Issue 40: Katelyn Molgard of Bad Waitress
Welcome to The Band Bible! I’m truly glad to have you here. If you’re a new reader, purpose of this newsletter is to address, break down, and shine a light on the business of being in a band. Each issue, we do this by interviewing (and celebrating!) someone who is making waves through their incredible work with or for artists, or is an artist themselves. Learning the business of being in a band is something that is often inaccessible or shrouded in mystery, and it shouldn’t be, so I hope The Band Bible is able to play even a small role in helping to change that.
You don’t call your debut EP Party Bangers: Volume 1 without setting yourself up for a firecracker of a career.
Toronto’s Bad Waitress have burst and blossomed since the fuse was lit on the EP’s aptly-selected release date of April 20th, 2018. Over the course of six tracks (which include titles such as “Let’s Get Fucked Up” and “Where Did I Go Last Night?”), the quartet announced themselves as a group that is fun, ferocious, talented, and in possession of palpable synergy — components have been maintained and even further amplified in their work since. With Party Bangers: Volume 1, Bad Waitress did not just make a splash — they cannon balled into the deep end. You couldn’t ask for a cooler or more exuberant introduction to a band, and they made an electrifying first impression that perfectly primed them for success.
And success they had. To name a mere few of Bad Waitress’s achievements, their hotly-awaited debut album No Taste was met with fanfare upon its 2021 release, they became known for their explosive live sets (which landed them slots alongside Jack White and Subhumans), and won loyal fans around the globe in the process. Notably, though, their music has helped people.
No Taste maintained the sense of verve and play that Party Bangers: Volume 1 touted, but it did so while taking a deeper emotional dive. “Delusions of Grandeur” dissected political disillusionment and disappointment, “Standards” offers a reminder to not make a meal out of your partner doing the bare minimum, “Yeah Yeah Yeah” champions unapologetic self-acceptance (a standout lyric mentions eating tacos in your underwear) and “Manners” highlights the frivolous expectation that young girls be proper and polite at all times — something that’s brilliantly underscored by the track’s music video, which features Bad Waitress dressed in the style of Madame Alexander dolls and playing their instruments accordingly. No Taste dissects some of the things that make it hardest to live in the world, but it does so while providing a sense of liberation at the same time.
What Bad Waitress gifts us with is the ability to digest difficulty while feeling emotionally absolved at the same time. It’s a cocktail of catharsis, one that doubles as an antidote too — after all, taking tough stuff and peppering it with humor, sarcasm, lightness, and power is what makes it feel survivable. To have that sort of effect on the mind is hard to execute, but Bad Waitress does this with apparent ease. As a result, listening to No Taste feels like dancing in a thunderstorm. The sky above you may be rolling and crashing, and cool rain may be running down your shoulders, but release and resolve act as a through line. There’s joy within that, and that joy finds its anchor in knowing that the sky will soon clear once again.
That said, Bad Waitress’s music makes it easier to exist in the world. They make it easier to stand a little taller, speak a little louder. They make it easier to crack your knuckles, narrow your eyes, and face whatever it is you need to face — all while knowing you’re going to be okay. In “Delusions of Grandeur,” the lyric “I’m just an animal” is repeated. Animals have herds, packs, schools, and prides. When you put on a Bad Waitress song, you’re able to conjure your own pack. Listening to their work is like having a hand placed on your shoulder in support and solidarity, spurring you on. It’s a lifeline as much as it is a life force.
The band is currently gearing up for their “Go For Broke” co-headlining tour with NOBRO and Gen and The Degenerates. Kicking off next month at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas, the tour will hit 16 US cities before wrapping up in Boston in June. Ahead of it all, guitarist Katelyn Molgard (they/them) dives into Party Bangers: Volume 1 turning seven, what they’re looking forward to about the tour, the band’s GoFundMe that woke many up to the realities of being a working band last year, and more in the interview you’re about to read. Enjoy.
This month will see your debut EP, Party Bangers: Volume 1, turn seven. When you look back on it, what are you most proud of?
No matter how much our sound changes, Party Bangers still resonates with us and how we approach performing and connecting with people. Sure it’s all of 10 minutes long and we maybe used four chords to generate the entire thing but it also hits. People still request those songs all the time because they want to have fun and let go. We also spent pennies making it compared to other records so it just goes to show, if there’s a will theres a way!
Your "Go For Broke" tour with NOBRO and Gen and the Degenerates is coming up soon. What are you most looking forward to about it?
Three high calibre bands rolling through each city going BAM! We’re really excited to meet new people and be inspired by the bands we’re travelling with. It’ll be nice to be on this journey together.
Photo by Michael Crusty (@crustymedia)
Last summer, your tour GoFundMe highlighted the reality behind juggling a band with another job, an aspect of being an artist that folks on the outside don't often see. Is there anything you wish people better understood about what navigating this is really like?
Being in a band is more than a full time job. But you can’t clock those hours. So we all have our little bartending, barista, hair dressing jobs to afford our basic costs of living. We don’t pay ourselves out through shows or merch sales. It all has to go back into funding band related stuff (recording, touring, music videos, etc). Also people need to know about what’s going on with Canadian musicians when they tour the states. The processing times for getting visas are so lengthy (at least 10 months now) that it’s impossible to do it without paying the fast track fee. With the exchange rate we are paying $4000 to tour there. It’s capitalist gatekeeping. The only people who can possibly afford that already have money, borrow it from their labels, or are desperately raising funds some other way, which is why we did the GoFundMe. We’re lucky we have such supportive people that were willing to help us out but that can’t be the norm.
How has Bad Waitress changed you?
Before I found these goofballs I wasn’t a confident player. It wasn’t until I found a group of people that made me feel comfortable enough to try things and mess up and learn, that I was able to unlock my potential. Confidence comes from within sometimes, but it also comes from having a community that cares about you and wants to see you succeed.
Lastly, which "commandment" would you like to leave behind in The Band Bible?
Thou shall eat your veggies and drink plenty of water!!!!! Over the years I’ve seen a lot of musicians party like rockstars before becoming rockstars and they burn out. Take care of your body and mind. Never forget that your love of music and art is the core driving factor. Lots of things are there to discourage you. There are writing blocks, shitty tours, people that don’t get what you’re doing, etc, etc. In the arts the only one advocating for you is you so take care of yourself. <3
Photo by Michael Crusty (@crustymedia)
A huge thank you to Katelyn for taking the time to share such thoughtful answers. To keep up with Bad Waitress, click here to visit their website — there, you’ll find links for tour tickets, merch, streaming and socials, and more.