Sadly listening back to some of our songs tonight as I read about the point blank pepper spraying of peaceful protesters at the University of California Davis Campus, the violent eviction of the NYC Occupiers and the depressing and disgraceful legacy that the mainstream left will be leaving to history over the last decade, they seem more relevant than ever. To say I feel let down by this is a massive understatement.

This isn’t really a post about Bad Day Down so much as it is about our all-too short-lived belief that things were actually going to get better – now dashed on the rocks of reality. As I am less than three weeks from my first return to the USA in over a decade, I can’t help but feel incredibly saddened by the state my country of origin has found itself in. A state it walked into gleefully and without remorse, I might add.

TL;DR version: Support the occupiers in your city. If you can’t go down there and link arms with them, bring them food, water, books to read.. anything. Just don’t sit at home and do nothing. Get online and find out what they need and if there is any way you can help. Follow the conversation and add your voice to theirs both online and in “real life” conversations – be it with your boss, your family or your friends. I am going to do the same. I don’t know what yet, but this post is my first baby step.

I am not the kind of person that posts unaccompanied heart rending quotes so forgive the following as I have at least bothered to preface them with some semblance of an explanation for my mindset.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
- Author disputed

“As the yearly profits go through the roof, the first casualty is the truth. Popular opinion shaped by the highest bidder, now who’s paying the price?”
- Ben “B1″ Fishlock

I think it’s time to just make it Free and without catches.

Go ahead and download our album from the Downloads page.

So, come out to the shows (as if you weren’t already!) and get there an hour early and catch us too!  2009 is gonna be a busy year for BDD: we have these awesome shows, then Rise Against and then shortly after that we’ll be demoing the new album of which half is already written.  The wait between albums has been insanely long this time which sucks, but it IS all moving ahead.

Rumours of a tour mid Aus-wide year are also true.  If you can offer us a place to sleep or play, get in contact with us!

Oh yeah, happy invasion day too.

So… before I was ready and long after I should have, I have moved us to my new server and put up the newer version of the site I have been working on. It’s not all that different on the surface, but has some much needed functionality both for us and for any visitors.

Since this was not exactly a carefully planned update, there are going to be things missing. Be patient and we will have a much better more useful site for it (for instance, rss feeds of shows, user comments on our updates, etc).

This move should also begin to alleviate the issues with the free release of “If This Is How It Has To Be” I promised in the post below.

So have a poke around and feel free to send me any suggestions you might have:

tommy AT baddaydown DOT com.

Bad Tommy.

So to kind of attempt to make up for it (and since we are now sold out of them anyway) I would like to release the album on the internets here to download.

One problem is, I suspect anyone who saw our sign to “just go download it” at the show has already come and gone and I haven’t had a chance to put it up yet. The other problem is that I would like to at least have some idea of how many people download it.

To that end, I am not putting it up… yet.

I will be putting If This Is How It Has To Be on this site for download in the next couple days as soon as I can figure out a way around those problems. Please keep checking back and download it when I get a chance to do it properly.

I appreciate your patience.

Me and B2 have also recorded the Protest! (note the website) demo with Scott from Forefold, who we decided would make a good second guitarist, so in the words of the Spice Girls, two become one….no wait, three become four. Anyway, you can download it for free at www.protesteverything.com.

Ok, shameless band pimping over – BDD, in the midst of the other stuff going on, are also putting together some new material for the as-yet-untitled, yet-to-be-determined-how-long record. Our aim is to have it recorded by the end of the year to be released (hopefully) by the end of the year (if Pee Pete agrees) and for us to be able to tour the ass off it through summer.

In the meantime, Queenslanders book your tickets for LAGWAGON at the Arena in Brisbane and the Sands Tavern in Maroochydore on the 15th and 16th of November ’cause BDD are the main support!! Also, joining us in Brisbane will be the mighty Forefold.

What an incestuous lot we are!!

See, there’s nothing minter than a Queensland winter!

BDD has taken up our lives for a bloody long time now and after playing a shitload and releasing two albums we thought it was time we took things a bit slower. So, we will have another album out someday (if it kills Pee Pete!) and we’ll probably play sooner than that.

In the meantime, as the Melbournites amongst you might of noticed, Tommy now resides in sunny Brunswick and will be at an Arty show or 20 soon. He’s been buying USB doo-hickeys and has been laying down some hXc licks (to the max) which will be kick the lot of you on your ass in some shape or form soon.

The people who call themselves Brisvegans may have wondered who the hell Protest! are. Well, Protest! consists of me (b1) and b2, Dave from the Quickening and the elusive Green. We’ve smashed out a few show and smashed even more beer. Keep and eye out for us. We don’t have a website, but I’m sure you’ll find us on that shitpit of a ‘social networking’ site somewhere…well, damn it, you will, but you’re smart enough to search and find us – right?

I want another vegan calzone…

Big thanks to Footy and Laura for letting us crash and to Pete and Mel for putting a stella bbq on!

Good times!