Ska does not seem to be slowing down. There are times when the train is moving faster than others, but for the most part, ska seems to be chugging along just fine. While the rate of newer bands has a tendency to fluctuate, it’s the established ones that keep waving the flag to keep the genre and the scene alive. One of these bands is Bite Me Bambi. Their latest release, “Eat This,” proves that. Packing eight songs in under twenty five minutes, the record shows off a more angsty side of the band, but does not completely abandon their established sound. We caught up with lead singer Tahlena Chikami to talk about Eat This, touring, and the dreaded algorithm. (This has been edited for clarity)
Dying Scene: I know the lineup has been in a bit of a flux over the last year. Has it kind of solidified at this point?
Tahlena Chikami: We’ve always kind of had our touring lineup and then some people left the project. We kind of solidified into that touring lineup. People have other work commitments and two of us have kids. Sometimes it’s hard to get away. We’re always a family-first band. So, people can come and go when they can. We’re happy to have other musicians. If they can fill in for us, it’s always a good time.
Dying Scene: How much of the album was recorded with the new-ish lineup?
Tahlena Chikami: Well, it’s a difficult question because there were people leaving in the middle of the record, but we have some new songs and then songs that had previously been released as singles, but had never been on an album before. A lot of those were recorded during COVID and never really got a full release. So we thought, it’s kind of a cool way to show people where we’ve come from and where we’re going.
Dying Scene: Do you feel the songwriting has changed from the first record to this one with the new people?
Tahlena Chikami: Yeah, definitely. We’re much more of a collaborative effort these days, which I think is really cool. “Gaslighters Anthem” was the first song that we really all wrote together in one room. Jason Hammond from Dance Hall Crashers gave us the song. It was actually an old DHC demo, I think, from the Lockjaw sessions, I want to say. It didn’t have melodies or anything. It’s just chord changes. I wrote melodies and lyrics over that and sent it to Edgar (saxophone). I told him, if you hear a horn line, do whatever. I kind of had in my head what I thought the line should be. Edgar sent it back and it was totally different from what I would have picked. Now, this song is totally different and totally amazing. Altogether is kind of how we’re doing it these days. Everyone sort of writes their own ideas, brings their best of the best. We all get in one room and learn them. Then we work through them and see what we think. What’s good, what’s not. Everyone sort of checks their ego at the door. That was the first song we worked on as a team. I think it’s a really fun atmosphere and everyone gets to feel creatively fulfilled in that, too. Edgar is a really good songwriter, way better than me. Dan, our drummer, said, “I haven’t picked up a guitar in forever.” I said, “pick it up.” See what comes out. Maybe it’ll be amazing. You don’t know. Don’t judge it before it happens?
Dying Scene: I went back and listened to the first EP, which seemed to lean way more in the 90s ska, but Eat This feels very Two-Toney. Was that a conscious thing or is that something that just kind of happened?
Tahlena Chikami: I had always envisioned us being more Two-Tone leaning in our sound, because that’s what I like. Some of it was songs Brian Mashburn had since the 90s, which is why it sounds very 90s, which I’m not against. Then some of them were songs I had half written and then he sort of ran with, but we just wanted to lean more into punk in this outing. I think you’ll see more punk coming from us as time goes on. That’s more what we’re all kind of leaning towards these days, but again, we haven’t started pre-production at all. I’m just kind of talking out my butt about what people have said they want to bring to the table.
Dying Scene: I feel like the flip was “Bad Boyfriend.” It felt very much like a Specials’ song that would have been made now, but I also remember it came out around the time Terry Hall passed. I thought someone was mourning, but mourning in the proper way.
Tahlena Chikami: Yeah, that song. Originally Mashburn was like, we need to have an Op Ivy sounding song, but I wanted it to be more like a Dancehall Crashers’ song. That’s why I like the harmonies the way they are. That was really like a turning point of like, let’s try to be a little less… I don’t know what the right word is… A little less…
Dying Scene: Poppy? I mean, it’s not that ska isn’t poppy. I think ska is mostly poppy in nature.
Tahlena Chikami: Yeah, yeah, it definitely sounds less poppy.
Dying Scene: I think the old sound grew on me. Then you started playing the style I listen to more, if that makes sense.
Tahlena Chikami: Yeah, I think, for me, too. We also just started saying let’s not judge things before they are fully realized. For a long time, some ideas wouldn’t even make it out of the gate because we’d think, people probably won’t like that. Then we just started saying, let’s just write what we want to write and people will like it or they won’t. I can’t sit around here trying to write songs for the almighty algorithm. It’s just sucking all the fun out of it, you know? Some labels say, your songs can’t be longer than two minutes and thirty seconds because that’s like the peak Spotify listening, whatever, blah, blah, blah. Algorithm, blah, blah, blah. I’m a human artist, so I’m just going to make what I want to make.
Dying Scene: Is that the model of releasing a single and video, every so often?
Tahlena Chikami: We’d shoot for like one every other month. It was kind of what we were doing because at the time you would get, I hate this word more, algorithmic, the same amount of algorithmic growth from dropping an entire record versus one single. It’s a little different now, but at the time, that’s what the algorithm was doing. So, we just were trying to get the most exposure and impressions we could. That’s why we were doing it that way. This time we tried to be a little more old school. The look for how we wanted the record to be, the feel, how we all dress, like one package, you know?
Dying Scene: How do you think it affects the experience for the record? You said, half the songs were already released for this new record. What do you think the effect is of that?
Tahlena Chikami: I wish it was a little more sonically the same. It was either making it an EP or putting out a full-length. And we thought, you know what? We’ve got all these songs and they’ve just all been singles. They’re not on a record. So even going back to something like that; something we made so long ago during the pandemic. Like I remember having to find dancers who were all vaccinated in order for us to shoot a video. I wanted those songs to be able to have their due. I think the track listing kind of lends itself to a nice flow. I don’t think it’ll hurt the record, because new people are discovering us all the time. I’m curious to see. I have my own theories about the algorithm prioritizing full length albums now over EPs and singles. So we’ll see if my hunch is correct.
Dying Scene: So, It’s evolving.
Tahlena Chikami: Yeah, I feel like that could be it. Maybe I’m wrong. We’ll see, but it was fun to put out a full thing. You know, we’ve never really done it. It’s actually technically our first album we’ve ever released.
Dying Scene: I didn’t know with the eight songs, if they consider that a full album or a EP, so.
Tahlena Chikami: I don’t know. We’ve been calling it a full album.
Dying Scene: I mean, it sounds full. Was it harder to sequence this? Not even because it was a full album, but like you said, half of the songs have been released already.
Tahlena Chikami: I don’t know. It’s kind of like when I “DJ,” I’m not a great DJ, but I just kind of listen to the flow and I go think, that sounds weird. I don’t like that. That’s kind of what I did. I played it for a couple of friends and people in the band. I think the only thing that people were kind of weird about was that Girls of Summer was the last track, but I liked it as the last track. So I kept it that way.
Dying Scene: I know some of you went to England last year. How were those acoustic shows?
Tahlena Chikami: They were super fun. I’m glad we did it because I learned a lot about touring in England and I think that that information is going to be very helpful in 2025. I was happy we went. It was a fun experience. Got to work with some friends who are musicians out there to sort of fill in the gaps and make some new friends. It was a good time. I’m glad we did it.
Dying Scene: Which songs were you doing acoustically?
Tahlena Chikami: It was pretty much the same setlist. By the end of it, we’re throwing in more covers because we were having fun playing more covers, but for the most part, it’s pretty much the same set list we play now. I think “Red Flags” is the one that was added because for some reason it does very well acoustic. It doesn’t always make it into our live set. I didn’t put that one on the record. I just realized that. Forgot about it. Oops, sorry, “Red Flags.” RIP.
Dying Scene: Is the band going to record any of these acoustic versions or is it just kind of a for England thing?
Tahlena Chikami: No. We actually have a fuller acoustic-like set that has Mike on the accordion and all this kind of stuff that we’ve worked out. We just don’t do it very often because it’s not asked for. I don’t think we would ever tour it again, but I think it is a handy thing to have. You got a day off in a random city, let’s go in here and do a couple of acoustic songs or whatever. I think it can be helpful.
Dying Scene: Are you guys going out there soon?
Tahlena Chikami: We’re going to Europe. We’re playing Brack Rock, which is in Belgium.
Dying Scene: Are you guys playing out here anytime soon?
Tahlena Chikami: No, hometown shows, right now. We’re playing Doll Fest on March 2nd, which is up in Berkeley.
Dying Scene: I got to see you sing “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” with Fishbone back in December. How was that?
Tahlena Chikami: Incredible. I was a total lame-o and I asked. We have the same manager and asked, “Do you think they’ll let me do “Lyin’ Ass Bitch?” It’ll make my dreams come true and so our manager was dropping hints to them. They finally asked and I was nervous because you think, you know, a song like the back of your hand. Then when you actually have to get up there and do it, I was like, what are the words? I was like looking at the words, but then like they’re not written online anywhere or correctly anywhere. So then I’m like asking them, like, what are the words? I didn’t want them to lose confidence in me. They’re incredible musicians when you’re up there with them. It’s wild because they’re just making it up as they go sometimes, and you’ve got to follow along. It’s scary, but incredible. I’m really grateful that they kept asking me to do it.
Dying Scene: It was insane watching them play. That was my first Fishbone show.
Tahlena Chikami: Fishbone’s crazy. I love to watch people seeing them for the first time because people are like, what in the hell is this? It’s the most incredible thing you’re going to see.
Dying Scene: It was definitely an experience. It’s just all these different types of people in the pit. It’s punks, ska kids, and it’s fucking metalheads.
Tahlena Chikami: It’s definitely an eclectic group. We always laugh because in the November and December tours we did. Mike and I would go out and to gauge, what kind of crowd is this? We would sing, “I am a patient boy.” And wait for everyone to finish the line. Like when we were on tour of Barstool Preachers every night, people did it, and were excited. With Fishbone, it was so hit or miss that people would know what we’re talking about.
Dying Scene: That’s insane. It’s Fugazi. Who doesn’t know Fugazi at this point?
Tahlena Chikami: It’s just like sometimes you’ll go to a Fishbone show and everyone will be over fifty years old and all look like they’re going to church. You go to some, it’s like all funk people.
Dying Scene: That’s so weird, but it was amazing. I mean watching the pit was very much like the Stefon skit on Saturday Night Live. It’s got everything. Like the one in Garden Grove had a Spider-Man, a guy dressed up like Santa. And Adrian Young from No Doubt, like it was fucking insane.
Tahlena Chikami: Yeah, every Fishbone show I’ve gone to locally, either Tony Kanal or Adrian Young were there.
Dying Scene: Do you guys have any more covers coming or anything fun video wise?
Tahlena Chikami: No, nothing right now. Just sort of taking the time in between these like big tours to just sort of recoup and rest. Burnout’s real. So we’re trying to take better care of ourselves. That’s something to keep an eye on.
