Touche Amore are a positive force within our industry. Garnering fans like Tim Mcllarth of Rise Against, Touche creates music that motivates and moves it’s listeners. I was honored to sit with Jeremy Bolm to talk about tour life, ignorance, and the “scene.”
I appreciate that you are a force against misogyny, but we seem to be seeing a resurgence of ignorant bullshit in our scene. Why do you think that is?
Jeremy: I almost feel like there is some sort of love for the ‘irony of being extra ignorant,’ which sucks. It’s not a flattering thing and doesn’t make anyone look any better. I remember seeing something online about Attilla, Emmure, and one other band having a contest on who could make the most ignorant shirt. That’s frustrating because it’s not adults buying those shirts, it’s kids. Young kids nonetheless, but they don’t give a shit because it’s more money in their pocket. They profit off of the fact that kids know they like to piss off their parents or getting in trouble at school. So it sucks because who they are really hurting is women. Continuing the objectification of women is not progress, it’s regression.
Speaking of progression, your no barrier show at Glasshouse was amazing. Do you prefer a set and venue like that to some of these larger venues?
Jeremy: We will always take a no barrier show to a barrier show. That’s how we started, but once we started doing support tours and had to deal with barriers for these bigger shows, we realized why they are there. We’ve seen people get INCREDIBLY hurt and equipment get completely damaged. Come to think of it, I’ve probably seen every mishap possible over the years while touring and doing shows. We also completely understand insurance issues and all of the adult shit that comes into play.
Glass House is actually a venue that 9 times out of 10 will have a barrier too. We had a special agreement with them though to let us get rid of the first night and if it went well, we could get rid of it the second night too. Our crowds are typically younger kids as well, so it’s important for our fans to be respectful and to look out for one another. It was great to see it worked out so well because so often you see kids who come to shows just to mosh or just to stage dive, and that ruins it for everyone else.
How do you like people bringing up that you’re old as shit like the rest of us now?!
Jeremy: Haha it doesn’t get brought up all that much actually! People usually assume I’m a lot younger than I really am because everyone in the band is so young, I don’t mind talking about it though. They are all in their mid 20’s and I am 31.
Did you have to deal with any out of control drinking or anything as they became of age?
Jeremy: No thankfully they all keep it under control and have always been that way. I mean there are obviously exceptions every now and then, but like I said they are good about it and never bring that shit on stage or before a show. Being straight edge works in everyones favor too because I do most of the night driving after shows.
Nice. Now what is one Phil Ochs track that everyone should listen to?
Jeremy: Wow, that’s actually a really hard one. There are so many good songs, but ‘Love Me, I’m a Liberal‘ is a great one especially when you think of what it means to be a liberal then and now. It’s also a really fun and playful song, and it get’s the point across. ‘Cannons of Christianity ‘ is another really good one and that song was actually left off of a lot of albums and CD’s because it was so offensive to people. For someone to write a song that called Christianity out like that for all that it’s done, just amazing. There are so many though, just listen to the Phil Ochs live in concert album!
Awesome, we’ll definitely check those out! Now tell us about Secret Voice? How do you like not having to deal with the boring aspect of making records?
Jeremy: It rules because it’s a subsidiary of Deathwish Inc, so basically I get to look for bands or artists that I find interesting and Deathwish is 100% supportive of my decisions. They help me put out the record and cover the cost of manufacturing & distributing, it’s incredible. I’ve done eight 7 inch’s, one of them for a side project band I was a part of.
So what’s next for Touche Amore?
Jeremy: We go to Florida, then from Florida to Brazil to play there for the first time. Then we go home and get to rest for a little bit before heading to Japan! We’re pumped for that because we get to play with our favorite band from that country, Envy. Then we go BACK to Florida for a festival which will be our last show of the year, then we will be heading to Australia in January. Busy, busy, busy!
Alright well thank you so much Jeremy, we appreciate you spending time with us!
Jeremy: No problem man, thank you!
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