Biography

Hailing from Denton, Texas, Bad Sports are a band whose music is a powerful fusion of punk rock velocity and attitude, hard rock guitar raunch, and power pop hooks. Breaking out in 2008 with a pair of small-label singles, the trio dropped a self-titled album in 2009, and 2011's Kings of the Weekend showed they'd mastered the art of balancing punk energy with pop precision. Their next two albums, 2013's Bras and 2018's Constant Stimulation, showed they were capable of tightening up their technique without blunting their guitar power -- or their tunefulness. Influenced by old-school punk bands like the Ramones and the Buzzcocks as well as the '70s hard rock that's an unavoidable presence in their hometown, Bad Sports feature Orville Neeley (also a member of OBN IIIs) on guitar and vocals, TV's Daniel Friend (who also plays in Wax Museums) on bass and vocals, and Gregory Rutherford (also doing double duty in Wax Museums) on drums. In 2008, the band began spreading the word about their music with a handful of 7" vinyl releases on Big Action Records and Boom Chick Records, and in the fall of 2009, the Atlanta-based Douchemaster label issued the band's self-titled debut album on CD, LP, and MP3 (it was also released on cassette by Burger Records). Plenty of touring followed, including a handful of dates with '70s power pop hero Paul Collins. In August 2011, Bad Sports teamed with Portland, Oregon's Dirtnap Records to release their second full-length album, Kings of the Weekend. For 2013's Bras, Bad Sports adopted a tougher sound that, while still hooky and deeply immersed in old-school punk, showed the influence of early N.Y.C. punk outfits like the Ramones, the Dead Boys, and the Dictators. 2016 saw the release of the seven-song EP Living with Secrets. A special limited edition on pink vinyl was made available at Bad Sports' live shows beginning in June 2016, while the EP received its official commercial release the following August. The band's fourth full-length, 2018's Constant Stimulation, found Bad Sports varying their tempos and polishing their attack without abandoning their punk roots. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi