The Badgemen are...

John Lewis - Vocals and Guitar
Dave Woolever - Guitar and Vocals
Nik Dugo - Bass
Josh Burchard - Drums 

In the beginning...

Two friends… music and a dream… John and Dave had been playing and writing together since they were in the ninth grade. They formed a band high school following the Seattle explosion. Soon after, Dave went to college in Pennsylvania and John stayed in New York. Though they were 150 miles apart Dave continued to write songs and John lyrics. When school finally ended John and Dave formed an acoustic duo, creatively titled “The John and Dave Show”. They were sick of recording on a portable cassette player and decided to work with Nik (a local computer whiz) to record a three song demo. Nik worked diligently on the demo, and he was asked to put bass tracks on it. Oh yeah he can play bass. Nik was asked to play the demo release party, and two subsequent shows. Soon after, it was evident that his bass talent would be a great addition to the group. Adding Nik to the “John and Dave Show” completed the trio. The Badgemen were forged in February 2004 and the mold was broken.

With the May 2005 release of their debut album, Mosaic, the Badgemen are embarking on their greatest journey yet…spreading their music to the masses. In just over a year, this laid back rock/reggae trio from Western New York has a following in and just outside of its small town beginnings. Playing in bars, at parties, coffee houses, and college venues, has inspired them to take their music seriously. “We’ve sent people home with stitches at our shows,” say’s John, the voice of the band referring to a bar incident where a female fan fell while dancing. “We’ve seen some skin as well,” as he talked of the nude crowd surfing while playing at a University. They are even known to make the crowd erupt in laughter with their onstage banter. They are just beginning to show their potential at shows and they want to keep the musical train rolling. The future looks bright for these blossoming musicians from upstate.

Badgemen 2007: Enter The Josh

Adding an actual drummer had been an idea of ours for quite some time. But finding a drummer around our small town is easier said than done. Well, as it turns out there was one right under our noses the entire time. Josh Burchard, a former co-worker of both John and Nik was invited to come jam with us and was soon after the newest member of the band.

2009: Return To The Studio

In early 2009 we began recording our second album. Working with Jesse Sprinkle at Bluebrick Recordings in Avon, NY, we spent the next few months writing and recording Arrows and Sparrows, which was officially released on July 17, 2009.