Meet Bad History Month

I think one could argue that every month could be a bad history month, because, let’s face it...we humans don’t have the best track record. HOWEVER, I remain optimistic due to the sheer fact that I am constantly bowled over by the pure beauty that individuals produce.

Enter Sean Bean, the songwriter / mastermind behind Bad History Month, delivers meditations on mortality with existential optimism. Bean’s albums are anti-folk opuses that feel prescient and potent and poignant for each and every facet of life. 

Below, we chat about the influence of film, his lament for history adjacent street pretzels, and his style of improvisation. Also, be sure to check out his NYC release at Alphaville on May 1st!

A self-portrait by, Bad History Month

Would you rather…

All your clothing be too big or too small?

As far as clothing goes, most of mine is already 2 sizes too big, so I would continue in that direction.

Some questions with Bad History Month

What is the worst tourist attraction in NYC? Why?

Times Square because Giuliani/Bloomberg

You have a John Cassavetes quote in the description of your latest release. Do you have a favorite film by them? Why is it your favorite?

I'm an embarrassingly total novice given that I quoted the guy, but "Woman Under The Influence" hit me the hardest and made me want to participate in my life more fully for some reason. Also because I wish Peter Falk was my grandpa. Kevin Arnold was a lucky kid.

Was “Old Blues” your first album comprised of improvised music? Do you think you would do this again in a future release?

It's all written songs, just the overdubs were improvised. There's been some of that on most things I've recorded and it's always been my favorite part of recording, to hear something new and unexpected, especially because this band has never had more than 2 people in it. This time I went into the studio with no pre-written extra parts or expectations of what the flesh on top of the song skeletons would sound like. I will definitely do it this way again.

How do you preserve the improvisational quality of these songs now that they have been recorded and tracked on an album?

The songs are the songs, but I've been getting better at playing the drums so I'm more able to take risks and clown around on the tightrope a bit without falling off, as opposed to just walking a straight line and playing them the same way every time.

What is the best street food in NYC?

I loved the pretzels outside the Museum of Natural History when I was a little kid. I don't know if the quality has gone down or I just didn't know any better, but they're pretty stale and shitty now. I dunno what's best these days.

What was your first job? How did it go?

My first job was at a plant nursery. I watered plants and weeded cacti and listened to a discman all day. It was pretty great. Then in the winter, me and this dude Edguardo who did all the hard fieldwork in the summer would sell x-mas trees and he'd cheerfully tell me stories about growing up in civil war El Salvador and his Beatles fanaticism. We had fun climbing the language barrier together, although my Spanish sucks so most of what I gleaned was that it was brutal down there in the 80s and the man loved the Beatles.

Can you tell us a lie about NYC? It can be anything.

NYC will not be mostly underwater in 100 years.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Remember how weirdly easily and immediately the ban on indoor smoking was successfully implemented in NYC in 2002? Maybe we could summon the same blend of public policy and social shaming and apply them to larger-scale environmental improvements. It seems utterly hopeless, and CO2 stinks way less noticeably than indoor tobacco smoke, but nobody lights up in buildings anymore, so who knows.