Interview with Miguel Chen (Teenage Bottlerocket/That Guy/Rad Bradleys) on his new side project, Stat Dad

I recently spoke with the bass player of Teenage Bottlerocket, Miguel Chen, to discuss his new band, Stat Dad and its debut 7'' EP titled, Mominatrix, out on Sexy Baby Records.

Squid Pro Quo: Who and what is Stat Dad?
Miguel Chen: "Stat Dad is a side project band I (bass/vocals) started with my friends, J.D. (guitar/Redbush) and Ferg (drums/That Guy). Clint (guitar) is in the band too, but he sucks. By definition, a stat dad is a father who keeps statistics of his kid's little league games. We just thought it sounded cool, but then later came to terms with it being a pretty dumb band name. I'll go ahead and publicly blame Clint."

SPQ: You have a song called "Mominatrix." Please tell me there's a true story, or a story somewhat rooted in truth behind this.

MC: "(Laughs) I mean, I've hung out with doms who are also moms, but mostly I thought it was a clever song name slash record title. Plus, moms are hot and so are dominatrixes, so it worked out."

SPQ: The 7'' has an overall BDSM/gender-role-challenging theme to it. Why?

MC: "The whole band is sort of built around that stuff. I think anyone who knows me or has heard Teenage Bottlerocket's song, "Mutilate Me," which Ray (Carlisle/Teenage Bottlerocket) wrote about me, is aware that I am a little fucking pervert. I like drinking pee and being tied up and hurt. When I was developing Stat Dad, I knew I wanted it to be raw, sort of crusty punk songs. The BDSM aspect just came naturally."

SPQ: Were you really forced into a dress?

MC: "Yes and it gave me a boner. We have a couple of wigs, some makeup and some panties at my house just for when my girlfriend decides I need to be a pretty girl."

SPQ: The song, "Church of Shit" reminds me of Rudimentary Peni crossed with NOFX. Regarding musical influences, what inspired you to write these tunes - bands and otherwise?

MC: "When I started the band, I was listening to a lot of Rudimentary Peni and Subhumans. As far as "Church of Shit," I think the whole band is sort of focused on the idea that everything is shit and we should all have weird sex. So some of the songs are about the kinky side of that spectrum, and some are about how other things are shit."

SPQ: Will Stat Dad be recording and/or releasing a full-length or more material?

MC: "The plan is to do a full length eventually, but again, I'm really busy with my main gig, Teenage Bottlerocket, so it'll probably be a while."

SPQ: Is Benito still incognito? Are the Rad Bradleys dead?

MC: "Benito is ruling in Texas. Radleys are long dead."

SPQ: Is That Guy still doing stuff?

MC: "That Guy comes out of the wood works once every year or two to play a show, but not very often."

SPQ: One final question: is Stat Dad really Masked Intruder? 

MC: "I wish."

Stream "Mominatrix:"