In late January, The Reflector was introduced to Bad Charism. Two months later, the band took Starkville by the horns. On March 28, Bad Charism stormed the stage at Remmington’s Hunt Club. Although it was the beginning of the three-day Easter weekend, the crowd was bigger than expected.
“It went real well,” Vic Sumerall, Bad Charism’s tour manager, said. “They expected about 300 people; they got over 900, and they were a very lively crowd.”
The band is comprised of drummer Jason Pike (a Mississippi State University sophomore), his brother Jeff Pike on bass, singer/guitarist Aaron Hall and lead guitarist Ricky Williams (also an MSU student).
Last time The Reflector checked in with the band, they were preparing for a show at Mobile’s Grand Central. Since then, the band has had one of their most prestigious performances to date. Bad Charism recently opened for Dezeray’s Hammer at The Swamp, a large beachfront nightclub in Destin, Fla.
“Everyone was real wild because it was Spring Break,” Jeff said. “There were a lot of hot babes there, too.”
The band played for over two hours to the Spring Breakers and played their own original material as well as cover songs from the likes of Metallica, Saliva and Linkin Park, to name a few. The cover songs were all crowd pleasers, but the band continues to push them out of the lineup as more original songs are penned. The band currently has three independent albums recorded at Graveyard Records in Mobile, Ala., and another CD is in the works.
“We’ve got about eight or 10 songs we’re working on right now, but we won’t have time to really develop them until the summer,” Jason said.
Even if the guys of Bad Charism were not in their late teens and early 20s, they would still have much room for band maturity, but so far, their growing has not had many pains.
“From our first to our second albums was a big leap in itself, and we hope that will continue,” Jeff said.
Unlike the Smashing Pumpkins, where frontman Billy Corgan had almost complete control of the band, Bad Charism works by committee.
“We distribute the songwriting pretty evenly,” Jason said. “Aaron does most of the lyrics while me and Jeff handle the arrangements of the songs, particularly the stops and starts.”
While landing a record deal may be tricky, Bad Charism seems to have no trouble honing their craft.
“I think we’re starting to write better songs,” Williams said. “We’re becoming more experienced songwriters. The songs are a little better on our last album.”
The band’s craftsmanship has not gone unnoticed by WCPR, Biloxi’s popular rock station known for launching 3 Doors Down to stardom. The station has played a few of the band’s tracks such as “Promises,” “Changing Seasons” and “Invisible To You” on its “Homegrown Show.”
If you missed Bad Charism, you have a chance to redeem yourself as the band will return to the Hunt Club in June. For Jeff, playing at the Hunt Club is like a stroll on the Walk of Fame.
“It makes you feel like you’re somebody big when you play on the same stage as Vanilla Ice,” Jeff said.