CN: Panda Riot is Joy. And what a perfect name for a band. Tell us a bit about the birth of your name and the birth of the band?
B: Our friend was telling us one day some of the names that his band decided not to go with. He was listing all these jokey names that they would never go with; he mentioned Panda Riot and it really struck me.
R: As for the birth of the band, it started with Brian and I needing a soundtrack for this short film we made, "Dolphins and Porpoises." When we showed it, people kept talking about the music so we decided to try to do something more with it.
CN: Alright, ‘Suspense Kiss’ is like a perfect track & contains everything I love about music. I saw when you played this live you use a lot of effects on the vocals. What do you think effects on vocals are capable of saying that the human voice isn’t alone?
R: There actually aren’t any real effects on the vocals, just layers. Since we are only two people, we do a lot of looping live. I think that using loopers in a live setting allows us to combine something organic and expressive like a voice with the repetitive quality of electronic music which creates a really surreal effect.
CN: The first track on the ep, ‘Paper Airplanes,’ just kind of lays out what’s going on & kind of reminds me of the movie ‘Manequin’ for some reason (from the ‘80s, with Kim Cattrall [later of Sex in the City] and Andrew McCarthy), just that feeling of kind of laying out these secret lives straight from the get go...almost like, you can’t believe you’re getting away with it. Often I find instrumentals are so serious, and for an instrumental to convey that kind of joy is rare. Do you consciously pursue this kind of joy in sound, or does it just come naturally out of you? (Like, do you try and make yourself feel better by making this kind of ecstatic music?)
B: Paper Airplanes was actually the first song we ever made, and I think you can tell that we were just really excited about making a song. It’s the first time we experimented with all of the facets that would later make up our music. So, in a way, the structure of the song was dictated by our exploration. We didn’t have one direction to go in, so we ended up with all these parts. Basically it’s just us finding sounds we like and following them.
CN: And the joy is kind of contrasted with these almost dark lyrics (that are kind of self-depricating too, contrasting ‘hours and hours and hours and hours I walked along, but I’m still in the same place I was’ w/bapbapbada bapba choruses...): what do you think this contrast (self-deprecation and darkness vs joy and sonic bliss outs) represents? Or what are you trying to represent through this contrast?
R: The lyrics are actually written in a very unintentional, stream-of consciousness, kind of way. The contrast in the lyrics in "Plateau" was kind of a surprise to me, too. It’s just sort of what popped out. I do think, though, that in these ecstatic moments that we try to create in our songs, there is always a little bit of sadness. It’s like nostalgia or desire—it’s partly beautiful because it’s not entirely yours, you can’t quite make it fully present. It’s a sad and beautiful world.
CN: You guys seem to have some great pop instincts, which remind me a lot of the early ‘90s indie heyday (Pavement, Liz Phair, Yo La Tengo, Magnetic Fields, etc.) when we were probably all college djs: which (if any) of those early ‘90s albums albums affected Panda Riot the most?
B:…Digable Planets blowout comb, stereolab, the sea and the cake, MBV’s tremolo ep was really awesome as well.…but I really love that Shuggie Otis record from the early 70’s …its amazing like stevie wonder with primitive drum machines….
CN: Panda Riots melodies (both vocal and guitar [but really really memorable vocals]) are really strong: When you’re songwriting, what comes first? (I.e. the chord progressions, the vocal melody, the beats). How does the Panda Riot song-writing process work?
B: Usually I start with the chords and write a drum beat around that, but the sound is there from the beginning. The tone of the guitar really informs how the song takes shape; we’re not adapting a song written on an acoustic. I could never work like that. Basically after the drums and the guitar are laid down, Rebecca adds vocal melodies that later turns into words, backing vocals and keyboards… and from that we might change this section or that cause it makes us think about the song differently. We don’t jam out songs, or at least we haven’t yet, but that seems to be working ok. Sometimes I find it strange cause its like we’re both recording our parts in secret.
CN: I love that you do hand-painted covers: tell me what are your thoughts about idiosyncratic pieces of art album covers, unique & available only to that time and place? It’s d.i.y but its more special in a way cause you’re really getting a present that’s one of a kind...
R: We do it because we like to think of people who like our music as individuals who deserve presents. It’s nice to give people something unique and special, and I think it makes people value the cd more. They are also really fun to make.
CN: ‘When the ceiling has become the sky’ is just a wonderful chorus, especially combined with the keyboard line & MBV style guitars of caressing texture...what does that line mean to you?
Do you think that type of transformation (from closed to openness) kind of reflects Panda Riots turning darker stuff into joy?
R: To me, it’s not really about turning dark stuff into joy. It’s more about describing the feeling of blissful moments. The ceiling becoming the sky is like that feeling of your chest exploding because something is so beautiful you can hardly stand it. It’s not like the ceiling turning into the sky…it’s more like the ceiling exploding and BOOM there’s the sky.
B: I want to take that 8 second moment you have and stretch it out for as long as I can, like being in the moment in ultra slow-motion.
CN: Why do you think indie swirl pop keyboards sound so good through death metal pedals? What do you think it is about pedals made for death metal and sonic bliss outs that kiss so well?
R: In general, I think the abrasiveness of the distortion combined with the melodic quality of the keyboards exemplifies our aesthetic. We are also always trying to think of creative ways to make sounds that are completely unique. Rather than spend a lot of money on expensive equipment, we try to use our limitations to our advantage. This forces/allows us to come up with new ways to use what we already have.
B: Its funny, a lot of times when we play shows we’ll be doing a sound check and Rebecca will play some keyboard line with the pedal on and the sound guy just makes this face like a wire must be messed up or something…and we’re like, "no it sounds ok to us."
CN: Are you content being a duo, or is Panda Riot in its ultimate incarnation a more fleshed out band?
B: This is something we get asked a lot. It would be nice to have a bass player, maybe. It would really free us up to do more things. A drummer would be good for a song or two…but especially with the drums I think part of our sound is the fragility and the minimalism. With a drummer, I think we could easily just start sounding like a rock band. Electronic drums are more musical in the sense that one drum machine can sound a certain way and then in the chorus a new pattern and set of drum sounds are there.
CN: How do you feel Philadelphia affects your sound (or does it)? Do you think Philly is more prone to sonic bliss outs and swirl pop sing alongs?
R: Its hard to say… There are a lot of cool bands in Philly, and a number of dreamy noisy bands, but when it comes down to actually writing the songs, I don’t think we are really affected by geography.
CN: What do you feel the place of electronic beats are in your music? How important are the beats to you? What do you feel is the place of the live drummer in the 21st century? Do you feel like electronic beats live make the experience any less ‘real’, or, is it not about the beats live, but about what’s going on over the beats (leading the way)?
B: Having a real drummer would be great, but I think programming rhythms coming from a non-drumming background makes the songs take weird turns. The beats definitely influence our music…if we were to play with a real drummer, they would adapt to what we are playing. Without a "real" drummer, the beats function more as a backdrop allowing the texture--the guitars, vox and keys, to be free and expressive. We’ve recently been coming up with more break beats and jungle type rhythms as well…stuff that one drummer couldn’t play alone…we’ve got this new track that’s like that….it has like 4 drum patterns from different kits going on @ the same time.
CN: There’s a very anthemic quality to Panda Riot. What type of kids do you think are attracted to this kind of cool but not overly macho style of anthem? This kind of feminine art school appeal, ascending choruses, verses posing questions in descending melodies, while choruses populate the clouds...this lackadazical quality, like you’re just floating around...and also, what are some of your favorite sing-alongs by other artists?
R: I don’t think we really have a particular audience in mind when we write songs. It’s actually kind of weird how diverse the people are that like our music. As for the lackadaisical feeling, I guess I’m trying to express a feeling of wonderment…it’s beautiful and also dreamy and floaty.
CN: A lot of people say indie rock is about ideas: the pointing to, and those who see it, who get it, see what the bands are getting at, even if its not professionally as slick as corporate rock. Like your friends making music, and writing the best songs in the world, rather than some untouchable Led zep I could give a fuck about on high bullshit complete with hour long mega-boring solos. It’s really that idea of creating your own community. Panda Riot really embodies that to me. That ‘fuck it, we can do it!’ spirit. It’s just like all the aspects of music I love thrown into your neighbors kitchen and when they come out and hit the stage, its just this very real joyous, almost childlike way like ‘WOW! We’re playing music!’ It makes you smile. What inspired you to make music? Would you say it’s the central focus of your life or just something you do?
B: I’ve always made films, films mattered so much to me…and then I would start doing the soundtracks for them cause I didn’t really know anybody else that would be into it. Eventually, it was just like "wait a second, people really seem to be digging this music," relating to it….it was really the 1st time I considered making songs.
R: For me, it’s kind of weird because I always played tons of instruments, but I was always classically trained. So trying to write my own songs was a whole new thing for me. It was really exciting and sort of surprising when I realized that I could do it. I think our excitement definitely comes across in our songs.
CN: I was asking this of Aydin as well but, do you feel like the optimism expressed in your music has a particularly American quality to it? (Like, a lot of the British bands in this genre tend towards the mopey, whereas in Panda Riot there’s a real uplifting quality to your music that lifts the spirits instead of drowning them...[in the same way that maybe Walt Whitman or Emerson view the world (not bogged down in history [ala Europe], but with the hope of looking towards an open frontier.)
R: Although it doesn’t feel that way when we are making songs, I can see how that connection might be made from an academic standpoint. In a way, I do see that sort transcendent ecstatic moment being an ideal of American romanticism. At the same time, I don’t really see it lacking in other traditions, though. I think the desire to express the ecstatic exists everywhere.
CN: What do you do for money? How do you think this affects your music?
R: I teach piano lessons, and we do a lot of song writing and creative expression with our students. Watching them explore music for the first time is really exciting. I am always trying to open up their idea of what music is and expand their approach to the instrument. It helps to keep me open and excited as well.
CN: ‘Art school girls of doom’ is one of the best titles of a song I’ve heard. Hysterical, yet totally exemplifies the horror at the reality therein! Who are the art school girls of doom?
B: In a way I’ve always hated the whole art school thing, its like, once you’re into something like that you go in with good intentions but the whole process becomes too self –referential, it becomes about other things…its like all these guitar players who get into gear and this amp or that and the actual writing of music becomes secondary…
CN: A lot of your songs are longer than normal pop songs...they hit the five minute mark and, insofar as that, they’re more like long journeys than typical pop songs...Do you think the marine biology original documentary you wrote the soundtrack to and formed out of informed the way you write songs?
B: We come from more of a soundtrack background in a sense. You can kind of see that in the way the songs change and sections don’t repeat. I think it’s just a matter of trying to do things that excite us. It’s not good enough to just write a song that goes from verse to chorus blah blah and you know what’s coming next. We’re trying not to write something formulaic but at the same time not to go in weird directions just to shake off any emotional connection….emotional connections rock.
CN: A lot of duos have a hard time staying together: what would you say accounts for the strength of Panda Riots partnership?
R: The crazy amounts of money that we make off the band…that and the way we really relate to each other without having a "listen to me," ego thing getting in the way.
CN: What does your lyric ‘all your comedies turn to suspense’ mean to you?
R: I have to say, I have a really hard time talking about the lyrics outside of the song. A lot of times, we just go with whatever sounds right or whatever just comes out and somehow works. Brian wrote that line specifically. I think at the time we were talking about how someone can make you feel tense all the time because you never know what inappropriate or awkward thing they are going to say next, or something like that. I’m not sure I have a deeper explanation than that. I think of our lyrics as being kind of like collages of impressions. The lines have a kind of connection, but not one that is completely intentional or specific.
CN: What are the hopes and dreams of panda riot re: music? (I.e. what would you like to accomplish that you haven’t already?)
B: I mean we’re just babies…we formed back in mid July 2005. We have a handful of songs and a little demo cd that we’re really proud of….it’d be great to make some records. We want to start doing some live video projection when we play out, make it all one big thing not just people playing music with cool images, but one thing. That was actually one of the initial things we wanted to do with the band—tie everything (visuals and music) together. We didn’t factor in how broke we were though…but soon, yeah soon.
CN: Thank you.
To learn more about Panda Riot or purchase their music please visit:
http://pandariot.com
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