Big News
So the wait is over…. We’re putting out our first single "Cryptic" on Kitsune on May 12, 2008. The single will be available on 12" vinyl and digital and will feature remixes by Phones (Paul Epworth), Jamie Ellis and Russell Lissack and Dave P & Adam Sparkles. We will post all the official release info soon, with the track listing and artwork.
If that isn’t enough news, we’re also thrilled to tell you that Pin Me Down will also be doing our first live shows in Europe in early May followed by some DJ sets around the single’s release.
We are playing in London and will announce specific dates soon too. Before that we will be playing some secret shows in New York, under some crazy pseudonyms.
For our Chinese-speaking fans, check out this cool interview that Chasez wrote about the band on Indie Ray (in Chinese)
Here is a rad PMD interview that appeared on Glasswerk.co.uk
Now, on to my shenanigans…in between intense rehearsals and work I got up to some minimal craziness. Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of coincidence and stumbling upon the unexpected for me. I guess that translates to unplanned fun, or shots of tequila, as Jeremy would say. Anyway, Hilary told me about a mud-wrestling event at a Galapagos, a club in Williamsburg. It sounded too silly to be true, so we investigated. 
Unfortunately it was hipster haven – guys in trucker hats? – check, free forties? – check, and practically everyone, including myself, had a camera. The mud wrestling was part of a magazine event and featured bikini-clad ladies toppling each other in plastic blow up kiddie pools filled with mud. There was plastic covering everywhere to shield people from flying mud and there were rules like "no pulling hair." The fighting itself was funny, but no one really needs to see more than one girl mud fight in a row... well…. certainly I don’t. Needless to say, I’m now working on a song called "Girl on Girl."
Next up, I’d heard a rumor that Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys was playing an impromptu gig near my house, for his new side-project The Last Shadow Puppets. I had to work late so I knew I’d miss it, but on my way home I missed the bus and started walking along the main avenue, until passed the venue, which is a record store with a bar in the back and suddenly remembered what was going on. I walked up to the door, thinking there was no way I’d get in and that surely I’d missed it, but shock-and-awe it was only 2/3 full and Alex and his buddy Miles Kane were only in their 2nd song, so I got to hear 8 more. It was pretty awesome, even though I wasn’t familiar with the material.
Even though they’re one of the biggest bands in the world, I must admit, I really like the Arctic Monkeys. Both of their records are fantastic. I am one of the few who prefers the second record to the first. You can’t top "Teddy Picker," "This House is a Circus" and "505." As a songwriter Turner really is the real deal and I’d never caught him live until now. One of the most impressive things was Alex’s stage presence. I mean obviously he’s had a lot of practice, but he’s funny, cracking jokes, filling up the awkward, in-between-song gaps.
Another unexpected feat was passing my driving test on my first try! SCORE! I’ve been practicing for a year and a half, but I’m still pretty new to it. In all honesty, I think I passed because I sang my driving directions to my instructor for the duration of the ten-minute test. He seemed pretty amused when I sang about the shifts in gear in completing a broken u-turn, and he tried to keep a straight face during my ballad about how "you must always stop behind a school bus or else children will die." The moral of the story, kids, is that you can pass anything as long as you’re creative with it. Look at my victory mug! Now who wants to get in a car with me?
Another unforeseen event happened when Jamie Ellis, my good friend and member of the PMD inner circle, came to NYC for the week and spent a lot of time jamming with the live band. He showed me his new Ableton Live program and how he used it to mix up "Cryptic" and then he started playing with our guitarist Keith and I got on bass (very unlike me – I was pretending to be Jared Followill, playing an awesome Gibson firebird). Jamie did some cool double delay things, while Keith got crazy with a drumstick. I was taking the pictures, so I’m not in them.
And finally I’ll leave you with this insane picture of St. Marks Place on Purim, the Jewish holiday before Passover, where people are supposed to act goofy. Jamie and I walked into a whole lot of fun.
We’ll post again soon with our official info. What has happened to you unexpectedly or by accident lately?
See you soon,
milena xo