The Bummers at The Smell in L.A. on 1/10/2020
John Dunlop
New Orleans band The Bummers has never been one for genre conventions. Instead the four piece group crafts their style out of unlikely pairings: the jagged riffs of vintage metal with the raw attitude of trap; the breezy melodies of pop paired with their own brand of nihilistic humor; North-eastern punk meets New Orleans Frenchmen street vibes. Featuring vocalists/guitarists Sean Doyle and Ben Shooter, bassist Clay Hakes, and drummer Max Berdik, The Bummers formed in 2014, materializing out of countless dorm-room jam sessions. The band gained a following playing at historic New Orleans venues like Tipitina’s, One Eyed Jacks, and Gasa Gasa, all the while cultivating a euphoric live concert experience. Onstage, The Bummers thrive on a sort of controlled chaos – emerging from trash cans, diving into the audience, venturing into spontaneous jams, all well perfectly capturing the in-your-face feel of their original material.