The Superweaks Discuss Their EP/Video Game Split That was Years in the Making
Have you ever heard of a video game/EP split? Me neither. Read up. Educate yourself.
I’ve been a big fan of The Superweaks for a while. (Since all the way back when they were The Weaks.) I think they’re one of the most fun and refreshing bands in Philly and beyond. They’re one of those bands that takes Wyld Stallyns shredding and makes it make sense (if that makes sense). They certainly exist in the same conversation as bands who appreciate a good harmonized lead part like Rozwell Kid or aren’t afraid of a solo or two like Diarrhea Planet. And the hints of metal influences anchored to reality with relatable songwriting is reminiscent of (old and good) Weezer at times.
But you hear the layered guitar solos, heavy crunch, synth lines and big sound, and it’s this larger than real life quality. There’s a natural video-game-like timelessness to it, where it feels at home with both the side-scrollers of yore and a big-time current-gen RPG or adventure game.
So, I guess that’s why it makes total sense that the band is teaming up with Cape Town, South Africa-based indie video game developer Team Lazerbeam for its upcoming release Teenage Blob to create a “split” unlike any the indie music world has really seen before. It’s equal parts EP and equal parts video game. They can both exist without the other in a vacuum, but it’d be a lot less fun.
This week, after years of keeping it under their hats even amongst friends, guitarists/co-vocalists Chris “Doc Bag” Baglivo and Evan Bernard could finally spill the beans on this unprecedented project. They actually recorded the music about four years ago, but it turns out making video games from scratch takes a bit of time, too.
“When we were recording the EP, we had the intention to collaborate with Team Lazerbeam,” Baglivo says (over the phone. Don’t worry). “And the way it worked out was they created a level that goes along with each of the songs. And the level lasts the length of that song. There’s six songs and six levels. And there’s a narrative that ties all of them together, but each level itself functions as its own kind of independent game, and they’re all done in different styles of classic games in their own style. You see in the video there’s like a Paper Boy one and there’s like a side-scrolling one that I would compare more to Welcome to Olliwood as opposed to actually like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, but it’s a skateboarding-based one. They’re all jobs that you make money on in the game to buy boots so you can look cool when you go to the concert for the final song at the end of the game.”
The recording process actually came on the heels of personal tragedy for the band, after Bernard’s brother, who played bass in the band, passed away shortly before finishing their second record, 2016’s excellent Better Heavens.
“Actually, this coming weekend is the anniversary of my brother passing away,” Bernard says. “He was our bass player on that record. He passed away right before we finished recording the album. And then we put that out and tried to, you know, keep the momentum going by recording this EP. […] We had just put out an album, but all in all I think it was a pretty difficult time for all of us, so it took us a lot longer to record and finish mixing.”
With their help of their friend and frequent collaborator Mike Bell, they kept moving and making the songs that ended up on this EP. And while it was, as Baglivo calls it, “an exercise in patience,” to keep mum about the game and EP, the wait was sort of worth it because it let them change their mindset a little.
“I think that down time worked for us, too, to have time to kind of heal and work through everything,” Baglivo says. “Evan and I are both motivated. We try to keep working and keep motivated, but there was value in being able to take a step back and just process things. Honestly, I think it’s better for us that it’s coming out now, too. It’s just a sensation of pure excitement about the prospect of the game itself.”
It also helps that the two are roommates, so they can crank out ideas just about all hours of the day. Because of that, they already have about nine or so tracks ready for another album.
But back to the video game project.
“Mike Bell in Mike Bell and the Movies always had the idea to make some sort of a video game,” Bernard says. “And he brought that up while we were recording the EP. Years ago I toured with a band called Johnny Foreigner from the UK. They brought Ben [of Team Lazerbeam] from South Africa along, who did visuals alongside with them. Our band played with them in our old basement, Sprinkle Kingdom—our band the Skateboards, which Chris and I were in. We’ve been good buds ever since. Mike knew them, and Mike was a fan of Team Lazerbeam in general. And of course Chris is a big gamer. [Drummer] Mikey [Tashjian] is a secret big gamer. Chris can talk all about it. He’s got a whole group chat with the Philly music scene gamers.”
“We have people from all different bands, like Hop Along and from The World Is…,” he says. “It’s a whole big group chat where we talk about video games. Honestly, it was really exciting to text them about this thing finally happening. I got a lot of the ‘heart’ responses in the text chat once I put the team link up.”
When it came time to sculpting a video game around the music, Bernard and Baglivo pretty much just let Team Lazerbeam roll with it.
“When they were figuring out the game, we were just like, ‘Go nuts. Interpret this how you want,’” Bernard says. “And there’s a song on there about my brother, which they definitely adapted and kind of drew him into the game. I don’t want to spoil it, but you’ll eventually see it. It’s a pretty cool thing they did. But, it’s not lyrically tied in so much. They just kind of took the structure and the way the songs made them feel, and took the story from that.”
“They built a lot of the experience of the levels around the moments of the song, where it will get a little activities or changes in the action that correlate with the dynamics and the various things that are happening in the music itself,” Baglivo adds. “It’s very much tied in with the experience of the songs with their own narrative structure to it.”
Video games have been a crucial part in influencing their playing styles and the Superweaks approach to songwriting. Guys like Tim Follon, who made the soundtrack to the Super Nintendo Silver Surfer game, and chiptuney bands like Anamanaguchi were always big for them.
“I just love that ‘80s metal emulated sound, with like the tonal palette of early basic shit, like video game chips,” Baglivo says. “That’s why we’ve been incorporating so many synths into our own tonal palette as well. Even on our records, I’ll frequently double the guitar solos with a modified synthesizer under it to get that kind of video gamey sound.”
Pairing an indie band with an independent video game developer makes sense to the point where I’m not sure why this isn’t more common. As Baglivo points out, it’s become a lot easier for video game developers and artists to create their own projects alone or with small groups, just like how bands could start recording professional-quality music from their own home as home recording equipment and software became more available to the public.
And the wait time between recording and release also turned out to be a blessing because there’s kind of no better time to be releasing something like a video game into the world. Especially one that’s retro-influenced like this. It can sort of be comfort food for so many people who are looking for ways to stay busy but not add any more stress to their life that some video games could create. It’s artistic and beautiful and engaging, but mostly it’s fun. It’s also a world where music videos are diminishing in importance pretty much on a daily basis, so creating this new way to incorporate the music into a multimedia element is an interesting step.
“I know video games, especially for me, are much more a constant feature in my own life and leisure time,” Baglivo says. “If you’re not going to see live music, you’re not going out to discover things, but video games can easily come to you through the internet. So those associated themes are really going to stick with you.”
At this point, I ask what game, hypothetically, existing or imaginary, they’d like to work on the most. Baglivo gave a thoughtful and in-depth answer about using different sonic palettes and instruments and wide ranging influences to create something that matches the artistic vision of the video game landscape.
“I also really like the butt rock in Doom,” he concludes, using one of my favorite genre tags of all time. “Evan, have you had anything like that?”
There’s a pause.
“Uh. I don’t really play as many video games as Chris.”
“He says this but he’s been playing this one anime RPG nonstop during the quarantine.”
“Yeah. That’s one. That’s one game that I’ve played.”
“And when they had that “Rick and Morty” Pokemon parody game, he captured so many Morties!”
“That was a good game, too. I loved Pokemon back in the day.”
“I’m just saying don’t let him undersell it and pretend he’s not a...”
Bernard settles on a Tony Hawk game, which might not be out of the realm of possibility these days, actually.
Until then, while the Superweaks argue about whether or not Bernard is, in fact, a gamer, you can add Teenage Blob to your Steam wishlist.
“Even though we’ve been playing music for a long time, we’re still a small independent band,” Baglivo says. “So people who are reading and listening, their direct support is what’s going to make a major difference for us. This is an experiment. I’m not familiar with this level of enmeshed music in a video game before—between a small game studio and a small band. So support the experiment. I feel like this is going to be a cool thing for people to do in the future. So if we can make that impact, I would love to.”
Maybe one day down the road when we’re allowed to go to shows again safely, there will be a way to play it while the band plays on stage. It’s something they’ve thought of before.
Now, please welcome today’s Snakes and Sparklers musical guest, Cliffdiver.