Hailing from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Bike Tuff are a take no-bullshit punk band in the vein of Boysetsfire, Samiam, and The Movielife. Their latest release, ‘Into Shore’ combines speed and aggression with melody and reflection resulting in a wealth of rapid, anthemic choruses.
Mason from Bike Tuff recently took some time out to take us through ‘Into Shore’ for a “Already Heard Track Guide” feature.
If your band would like to set up a ‘Track Guide’ feature for Already Heard, email Sean Reid.
Each Purling Note
Several of my friends have been involved in bad car wrecks over the last few years; two passed away in separate incidents. In one case, my friend’s mother was very critical of everyone her son had associated with, looking for anyone to blame. It was hard, but it seemed like a necessary step in her grief process, hence the line, “I’ll let you hate me for this, sometimes, that’s why we exist.”
I’ve never had to make that horrible call in the middle of the night, but I’ve been on the receiving end too many times and the crush never gets easier. I have a tendency to romanticize events, especially when dealing with tough emotional issues. My allusion to Greek mythology (“The sirens sing you into shore tonight”) is an example.
Oak St. Market
We’re all made up of matter. We’re just an immense mass of molecules. It’s amazing to think that everything we know is simply chemistry in action. At the same time, constantly viewing your peers, relationships, etc. through a microscopic lens gets extremely tedious.
‘Oak St. Market’ is a song about this balance. It is a song about an unstable relationship. It is a song about Kalamazoo.
<a href=“http://bikingtuff.bandcamp.com/album/into-shore” data-mce-href=“http://bikingtuff.bandcamp.com/album/into-shore”>Into Shore by Bike Tuff</a>
This Canada House is Not a Home
Insomnia, being mugged, extended family drama…Canada House is a list of things that make me feel constantly uncomfortable. Musically, this song is a bit more aggressive than the others. While it is tempting to actually react to these sorts of feelings with aggression, I find it easier to shrug them off and move on. I feel better when I don’t let them get the best of me.
Black Book
This song is about the last few months of the Pittsburgh Pirate’s season in 2012, after the blown call on July 26th by Jerry Meals.
Baby, You’re an Anarchist
‘Baby…’ is about a relationship you don’t want to be in, feeling guilty about not being as crazy about the other person as they are for you, the fallout, trying to be friends, and ultimately giving up.
The Matlock Expressway
‘The Matlock Expressway’ uses the process of moving into a new apartment as a metaphor for opening a new chapter in my life. The transition is never seamless, however, these bumps along the way are proof that we’re still moving. I knew that I wasn’t the person I wanted to be and I had to start taking some steps out of my comfort zone to realize a positive change in my life.
Dock Ellis, I’m Jealous
A year or so ago, I cracked open a weathered copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Inside, I found a note scribbled from my Grandfather, something he had written for me years ago. This song is the journey that reading these words took me on – remembering my grandfather in his younger years, when he was a more vibrant influence in my life. It’s hard to watch a loved one descend into the clutches of old age, knowing that shared memories are no longer mutual.
Los Plantanos
Long ago, I watched on as a girl I liked made out with one of my roommates at a party. She looked so happy, completely lost in the moment. It was agonizing to watch, but, in the end, it allowed me a great sense of peace and closure. Los Plantanos is about that experience.
Sweet Berry Wine
This is about me seeing parallels in my relationship with my girlfriend and a nameless couple that I observed kissing on a porch down the road one night. It speaks to the journey of falling in love; how, at first, you don’t even know the other person and, over time, they become the most important thing in your life.
Eraser Head
A girl I knew when I was younger recently passed away from an overdose. We had a lot of mutual friends and I was amazed by the amount of beautiful descriptions of her character. In death, everything seems so simple. We pour our love onto the departed, gush about their best qualities, and disregard much of the negative. I think there’s a reason for that, though. Life is too short to dwell on the bad in every situation. It’s better to appreciate the positive, even if that means we cherish imperfect beings on the highest of pedestals.
Everything Happens So Much
I broke my left wrist 6 or 7 years ago and had to have a screw surgically inserted to strengthen the joint. Since the surgery, my wrist has been arthritic, especially so during the harsh Michigan winters, when it’s as if I can feel the screw resisting against my flexing wrist, ready to snap at any second. I never thought I’d have these unfortunate aging experiences so young. ‘Everything Happens So Much’ is a brief moment of introspection on aging, my own denial, what I might be aging toward, and reflection on a time when I felt a bit more youthful.
Vincere Vel Mori
I wrote this in response to a friend who passed away in a motorcycle accident. He was a few years older than I and always seemed larger than life. I remember a mutual friend describing the scene to me. After the crash and before the emergency responders arrived, a couple of people who lived nearby came out to see what the commotion was. As they huddled over his sprawled out body, his chest jolted upward for just an instant before coming to a rest on the side of the road. A woman at the scene described it as his soul leaving his body. I don’t know. Maybe he really was larger than life.
‘Into Shore’ by Bike Tuff is available now.
Bike Tuff links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp
If your band would like to set up a ‘Track Guide’ feature for Already Heard, email Sean Reid.