Interview - The Pharmacy

We manged to catch up with Seattle pop-punk rockers The Pharmacy after their set at the EMP Sky Church during Bumbershoot and talk about everything from the Sky Church's Psychedelic backdrop to Rembrandt's b-sides. The band recently got done with a seventy plus date tour and are currently working on finishing their second album while still managing to play a few local dates. This bands love for amusement parks really shines through as they are not only fun and exciting to see live but talk to as well. Check out their video for "Tropical Yeti" below and Gander On for the interview.




GN: How long have you guys been together?

Scottie: Ryan and Stefan have been playing with us for the past year but Brendhan and I have been playing music since we we're like sixteen so about five years now. We started playing shows and touring in 2003.

GN: Is this your first time at Bumbershoot?

Scottie: It's our first time playing.

GN: How was it?

Scottie: It's really Psychedelic. The lights were intense.

GN: What did you think about that giant screen?

Scottie: I couldn't really look at the screen

Stefan: I was trying to match up the keyboard parts with the screen. I tried really hard.

Ryan: I think there were giant anime creatures being projected behind us.

Brendhan: It was like watching a computer screen, like watching Itunes.

GN: It seems that your music covers a wide spectrum, where does that come from?

Brendhan: I think we started out as a Ska band right.

Scottie: No not really, that was like the second wave of The Pharmacy. First we were like a garage rock band. It's kind of hard to keep track of what music style we are. it's hard to think about.

GN: Where do you guys draw most of your influence from?

Brendhan: Nirvana, Electric Light Orchestra, The Beatles.

Scottie: Moldy Peaches

Brendhan: On Tour we always go together to theme parks and we're always at the top of the roller coaster together and we like our music to represent that feeling when we're all going down.

GN: Have you ever been on this ride here?(pointing to The Booster.)

Stefan: Yes I have it's so great!

Scottie: One time Stefan spent Seventy dollars on that ride.

GN: So you guys have an album out right now?

Scottie: Yeah we record an album and it came out about two years ago. We've been in the middle of recording. We've been touring so much this year it's been hard to finish the new one.

GN: Who did you guys tour with this year?

Scottie: This year we pretty much booked our own tour. We toured with Totally Michael for a little while.

Ryan: We toured with different friends we have around the country for little blocks.

GN: So there is a new CD in the works?

Scottie: Yeah, we've been recording it for about eight months or so, off and on.

GN: When can we expect to see that?

Scottie: By the end of year.

GN: You guys are all from the same area?

Scottie: yeah, we're all from Vashon Island but Ryan's from the Tri-Cities.

GN: Are there any bands you guys are excited to see tonight?

All: Tiny Vipers!

Stefan: Scott and I work with Jesy.

GN: We always ask the bands what some of their guilty pleasure songs are?

Scottie: I like eighties Paul McCartney.

Brendhan: I like The Knack. They sing "My Sharona," they have some really cheesy songs.

Ryan: I like The Waitresses actually.

Scottie: The Rembrandts. Every one knows them for the "Friends" song but they've got a lot of really cool b-sides.

Brendhan: I used to really like that Shaggy song "It wasn't me"

Stefan: We actually ripped off a few measures of that on "My Friends."

Brendhan: Yeah the dub breakdown. We recorded it backwards.

You can catch The Pharmacy at the Reverb Festival October 6th and look out for the yet to be titled album coming out later this year.

Gander On!

Aqueduct Interview

As the sun set on Saturday at Bumbershoot we had a chance to catch up with David Terry aka Aqueduct just before he hit the Sound Transit Stage and rocked a huge crowd of Seattle faithful and we talked about everything from Oklahoma to Matt Hasselbeck. Dave is one of the nicest guys we've met and is genuinely happy to be doing what he loves. You can check him out right now on an East Coast tour with Apples In Stereo and back on the West Coast in October and November with Georgie James. Gander On for the interview.

GN: So what do you think about Bumbershoot?

AQ: I like it, it's cool. It's smack dab in the middle of the city and it's a lot of different styles of music and tons of people. I feel very fortunate to be asked to play.

GN: Have you caught any acts while your here?

AQ: I saw St.Vincent and a little bit of The Lashes and most of Menomena

GN: Anyone your looking forward to seeing?

AQ: I really would like to see Apples In Stereo.

GN: Your doing a show with them coming up right?

AQ: Yeah were actually doing a whole East Coast tour with them. They're one of my favorite bands of the last ten years or so, so it'll be great to go play with them.

GN: So Oklahoma to Seattle, how does that happen?

AQ: That's a big jump. It's a big cultural shift. I like it a lot here and moving to Seattle has done nothing but great things for me and Aqueduct.

GN: So you like the Northwest then?

AQ: The West Coast was definitely calling my name and I wasn't sure where to go. I almost moved to Portland but I ended up being here in Seattle and I think that ended up being a great twist of fate.

GN: I see you've become a Seahawks. (Dave was sporting a Seahawks wristband)

AQ: I kind of live down close to the stadium and I had a chance to go see a game for the first time this year a couple weeks ago.

GN: Who do see as most of your major influences?

AQ: Aqueduct as long as it's catchy, that's the consistent thing. So really bands that have kind of motivated me and inspired me over the years have just been super catchy bands. Oldies Stuff, Beach Boys, Bee Gees, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and I also just love fun silly music to like heavy metal, gangster rap, and hair metal.

GN: So how would you describe yourself?

AQ: I pretty much just say it's anything goes and I refer people to the website aqueductisgoodmusic.comand I leave it at that.

GN: So it's pretty much what your feeling at the time?

AQ: yeah it is. I try not to limit myself or pigeon hole myself ti much and really just keep the production something that keeps me going in the studio trying new stuff and trying crazy stuff.

Word Association

GN: Bumbershoot

AQ: Huge

GN: Aqueduct

AQ: Fun

GN: Northwest

AQ: Yes

GN: Oklahoma

AQ: Yes!

GN: Matt Hasslebeck

AQ: Geeky, I saw a picture of him recently and I was like man for a quarterback he's kinda geeky, scrawny looking guy.

GN: It looks like you've drawn quite a crowd here. Are you excited?

AQ: Yeah

GN: Do really like the performance aspect of it? Is that what your in it for?

AQ: I'm really in it just to make the music that I hear in my head and put it down. I'm very fortunate that people like it and playing live has become a whole thing now because it's kind of a one man band thing in the studio and from the get go I had to figure out if I wanted to have a band or if I wanted to be the laptop guy with the guitar. I really decided it should be a full band pretty much from the start and have really been working to mold that into something and I feel like in the last three years I've got a good thing going on.

GN: You play with a regular group of band members?

AQ: Yeah, if they'll have me. Gander On!

The Gourds At The KEXP Music Lounge

Gander On!

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club At The KEXP Music Lounge

One of our favorite shows this past weekend was Black Rebel Motorcycles Club's performance at the KEXP Music Lounge. Peter started out solo before he was joined by drummer Nick Jago and finally Rob made his way to the stage to complete the last songs of the set. The performance was acoustic and really added depth to their already amazing tunes. It was Nick's first time playing guitar with the others and he did a great job. Gander on for two videos of their performance "Shuffle Your Feet" and Peter's solo version of "Ain't No Easy Way Out."
Gander On!

I Am Not A Gangster! D. Black - The Interview

For the record D. Black is not a gangster. What he is though is a member of the up and coming Sportin' Life Records crew taking Seattle by storm. With his parents hailing from Seattle's first real Hip Hop crew, the Emerald City Gang and a stage presence that commands your attention one thing D. Black is sure to be is successful.

After D. got done rockin the crowd inside the EMP Sky Church on Saturday we stepped outside to find out what was really going down with this Seattle Hip-Hopper.

Gander On for the interview.

GN: So How's Life?

DB: Life's good, it's wonderful!

GN: Everything but the bills right?

DB: A lot of the times I come to shows, and for some reason on show days there's always a lot of baggage and that's the time it gets overwhelming. But I swear I love being on stage more than anything. Right when I get on stage, even up to that it's stressful. I know it sounds cliche but I'm serious that's my high, I don't drink, I don't smoke. It's the best part of the game for me.

GN: How long have you been performing for?

DB: I did my first show in like the fourth grade. That was my first time being up on stage. I had my little studio at home so I made a little show tape and I rocked it. My partner started crying he forgot his verse in front of the entire school with the parents. That was my first time rockin it. I can't remember my first real show, my sophomore year of high school we had a club night, Sportin' Life Thursdays at the Safari Club on Rainier. I know that was the beginning stages when we used to rock it.

GN: You had a studio in the fourth grade?

DB: I set it up myself. I had these two karaoke machines hooked together so I could dub my tape to the other tape and I had a microphone hanging from the vent because I didn't have a mic stand. I had a Roland groove box, that was my first beat machine, I got it when I was like eight. I've been doin it for a minute.

GN: You just had a birthday party for Sportin' Life Records?

DB: We just had a birthday party, a five year anniversary party. We've actually been a crew before that but we made it a business back in 02'.

GN: You have a new album coming out?

DB: Yeah, "Life and Legacy."

GN: When can people expect that?

DB: Around the first quarter of 08' January, February.

GN: What was Mix A Lot's reaction when you first played "808" for him.

DB: I go to Mix's house and I got this record. I'm kinda scared because I know people have done Posse before and Mix didn't like it. We were just choppin it up for a minute. He had already heard about the song, so we're in the studio and he puts it on and he hears himself and he's kinda like that's me and then it just drops and his head noddin and it stopped and then he played it again and he was like this shit is hot and I told him I felt like it was a hit. He worked with it and mixed it and then a baby was born.

Word Association

GN: Bumbershoot

DB: Live!

GN: My Posse's On Broadway

DB: Classic

GN: Seattle Hip-Hop

DB: D. Black, Sportin' Life

GN: Sportin' Life Records

DB: The Movement

GN: D. Black

DB: Forever!

For more info and upcoming shows be sure to check out Sportin' Life Records Myspace page and be sure to pick up Fatal Lucciauno's record "The Only Forgotton Son" a record already labeled a Seattle classic as well as D. Black's "Cause and Effect" out now. And be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for J.Pinder and D. Black dropping new albums soon. Gander On!

Gogol Bordello At The KEXP Music Lounge

This is Gogol Bordello's final song in the KEXP Music Lounge. They were taking audience requests and there is some great banter between the crowd and the band before they launch into their last song. Enjoy!
Gander On!

Bumbershoot Recap

Bumbershoot is over this year but we've still got lots of great stuff to post. In the coming weeks you can look forward to plenty of video from the KEXP Music Lounge, show reviews, and interviews with The Pharmacy, D. Black, Art Brut, Iceage Cobra, and more. We'll be posting stuff as we get it uploaded (our real job is getting in the way.) so check back often and starting tomorrow look out for a new interview each morning. We're giving you a teaser below, one of our favorite sets in the lounge this weekend Gogol Bordello.
Gander On!

Kyle's Day Two Picture Wrap Up

Anberlin

Andrew Bird


Art Brut



Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Geologic and Prometheus Brown


Iceage Cobra
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Kyle's Day Two Pics Round 3

Gabriel Teodros and Geologic



Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (KEXP Lounge Session)


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Ice Age Cobra

The guys from Iceage Cobra are definetly in shape as they just tore through a six song set of heavy metal goodness at the music lounge. Gander On!

Kyle's Day Two Pics Round 1

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Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

The entire band just gave air high fives to the crowd. This set has vaulted then into the lead for best set and Bumbershoot. Now the crowd has busted out spirit fingers in support of the band, we can't wait to see what they do next. Gander On!

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

What a show these kids are all about having fun. The band wants to know who's hyped to see Fergie tonight because they are, cue song dedication to Fergie . Gander On!

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

The kids in Seattle love these rockers. First time we've seen a line at the Skychurch and it goes halfway around. The bands wearing three quarter length sleeve softball shirt with tassles running all the way down the arms. Lot's of audience interaction "You guys are like sweet sweet treats." Gander On!

The Watson Twins

Their covering The Cure's "Just Like Heaven." AMAZING!! Gander On!

The Watson Twins At The KEXP Music Lounge

The beautiful twins just hit the stage and let us know their going to do some new stuff and some old stuff. In case you were wonderin their also Pisces and they were born at 12:35 and 12:39 on St. Patty's Day. Gander On!

The Chop Suey

Just got to the Chop Suey for the Eclectic Approach show tonight. First opening band Eldridge and The Court Supreme are a twelve peace jazz funk fusion band. Imagine a Seattle version of the Polyphonic Spree. Next up are the Staxx Brothers and then EC's about to show these Seattle kids what Eastern Washington has to offer. Gander On!

Aqueduct

Dave and his band are providing the perfect sunset serenade. With Broad street in the background and a packed house thinhs couldn't be better. Some kids up front just requested "Heart Design" and Dave obliged. Gander On!

King 5 Totally Snaked Aqueduct Interview!

We almost had to bust out some of our ninja moves, but the interviewer was to cute to hassle. As I was typing Dave came down from soundcheck and talked with us. Super cool guy, super awesome music! Don't sleep Seattle! Gander On!

The Pharmacy

The Skychurch stage has been hosting a lot of great local talent and The Pharmacy are no different. The giant screen behind the stage really enhances the performances here. The feel is in fact very spiritual. The fans are having a great time and bringing an energy the band can't help but feed off of. These guys are just one more northwest band getting ready to blow up. Gander On!