Altsounds Interviews: With ... THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
"Someone told me, "I must either have you or kill you"." June 30, 2009, 10:05 AM Views: 756
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 It’s fair to say that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have become a certified indie phenomenon, breaking out from the fertile Brooklyn scene with an infectious pop sound that has gained the band mainstream acclaim as the next great heirs to New York's rich musical tradition -- a tradition they embrace from past to present.
After an extensive tour schedule over in the UK Kip from TPOBPAH took some time to answer our questions about the UK, strange people and how much she loves Jarvis Cocker.
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[altsounds] You guys seem to be forever touring, how was your time over in the UK?
[Kip] It was amazing! We go to all these cool places, meet people and have fun. I'm not sure how to explain it, but everything from visiting Stephen Pastel's record shop in Glasgow, chatting with Amelia Fletcher or having a curry with ex-Rosehips and Flatmates members was pretty surreal. Plus, our shows were really fun, and we got to play with great bands like Manhattan Love Suicides, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, Hatcham Social and Shrag. We can't wait to come back!
[altsounds] What was your favourite festival over here? Dot To Dot has been quite a favorable one for a lot of acts. I personally think its because Nottingham is such a great place, not that I live there or anything!
[Kip] In the UK the Great Escape and Dot to Dot festival was really great, especially as we got to see so many of the American bands we love, like Girls, Crystal Stilts, Titus Andronicus, Vivian Girls and caUSE co-MOTION! But the Isle of Wight was pretty cool as we got to hang out with Tim Burgess (nicest guy ever!!!) and I even met a couple of The Horrors, whose latest album I've been listening to quite a lot.
[altsounds] Were LoveLikeFire great to tour with?
[Kip] We actually didn't tour with Love Like Fire, though we played a show with them in Manchester. We've actually run into them a lot over the last few months, and they seem like really nice people and put on a tight, energetic performance.
[altsounds] Did you meet many strange and wonderful people here?
[Kip] Yes, many. Someone told me, "I must either have you or kill you". I politely opted for neither.
[altsounds] I can imagine New York has alot more eccentric personalities?
[Kip] Hmm, I don't know. England is pretty famous for its eccentricities, right? My friends here are all pretty mellow, though my roommate, Patrick, is obsessed with the television show Columbo, and has about 6 seasons of it on DVD. He also likes tropical things, and got a new "tropical" shower curtain with palm trees while we were away and keeps our refrigerator well-stocked with Coconut Water.
[altsounds] Your self titled debut album kicked up a lot of strong reviews, if you could review it, what would you write about?
[Kip] Luckily we don't have to...
[altsounds] How many stars out of five would you give it?
[Kip] It's really not our place to do that sort of thing...
[altsounds] Are there talks of a second record?
[Kip] We're doing a new EP in the late summer or autumn, and have a lot of new songs to work on for our next album that I'm really excited about. But most of our summer is devoted to touring as much as possible, as there are still so many places we've yet to play.
[altsounds] At a time when band names are getting longer or more strange, like the new signing from Count You Lucky Stars records, the band are called 'Football, etc.' ?!? What makes yours so special? And what is it all about?
[Kip] Our name is taken from a short children's story written by a friend of mine back in Portland, Oregon. It's moral is that the most important things in life aren't fame or money or power, but the adventures you have traveling with your friends when you're young. I think that's pretty fitting for us, as we're all good friends and getting to play music and go on tour feels like an endless adventure.
[altsounds] Critics have dubbed your music as "Shoe-gaze", what do you think of this? To me it sounds like shoegazing is paying no attention.
[Kip] Oh, it's alright what people say. I just think of it as Pop.
[altsounds] You seem to like Sweden a lot?
[Kip] I'm always torn between Sweden and Scotland-- both places are pretty small, but have a ridiculous amount of cool bands. I don't understand how that works, but between Glasgow and Gothenburg alone there are about a lifetime's worth of great records to listen to.
and can you name ...
[altsounds] A band that has influenced you to do something in the past year
[Kip] Vivian Girls influenced us to stay up really, really late partying when we played together in Italy. Such bad influences, them girls...
[altsounds] An event that has shocked you in the last year (and not MJ's death)
[Kip] Airline crashes always make me really sad. All those people from Brazil were probably so excited to be going to France, and to think they all died-- it really upsets me. It seems so incredibly unfair and arbitrarily cruel. I don't like flying.
[altsounds] The most famous person you have met
[Kip] I did talk to Jarvis Cocker on the radio, which was very nerve-wracking. I wanted to just blurt out "Jarvis, I love you," but i didn't. Perhaps I should have? Do you think he knows that I love him?
[altsounds] The best gig you have played / been to in the last year
[Kip] I think the Primavera Festival in Barcelona was pretty amazing, though our show in Manchester featured a lot of crowd surfing. As for shows I've seen, I'm a huge GIRLS fan and I relish any chance to see them live. Luckily, we're going on tour with them later this summer, so I'll get to watch them every night. There's also an unhinged, sincere-to-the-point-of discomfort feeling when watching Shrag perform that makes me realize that the best music is perfectly imperfect. I am most sad that I missed Saint Etienne at Primavera, as I've never seen them before, and they are amazing. I've seen Crystal Stilts and Vivian Girls countless times, and they never disappoint.
[altsounds] A hotly tipped band for '09 (apart from yourselves obviously)
[Kip] GIRLS, Depreciation Guild, Shrag, Zaza. They all have new releases planned for this year that I'm really excited for.
[altsounds] Anything else you would like to add?
[Kip] I hope everyone has a good summer!
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TPOBPAH have a couple of days off before hitting the road on the 4th of July. Check out their website for more details http://www.thepainsofbeingpureatheart .com/ _____________________________
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Last edited by Matt D : June 30, 2009 at 04:54 PM.
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