+ PI has had a lot of line up changes in its time as a band. What is the current line up?The Current lineup is Me, Josh westfall on bass, Tyler Gwinn on drums and Dylan west on guitar.
+ Why did Haeden leave the band?
Haeden had actually planned on leaving since PIs conception, it was just a miracle he stuck around so long. His dad got a job in Castro Valley (the white bread version of Oakland) and had to move down there. Kinda sucks, but i guess that what happens when you are a kid band haha
+ Who is the true king of surf guitar!?
Awh man, as far as that reverbed-out machinegun sound, Dick Dale for sure. As a genre though, theres so many different things you can add to it that I feel like every surf guitarist adds their own flavor to it. The dude from Hawaii Samurai has a tone that sounds new aged but menacing as hell and the guy from the Tijuana Panthers has just an old school treblely sound, I dig em all.
+ What is the story behind AMDM?
Well it stands for Arrogant Metal Douchebag Mentality and basically, a few months back we kinda had beef with this other local band. We tried working with them on numerous occasions and they thought it would look cool to make fun of us. We obviously didnt really take any offense because they were trying to put themselves above us by telling us that we werent "technical" enough to be called a "real" band, and the song is just kindof a "hey fuck you I may not be that great but at least I have fun" statement.
On another level the whole thing is a statement on making money off of music in general. I guess its a generic punk thing to talk about but I just think that making money off of it rules, and if you do a good job thats even better, but dont lose sight on what you started (or should have started) your band for: having fun with your friends.
+ What was it like growing up as a punk in Burney?Ah man, I havint got this question in a while. Basically really shitty but ten times more exciting than being a punk anywhere else but a small town. A lot of people hated me; girls, skaters, rednecks, misfits kids ect and I was caught in the middle of it which kinda blew. On the other hand, though, it was amazing. Theres a certain magicalness about not knowing everything about what you dig, especially when its punk. I guess its kindof hard to explain, but when you dont live where anyone else is "punk", theres no music stores, scene e.c.t, you find things yourself. Before i even knew the concept of DIY I was getting shit from the local Ben Franklin to make customized jean vests out of paint pens and fabric. Finding a Clash album at a yard sale was like the biggest thing ever. You dont take anything for granted and you grab onto what you can. I think that "magicalness" kinda dulls out over a period of time, but the excitement of growing into this stuff with my middle finger at a world that had no idea what I was was a kickass experience and I wouldint trade it for anything (though I hated it at the time)
+ What where the bands that got you onto punk?
When I was nine years old I borrowed my older friend's "War On Errorism" by Nofx and Discography of the Ramones and fell hard for the genre. I think he was trying to get me to stop listening to shitty rap (which I guess kinda worked although I still dig that genre as well) and after a few weeks I played that shit in my walkman so much they got trashed. He got tired of getting back scratchy cds so he just burned me his entire Itunes library and made me a cd case full of kickass albums. Best gift i ever got, I still have it in fact. I eventually got into old Green Day and Operation Ivy and i have been diving deeper into the punk and hardcore rabbit hole ever since. I feel like if you dig punk that much, you never stop expanding.
+ What are some messages that you wish to communicate through PI songs?
Well the band started as a lash out to the situation I was caught up in around Burney, so initially it was just kindof a "fuck you" band. But recently I suppose its been a living journal kinda thing for me. I have a lot of aggression I suppose that I need to explode with, PI serves as that vessel. A lot of stuff I just want to be about having fun and being a kid in Redding, and some other new things Im writing are scene critiques and more politically charged. I did write a new one we play called "anxiety" which is like a; "Hey im going to start kicking the shit out of my T.V. if I cant get un trapped from my room in the middle of the woods" kinda thing. I suppose it comes down to whatever I feel like writing at the time haha.
+ Any future plans for PI at the moment?
Fo Shizzle. First off we need to tighten our new guitarist and get a goddamn van. Then we are going to play a shitload out of town shows. We aleady played one in Chico and we are planning on heading up there the 20th to play with this other kid band "Icko Sicko". After summer winds down we are going to clamp down and really focus on writing new material as well as recording. Should be fun as hell!
PI DEMO 2012
