80’s fun in rock, take me back! Truth be told, I’m an 80’s gal. An MTV kid. A hair band-a-holic and a rock chick through and through. Enter Bad Marriage, a Boston-based five-piece unit. Made up of Jonny Paquin (vocal), Mike Fitz (lead/rhythm guitar), Tommy Skeoch (lead/rhythm guitar), Todd Boisvert (bass), and Michael Delaney (drums).
Bad Marriage has been around for eleven years. The recent addition of former Tesla guitar god Tommy Skeoch in 2023 has rounded out the lineup and brought a gritty energy to their new record. Amazing what a chance encounter on a Monsters of Rock Cruise can produce.
Bad Marriage is charging in with its third release, Match Made in Hell. It rock symphony that combines the attitude of Aerosmith, the aggression of AC/DC, and the blast of Buckcherry back to a modern-day rock band.
It’s east coast attitude with a splash of west coast sleaze. The title track has just entered the Billboard rock charts at #24, and the band’s energetic live performances are gaining fans of all ages enlisting in “The Bad Marriage Society.”
The album delivers 13 knockout bangers that are not only custom-made for live performance but also for partying. I recently caught up with guitarists Mike Fitz and Tommy Skeoch, who discussed finding their sound. They also discussed playing together, their charismatic frontman, and carrying the torch for the bands we grew up on.
A converstion which also birthed the phrase “Masshole” thanks to Skeoch.
*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.*
Terrie Carr – The band has been together 11 years. Does it feel like you’ve been together that long?
Mike Fitz – The cool thing is the addition of Tommy [Skeoch]. It almost was a revival and almost like a new beginning to us. That’s the kind of spark and energy I think we needed to rejuvenate as a band and just keep pushing forward.
It was a very exciting time when he [Tommy] joined, and continues to be. We love writing songs together. The band’s been together for 10 plus years, but there’s no stopping now. Especially with this new record, and we are pumped.
Terrie Carr – Tommy, you were in the business when the music business was a business with the Tesla machine. You guys met on the Monsters of Rock cruise a few years back. What was it about the chemistry between you two at first? Two guys talking and then playing guitar together that made you consider this was something worth pursuing?
Tommy Skeoch – One thing was I had heard a lot about them. Then I saw them on the boat, and that really intrigued me. It was the kind of band I could just play with. I loved them, dug their vibe, and wished I could just step in there and rock with them. That’s what I was thinking at that time.
Then on the boat, I met Mike [Fitz]. We had some beers and we were talking about Marshalls, Gibsons, and all kinds of music stuff. Mike’s a real personable guy. If you meet him, you like him. I don’t know what it is about him, but he’s become like a really close friend of mine. I don’t have a lot and I just love him.
Terrie Carr – This is a rock and roll sensibility experience album. That’s what I really love about it. The songs, the video for Match Made In Hell, restores my faith in guitar rock.
Your sound reminds me of that down and dirty vibe of a Bon Scott led AC/DC. I feel there’s an east coast ‘pissed-offness’ to it. Tommy, you bring a little bit of that west coast sleaze from the 80s.
There’s just this down and dirty rock and roll feel and vibe.
Tommy Skeoch – I like that.
Mike Fitz – I think she nailed it dude. I really do!
Terrie Carr – Did you plan it that way, or was the idea of attitude organic?
Mike Fitz – One hundred percent organic. Tommy [Skeoch] was that hidden spice that I think we needed. You nailed it with the east coast pissed off s**t.
Tommy jokes about that all the time. He calls us “Massholes” because the rest of the band is from Massachusetts. That’s what we are!
I actually think it’s a compliment, and it’s true. We do bring a certain sort of edge to it, but Tommy was the missing link. That’s what creates that sound. A big guitar driven sound. We’re happy that people like you are actually listening to it. Actually really listening and noticing stuff.
Plus, the fact that you said we have a sound like that. That’s been my goal my whole life is to be in a band where we sound like us. You said we remind you of stuff. That’s a lot different than you saying we’re ripping off something, or we sound too much like this or like that.
We wanna be able to show our influences, but we also wanna sound like Bad Marriage.
Bad Marriage’s core sound and band members with Tommy’s signature sound is a cool. A cool new thing that I think people are digging, and I hope it continues.
Check out the full interview this week on my Carr Stereo Podcast for more on the album – Match Made In Hell. Also, the band’s charismatic front man Jonny Paquin and how young fans continue to inspire the band.
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