The Pop-Punk, Rock outfit The Bitter Joy recently took some time out of their busy schedule to chat with us about their new single ‘Obsolete’
The Bitter Joy are fresh off their most recent release ‘Obsolete’ a remedial melody about struggling to conform and settle down.
It is a ballad of the fear of running out of time and elevates the band’s Pop-Punk sound to a brand new level.
The Bitter Joy are not done there however, with another single planned for release later this year.
For now though, they’re just riding the wave of their recent single and being grateful for everything so far.
After forming in the winter of 2023, the dynamic duo have since put out three releases including ‘Obsolete.’
Their debut single ‘Bloom’ was a sign of renewal for the band, as the members reformed after some time away from music.
Now, the band is geared up and ready for a big year ahead.
Go have a read of our chat with The Bitter Joy below.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
JERRY: I work as a painter during the week. Today I’m doing some exterior painting, so I’ll be doing my best to stay warm during the work day, haha. I started my morning at my local coffee shop and listened to some Jack Johnson on my commute. Always a good way to start an early morning!
CHRIS: Today I am on vacation with my girlfriend in Chicago. My second time ever in this city! I’m tagging along for a work trip for her production company, and getting to see the sights along the way. Started the day listening to some Rosanna by Toto, You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon, and preparing for Chicago dogs and venturing into the snow-dusted cityscape.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re both from. What do you love about it?
JERRY: I was born and raised in Rhode Island, which for being the smallest state in the US, is packed with character that I sometimes take for granted. The beach side towns here are gorgeous and you never have to travel too far to get where you need to go.
I grew up in a small woodsy town called Burrillville in the northern part of the state, and still live there today. It’s quiet for the most part which is nice, and I live close enough to Boston if I ever need my fix of city living.
I really appreciate the small town life, the simplicity of it all makes for a tranquil place to call home when life gets chaotic.
CHRIS: I’m from the hills of old New Hampshire. I grew up in a small town called Grantham. Summers spent riding bikes through town and having fires with friends, winters spent skiing and shoveling. And more shoveling.
I love the calmness of it all, and I’ve grown to appreciate it more the older I get and the further from home I get too. It’s always nice to escape NYC for a couple days; feel the wheels crunch over the snow as I pull into the driveway up north and hear nothing but the snow falling to the ground and coating the trees. And the stars at night. Always so many stars back home.
HAPPY: In your own words how would you best describe your sound?
JERRY: I like to think of The Bitter Joy as being a rock inspired band with traces of pop punk. We always try to make the songs as catchy as we can while still having hints of aggression and edge to them.
I’m heavily inspired by bands from Europe- especially bands like Oasis and Royal Blood. Bands that find a way to be both upbeat and exciting, while also still pulling off a sense of vulnerability. Naming the band something that represented that duality was important to me and I eventually landed on The Bitter Joy.
CHRIS: Somewhere in the realm of loud rock and roll with plenty of space for balance; question-and-answer-type arrangements, with moments in some tunes where the whole feel will change rhythmically. And instrumentation has been so fun to work on, particularly with the incorporation of horns into the songs. Horns just make things so exciting yaknow?! And working with engineer/mixer/masterer extraordinaire Mike Dwyer is always a blast. He’s always working with us on finding new unique sounds. Homemade beer can microphone? Check! Snare drum made out of a floor tom? Why the heck not?!
HAPPY: After having worked together previously, did you find it easier to rekindle the musical connection?
JERRY: It was really effortless and refreshing to have started working together again. We hadn’t seen each other in person since the pandemic, and there was a lot to catch up on. To start with a clean slate felt really liberating, and working as a two piece made for a pretty focused vision.
I think Chris and I are also very willing to make sacrifices in life in order to make music a priority, which I appreciate so much in our musical partnership.
CHRIS: Absolutely, without a doubt. Working together again came easier than riding a bike. Jerry and I have always had such a fun musical chemistry, rooted a lot in our shared childhood discography.
Music has always been a huge part of each of our lives, and we both hold it in such high regard that we’re willing to give so much to it, to the project; the whole experience really. Neither one of us could see a world in which music— whether writing, performing, or just expressing— isn’t a part of our lives to some degree.
That’s what we bond over, and that’s what’s made starting back up again together so easy. Not to mention our love for Arnold Schwarzenegger films.
HAPPY: You speak a lot on the experience of existing as a theme, how important is this to your lyrics/creative output?
JERRY: It’s really important to me as a theme. It allows me to be observational when I write from this angle; in our previous song Bloom, the lyrics were written about the thrill of starting over and existing in that kind of space.
Our song Wallows is more about what it’s like to exist in a society/industry where it’s a struggle to stay afloat, let alone stay optimistic. I find that I’m usually writing about where I am at a certain point in my life; the songs tend to be pretty autobiographical in that sense.
CHRIS: Existing is living and gaining experience; perspective. And it’s always happening and always changing. It can be hard to put into words what we live. And putting it to music is one of the ways to make sense of it. Jerry has a gift for the lyric writing component especially, and the themes he tackles are personal but still have a way of feeling relatable.
HAPPY: Your single ‘Obsolete’ deals with the feeling of running out of time to achieve your dreams, does this resonate to the band on a personal level?
JERRY: For me, definitely, haha. When it comes to music, we of course get into it at first because we love it. I’d be lying if I said that there wasn’t a goal in mind though, to have some sense of “making it.” It’s always important to remember the enjoyment writing brings me, but the arts are tough.
A lot of my friends are settling down, having kids, etc. I think there’s always a nagging feeling to conform to that kind of life. I just don’t see myself being able to do it, haha. I’ll be working on that for the rest of my life- fighting the voice in my head telling me it’s game over.
CHRIS: Part of existing is change and life happening so fast that all of a sudden BOOM it’s been 3 years since this, that or the other. This time around, Jerry and I are in different places than we were in 2020– both geographically and personally.
Getting to put to music our own reflections on our relationship with time— this feeling that it’s always running and thus so must we be— is difficult and scary, yes. But it is fulfilling. Empowering, even.
It’s easy to get in your own head in the arts. The revolving door of questions: Why am I doing this? Is this even good? Is it too this? What is the milestone I’m shooting for? Who am I making this for? Oftentimes I’ve got to make an effort to stay out of my own way. Stop making comparisons or asking the wrong questions and just make music that feels right. That’s the dream.
HAPPY: What were your journeys into the music industry like?
JERRY: I grew up listening to my dad sing Neil Young and John Denver songs on his twelve string. I was always curious about the instrument, and eventually picked up an electric guitar and fell in love with it. I was in and out of so many bands in school, all of them failed miserably, haha.
There was a lot of trial and error at first. It wasn’t until my early twenties when I performed with Chris in our prior project where I started to understand how things worked for indie artists. You kind of learn as you go, the industry and its rules are constantly changing, so it’s important to stay on your toes.
CHRIS: I grew up around music since I was a kid; dad played (and still plays) in a 50’s/60’s rock and roll band, and mom introduced me to musical theater. I always gravitated toward rhythm and harmony.
I picked up drums when I was young and guitar a little later on, and putting it all together was exhilarating. I played with bands throughout middle school and high school, and by the end of college I knew I wanted to keep playing. I met Jerry through a friend of a roommate of a brother of a bandmember in 2019, and that’s how we started playing together.
HAPPY: Do you both have shared or different influences, if so could you name a few?
JERRY: I think a band Chris and I bonded over big time was Green Day. We both love everything that band touches; I remember one night we were hanging at my place and we were just ripping random songs off the trilogy albums, haha.
One thing I appreciate is our shared love of older music as well. Both of our dads are heavily into music, so we both grew up on bands like The Beatles, Zeppelin, etc. I admire Chris a bunch; I can say confidently that he is much more open minded when it comes to what he listens to. Every time we meet up, he’s got another new artist or album to show me.
CHRIS: Looootta shared influences. Green Day, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Blink 182, The Clash, The Rolling Stones. I could go on forever, baby!
Discovering how much of the same music we had in common— especially the golden oldies that our folks introduced us to— made it so easy to play together and just get to know each other in general.
HAPPY: Looking ahead, what’s on the radar for the next few months?
JERRY: The first goal is to promote Obsolete, for sure. It’s a song that’s part of a bigger project, which we’re very excited about. I think we’ll have another song out within the next couple months if everything goes according to plan. Looking forward to it.
CHRIS: Writing, rehearsing, recording, and watching more 80s movies.
HAPPY: Finally, what makes you happy?
JERRY: As I’ve gotten a little older, I find time spent with my loved ones is what I cherish most and makes me happiest. Making music sits comfortably at number two for me, haha.
CHRIS: Performing, consuming, introducing folks to, or talking about music makes me happy. And my dog Raspberry makes me the happiest of all.
