Spotify / Apple

Author profile

Trish Cassling

Writer/Photographer/Editor

Toronto Music Blogger