BAD MARRIAGE – AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKE FITZ

Bad Marriage is on a roll. Not only have they just released a new EP entitled Artificial Mind to all major platforms but they also collaborated with Jeff Keith of Tesla on three of the songs. Artificial Mind is a 5 song juggernaut that encompasses a diverse array of sounds. Hard rock, metal and modern nuances, all combine to create a sonic barrage. Each song delivers an edgy wall of monstrous guitar riffs, brazen vocals and rampaging soundscapes. In addition, they are on a massive tour with Enuff Z’nuff and The Quireboys.

Bad Marriage is comprised of Mike Fitz (Lead/Rhythm Guitar), Jonny P (Vocals), Tommy Skeoch (Lead Guitar), Ian Haggerty (Rhythm Guitar), Todd Boisvert (Bass) and Mike Delaney (Drums). Bad Marriage is not just another band out of Boston. They come out of the gutter swinging with a thunderous rock n roll swagger that would make the ‘Bad Boys of Boston’ smile. Indulging their mutual thirst for tone and overdriven guitars, Bad Marriage pays homage to the British blues-hard rock of the past while etching their own signature style and sound.

Mike Fitz was kind enough to take some time during their tour to speak with AMP.

AMP: Can you give our readers a brief history of the band?

MIKE: Bad Marriage formed around 2016. I wanted to form a new rock & roll band and decided to handpick everybody. Growing up around the New England music scene, I’ve met a lot of cool musicians with similar musical tastes. I’ve been playing with our drummer, Mike Delaney, since “97, so I definitely wanted him on board. We are both attuned to each other on stage. Everyone I picked is a perfect match for Bad Marriage.

AMP: Do you feel your new EP, Artificial Mind, is an evolution in musical style from your previous material?

MIKE: I think it is truly an evolution just for the fact that we used a different producer. Brian Wheat produced the EP and co-wrote the songs with us. Brian is a co-founder of the band Tesla. We befriended each other when we toured with Tesla. It led to us writing songs together. Before Brian, I produced our prior two full lengths. The EP is definitely a progression due to the actuality that someone else took over the wheel. It was nice to have a fresh take in the studio. We think the new songs are great but we still love our older material.

AMP: Segueing into Brian, how was it working with him in the studio?

MIKE: The experience with Brian Wheaton was great. He’s a tough cookie in the studio. He makes you work which is good because sometimes that’s a necessity. We came up with some amazing tunes together. We would definitely do it again.

AMP: Describe the band’s creative process?

MIKE: A lot of the time, it starts with me coming up with some guitar riffs. I write quite a bit because I have a home studio. That’s usually how it begins. I’ll come up with a bunch of guitar parts, lyrics or even themes I want to embed into the music. Then I present that to our singer, Jonny. He writes a lot of the lyrics as well. We combine our ideas and then bring them to the band. At this point, the songs come together fairly quickly. We are all pretty much on the same page. It’s fun but we are always trying to one-up ourselves. We always want to put out tunes that sound current and original.

AMP: What would like your fans to take away from your music?

MIKE: Just enjoy! Our music is straight up rock & roll. Some of our songs have a hint of metal. Other have traces of classic rock with a modern flair. We don’t purposely add these elements. It just comes out that way. The tracks lead themselves. All we strive for is for our fans to have fun even though some of our lyrics may have a darker undertone. The guitars are big! The tunes are hopefully memorable and timeless! Basically, we’re just a rock & roll band that wants our fans to forget about their everyday struggles. Even for a little while.

AMP: Bad Marriage collaborated with Jeff Keith from Tesla on the EP. Are there any other artists the band would like to work with in the studio?

MIKE: I would like to touch on that. It was an honor to have Jeff come down and work with us. Having him sing on some of our tracks was insane. I’m not sure if he has ever sung on any other artist’s record, so this was extremely special. As far as other artists are concerned, it really depends on the song and what it calls for. Would we like Joe Perry on a track since we both started in Ma., of course! All we are striving for is to write cool songs for our fans. Just soak in the groove!

AMP: How does Boston always deliver such amazing hard rock bands?

MIKE: Even before Bad Marriage, we all have been in some hard working rock bands. You look at our predecessors like Aerosmith, The Cars, Dropkick Murphys and Godsmack, and you have to tip your hat. You learn from them. When you see bands from your same area making it, it gives you hope and determination. It puts a fire under your ass.

AMP: How have the shows on your current tour been so far?

MIKE: Every one of them has been really phenomenal. We’re making new fans every night. The tour package is really great. I can’t rave enough about Enuff Z’nuff and The Quireboys. We are like one big family. Currently, we are in the bus on our way to Oklahoma. We love rock & rolling on the road.

AMP: Best song to play live and why?

MIKE: We open with our song “Gateway Drug”. It’s just a hard hitting kick ass tune. We follow that with “Bad Blood”, another riff driven track. They set the tone for the entire evening. They really catch people’s attention. We truly enjoy the vibe they bring out from the audience.

AMP: Who in the band is most likely to get in the most trouble?

MIKE: (Laughing) probably Ian. He calls himself “The Good Pirate”. In truth, we are all pretty tame. We like to have our fun but it’s all in good fun!

AMP: What’s next for Bad Marriage?

MIKE: It’s funny you didn’t touch on this as this topic seems to been asked by a lot of other interviewers. We just acquired a third guitar player on this tour. Tommy Skeoch is another founding member of Tesla. Adding him to this tour and to the band has been awesome. Bad Marriage has been around for a little while but adding Tommy just creates a whole new dynamic.

Not only is Tommy a manic guitar player, he also imports an innovative ingredient to the band. He makes our sound jump out at you even more. What’s next after this tour is adding Tommy to the songwriting aspect. He’s kicking ass with us live but we can’t wait to start writing new songs with him.

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