It amazes me that over a year after "The Best Gun" came out, people are still interested in it-especially people from other countries!
Dejan from the Croatian blog Back Pack Rock did an interview with me about the album. Of course, it is in Croatian so I have provided you guys with the original version. Enjoy!
How did you guys (and girls ) meet up in the first place and decided to form the band?
We meet up my sophmore year of college. Erik and Jon, our original drummer, were roomates and friends since they were 13. Erik saw me singing some of my songs in a coffee shop and said he thought he could add something to it. My whole life all I wanted was a band so I took him up on it and we have been musical soulmates ever since.
I heard your band name means something in Australian, right? Can you explain what and why did you choose it?
Pash means to make out in Australian slang, simliar to how the British say snog. Our name originally was Pets or Meat and there were so many bands with that name. I considered changing it to just POM but a friend of mine went to Austraila over Spring Break, told me about pashing boys and I thought it was a great name.
How did you hook up with Exotic Fever Records? How are you satisfied with Katy's support?
We met Katy through our friend Talia. We tried to get her to put our record out for months and then on a valentine's day show her and former EXFer Sarah Klemm said they'd love to put out our record. I wanted to cry! Katy is a dear friend and it has been great for the past two records not being worried about sales or having to tour. That is the beauty of DIY, you can do it at your lesiure.
What can you tell me about your new album „The Best Gun"? What does the title mean?
The Best Gun was our attempt at showing how we have grown from our first release. Of course as I am writing this, the record has been out for over a year and we recorded it over two years ago and are writing new material! The title comes from the song of the same name which is about trying to please someone you love but who doesn't love you when you are all out of options.
What is the idea behind your band? Are you here just for fun, or do you have plans to make it big? I mean – if that opportunity is given to you, would you take it?
Well right now we have decided we won't tour unless we are supporting a very well known band. We are getting older and trying to figure out what to do with our lives when we stop doing music. Plus I have a dog now and it is very hard for me to be away from her even for a day! If the oppurtunity to open up for a very big band came, yes, of course, I would quit my job but it would have to be the right band.
What is the usual process when you're writing new songs?
It's funny-we have no one process. For The Best Gun, most of the songs were collaborative efforts with the exception of Kill the Rich Boys I which I wrote alone. Now for our new material, I have written a few songs and presented them to the band or Ryan our bassist and I get together and write skeletons of song we present to Erik and our new drummer Joe.
What do you sing about mostly, what are your lyrics about?
Most of the lyrics are about guys I am in love with or who have hurt me. With The Best Gun, I was trying to make someone love me. He said it worked but we live far away so c'est la vie! For our new material, I am still wearing my heart on my sleeve but it is not my main concern. I am more focusing on how words sound and what works best for the song.
Who is your biggest inspiration? Not just in music, also in „real life" and why?
My dog. Just kidding. I can't answer for everybody but beauty is a big inspiration of mine. I love taking photos with film. There is an element of surprise with film that you don't get with digital and that is kinda what keeps me on my toes.
In your opinion, who is / are the band(s) who left the biggest impact on independent music scene and why?
I don't know if I am qualified to answer this. Obviously Fugazi had a big impact on the scene with their five dollar all ages show policy. I also feel like indie music as we know it today started when I was in college due to a band called the Strokes. Sure they were on a major label but it felt indie and I feel like everything changed after their first record came out.
If you weren't playing music, what would you do in your life? Can you imagine yourself in, like, 10-15 years from now?
I would love to be working in fashion or film, just doing something creative. Right now Erik is the manager of a restaurant and one day hopes to have his own place.
Will upcoming Presidential Elections really change anything in America / the world in your opinion? How do you look at the (sad) state of recent economical situation at global political scene?
One never knows if anything will actually change but I sure hope so. The economy is terrible right now and it is effecting everything including the music scene. I find that I'm going to less shows and I would hate to be on tour right now but of course, some bands are doing well.
Do you get many fan emails? What was the strangest one?
Mainly we just get people saying "I saw you play in this town and loved it." It is nice that people go out of their way to write to us.
Please state a word for each one of you, which decribes one's character the best.
I am going to opt out of this one since I don't want any one else to get mad at me. :)
Are there any good bands in your area, or also on Exotic Fever Records you'd like us to know?
I'm going to shamlessly plug bands that we are also in. Joe plays in Karmella's Game who are the best synth pop band around. I also play in Title Tracks which features John Davis from Q and Not U. We are fairly new but I think pretty good.
What would be your „dream line-up" to tour with?
We played with stars a few months ago. That is a dream line-up.
What are the perfect 5 songs to play while driving?
I would say our most listened to songs in the van are anything by Phoneix, Phantom Planet and anything that Joe plays. We were on a Silverchair kick for a while. haha.
What is the sweetest birthday gift ever given to you?
A trip to Disney World two years ago!
Unavoidable one – any last words? Anything I forgot to ask?
Nope I think we covered a lot of ground!