Bass Drum of Death

Lore & Background

John Barrett formed Bass Drum of Death in 2008 as a one-man-band, playing both bass drum and guitar. The band's members are from Oxford, Mississippi, and they played in Oxford's booming music scene for years (mainly 2008-2013) before John decided to move to New York City. The touring band consists of two guitarists and a drummer. Barrett recorded their first two albums by himself. Their debut LP, GB City, was released on April 12, 2011 by Fat Possum Records, with Inflated Records also distributing the vinyl edition. In April 2011, Bass Drum of Death performed live on Fuel TV with MellowHype, of OFWGKTA, playing the song '64'.

Reader's Guide

Bass Drum of Death's significance lies in their raw garage punk sound and the singular vision of frontman John Barrett, who initially recorded the band's first two albums alone. Their music has been featured in major video games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Forza Horizon 2 and 4, as well as in films, television shows, and advertisements, broadening their reach beyond the underground scene. The band's extensive touring in the United States and Europe, along with performances at festivals like Rock en Seine and Made in America, helped establish their reputation. Their return to Fat Possum Records with the 2023 album Say I Won't and the 2024 live album Live... and Let Die demonstrates their continued activity and relevance in the garage punk genre.

Did You Know?

• Bass Drum of Death's song 'Crawling After You' appears in the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto V.
• The band performed live on Fuel TV with MellowHype in April 2011.
• Their debut LP GB City was released on April 12, 2011 by Fat Possum Records.
• In May 2015, John Barrett announced a hiatus due to 'personal issues', canceling a scheduled summer tour of Europe.

From a Single Drummer in Oxford

John Barrett started Bass Drum of Death in 2008 as essentially a solo project, handling both the bass drum and guitar himself. Operating out of Oxford, Mississippi, the young musician plugged into the town's thriving local music scene and spent the years between 2008 and 2013 building a following through relentless local shows. Those early recordings—captured entirely by Barrett alone—eventually produced the 2008 EP Stain Stick Skin and the 2010 release High School Roaches, laying the groundwork for what would become a full touring outfit. By the time the debut long-player GB City hit shelves on April 12, 2011, through Fat Possum Records (with vinyl distribution handled by Inflated Records), the project had already grown beyond one person. The touring configuration that followed featured two guitarists alongside a drummer, transforming the initially solitary endeavor into a proper four-piece garage punk unit. Barrett's decision to relocate to New York City after those Oxford years marked a turning point, shifting the band's creative center while the music kept its raw, Southern-rooted energy intact.

Label Shifts and a Decade of Albums

After their Fat Possum debut, the group signed with Innovative Leisure Records in early 2013 and immediately delivered two back-to-back full-length records: the self-titled Bass Drum of Death in June 2013 and Rip This in October 2014, the latter welcoming drummer Len Clark as a new collaborative member. Throughout this period and beyond, the band toured the United States and Europe with remarkable consistency, eventually crossing into South America for the first time in August 2014 with a show in Brazil. The fourth studio album, Just Business, arrived in 2018 after Barrett announced its completion on Twitter in late 2017. The 2020s brought a notable creative shift: Barrett teamed up with his younger brother Jim to write material in Brooklyn in early 2020, then finished recording in Oxford during the pandemic lockdown, resulting in the 7-inch "Too Cold to Hold" / "Wait" on Muscle Beach Records. The band's fifth album, Say I Won't, marked a homecoming to Fat Possum Records with its January 27, 2023 release, followed by the live album Live... and Let Die in June 2024 (recorded in Chicago in April 2023) and the sixth studio record SIX in 2025.

A Sound That Found Its Way Everywhere

Bass Drum of Death's catalog has accumulated an extraordinary amount of sync placements across film, television, video games, and advertising. Their 2012 track "Velvet Itch" scored a scene in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, while "Get Found" landed on the MLB 2K12 soundtrack and later earned airplay on Australia's Triple J, which also invited the band to their 2012 New Beginning's Festival. The group performed at France's Rock en Seine Festival and played live on Fuel TV alongside MellowHype of OFWGKTA. In gaming, "Crawling After You" appears in both Grand Theft Auto V and Forza Horizon 2 (alongside three other BDoD tracks), and "I Don't Wanna Know" made it into Forza Horizon 4. Sunset Overdrive featured four songs from the band, including three recorded specifically for the title. Television credits span BBC's Waterloo Road, The CW's The Vampire Diaries, Altered Carbon, and the pilot of 9-1-1. Commercials for H&M, NASCAR, Jacamo, and even Folger's coffee have all used their music, and "Left For Dead" appeared in the 2017 film Fist Fight.

Hiatus, Return, and Reinvention

In May 2015, John Barrett took to the band's social media channels to announce a hiatus, citing "personal issues" and canceling a planned summer European tour. The silence lasted just over three months; on September 5, 2015, Bass Drum of Death resurfaced at the Made in America festival in Philadelphia, a performance that was also webcast for a wider audience. The band then continued releasing music and touring through the latter half of the decade. The pandemic years offered an unexpected creative reset: Barrett and his brother Jim began writing together in Brooklyn in early 2020 and completed their recordings back in Oxford during lockdown, a collaboration that produced the 2020 single and the 2021 EP you were right. By 2022, the group was announcing new singles and preparing a full-length record, ultimately returning to their original home label, Fat Possum, for Say I Won't. The 2023-2024 period saw them capture a live performance in Chicago and release it as Live... and Let Die, while 2025 brought the sixth studio album SIX, confirming that the project Barrett started alone on a Mississippi stage in 2008 remains very much alive.

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