by Erick Pressman

When we were young, if you wanted to find new music, you went to a record store or at very least bought a copy of Spin, Rolling Stone, or one of the many genre specific music magazines that came and went over the last twenty years. Who knew that in the late 2000s, you could use cable television’s “On Demand” function, which features music videos as well as television shows and movies, to find new, and furthermore punk, bands you haven’t heard of. That, oddly enough, is how Broadway Calls first caught our attention.

It was the video for “Call It Off”, from their debut, self-titled full length album re-distributed by the East Bay’s own Adeline Records (founded by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong), that we saw “on demand”, and we were instant fans. Catchy hooks, melodic guitar riffs, and the band surrounded by a sweat-drenched crowd hellbent on stage-diving all over each other while belting out every lyric at the top of their lungs. Broadway Calls managed to capture that “best show ever” story that everyone who ever had their life changed by punk boasts about at the bar, usually after one too many libations, on film in under four minutes. The rest of their debut full length proved to be equally catchy, which found the band touring all over the world, and winding up signing to SideOneDummy Records (home to Gogol Bordello, Flogging Molly, The Gaslight Anthem, among others), who released 2009’s Good Views, Bad News.

While being alumn of the Van’s Warped Tour, and sharing stages with such punk heavyweight as Rancid, Bad Religion, the Bouncing Souls, and Alkaline Trio, the band hasn’t forgotten where they came from, and is bringing their “Basement Royalty” Tour to the Submission Space on Mission Wednesday night. They could have easily packed Thee Parkside or Bottom of the Hill, but there’s something about putting way too many people into small room with a small stage is more often that not results in an unforgettable show.

We caught up with singer/guitar player Ty Vaughan and got an earful on Broadway Calls' plans for 2011, their rise from basement shows on the weekends to full time touring to the unreal experiences you find yourself in when the music industry gamble works for you.

SFist: What has the band been up to lately?

Ty Vaughan: Writing, writing, writing. We've been taking our time with this one for sure. We felt rushed while making GVBN, so we are just taking it
as it comes this time.

SFist: Is there more pressure to write a great album from yourselves as musicians, the record label, or the fans?

TV: Ourselves and our fans are both pretty important. I'm writing songs for myself this time though. Lyrically anyway. I guess the way I think of it is like this: We need to love the songs first, or they won't even make it out of our practice room. The label needs to like them or they won't pay for us to record, and they won't work to make sure the
record gets as much exposure as possible. But if the fans don't like them, then the whole thing is kind of a bummer. I dunno I guess I'd rank it BC 1, fans 2, label 3.

SFist: What have you been listening to a lot in preparation for writing this full length?

TV: Green Day.

SFist: Does writing records get easier as time passes as being a band, or do you find coping with expectations of fans and industry factors into the creative process?

TV: It does NOT get easier. The more people you need to please, the harder it gets. Also, when you first have an idea for a band, and you know what you want to do musically, most bands use up all their best ideas on the first record. From then it's trying not to re-write the same songs over and over, even though those first songs represent exactly what you want to do.

SFist: What are some new bands out there that are blowing your mind?

TV: I really like Joyce Manor (video). We get to play with them on this California run, and I'm excited to see them. They kinda sound like if Weezer was part of a basement punk scene.

SFist: It seems like a lot of punk bands head into playing acoustic/country/folk music as they mature. Has that been an avenue you've thought about exploring? Who of your peers has been doing that well in your opinion?

TV: I've played a few acoustic shows, but they're just for fun, and just for when one of our friends from out of town tour through. I guess I played at the FEST, but that was kinda the same situation. Friends just asked me to play. I don't want BC to really go down that road. If anything, I want the guitars louder and more of them. I want a lot more guitar solos on this next record. But, as far as punks going acoustic, I'd say Chuck Ragan is the champ.

SFist: What is your favorite Broadway Calls memory thus far?

TV: Wow. I really can't pick one. Going to Japan for the first time. Recording with Bill Stevenson. Having Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio as our personal tour guide during our first night in Amsterdam. There's three good ones. But to be honest, if I sat and thought for a while, I'm sure I could type out 50 more.

SFist: What was your worst?

TV: Our first Canadian tour. Ugh.

SFist: Aside from a new record, what else is Broadway Calls planning for 2011?

TV: Our goal is just to make a new record. So that's it really. Oh, and we'll probably do a US tour around The Fest this fall.

SFist: Any final words/shout outs/disses?

TV: Thanks for the interview! We love San Francisco.

Rounding out Wednesday night’s bill are screamo locals Comadre, Heartsounds (newly picked up by Epitaph Records), and They All Are Dead. The show is $8 and Submission Space will open up at 7:30 that night to let all the “upping the punx” ensue. Come down to the Mission, grab a burrito, and sweat out the calories with one of an elite group of newer punk bands that haven’t lost sight of punk rock’s best intentions.