INTERVIEW: Light, Darkness, & the In-Between: Finding Balance with Bad Guru
- Olivia Smith
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
The ATL band reminds us that “being a creative is our birthright.”
Hungry for some headbanging? If you’re looking for a band that really knows how to rock, look no further than Bad Guru. The band is rooted in psychedelic grunge, taking inspiration from big-name groups Tool and Soundgarden, with a hint of more “obscure” stoner rock acts like Slomosa and Truckfighters. Before they opened for Hooked Like Helen at Smith’s Olde Bar, Art Seen ATL chatted with Bad Guru backstage about their evolution between albums, songwriting as mythology, and the eternal power of live music.
Many moons before its current manifestation, Bad Guru was born the same way as all great groups—in the throes of good old fashioned teen angst. Quinn Brophy (drums), Joey Hurley (guitar), and Ethan Bilkert (guitar) played together in high school, with the latter two taking the same beginner guitar class in college. There, they met vocalist Sierra Crowe and formed a small band. After graduation, the group linked back up with Brophy to form Bad Guru. Their most recent addition, Dustin Fennell, was actually a longtime fan of the band before joining as their bassist.
Bad Guru has released two studio albums, a self-titled project in 2021 and 2024’s Love and Fear Me. On their first release, Hurley shared that the music was somewhat happier, both lyrically and sonically. Later, as the band was experiencing individual personal shifts, they opted to increase the complexity of their music as a symbolic reflection of their lives—think Drop C tuning and heavier riffs. As they’re mapping out the soundscape of their upcoming music, Bad Guru is looking to synthesize their previous approaches in a refreshed way. “We're kind of trying to bring everything together from the first two and make it all cohesive, but also grow together and jam more together,” Hurley explained. “We've even started to mess around with adding other instruments, like synths and stuff. We really love King Gizz[ard and the Lizard Wizard] and stuff like that, so we’re starting to get into that territory.”
By day, lead vocalist Sierra Crowe is a counselor. She describes her therapist role as her “Good Guru” persona, but she’s eternally fascinated by the nuances of the human experience—yin and yang, dark and light, and finding equilibrium in the unspoken parts of ourselves. “There’s so many things in sessions that I want to say, but it’s probably not professional or the right time,” Crowe said. “[Songwriting] is my way of being able to say all those things that may be a little bit dark or a little bit more direct and empathizing with things that people may not want to empathize with yet.” I asked Crowe how she balances the mythical and mystical with the lived and learned (her bandmates jokingly deemed this “the most Sierra question ever”)—simply put, she views the two concepts as eternally intertwined. “The mystical is in everything, if you look hard enough,” she smiled. “The experience is a starting point, and the metaphor is mystical.”
As live music junkies, Bad Guru knows all the right moves for delivering a killer show. Their Smith’s set began with an instrumental interlude, showcasing the craft and talent from each musician. Bilkert and Hurley worked in tandem, their guitars speaking the same intricate language, and Brophy packed a punch as he kept time on the drums. Fennell fit right in with the crew, nailing the elaborate basslines woven into each track. Crowe took the stage after the intro, donning iridescent sleeves under a black denim vest. To quote Alex Turner, the vocalist is made of outer space—she dances and glides across the stage like an alt-rock Stevie Nicks, putting the whole audience under her spell. You can tell she’s having the time of her life as she performs. Headbangers “Heaven’s Gate” and “Hearts in Twine” had the crowd rocking, but particularly of note was “No Innocent,” a deeply powerful (and relevant) song about protecting the vulnerable. Lastly, their performance ended with a cover of Tool’s “The Pot.” Fans recognized the track from the first lyric and instantly sang along.
Before leaving the stage, Bad Guru gathered the crowd together for a “family photo,” a touching example of their passion for preserving concertgoing. Earlier, we discussed their long history with live music, both as fans and performers. “To me, I think so many of [our] songs were written for the live experience,” Hurley stated. “I can't even tell you how many shows we've all collectively been to ourselves—for the local scene, for big bands, for whatever. It’s everything for us. In our mind, the only way we really imagine experiencing these things is live with the visuals, like it's maybe a downer to us to just like play somewhere that didn't have even like a light show or something to go with it.”
Bilkert chimed in with a fitting and heartfelt quip: “Music’s like food: it’s best enjoyed with others. Like, you have a great meal by yourself, but it’s better with other people.” The band’s eclectic taste is a great example of the biodiversity in this scene. Brophy’s been hooked on Deadmau5 and other EDM hits for drumming practice, while Crowe’s been digging GAUPA and local band Stardust Sonata (the latter fits right in with Bilkert’s newfound jazz kick). Hurley’s forever inspired by King Gizz, and Fennell recently stumbled into Angine de Poitrine, a microtonal Québécois duo. “It's like artwork, right? Everyone has their own preference for art,” Brophy mused. “Some people like paintings and things, but for all of us, we want to hear music with other people and experience the lights.”
As for the future of Bad Guru, the band is gearing up to drop a music video for “Always, in All Ways.” “The love song is about the light [wolf] and the dark wolf, or an angel and a demon,” Crowe teased. “You love your light part, you love your dark part, and then they love each other.” The band’s also prepping their third studio album and are sitting on a pile of unreleased songs they’re eager to wrap and share with the world. “If you read this interview and we haven’t finished it yet, call us and tell us ‘Hey, finish the album,’” Bilkert laughed. “Hold us to it.” As they keep crafting this next project, the band is also competing in Sweetwater 420 Fest’s Battle of the Bands. They’ve got a semifinal performance at Eddie’s Attic on March 17th, and if all goes well, they’ll be one step closer to landing their first major festival gig. The Eddie’s Show is certainly one worth catching, and be on the lookout for more Bad Guru magic in ATL soon.
Article by Olivia Smith. Photos by Mikey Smith. Please credit @mts2.photo or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.
