Interview
Interview
PA
~ When did you take up your artistry and how long have you been involved with
it?
PA ~ Musically, how would you describe your sound/genre?
PBF:
Reggae/Funk/Soul. It’s a real
Island Groove sound featuring percussion, guitar, bass, and 3-part vocal
harmonies.
PA ~ What gravitated you toward your artistic work ?
PBF: We started out playing on the subway platforms of NYC to make extra money. We got serious about it pretty quickly.
PA
~ Who are your influenced by?
PBF:
Sublime, Bob Marley, Paul Simon, The Band
PA ~ I understand you have a CD called Uproot The Island, what is
the listener / viewer in store for?
PBF:
It is reminiscent of the old Sublime stuff but we’re not as heavy or
Rock-oriented. We don’t use a
full drum kit – just percussion – and there is a major focus on the vocals
(all 3 of us are singers). It’s
definitely a blend of reggae and funk with some other styles melded in here and
there (blues, bluegrass, latin)
PA ~ How is the CD being received?
PBF:
We’re really happy with it’s reception in general.
We’re selling at least 10/show and our internet sales are really
picking up as well. People seem to really like it.
PA ~ Do you have a favorite composition on the CD?
PBF:
We’re really pushing “When I’m Dead Write Me a Song” but there are a few
songs with commercial potential. “Bella”
and “I Won’t Let You Go On” are also popular.
PA ~ Will you be touring to promote Uproot The Island?
PBF:
We’ll be leaving NYC in January to go on tour for a few months.
Mostly colleges but we’ll be doing clubs as well.
PA ~ Any other projects or follow ups in the works presently?
PBF:
We’ll be showcasing at 3 of the largest NACA conferences this year so booking
our tour and getting radio play are our major points of focus right now.
PA ~ Do you perform solo or normally with a group?
PBF:
It’s pretty much always the 3 of us.
PA ~ Any performances coming up you'd like to plug?
And
Sunday, Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve! @ RFD – Washington DC
PA ~ What would someone expect attending one of your shows?
PBF:
A great-sounding party. It’s
really high-energy, really fun, everyone dances, everyone parties.
We have a blast and we play for at least 3 hours.
PA ~ Do you perform outside of your hometown?
PBF:
All the time. Tour Dates are all posted on our website.
PA ~ During your artistic journey so far, any interesting (funny, bizarre,
highlight, nightmare etc...) stories come to mind you'd like to share with us?
In
2004, we were on tour in Greece. We
unknowingly over-stayed our passports and got caught working without Visas.
We were arrested and deported to Bodrum, Turkey.
We shacked up in Istanbul for about 10 days until we were able to make
arrangements with contacts in Kos and Athens (Greece).
Basically, we spent almost $3000 bribing security and customs officials
to get back to the U.S.
PA ~ Give us your thoughts on the indie music scene good and not so good.
PBF:
I think that the development of the internet is the best thing that could have
happened to the indie music scene because it is now so easy to make your music
accessible to people all over the world. However,
I think that the scene is so over-saturated in general that it’s still a
constant struggle for any act to make a decent living.
We just committed ourselves to being road-whores.
Tour, tour, tour – that’s how an indie band makes money.
PA ~ How is the artistic scene in NYC evolving?
PBF:
New York City is a perfect example of what we just talked about.
There’s a ton of opportunity but also a ton of over-saturation in the
market. You see so many great bands
and so many lousy ones all over the place.
PA ~ What has the highlight of your career been?
PBF:
There hasn’t really been one highlight; we’ve had a few.
Our album, our college tours, our European tour, all the friends/fans
we’ve made playing house-band gigs here in NYC; these are all highlights.
PA ~ What are some goals you hope to accomplish in the future?
PBF:
We just hope to keep growing steadily as a band.
To keep improving our writing/performing and, as I sad before, tour tour
tour…
PA ~ What are your other interests outside of music?
PBF:
We all started out as actors but realized we could actually make money and
perform on a regular basis as musicians.
PA ~ What was the best piece of advice you ever heard that motivates you in
pursuit of your artistry?
PBF:
Be constantly open to new ideas but always write what’s personal and true to
you.
PA ~ Where can someone find out more about Pie Boys Flat?