The Badlees
If the struggle is the thunder …
LOVE IS RAIN
Written by Gina Tutko-Usalis / November 2009
Reunion is defined as a party of former associates/friends who have come together again. Love is Rain feels like a reunion that we all have been invited to. Something we have been longing for … more BADLEES!
This new thirteen track album was spread out over a brief amount of time and the recording was accomplished rather expeditiously. It is their first new release in seven years. According to band member Bret Alexander, “It felt like an old shoe, after a couple hours of talking it was like we never left.” Pete Palladino (vocalist) sounds as good as ever on Love is Rain. There is a feeling of familiarity hearing his voice again, like a warm embrace. Alexander is the chief songwriter of the band and also sings four songs on the album –“Drive Back Home,” “Two States,” “We Will” and “ Starthrower.” Three of the songs on this album “Anodyne,” “Well Laid Plans,” and “Radio at Night” were co-written by Mike Naydock who was also the co-writer of the song “Angeline is Coming Home” off the album River Songs.
Naydock is a self-taught musician, keyboards first, then guitar. He does all his main writing on guitar, with keyboards, etc. added when he’s demo-ing a song. He writes the music first and then the lyrics. I asked Naydock to tell me how he felt when “Angeline Is Coming Home” hit the charts … “For anybody who’s a songwriter or musician reading this, even a fan, it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world!!! It never gets old. I remember being in a laundromat when it came on Rick Dee’s Top 40 Countdown. I just stood there listening and thinking, ‘I had a hand in that!!’ I remember walking into the Laurel Mall in Hazleton, the second I walked in the door, “Angeline” started playing on the muzak system. I would like to hear a real “muzak” version of that one day; the classic Zamfir’d take! I was in the men’s room at a place in Lewisburg where I heard a bona fide muzak version of REM’s “South Central Rain” … I laughed my butt off.”
Just starting to write songs around 1987, Naydock was looking to find people to work with to help in his development. One day in 1989, there was an article in the local Hazleton paper about the Badlees, the local tie being Ron Simasek from the McAdoo area. The article mentioned their manager, Terry Selders, who was at that time living in Jersey City, N.J. and working out of Manhattan. So, on a whim Naydock got in touch with Selders and took a ream of his song ideas into Manhattan to get Selders take of his potential. Selders was sharing an office space just off of Time Square with a real estate agent; real small office with a broken window. Naydock says, “Terry liked a lot of what I had and suggested I get in touch with Jeff Feltenberger. A couple of weeks later, Terry arranged for Jeff to show up for an interview on my afternoon radio show (at WAZL in Hazleton). Jeff liked some of what I had written and we agreed to get together for collaboration; Jeff was the first guy I worked with in the band … this is before Bret.”
“I am inspired by anything, from what somebody said to what I’ve read,” said Naydock. “I often listen to Get Happy by Elvis Costello; it’s my favorite album of all time. No favorite songs or anything; just a great record all the way through. If I come up with what I think is a really good line or riff, I’ll often conclude, ‘I think Bret would like this”.
Naydock explains, “I think chemistry is everything, at least on some level. You can hate each other like the Police, but the chemistry to make great music is always there when Sting, Andy and Stu get together. There was never that kind of animosity with the Badlees. Their chemistry is best when they’re playing and in the studio; knowing when to play, when not to play, where a song or performance is going at a given moment, almost an innate unspoken feel. Sonically, we’ve grown because of what we listen to. Bret works with a ton of bands every year at the Acres (Saturation Acres Recording Studio, Dupont), so there is always something he can glean from a producer’s standpoint. I listen to a lot of what’s mainly promoted on AAA radio (WXPN, etc.) – bands and artists like M. Doughty, The Hold Steady, The Decemberists, New Pomographers, etc. and sonically, I approach the music end of things by something musically that these and other bands have done; a bass riff here some sort of interesting passage … I think it’s really helped to shape me as a musician as well as a songwriter.”
The Badlees sold approximately 12,000 albums in PA before they even got a record deal. The Badlees released 3 full-length CDs of Rite-Off Records before being signed to Polydor/A&M Records. In the 1990’s the Badlees played on some the the biggest stages in the States and were also the only band from the West invited to play at the Qingdao Beer Festival in mainland China in 1994. Very few bands in the area have ever achieved the level of being nationally known.
Many of you will recall the orginal Badlees with members consisting of Ron Simasek (drums), Pete Palladino (vocals), Jeff Feltenberger (guitar), Bret Alexander (guitar) and Paul Smith (bass) along with hit songs from the album River Songs like “Fear of Falling” which reached #31 on US Mainstream Rock Charts and “Angeline is Coming Home” which reached #20 on the US Mainstream Rock Chart, #28 on the US Adult Top 40 and #67 on Billboard’s Hot 100. 
They performed with major artists such as Bob Seger, Patty Griffin, The Allman Brothers, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page along with others. The Badlees – roots rock at its best – have to date released 6 full length albums between 1992 and 2002. So add this new release Love is Rain… seven years from the last release and the 7th full length album … hmm … lucky sevens!
The Badlees are currently made up of four of the five original members: Pete Palladino, Paul Smith, Ron Simasek and Bret Alexander. Jeff Feltenberger left the band in 2004 and is a guest on the Love Is Rain album. A bevy of musicians were guests on the album such as Aaron Fink (guitar) on “Part of A Rainbow,” Nyke Van Wyk (violin) on songs “We Will” and “Don’t Ever Let Me Down,” and Jeremy Hummel (drummer) on songs “We Will” and “Drive Back Home.”
I spoke with Manager/Executive Producer of the Love is Rain project, Chris Gardner. The Badlees have been a part of his life for some time. 
He is not a musician but he has family in a Schuylkill County band (MIXX) that got him started appreciating music in a broader sense. Gardner met the Badlees in 1996 when he was promoting the show in Palo Alto (Pottsville) at the height of the River Songs tour. After promoting the show in Palo Alto, former Badlees Manager (1990-2000) Terry Selders asked Gardner if he would be interested in helping the band out on the road for a few gigs. Things just continued to roll from there. Gardner eventually did some tour managing, even as the record label buyout proceeded. He got involved in a partnership with then manager Chris Fetchko and was involved with Renew and the Lit Riffs projects. “I felt it was a shame when issues arose with the record company. I hate to see any hard working and talented band get caught up in the corporate limbo that is beyond their control,” said Gardner.
Gardner has newspaper clipping and all sorts of Badlees material that he has saved over the years. One of many outstanding moments in Gardner’s time with the Badlees is when the band was playing in Nashville in 1996. He has a picture of the artists playing there that week – Lisa Loeb & Better than Ezra. ”We headlined that weekend and made a lot of great friends,” says Gardner. The Badlees are a special group of musicians for a number of reasons such as the combination of the personal songwriting and the high energy live performances that pull you in. 
Every song tells a story that people of PA and all over can relate to. Like most folks today, everyone is trying to weather the storm. We look for an outlet to relieve the stress of the events around us. Then in the most subtle of ways, you hear some good news that takes you back to a time in your life that was all about family, good friends, good times and memories of the places you would hang out and listen to good music. The fans have been “buzzing” and they are very hype about coming out to the live performances. The Badlees have certainly moved forward, still very much mainstream and vibrant. Love is Rain can easily be a heavyweight among today’s radio top 40!
Gardner said, “The guys are like family. We are all very close friends and the timing was right. The Badlees mailing list grew and grew each year until it was impossible to ignore. We just felt it was long enough and the band wanted to give something back to the fans. We had a wealth of material for this project. Bret had so many songs written, so we all had a say in what songs we liked and what songs would work best together. As for the title of the new album … it is a line in the song, “Drive Back Home … “if struggle is the thunder, then love is rain.” Pete suggested naming the album Love Is Rain and everybody loved it.”
Love Is Rain is deeper and more mature but still has all the classic elements that the Badlees are well-known for. There’s a lot of variety on the new album. “We’re looking at this as a long term project. There’s many opportunities for bands out there. It just takes determination and desire,” states Gardner. “We’re fully committed to this project. The guys never left the music business. 
In fact, Bret owns and operates Saturation Acres Recording Studio and Ron, Paul and Pete play in various bands and side projects. It’s not like the guys had to be dragged back to the music business. They never left!! They just didn’t release any new Badlees product in a few years. Their families are very supportive of this effort. Our goal was to make a “Desert Island Disc’ and although that is a lofty goal, I think we came pretty close!” I ended with asking Gardner “Where does it all go from here?” His reply, “Hopefully this goes as far as we can take it; radio play, live shows and wonderful interviews like the PA Music Scene … the sky’s the limit!”
Saturation Acres Recording Studio
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In my opinion, this CD is yet another hit for The Badlees. All tracks are well-written, and overall the CD delivers approx. an hour’s worth of soothing sounds, interspersed with a few rockers (including the title track). As a bonus, many tracks have that “Badlees vocabulary quiz” quality that I’ve come to know and love over the years. I tend to wonder what the songwriters were thinking when they wrote any one particular track though…I think we need that information in the liner notes (not just from The Badlees, but from ALL artists for ALL CD’s! Congrats to The Badlees on another great release, I wish them the best with this one – hope it goes gold! …. Terry M.
I’ve been a fan of the Badlees since I first saw them in 1994. They were the first original band that I went to see in concert at Memory Lane in Frackville PA. They knocked me off my feet, it didn’t matter to me that I didn’t know all the songs, I enjoyed them just the same. The songs are ones everyone can relate to in some way or another. The Badlees are talented musicians in every aspect of the word. I was never disappointed with any of their albumns. They just keep getting better and better!! So glad I will be seeing them again and hopefully they are back for good!!! … Jeanne
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