Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Bad Island Easter
Intro:
My name is Aaron Shepherd and I am lead singer, bass player, and one of three songwriters for the American band Bad Island Easter. We all live and play in Nashville, Tennessee USA. Bad Island Easter is Aaron Shepherd, Matt Lowell, Sebastian Mogan, and Jack Shepherd
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest memory of a connection to music is sitting in the third row of my mother’s station wagon listening to the Oldies Radio station. In America in the 1990s the “Oldies” were basically pop and rock hits from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. This is where I first heard the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Kinks.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
My passion for creating music came from playing instruments and singing with my siblings in my parents’ house when we were teenagers.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
We will be releasing “Tomorrow Will Be Like Yesterday” EP January 22nd digitally with a vinyl record release to follow. The project comprises three new studio tracks and three live tracks recorded at our at first headline show in our hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. The lead single off the EP “Who We Are on TV” was written in honor of America’s 250-year anniversary and is about our Nation’s Capital Washington D.C. as I remembered it when I first visited when I was very young and again as a high school senior. We recorded this song concurrently with a cover of the Kinks’ song “All Day and All of the Night” which is a tribute to one of our heroes Ray Davies. The second original single “Alchemy” was one the first Bad Island Easter songs written since we reformed 2024. The song was written by Matt Lowell who is one of our primary song writers and in an innovation features his voice as the lead vocal. I am the lead singer usually. We are working on more songs that will feature Matt’s voice. Matt also writes songs that feature my voice like our last single “Realm of the Forms.” The live recordings capture the chemistry of the band and most importantly they also feature the drum playing of my little brother Jack Shepherd. One of the live tracks “Queen of the Proles” is an unreleased song but the live recording was so dynamic and unique that we decided to include it while planning on recording a studio version sometime in 2026.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Bad Island Easter is an artifact—and so is our sound. I would say the music sounds like indie rock from the 2000s and the 2010s but I was there and the audiences we played for in Nashville were not ready for us even though we were having a blast. Since Bad Island Easter reformed in 2024 we incorporated more synthesized sounds and programmed beats that we blend with traditional bass and electric guitar. We brought Matt Lowell on for lead and rhythm guitar and one of our founding members Sebastian Mogan has moved away from playing lead guitar to producing and playing the synth live.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
When we first formed Bad Island Easter in 2007 and we recorded our EP which you can stream anywhere online—I personally placed more importance on live performances and treated recording as a sort of nuisance where all the other band members were more comfortable. Since reforming and recording ourselves and recording more frequently I have learned how to treat recoding as a performance that I really enjoy. I treat each recording opportunity now as a rare opportunity where I can influence the energy of the band and contribute to the overall sound of the recordings. I still love to perform live—I have just learned how to harness that energy and call it up in the studio.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Sebastian Mogan is the heartbeat of our sound. Matt and I write songs and send the demos to Sebastian who then programs the beats on logic. This is where our recorded songs are born. Sebatian uses an Auturia keyboard synthesizer to program rhythm, drone, or melodic sounds. This piece of equipment has completely transformed for our sound. We also rely heavily on Fender guitars. Matt Lowell bought Sebastian’s Telecaster years before we reformed. This guitar is a relic from the first Bad Island Easter age and can be heard on the 2007 EP. Matt also plays a Fender Mustang—you can see both these guitars in action on our Bad Island Easter YouTube page. Matt plays these guitars through a Supro Galaxy amp. I still use my baby-blue American Fender Jazz 4-string bass that my parents helped me buy in high school. When we play live and rehearse Jack uses a Gretsch Catlina Birch.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I have been loving Paz Lenchantin’s new album Trsite and the two songs I love off the album is “Woman of Nazareth” and “Wish I Was There.”
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I have known the guys in the band so long that they are literal expressions of my life-experience influencing physically and spiritually the music I make. I like to make music with Sebastian, Matt, and family members and this is influencing my past and shaping my future life in a way that bends it upward toward God. I have two children and I think they will continue to hear my music after I am gone. Making that music would be impossible without the support of my beautiful wife. The creation of music does not happen by accident.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
There is a lot of negativity in the unmusical and musical world. Music and lyrics can express a wide range of emotional complexity that gives dignity and honor to human suffering. While we do prefer to write positive songs, if we are being honest, that positivity can become complex. In the swirl of desire and sound—hope emerges, however the listener encounters it, and this is the final message of our songs.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Two things: it is better to write a song that does not meet my expectations than to have not written a song at all. Second, I cannot control how other people respond to my lyrics or music. There is a deeper life lesson here, but I am not sure I have grasped it yet.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
In America the only dream venue is in my hometown, and it is called the Ryman Auditorium. Outside of America I would love to the play the Tavern where the Beatles played.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
If I could collaborate with any artist living or dead it would have to be John Keats. If I cannot write poetry as well as him—I could at least collaborate with him on some original lines and include them in a song. I would like to see how he translates abstract desire into images and how he chooses classical themes to comment on modern situations.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
You can support us now by buying our songs on Band Camp:
https://badislandeaster.bandcamp.com/album/bad-island-easter
Please pre-order our new EP on iTunes and Amazon Music on December 1st 2025. You can also pre-save the song now on Spotify now: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/badislandeaster/tomorrow-will-be-like-yesterday-ep
If you do not pay for a streaming service and want to listen check out our YouTube page:
www.youtube.com/@BadIslandEaster
We have a vibrant group of supporters on Instagram where you can also find other local and regional indie rock acts that like our music: https://www.instagram.com/badislandeaster/
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Bad Island Easter is my primary vehicle for musical expression and collaboration with Matt and Sebastian. As a hobby I have been writing poetry since I was 15 and I have been talking with guys about doing a side project under my own name with ambient music and poetry that Sebastian will produce.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope people discover the lyrics that I write.
If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂
Link
Please enjoy this live version of “Size of New York” of our 2007 EP:
