By Alice Asch ‘22
Kerry Alexander, esteemed co-founder of the band Bad Bad Hats, also happens to be an alumna of Macalester’s English Department. The Words recently caught up with Kerry over email to discuss (among other things) open mics at Dunn Bros, the T.V show Chopped, and “finding the Elton John to my Bernie Taupin.”
Bad Bad Hats’ latest album, Walkman, was released on September 17th! You can listen to it here. Enjoy Kerry’s responses below!
In a 2015 interview with the Macalester English Department, you mentioned that you did a lot of songwriting in college. Did you experiment with any other forms of creative writing? If so, how did they (or do they) inform your songwriting?
I was convinced once to perform in a slam poetry open mic and that did not go well. But it was a good opportunity to try out baring my soul in a weird basement to a small crowd of strangers, and that would really come in handy later.
Do you feel that you were able to apply what you learned in creative writing classes to your songwriting?
I think so. I think a lot of my philosophy about inspiration and the creative process comes from my education. Also the very simple concept of “less is more” that I took to heart in “Intro to Creative Writing” with James Dawes. Maybe the most important thing I took from my creative writing classes is an affinity for collaboration. We did endless workshopping and that input from my peers made all my work infinitely better. I continue to seek out that kind of critique and insight from other musicians and songwriters I respect.
What are your favorite memories from creative writing classes at Macalester?
I loved screenwriting with Peter Bognanni. Even though my screenplay was so bad and I literally wrote the whole thing in two all-nighters (for those reading, do not do this). One of my classmates, though, wrote an amazing screenplay that I couldn’t wait to read every week. What a treat to be surrounded by inspiring people all the time. One time, Daylanne English had to explain to me that Sir Lucious Leftfoot and Big Boi are the same person. I will never forget that.
What is your songwriting process like? Did it change at all during the pandemic? When and where do you most enjoy writing songs?
I used to always write the lyrics first and then would try to shove them into an instrumental later. But lately, I’ve been letting the music be the guide. I’ll sing nonsense to the melody I’ve written until a particular word or phrase comes out that interests me and I’ll build off of that. I write almost all of my songs with my classical guitar, on the couch, with Chopped blaring loudly on the TV. I record a lot of ideas into the voice memos app on my phone, and most of them include Ted Allen saying, “You’ve been chopped. Judges?” in the background. Since the pandemic, we started a Patreon page where, every month, we record a brand new song with a particular musical theme (like 60s, or has to have a key change, or pop punk). And that has been very creatively rewarding. I always did very well with prompts in college and the Patreon brings the challenge and thrill of prompts to my songwriting life.
How has your writing process evolved since college?
In college, I was writing more poetry than songs. It wasn’t until I studied abroad junior year that my songwriting became more prolific. And since I left college, I’ve been unable to finish a poem. And I don’t really know why. My mom says “but your songs are poetry”, which is such a mom thing to say, but I don’t think of them as the same thing. I often consider auditing a poetry class at Macalester to get my groove back. So, watch out, I might just show up one day!!
What is your advice to current Macalester students who have songwriting/musical aspirations?
I would say, try to write and record as much as possible. And even though you might listen back to those recordings a year later and say, “yikes”, [sic] know that it has led you to a more proficient present. Perform at the Dunn Bros open mic. No one will pay attention to you and it will be good practice. And make friends. They might be the bass player you need one day.
Did you always know you wanted to be a songwriter? How did your career aspirations change throughout college?
I have wanted to be a songwriter since I was nine years old. But at first, I just wanted to write lyrics. Like, be part of a songwriting team where one person writes the music and the other writes the words. But I was struggling to find the Elton John to my Bernie Taupin in middle school, so I learned to play the guitar and sing myself. Even though it had been a dream for so long, the impression you get from the outside is that trying to make a living at songwriting is impossible. So halfway through college I was definitely beginning to set my sights on grad school. But then our senior year, we lost the Battle of the Bands and got a record deal. We’ve been rockin’ ever since.
Can you talk about your experience with gaining widespread recognition of your work at such a young age?
First of all, thank you, I am young and vivacious. We have appreciated the opportunity to share our art over the years and always feel so thrilled to hear people enjoy it. Overall I’d say it’s been a nice slow and steady build for us. I often joke that, even though our motto is “slowly but surely”, [sic] if anyone wanted to sky-rocket us to the top, we would accept. But I honestly don’t think we would have done well with that when we first started. I needed many years to get comfortable with performing and playing my instrument. I still feel like I’m learning every day in the band. And I like that.
Your latest album, Walkman, was released on September 17th. What are you excited for listeners to get out of this new album?
I wanted to make an album that was explicitly fun, to match our onstage antics. So I hope listeners will enjoy that levity. This is also an album that does a great job showcasing our individual talents and voices in the band. I feel like you can hear all of us saying “hi” on this album.
What aspect of Walkman are you most proud of?
I am very proud of the songwriting on this album. I think almost all of the songs you could play just on an acoustic guitar and get a similar feeling to the recording. That’s always my touchstone for a great song.
Does Walkman differ at all from Bad Bad Hats’ previous work?
It feels like the logical next step for the band’s discography. It’s got some of the scrappiness of Psychic Reader and some of the refinement of Lightning Round, but it’s also its own little vibe. Of all our music, it sounds the most to me like just three friends rocking out, which I love.
We thank Kerry for taking the time to speak with us!