Bad City
| Company type | Rock band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois , United States |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
Bad City was a rock ensemble consisting of five members from Chicago, Illinois, who secured a contract with Atlantic Records in 2010. Their first album, Welcome to the Wasteland, produced by the Grammy-nominated Johnny K, was released on August 24, 2010.
History
The formation of Bad City traces back to 2008, emerging from the Chicago-based group Powerspace. Kevin Kane and Tommy English brought Max Perenchio and Jake Serek on board as touring musicians. After Powerspace dissolved, Perenchio and Schleiter began crafting new songs. The lineup was completed with vocalist Josh Caddy from Temecula, California, who inspired the band's name based on their experience recording in a tough neighborhood of Chicago.
Following their initial album release, Bad City gained recognition from Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, who invited them to join his 2010 Summer Rock 'n' Roll Party tour. In August 2010, KISS's frontman Paul Stanley endorsed their track "Call Paul Stanley," describing the album as "an absolute knockout" with "killer, cohesive" production quality. They toured alongside Hinder, supported The Smashing Pumpkins, and later embarked on Canadian and West Coast tours with Slash. The album reached number 182 on the U.S. charts.
Bad City performed "Fight as One," the theme song for the Marvel Entertainment animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Additionally, their song "Take Me for a Ride" was featured in the television show Peacemaker.
In June 2011, Josh Caddy departed and was succeeded by former Powerspace vocalist Alec Cyganowski. The band concluded their activities with a final performance in Chicago in December 2011.
On November 26, 2020, Max Perenchio tragically passed away at age 33 due to a single-vehicle accident.
Musical style
Bad City is known for fusing various rock styles, drawing inspiration from 70s hard rock acts like KISS and Alice Cooper, 90s alternative bands such as Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden, 80s sleaze metal, early 2000s riff-driven groups like The White Stripes, and power pop reminiscent of Cheap Trick. Regarding their influences, Caddy explained, "We incorporated elements from our favorite bands spanning different eras, updated them, and elevated the sound." After releasing Welcome to the Wasteland, critics frequently categorized them as hair metal. Perenchio responded to this by saying, "When people hear harmonized guitar solos, catchy hooks, and gang vocals, they quickly label it Hair Metal for simplicity. I don’t really identify Bad City with that genre—and our hair certainly isn’t big enough."
Members
- Josh Caddy – lead vocals (2010–June 2011)
- Alec Cyganowski – lead vocals (June–December 2011)
- Tommy English – guitar (2010–2011)
- Kevin Kane – drums (2010–2011)
- Max Perenchio – guitar
- Jake Serek – bass
- Rich Vallone – guitar (2011)
- Rich Lombardo – drums (2011)
Studio albums
- Welcome to the Wasteland (2010)