Tomorrows Bad Seeds; photo Andy Garcia
“TBS! TBS! TBS!” When you hear this, you know Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds is about to take the stage and it’s going to be a wild ride. With diverse sets combining elements of reggae, rock, punk, pop, and more, it is no wonder the high energy performances of TBS attracts so much attention.
“Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds actually started as, you know, a graph crew in Torrance, CA,” according to guitarist Matt McEwan. “Writing graph and skating and hanging out with the homies, and that’s how we met, is through mutual friends.
Tomorrows Bad Seeds; photo Andy Garcia
Singer Moises (or Mo) Juarez elaborates further, “I used to b-boy a lot and breakdance while he (McEwan) was more of a graffiti artist, like skater and surfer, and we grew up in the same neighborhood. Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds was a graffiti crew that was known around the neighborhood; and as we started getting into thinking about band names, we thought about all these names.”
“We thought about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but that was already taken,” jests Juarez. “So, we couldn’t do that you know? And then we thought Metallica, but that was gone. So, then it was like what do we do next? We thought Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds was the next best thing,”
“We started in 2000-2001. But the band didn’t start trying to play shows until 2003. But we were just jamming in the garage, just doing shows in our local neighborhood,” details Juarez about their garage roots. “Our first show, you could say, was at a venue called the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach for $50 and opening for Too Rude.”
McEwan adds to this that, “Me and this guy (Mo) would be doing acoustic gigs all around town before really performing and writing songs. Playing at the Sacred Grounds, the old acoustic lounge spot in San Pedro.”
Tomorrows Bad Seeds; photo Andy Garcia
Continuing to think about their journey as a band thus far, the topic of influences came up.
“All kinds. Guaranteed Sublime, Bad Brains, Long Beach Dub, Steel Pulse, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder… love Stevie Wonder. Michael Jackson. Bruno Mars recent stuff, Nirvana, grew up on Pennywise too,” both members chimed back and forth.
“Being able to play music, with this guy (Mo), my best friend is a privilege and a blessing,” explains McEwan.
Further illustrating the sentiment, Juarez goes on, “We’re lucky, man. We’ve been doing this a long time, there’s definitely rollercoasters up and down. But, you know, you take it back to why you do it for the love. We have a new song coming out, called “Yesterdays,” it’ll be out when our album drops in April/May, around that time. There’s a line in it that reminds me of how it all started; cuz it all started with our love of the music, wanting to be like Sublime. That’s why I wanted to be in a band, straight up. I wanted to be like Sublime. And I don’t know if it came across in our music, but everyday you look back and get to feel blessed to do what we do.
“The energy we get from the crowd. And that no matter what, our records sound good and have great production. But the energy you get from any band who is doing their thing can’t compare to the energy that is being produced out of your radio.
“I like playing a song called “Vices.” We have a new song called “Frequency”, as well. And I like playing that song now, too. I like playing a lot of our songs, and like playing cover songs too. We do “Master Blaster”, a Stevie Wonder cover.”
TBS has been around for over a decade, and as a result have gotten to work with many legends of the scene, including Ras MG (who helped produce an upcoming track of theirs called “War Letter”).
“We know people through Ras for years,” Juarez clarifies. “Our good friend Chuckie introduced us to all of them. We’ve been in the scene for a minute so Long Beach/Hermosa is very close. I got tattooed by Opie. So, we just hit up Ras like ‘yo man you interested?’ And he said I love you guys and would love to work with you. He’s just a genius and he’s down to work. I like good working people with good ethics, you know?”
Hard working, energetic, and diverse, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds is fired up and ready for the what the future holds. About to head out on the Illuminate Spring Tour, catch them when they next hit SoCal in early June.