Editor’s note: An earlier version incorrectly quoted to Ben Hozie when it should have been quoted to Adam See. This has been updated in the current edition. 

The Brooklyn-based post-punk art rock band Bodega is ending its global tour in Carbondale with a performance on Friday, Sept. 26, at Hangar 9.

The band gave a lecture on the philosophy behind their music and art in Morris Library on Thursday evening. 

After arriving from opening for the Viagra Boys in Montreal, Canada, Bodega members Ben Hozie, Nikki Belfiglio and Adam See gave the Daily Egyptian an exclusive interview at Hangar 9.

The band said they were interested in lecturing on campus when SIU philosophy faculty reached out to them about the opportunity. Bassist See also had a personal interest in visiting the campus. 

“I have a special connection with this philosophy department, not that I have ever been here before, but my favorite philosopher is John Dewey, and they have the Dewey Archives here,” See said. “I’m not even sure I would be the same person I am today if it wasn’t for that particular philosopher, so I have always wanted to come here.”

Vocalist and percussionist Belfiglio said that coming to a college campus was a unique opportunity to reach a wider audience. 

“The 50-, 60- and 70-year-olds are still our biggest fan base to this day, but we know there are young people who would really relate to what we are doing,” Belfiglio said. “But how do we reach them, because we can’t rely on the algorithm to reach people? We don’t want to stand with the algorithm. We want to actually go out there and speak to people ourselves.”

Post-punk, as defined by vocalist and guitarist Hozie, is influenced by philosophy, literature and fine art.

“The term (post-punk) has lost a lot of meaning,” Hozie said. “I think a lot of bands that are called post-punk now are not even remotely punk. Punk isn’t a sound. It’s an attitude. At the very basic level, it has to be against the status quo.”

The band does not mind being labeled post-punk since it allows them to find an audience and is accurate to the attitude and ideology of the band. But they do not want to be restricted creatively.

“Ultimately, we want our band to be bigger than one genre,” Hozie said.

Bodega’s discography draws inspiration from different types of rock and electronic dance music, from bands like The Smiths, Daft Punk and Radiohead. Their albums “Broken Equipment” and “Endless Scroll” are riddled with references from these genres, but their influence comes from more than just other musicians.  

Filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard, novelists like James Joyce, and philosophers like Martin Heidegger have heavily influenced the band and their music.

The band explained Heidegger’s example of how a hammer can be seen as an object for hammering nails, but when it’s broken, the hammer is seen as just an object and not as a means to an end. This core concept is expanded upon to phones, the internet and algorithms in their “Broken Equipment” album. 

“We make broken music, for broken people, written by broken people,” Hozie explained.

Hozie said he likes rock that isn’t slick and clean, but rather, messy and damaged. This is reflected in the band’s music, especially in their new hardcore album “Rot In Helvetica”. This album is released under the band’s alter ego, NODEGA, and features tracks with faster tempos and more distortion. 

NODEGA is the band’s way of messing with the internet and algorithm, and also a new potential creative outlet.

The percussionists of Bodega have a unique aesthetic — they are all standing and none of them sit at a drum kit. While she sings, Belfiglio plays the high hat that See described as having “an electronic music function” that is separate from the drums played by Adam Shumski, making their sound feel different. 

Hoize said that this emulated electronic beat is “in order to make rock ‘n’ roll relevant” to “21st century music like EDM and hip-hop.” The band members agreed that this gives the stage the presence of a theatre set. 

Bodega began playing in punk houses in New York that are similar in nature and spirit to Carbondale’s Lost Cross and Commune, but they play at those spaces “less so now,” said Belfiglio.

Hoize said that in those kinds of spaces, there is no symbolic divide between the band and the audience.

“Even if we play at a place like this, we try to still encourage, like, yell something out,” Hozie said as he gestured to the stage in Hangar 9. “Let’s have a conversation. You wanna hear a certain song? Tell us, we’ll play it. Nikki often brings people up on the stage to either grab an instrument and jam with us or to dance.” 

The band said that with “more engagement”  comes “money, separation and bigger stages” like in Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” 

“I could see if the band, you know, gets bigger than what we already are,” he said, knocking on the wooden table. “Maybe we could do the smaller shows as NODEGA.”

Bodega’s music takes stances against mindless consumption and late-stage capitalism with fast and constant lyrics on tracks like “Doers” and “Can’t Knock the Hustle.” The band covers other serious topics like sex work and masculinity within “GND Diety” and “Jack in Titanic” respectively. 

The band’s lyrical songwriting can be what brings listeners in, or what pushes them away. 

“One of our biggest critiques from people will be like ‘Yeah, I like you guys, but your lyrics are too on the nose,’” Belfiglio said. 

“They think we are just saying, ‘Oh, you’re on your phone too much,’ but there is a lot more to it than that,” Hozie added.

Faced with this criticism, the band said it does not want to create surface-level art and wants to challenge listeners. 

“Popular music listens to itself for you,” See said, citing philosopher Theodor Adorno. “Don’t worry, you’re not going to miss anything.” 

Bodega members said theirs is a band that wants to be present with the audience and have an intellectual conversation with them. 

“We respect our audience and we think they like being challenged,” Hozie said. 

Staff Reporter Brayden Guy can be reached at [email protected].

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