The New Single “He’s a Bitch” by Homer Marrs has the Energy We All Need for 2023
“He’s a Bitch” by Homer Marrs is an eloquently written and delivered pop punk track with the perfect energy to enter 2023 with.
Written to be the high-energy opener for his band’s set at Venice Pride in Los Angeles this summer, “He’s a Bitch” sounds like a satirical tantrum thrown by Blink-182’s queer younger brother. A rant against that friend you can’t stand but can’t stay away from — and maybe even sleep with — its late-90s flair and skate-punk punch make it playfully aggressive, catchy and fun.
Bouncy and hook-laden with guitar-driven thrust, “He’s a Bitch” lets loose the angst and frustration you can only feel at that friend you have but wish you didn’t.
Live performances throughout the summer in L.A., Orange County, Hollywood and Palm Springs proved “He’s a Bitch” to be a crowd favorite, so Homer entered the studio with bassist Josh Gordon and drummer Mitchell Pittman to track it. Having liked the work he did for pop/punk musician Nathan Piland, Homer reached out to Gerald Cerda to handle production duties. Mastering was done by Ray Garrison, who had worked on Homer’s previous tracks “This Fantastic Nightmare,” “Ben” and “Sistinas.” Homoerotic sketch artist Nathan Dance drew the subtly comedic cover.
Released on November 29th of 2022, the track still packs a punch weeks after its initial debut. On the track, Homer delivers a picturesque story lyrically while channeling the likes of Paramore vocally. This ever-so-sweet combination is a match made in heaven, forcing the listener to feel the passion behind each and every line from Homer.
The strong and catchy hook to the track elevates the replay value exponentially, giving the listeners something fun and easy to remember and sing along with before the song is even over. Through and through, we all should be going into 2023 with the energy behind this track, whether you’re cuffed up this cuddle season or cuddled up to your space heater alone in your bedroom!
I had the privilege of interviewing Homer about the song, check that out below.
Bryce Quartz: Hey Homer, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. How are you doing?
Homer Marrs: I’m doing wonderfully, thanks! Except I just got Whamageddon’d and it’s only December 3rd. Last year I almost made it to Christmas Day without hearing “Last Christmas” once. I guess I can stop worrying and enjoy the holiday cheese now. (Thanks, Starbucks.)
BQ: So let’s jump into the music. How did you come up with the idea for “He’s A Bitch”? Is it about anybody specific?
HM: Well, there are two parts to that answer. Lemme start with the lyrics. Like a lot of my songs, I get inspired by actual events by real people, but then as I write I include other relevant things that I witnessed or experienced that weren’t necessarily from the same source. I would say a friend of a friend was perpetuating some behavior I thought was a little shady, a few months ago. Nothing terrible, but definitely eyeroll-inducing. I think a lot of us can all be guilty of letting guys get away with stuff because we’re either too polite or conflict-avoidant to call them out, or maybe we’re secretly attracted to them and don’t want to make things awkward. So we’re left with a feeling of annoyance and maybe a helping of jealousy at whoever that “bitch” is in our life.
The second part of the answer is that I was booked to play at Venice Pride and wanted something high energy, new, and hopefully catchy to open the set with.
BQ: The vibe of this track is MUCH different than a lot of your recent work. What made you decide to go in this sonic direction?
HM: I’ve played more aggressive music like this in the past, in Chicago, but I didn’t get a lot of it recorded. My song/video “It’s Amazing” from 2015 is one of my favorite things I’ve done, and that was definitely more in this vein. But since moving west I’d just been playing solo until I met Josh and Mitchell this year, so I was in an acoustic state of mind previously. The pandemic also contributed to that. But things were looking up in 2022, and it’s more fun for me to play uptempo when I’m playing with others. (Sidebar: plays well with others.) So it all shifted my mindset a bit.
BQ: Were there any other artists you listened to that helped inspire this track, and what were the vibes like in the studio when you recorded it?
HM: I grew up on ’90s alternative, mostly mainstream grunge and post-grunge. That all informed the pop/punk sound that came just after it, which I think “He’s a Bitch” is most like. Veruca Salt was a huge influence and I’d been listening to them a lot again recently, and one friend actually pointed out that he thought the guitars sounded mostly like them. The bands people equate this track to most are Green Day and Blink-182, whom I still like but never listened to obsessively. I take it as a big compliment.
The person I met whose music helped most directly with the recording of “He’s a Bitch” is Nathan Piland. I’d heard his music and seen him live by way of doing the Bear World Playlist, and I loved how he nailed pop/rock, particularly in “Palm Springs” and “You Must Be This Tall to Ride.” He actually introduced me to Mitchell, who played drums on the track and at the live gigs, and their friend Gerald Cerda, who produced/engineered. I would say the vibe for the studio was both casual and focused. We knew we didn’t have unlimited time so we wanted to lay things down as efficiently as we could. At the same time, Gerald and his buddy Reed (Washington, who also helped) are laid back and wanted to explore ideas I hadn’t thought of, so it was also about trying things out without dawdling. And I’m very happy with the end result!
BQ: I bet this song would be so much fun to hear live. Do you have any plans to perform it anytime soon?
HM: Right now we don’t have any dates on the calendar, but I’m looking to change that in the new year. I played solo at the Bearrison Street Fair in San Francisco in October and that was an awesome opportunity and very cool thing for our community to have.
BQ: Do you have any plans for a music video for this track?
HM: Actually, yes! But more on that to come…
BQ: What other artists are you listening to right now?
HM: The Bear World Playlist has been a really fun project for me and keeps me actively on the hunt (as it were) for new bear and bear-adjacent artists, so I’m regularly listening to indie musicians from all genres for that. I’ve connected strongly with the music of Toska Bear, but there are too many others I’ve had on repeat to list. This month I’m really digging YawnyBlew and amir.’s team-up “Can’t Compete,” Christeene’s “Beaucoup Morocco,” Tom Goss’s Christmas EP, and ShyBoy’s album His Royal Shyness, which is a very fresh find.
BQ: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Homer!
Be sure to stream “He’s a Bitch” by Homer Marrs on all streaming platforms now, and follow Homer on social media below!
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