Alvie & The Breakfast Pigs: Wallowing In Muddy Rock 'n Roll

When I first heard Alvie and The Breakfast Pigs they were a loud, high energy, busted up blues band that reminded me of groups love like The Dirtbombs, The Oblivians or early White Stripes.  I only got to see them live a couple of times before they moved from the dusty roads of Tempe AZ, to the rolling hills of San Francisco. The Breakfast Pigs weren't trying to reinvent the wheel, but what they were doing was running over everyone in the room with it and that I admired.  This group had guts, that much was apparent.  Along with frontman Alvie Adam's appreciation for trashy blues, the band has now added a splash of Exile on Main Street  and a pinch of Ooh La La on their new EP Indian Rugburn.  Needless to say I am delighted in what I heard.  Not just the music itself but the fact that this particular type of music is coming from a young band.  Most people their age have dismissed bands like The Rolling Stones and the Faces as misogynistic dinosaurs. Yes, rock; n roll is mean, unsafe and unpredictable, but that's what makes it so great,  Alvie and The Breakfast Pigs embrace this beast. So for those who like being wrapped in your warm cozy blankets, there's a never ending cesspool of EDM DJ's and Three Mile Pilots out there to tickle your stodgy souls .  But for the rest of us that still like sweat, grit and fire in our music: Alvie and The Breakfast Pigs are here and ready to kick over some troughs.  

Interview by J Castro

Who is currently in the band and what does everyone do in it?

Alvie Adams- Rhythm Guitar/ Lead Vocals

Philip Thorneycroft – Lead Guitar

Jake Natkin- Drums

Brady Boyle- Bass/ Vocals when he feels like it.

So Alvie, you moved from Tempe AZ to The Bay Area a couple of years ago correct?  The band consists of all new lineup from the band you had in Arizona, how did you meet up with the new Breakfast Pigs?

ALVIE: Yeah, it has been quite the journey to get here. Philip and I moved to Alaska for a summer to save the money to afford to come out to the bay and keep playing music. Philip was actually one of our OG breakfast pigs back when we were originally a 4 piece in 2010. We played a few shows just for fun before he moved away. Jake has been our drummer since 2013 before the first EP Snake Headed Faceless Cowboy came out when we were a 3 piece. Mike Spero our old bass player is on to bigger and better things. He now plays bass in Authority Zero and is killing it. Brady has been a friend for years and used to live in Tempe in our house “Breakfast”. He had been in SF for 5 years and was down to replace Mike when we made the move. So it was actually pretty easy after we got out here.

What are the crowds and the venues like out in San Francisco as opposed to Tempe?  Do you find people there are generally more responsive to your music? 

ALVIE: If you ask anyone in the SF they would tell you that the music scene here is dying, which it kind of true, but I’d say its more like moving across the bay to Oakland. Compared to AZ the music scene is still kicking ass here in SF. With lots more venues and people of all ages actually down to go out and see live music. Seems like people that aren’t in the music community still actually care about the local scene. With rock ‘n’ roll not being the most popular genre in this day and age we are having some great response to our loud music and hoping this is only the beginning.

After one of your shows, what sort of feeling or sentiment do you hope your audience walks away with? 

ALVIE: I think our music is best after a few drinks have gone down that hatch to get people to loosen up and just dance. I hope that when people come see our show, they leave with a lot of energy and a sense that rock n roll can be danceable and more fun than a DJ set.

Tell me a bit about your new EP Indian Rug Burn.  I know this may be a bit Sophie’s Choice, but which new song stands out to you most?

ALVIE: We are very excited to be releasing Indian Rug Burn in San Francisco; we have come a long way. This EP represents our journey to get to where we are today. With songs like “Hey Bay” that represent our first few years in the bay and songs like “Stuck in Whittier” which talk about our life when we lived in Whittier, Alaska in a small Fishing town.

And speaking of songs, what sorts of things do you typically enjoy writing songs about?  How do you think the move out to the coast has influenced your songwriting?

ALVIE: I think our song writing style is evolving quite nicely. We really took a group approach on writing this EP rather then just having one person come up with the songs, I think it really shows. When writing lyrics I really like to keep it ambiguous so that the audience can really interpret our songs in their own way. Like most people lately, the Political dilemma has been on my mind. However, I usually try to keep it light subject matter with some humor if we can. I think the move has really just opened my eyes to life outside of AZ and to be honest it’s a complete 180 in every way.

You’re premiering a video for the song “Hey Bay” off the new EP today.  Tell me a bit about it?  Where was it shot and who helped out with the production? 

ALVIE: With the band new to the bay area and money always running short with musicians we really wanted to make it a personal video about the Bay area. We shot and edited everything ourselves.  The Video is pretty much just us dicking around in SF having a good time. This is what our music is about and we wanted to show that off with drinking, friends and great beautiful bay scenery.

What’s been your favorite part about making music so far: the writing process, the recording of it, or performing it in front of a crowd? 

ALVIE: Wow that is a tough question. With me (Alvie) being a recording engineer I may be biased in my answer. I really like watching the songs start as drums and continue to grow into something that is normally different than you expected, always hoping it’s different in the best way possible. I will also be very excited to play all these new songs live. Being on stage leaves us with this certain kind of feeling that we all love.

The new EP, at least to me, has a strong Stones, Faces, kind of 70’s bluesy/rock feel to it.  Were those types of bands actually influences on you when you wrote these songs at all?  If not, who was?

ALVIE: Yeah J, it for sure does. Stones, CCR, Faces and Edger Winter Group are definitely some of the older bands that we love.  Some new bands that we are inspired by are Highly Suspect, Fidlar, The Monsters, and Radio Moscow. The band has always tried to keep our bluesy rock feel even with new songs.  

 What are your goals for your band and your music?  In like say 5 years, where would you like to see your music career?

ALVIE: Well, if we keep things moving the way they have been, we hope to have a full length LP out next year, which is already in tracking stages for recording. We also are planning a small tour with dates TBA in the Spring, so 2017 is looking to be a busy year already. If we can continue to grow and keep moving forward in the next 5 years we would love to do more than just a West Coast tour. We are on the look out to be a part of as many festivals as we can find; also, hopefully to play with more of the bands that we love and support.

What is the best way people can hear and get a hold of your music?

ALVIE: We really want to have it available as much as possible. I would say Spotify or Bandcamp is the best way to hear the music, but it will be on most platforms. We are also going to release this EP on some smaller labels in California and on the east coast, so tapes will be available as well.  Or, if you’re in the bay area you can always come catch a show and buy the new EP on vinyl.

What lies ahead for the band for the rest of 2016?

ALVIE: As of right now we are just trying to book as much as possible until the end of the year. We are planning a tour with one of our Oakland favorites Bones and Bootleggers, but that tour will most likely be in the Spring. We are going to try and book some LA and greater Bay Area shows to keep expanding in California. 


Be sure to follow Alvie and The Breakfast Pigs on all of their latest adventures!

http://www.alvieandthebreakfastpigs.com

https://www.facebook.com/thebreakfastpigs

https://alvieandthebreakfastpigs.bandcamp.com

https://www.instagram.com/alvieandthebreakfastpigs/

https://twitter.com/breakfast_pigs

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An Interview with Slick!

Nick Slick, front man of Oakland's very own rag tag trio of gutter glam heroes Slick! had some time to sit down and answer a few questions for us.  In a revealing interview, find out why he talks like Tony the Tiger, why he doesn't care what his audiences do while he's playing, and why he believes Joe Jackson is a spaceman!

Interview by J Castro

Who is currently in Slick and what do you all do in the band?

Nick: We are a classic three piece or power trio as alot of people like to say. It consists of me Nicholas J.C. Slick! on guitars, vocals, various keyboards (on the record) and miscellaneous percussion, the lovely and talented Sasha Simone on bass and angelic harmonies, and Matthew the monkey man Costa on drums.

How did you all meet and decide to play in this band together?

NICK: Last year I was in a band called Glitz, we were booked to play a showcase at SXSW 2014 but 2 weeks before we were scheduled to hit the road our drummer told us that he couldn’t do it. It put us in a very difficult position, with little deliberation we hit up every drummer we knew who could pull off learning two sets in two weeks. If you’ve ever been in a rock & roll band you know that drums (and drummers) are notoriously the most challenging component to integrate into an already formed band that already has a specific particular sound. Every drummer we knew was already too busy or it was too short notice to pick up and go tour the south west for a couple weeks. Finally when things were looking pretty bleak, I was telling my good friend Mike Noda (later to play bass in Slick!) who I was living with at the time about this predicament and he suggested the drummer in his band Caldecott the man was Matt! I hadn’t considered that because they were more of an accessible easy listening to mellow indie band. Kind of like something you’d hear on an adult contemporary radio station like KFOG, but we decided to give it a try. It turns out Matt was very familiar with us and previous bands we’d been in and was quite a fan. So he was very enthusiastic and glad to be a part of the whole thing, on top of that the guy’s a great drummer, of course it was a little shaky at first but by the time we played our way down to South-by and back he had it down. Later we disbanded due to creative differences and Matt & I formed Slick! We’ve been a band less than a year and have already gone through numerous bass players, I had known Sasha through other projects she’s involved with that were outside of the “scene” that I’m more familiar, I knew she’s ambitious and a talented player so it was perfect timing.

How would describe your band’s music to someone that’s never heard you before?

NICK: I’d say if you like Rock & Roll, Pop, Glam, Punk or anything that’s timelessly classic, what we do is everything you’d want to hear. With Slick! you can hear everything from the Beach Boys to G.G. & The Jabbers, from Roy Orbison to KISS I could go on forever with the blanks to the blanks but I think you get the idea. I want to have a very recognizable sound but nostalgic at the same time without barricading myself into one thing.

What typically inspires your song lyrics?  Are there any subjects you guys purposely avoid in your song lyrics?

NICK: Lyrics, I will admit are what I’m least good at musically, I tend to stray away from cerebral poeticism or politics. I’m not a Bob Dylan Leonard Cohen type of songwriter even though I’m a fan of both. My lyrics are usually very surface level, simple, dumb not much nuance or double entendres hidden meanings etc. As far as what inspires them, a lot of it is from my life experiences or stories from my friends or family. The musician’s condition is another inspiration “You don’t like me (Cuz I rock & roll)” is a testament to how I feel about the current state of bay area music not limited to, “Your band Sucks” as well. The rest are about all that romance, because let’s be real, people can’t get enough of that shit. It’s autobiographical though is what it comes down to, all I can do is write about what I know and see if I can do it in a way that people can relate to. We’ll see about that though.

What’s your favorite album to listen to from beginning to end?  Tell me a little about the first time you heard this album.

NICK: Fun House by The Stooges. I was very young and very on drugs.

I was reading this interview with Nick Cave and he said that out of all the art forms, music has the power to change a person’s mood the fastest.  Do you agree with this statement, if so are there any records that you put on that can change your mood pretty fast?

NICK: I do not agree with that statement. I think it’s probably true for people who love music, however there are so many people who really could care less about what they hear. Why do you think the radio can get away with playing the same 20 songs all day every day? I think the average person when it comes to music is either indifferent or adapted to whatever is presented to them. That being said it’s obvious that there are very common threads among what the average person likes and how it makes you feel. It’s been said if you play a song that’s based in the major scale it will typically sound like a happy or more upbeat song, however minor can be interpreted as sad or melancholy. Mostly seems like ain’t nobody care.

When you guys are playing live, what’s the most annoying thing an audience members has done that totally distracted you from rockin’ and rollin’?

NICK: I just want ‘em to go crazy, other than that they can do pretty much whatever they want. It’s a show it’s about having fucking fun!

If Slick could tour with any band from any era throughout rock ‘n roll history, who would it be and why?

NICK: Probably the Doors or the Grateful Dead hahahahahahahaha need I say more?

If you were a space explorer and got stranded on a life sustaining planet with only (A) one person, (B) one meal, and (C) one record to listen to for the remaining

of your life there, what would all of  these be:

NICK: The Person : An alien woman that first would try to kill me but then later fall in love with me and then we would fuck and create an entire race of alien humanoids that would create technology and 10 million years later destroy the planet through our selfish ways and have to go colonize another planet.

One Meal:  Either Chinese food or Mexican food

I probably wouldn’t bring a record I would just start a band with my humanoid/alien children and I’d exploit them for the entire planet, I’d be like a spaceman version of Joe Jackson, actually he probably was a spaceman.

What’s the single best piece of advice someone gave to you that you followed and actually helped?

NICK: When anybody asks you how you’re doing? Reply with “I’M GREAT!!!” and say it in the voice of Tony the Tiger.

Where can people go to buy or listen to you music?

NICK: A bar, your mother’s house, the street, my house, any venue in Oakland or San Francisco, iTunes, Spodify, Soundcloud, Youtube, the mall, a car, any body's town via www. it’s extremely easy to find if you’re not a useless person.

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Bad Coyotes

     The Bad Coyotes are billed as “rock and roll sex punk,” which you could argue the meaning of until the cows come home or until the bar kicks you out and still really never know what this phrase means. What can you bet on is that Bad Coyotes are a mix of The Kids, Saints, Rip Offs, the Infections and bits of Teenage Head wrapped into one hot blooded band hell bent on raw energy and lo-budget recording. Time for Sex Positions is a hot mess of an EP and could be the musical equivalent of a candy apple with a razorblade inside with only the core left.

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

Jason Coyote

Where are Bad Coyotes from?

Oakland, CA

Comprised of Andy and Jason who are from Virginia. Mark is from Peru and Scotty is from Richmond, CA.

Who is in the band and what do they do?

Jason Coyote - vocals / band dad

Mark Reategui - bass

Andy McLobster - guitar

Scotty Jizz - drums

How did Bad Coyotes start?

Andy and me were listening to a lot of hardcore and garage rock and had been playing in a hardcore band called Not Invited. Mark was playing in Deadfall and Scotty was playing in Rhygin HC. We were all playing in hardcore bands and we just got more interested in Rock N’ Roll more particularly old Rock N’ Roll and 70’s punk and Back From The Grave type stuff. Andy’s been listening to a lot of garage stuff and fuzzed out grunge and shit his whole life and put us onto a lot of cool bands like Supercharger and The Gories and New Bomb Turks and Oblivians and shit like that. I’ve always liked a lot of ‘70’s punk type shit like The Vibrators and Teenage Head and The Kids, Pagans etc. I dunno, we were all guys who liked to party together and hangout and boom! We had Bad Coyotes, shits been a disaster ever since ha, ha, ha.

If you could only own one band that Greg Lowery was in (Supercharger, Rip Offs, The Infections, Zodiac Killers) which one of the bands would it be and why?

Supercharger! Shits fuzzed out as fuck and totally rips!

What bands have been the most influential on Bad Coyotes?

Hard to really answer this one, everyone in this band is such a different person and has so many musical tastes it’s really impossible to pin point the shit. We all like Los Saicos a lot. We all like New Bomb Turks and The Kids. We spent a lot of time terrorizing Oakland and SF in my old dodge blasting lots of Nuggets Rock N’ Roll and everything from Youth of Today to Cocksparrer to Sonics to a CD that had the Mexican hat dance on repeat, we’re fuckin idiots man.

Do you think music can still be a vital force in such a disposable age?

Music is the only thing left that no one can really control. A human being can make noise with their mouths and bodies. Music is true freedom and expression. Anyone who tries to say otherwise is a fuckin jerk off. Shit is easily disposable these days but like a fuckin disease everything finds a way to break out and fester and infect the masses. I personally think humans are a fuckin disease that will destroy the earth and if all the hippies in the world who are trying to save it just off themselves they would be helping their own cause and be less annoying. But the creation of music is one of the coolest things we’ve ever done, even plants and animals like that shit.

In the Bad Coyotes bio, the band is described as “rock and roll sex punk.” Can you describe what that is exactly?

That’s just some dumb ass shit that doesn’t mean anything and our bio is fucking stupid as shit! Mark wrote it . . . pfffffff!

I think I made that up as a description while I was drunk and we thought it was a cool thing to describe ourselves as for awhile but it literally means absolutely nothing. I hope it catches on and becomes a genre like dbeat or riot girls or emo or some other shit that’s stupid and pointless.

How did the band initially meet Resurrection Records? Did they offer to put out the Time For Sex Positions EP based of the band’s other releases?

Well, no. Well, maybe. Shit I dunno. Homey at Resurrection is a really awesome guy who has a good ear for good tunes and likes a lot of different shit.  He’s got a great label and we’re very grateful to be a part of it.

In an interview with Buck Biloxi and The Fucks in Terminal Boredom, there is a quote stating, “Bad Coyotes are some wild dudes who get confrontational and yell and kick ass.”  This leads me to the question how are Bad Coyotes live shows normally?  What are some of your favorite shows as a band?

Our shows usually consist of one or two people getting hit in the head with a microphone stand. I got sunglasses on a lot and can’t see good out of ‘em. Andy usually antagonizes the crowd with cheap shots and weird noises. Mark usually says something prolific in Spanish and Scotty generally looks out at us in disgust and shakes his head and tries to rush into the songs so we can’t talk anymore and piss more people off. Scotty is a handsome man with a good heart; we love him. Also he quit so we need a new drummer, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Anyways at our shows the crowd usually is scarred or confused and stands at the back of the room awkwardly or leaves. People in the bay area don’t like violence very much. I don’t think we’re a violent band. I just think people need to learn how to untighten their buttholes and fuckin party selflessly every once in awhile for craps sake. This is what happens when we play garage shows. When we play with punk bands or hardcore bands at like house shows and warehouses etc, people circle pit and throw shit back and party and generally have a good time. It’s a mixed bag and the candy in it doesn’t always taste good.

50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. How do you think this affects music in any way?

Bottled water is for buttholes; steal everything.

Where can people hear the Bad Coyotes and what’s next for the band?

You can find Bad Coyotes records in the $1 bin at most record stores or buy them from the labels that put them out for more than a dollar. Our music is free and not free on the Internet. I suggest getting our 7-inches from Resurrection records or Modern Action records or Mile High Records. As far as what’s next for Bad Coyotes, well, we’ve been asked to play in many different countries. We’ve been asked to play with amazing bands. We’ve been given tons of opportunity and watched it pass us by because of work problems or money problems or mental problems or substance abuse problems. We’re always stuck with each other’s problems, I dunno, we’ll probably break up. Know any good drummers?

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The Shanghais

Oakland’s The Shanghai’s are audio Fun Dip for your soul. Imagine yourself as that stiff, flavorless dipstick that comes separated from the rest of the party in a standard Fun Dip packet. You put on some Shanghai’s records, bounce around the room for a while and suddenly you’re covered with that sweet, colorful sugary goodness for the entire neighborhood to enjoy. You’re a changed human being after hearing The Shanghais music whether you know it or not. They play fast, loud, catchy, beautifully simplistic Ramones-y punk songs. Yes, indeed the skies are a little brighter, those kids playing outside the bedroom window aren’t so loud, and the world just may be okay for a little while longer. 

Interview by J Castro

Let’s begin with introductions. Who’s all in this outfit and what do you all do to keep the Shanghais rolling?

NATALIE: We have Dani on guitar, Laura on drums, Trevor on bass, and me (Natalie) on lead vocals.  Well, we have been playing pretty consistently since we started out two years ago. We just practice when we can, hang out when we can, and go to as many shows as we can.

How did you all meet and decide to play music together?

NATALIE: Dani and I were friends years ago when we both lived in Philadelphia. When I relocated to the Bay a couple years after she did, we reconnected. She’d always played in such rad bands so I was really hoping she’d want to do a girl group with me, and she did! Laura was the drummer of one of the coolest girl bands in the Bay, Dirty Cupcakes. When they broke up we knew we had to get her. We are all Pookie & the Poodlez fans so we were super excited when Trevor joined us on bass after our (totally awesome) first bass player, Devin, moved to Minnesota. He’s just one of the girls.

Your music has been compared to bands like The Ramones and Nikki and The Corvettes. Music that has been scrutinized for its simplicity yet remains highly influential. If music like that is so simple, why do you think it’s so hard to do well? 

NATALIE: Hmm, I mean, to me, a great pop song is a great pop song, regardless of the complexity of the arrangement or the guitar solo. I think its truly understanding that it’s pop aesthetic that makes a difference. And don’t try too hard, which is, I guess, easier said than done.

You guys just released a new EP on the Italian label Surfin Ki Records. How did you hook up with those fine folks?

NATALIE: Our friend Dan Shaw made a funny music video for our song “Too Cool to Cry” when it came out last summer on the No Rules! No Fun compilation. My friend Morten Henricksen really dug it and passed it on to Carlo at Surfin’ Ki. We lucked out and Carlo emailed us saying he loved the song and wanted to release a 7” with 4 new songs. It was a good surprise for sure. 

And speaking of your new EP, you did a video for the first song “Sick of You”. Can you tell us a bit about it and did you enjoy the process of making it?

NATALIE: Videos are ridiculously fun to make. We had such a good time with the first one that we couldn’t wait to make another with Dan Shaw. As a director, he definitely makes the process incredibly low on the pressure and high on the fun. This time around we decided to go on a picnic, get bullied by some jerks, and then explode them with Rock N’ Roll. It took us only a few hours to shoot it at Mosswood Park in Oakland and we were so stoked when that dog ended up in the final video.

In the video a bunch of evildoers come and ruin your picnic. In the scuffle, you find your instruments. It reminds me of this quote I read about how elitist Prom Queens and bully Quarterbacks rarely end up doing anything cool. They function only to fire up and drive the geeky kids to creative or scientific greatness. Do you agree with that philosophy?

NATALIE: Of course I want to say yes! Weirdoes rule, because they do! And though I’ve seen a lot of elitist prom queens achieve some creative and scientific greatness and some weirdoes do nothing, I do think the idea of the late bloomer blowing everyone away is very romantic.

I noticed on both of your EP’s that the subject of your songs tends to revolve around relationships.  Is it a conscious choice not to write about social or political issues?  Even The Ramones finally broke down and did “Bonzo Goes To Bitburg” after all. 

NATALIE: Ha ha, hey man, we write what we know! And the news is a huge bummer. I guess we do try to keep it light and a little laughable. It’s just a coincidence that everything we think is light and laughable seems to revolve around boys. And you’re right about the Ramones. They did get mildly political on their like 11^th album J since we are only on our second EP I think we still have some good “pop for pop’s sake” years left, haha!

When starting out, is this the sound you all had imagined in your heads for The Shanghais or once you got going did it take on a life of its own?

NATALIE: We knew we wanted a girl group sound with lots of harmonies, lots of hooks. Our original motto was “everybody sings!” The first song we learned together was a cover of the Fabulettes “Try the Worryin’ Way.” But once we started playing it took on a life of it’s own. We wanted to keep the girl group aesthetic but play faster, faster, faster! So we did.

Where can people go to hear Shanghai’s music?

NATALIE: Theshanghais.bandcamp.com and Facebook.com/theshanghais

What looms on the horizon for The Shanghai’s, any tours or LP’s in the works?

NATALIE: We are just riding the wave, waiting to see what opportunities come our way and hoping to sell some 7”s. 

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Primitive Hearts

(photo by Aaron Oxborrow)

     For decades power pop and punk rock have had a history together. However, to successfully execute this merger a band needs to possess a sort of X factor, a certain something that allows a person to open up like a dropped book on a busy street and let passersby to peer into the pages of their lives, their souls. To do this well, there can be nothing artificial, the feelings and emotions that come through those amplifiers must be genuine no matter what instrument is being used as the conduit. Primitive Hearts have raw and sincere reactions to the world around them and they present their findings to you in song form and you’ll soon realize that their hearts are far from “primitive.”

Interview by Jay Castro

First off Paul, I would like to thank you for taking time and doing this interview; I know you are a busy individual, well…. I’m assuming. Let’s start with names of all in Primitive Hearts.

DANIELLE – Bass and Vocals

PAUL – Guitar and Vocals

TAYLOR – Drums

I know the band started as a two-piece (Guitar & Drums) back in 2010 and you Taylor played a show in Portland as a two-piece. Then Danielle came in and magic ensued.  Do you feel 2 piece rock bands lack a bit in fullness or depth in any way?  What led to the decision to add bass?

PAUL: I think there are some two-piece bands that can sound as big or bigger than even three or four-piece bands. In our case, though, we never intended to be a two-piece; we just couldn't find anyone to play bass! I wrote all the songs with bass parts and backing vocals from the beginning, so when Danielle got on board, we could finally start playing the songs as they were intended.

The new LP High and Tight reminds me of one of the three Ron Swanson acceptable haircuts for men (Buzz Cut and Crew Cut being the other two). Does film or TV shows inspire your songs a lot?  

PAUL: Glad you go the haircut reference. The album title is sort of a play on the words “high & tight,” from both the haircut and a high and inside pitch in baseball. In our case, though, it just has to do with feeling good and shit being rad (aka tight). As for TV/film inspiration, maybe not on individual songs so much, but they definitely inspire the band as a whole. We're all big TV and movie fans, Kids in the Hall is the reigning band favorite. Probably about a third of any given Primitive Hearts practice is filled with KITH quotes and references. In fact, in our video for “Falling Apart,” if you look closely in a few shots you can see “Armada” scrawled on Taylor's bass drum head as homage to Rod Torfulson's Armada featuring Herman Menderchuk. It's still on there...

Can you remember the strangest or most unlikely person or event that inspired one of your songs?

PAUL: Actually, going back to your previous question, I guess I was a little off. A TV show did inspire one of our songs: “Lone Wolf.” It was based on Lenny of Lenny & Squiggy/Laverne & Shirley fame. He has the words “Lone Wolf” on the back of his jacket. I always thought that was rad and would make a great song title. I sort of wrote the song from Lenny's perspective; he may be a lone wolf, but he ain't lonely.

The lyrics for the song “Falling Apart” are kind of a bummer but the music makes it one of the catchiest most up-tempo songs on the record. I have heard some say that writing and playing music is like their therapist. Have any of you felt this way ever?

PAUL: Maybe a little bit when it comes to writing, in that you can vent certain feelings or frustrations, but playing music is definitely therapeutic. For two minutes at a time your only focus is the song you're playing, the people in the room, and having a good time. It's pretty hard to beat.

The reviewer from Maximum Rock N Roll said he hears more power pop than pop punk in your music.  I think that’s a huge compliment, do you agree with that description though? 

PAUL: Yeah, that's probably fair to say, although it's nothing intentional or deliberate. I can see how some of the songs have that feel, but we listen to all kinds of stuff, so it's all just a mash up of lots of influences. We've never claimed to be a “power pop” band or “pop punk” band or whatever; we just like to play good times Rock N' Roll.

In my opinion I hear both, which is a good thing! Is there any band or musician in either of those genres you feel is grossly underrated and deserves more recognition?

PAUL: Thanks, yeah, there's definitely a little of everything in there! I'm not sure about any “grossly underrated” power pop/pop punk bands or musicians necessarily, but I think the world could definitely use more of both. All hooks all the time!

In yet another write up, Primitive Hearts is described as having influences like The Kinks, Beach Boys, and The Sonics. I got into older Rock N’ Roll by way of punk rock when I was a wee lad. For example, I started paying closer attention to The Beach Boys and The Ronettes because of the Ramones. Was this the case for any of you?

PAUL: I'd say when we were young; it was the opposite for the most part. We all grew up on oldies and whatever our parents and older brothers and sisters listened to. When we got into punk and more obscure stuff, it was easy to see the connections and influences of those older bands.

I was reading this interview with Nick Cave and he said something to the effect that out of any of the art forms music has the power to change a person’s mood the fastest. Do you agree with this and if so do any of you have any favorite songs you put on to help you out of a bummer mood or to help you get all riled up on the way to a gig? Other than High and Tight of course!

PAUL: Yes, music can totally change your mood! There are so many good go-to jams when we wanna get pumped, but some favorites in the van would be anything from Chuck Berry, The Undertones, Equals, Slade, LAMF, Stones, and pretty much anything else that boogies.

With all these comparisons to Rock N’ Roll of yesteryear, do any current bands or musicians inspire you and if so who?

PAUL: Some current bands that totally kill it are Bad Sports, Midnite Snaxxx, Nobunny, The Steve Adamyk Band, Pookie & The Poodlez, The Shanghais, Mean Jeans, and Needles//Pins. 

Where can people go to hear Primitive Hearts or buy your music?

PAUL: Our Bandcamp page has all our music and merch for sale, so take a peek:

https://primitivehearts.bandcamp.com/ 

You can also follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/primitivehearts) and Instagram (@primitivehearts).

In closing on the behalf of all at Audio Ammunition I want to thank you again and wish you the best of luck. What does the band have in store for the remainder of the year, any tours or albums?

PAUL: We're gonna be doing a month-long tour in June with a couple dates in Canada, too, around the Ottawa Explosion Weekend. We're going out with our buddies Pookie & The Poodlez, which is gonna rule. We actually did a split 7” with Pookie that should be coming out soon on Jonny Cat Records out of Portland, so keep an eye out for that!

Thanks so much for talking with us!

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