The Bad Suns create songs that are so catchy, hooky and cute, you’d be surprised to hear that they’re touring vets who are about to drop their second album. (Don't believe us? Just listen to their single "Heartbreaker.")

These fresh, young Angelenos are releasing Disappear Here on September 16. They’ve also been opening for Halsey all summer and will keep touring through the fall. Right after a stint at Austin City Limits, they’re hitting the road with Nashville band COIN. Frontman Chris Bowman talks to Myspace about his musical awakening via the School of Rock (yes, the movie!), Bret Easton Ellis as a musical inspiration and living in Los Angeles. 

Hometown / homebase: Los Angeles, CA. More specifically, Woodland Hills. Our guitarist Ray always unintentionally makes this answer difficult — he’s the one of us who lives in Newbury Park, a few miles north. He’s very handsome though, so it’s okay.

How did you meet your bandmates?

Gavin and I met on my first day of 7th grade, in science class. Our science teacher didn’t believe in deodorant, so his scent was always fantastic. Apart from that, the friendships that formed the band came to be as we each became more and more involved in the San Fernando Valley’s local music scene. The Cobalt Cafe in Canoga Park was somewhat of a safe haven for young bands and young music fans uninterested in the happenings of the zombified Hollywood scene, if you could even call it a scene. The Cobalt has since closed down and that is a travesty for the valley’s youth of today, whether or not they’re aware.

Did you grow up in a musical household? How did you know you were going to be a musician?

My dad could always carry a tune and keep a rhythm. During the 20th century, the Bowmans were heavily involved with the Salvation Army, and there were many horn players, casual pianists, and singers sprinkled throughout the lineage. However, I’m the first to forge a career out of music, especially outside of the church. My musical awakening came in 2004, when I saw School of Rock for the first time. I was nine years old and my life would never be the same after that day.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

There are so many. What makes this band special to me is largely to do with the musical chemistry between the four of us and the dire importance of each member’s contributions. U2, Green Day, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are a few wonderful examples of groups who’ve built their vast catalogs on similar ideals. We look to them in many ways. How do you remain creative, happy, and how do you keep that spark alive for so long? Respect to those groups.

What’s with the name Bad Suns?

The year was 2011 and by this point, Gavin, Miles, and I were still playing under the moniker of my first band from 2006. We were beginning to take things a bit more seriously, and we realized we needed a name a bit better than what 12-year-old-me had to offer. The Bravery’s Sun and the Moon album was a favorite of mine, and on it there’s a song called “Bad Sun” — that always stuck out as peculiar to me, and I figured a good band name should encompass some sort of peculiarity.

Does living in Woodland Hills influence the kind of music you write?

Spite is involved when you’re young and trying to start up a music career in a city famed for the Sunset Strip and the days of '80s hair metal. We never wanted anything to do with that history, and we often felt like the odd band out of the bunch in that respect. I can recount many instances where we’d play the Whisky a Go Go along with five terrible glam-rock-wanna-be bands. It made us want to do something different and work towards a new era of the Los Angeles sound.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

I’ve had a few fantasies which involve a member of Title Fight breaking an arm before a tour, leaving space for me to come in and fill out guitar duties. For Bad Suns, we’re really interested in collaborating with Tycho’s Scott Hansen. I hope that’s something we can make a reality down the line. If not, we’ll settle for the '90s Hanson.

What do you do for fun?

Binge watch the X-Files, play guitar, go to shows, go to the beach, hang out with my girlfriend, eat sushi, repeat.

What's the craziest thing experience you’ve had as Bad Suns’ frontman?

At this point, there are several people who’ve come up to me at shows and have shown me their Bad Suns tattoos. Several! That blows my mind, each time. I don’t even have a Bad Suns tattoo! Honestly, our fans are so warm and loyal. They’re some of the sweetest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, and a lot of them will go through some shit in order to make it out to one of our concerts. I’m talking flights, busses, 12 hour car drives, you name it. That will always be very special to me.

Why is your album called Disappear Here?

I was reading Bret Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero for a second time last summer, while we were recording the album. For those who don’t know, it’s a story based in Los Angeles in the 1980s, which chronicles the lives of a group of college-age kids steeped in casual nihilism. Many aspects of that book have always rung particularly true for me, regardless of its wonderfully embellished nature. Maybe the second or third time the ‘Disappear Here’ billboard appears in the narrative, it sort of just hit me like a ton of bricks: “What an excellent title for an album…” It encapsulated absolutely everything. What a prompt, “put on this record, put on these headphones, and just disappear here for a little while.”

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

Yes, I do. it was called “I Don’t Want To” and I was 9. It was about not wanting to move away from home and my friends, because at nine years old, that’s sort of your biggest fear, isn’t it? I heard it the other day and, honestly, not a terrible song. [Laughs]

Tell us an awesome Myspace-related story you have as a musician.

Yes, on that first day of 7th grade science class where I met Gavin, his first words to me were “Do you have a Myspace?” I did, and he had known that because he had done some research on the new kid in town before I arrived at AC Stelle Middle School. My profile was plastered with the Atticus clothing logo, and he had taken notice as we were both huge fans of blink-182. That pretty much started it all.