Interview: Billy McCarthy of PELA – round 2

In early September Billy, crutches and all, agreed to meet me on a street corner in Brooklyn to conduct our second interview. Over some coffee (and traffic noise) we discussed Pela’s upcoming album, touring and creative expression.

M: Let’s talk about the stuff you are recording for the upcoming album:

B: Ok, let’s talk about it.
A lot has gone on I guess the good news is we are putting out a record that we want to make. We’re doing more than a record. We’re actually doing enough for a record and an EP.

I think at the end of the day we set out to do nineteen songs. That’s almost a double album.

What we are going to do is a large record – like thirteen or fourteen songs and then an EP.

M: How are the songs different from what you’ve written and recorded before?

B: Well, I think all kinds of technical stuff. That would be the first thing you would notice – different time signatures, different amounts of background vocals.
It’s a much more realized effort.

We realized that we had to top our last album. We had to capture our live show which grew a little bit faster than our recorded songs on the last album and I think we had to capture it and throw the pebble ahead of us a few steps and catch up to it creatively. So we set the bar really- really high.

M: You have toured a lot this year – and for the first time as a headlining band. What has that experience been like?

B: It’s totally different. I wish someone could have put their hand on my shoulder and said “I know this touring is shitty but wait until you headline”.

It’s still hard. It’s still hardcore; the food and just being around five men.

We are also at an age now – when you are twenty-two you’re pretty keen on just partying down. At this stage you just want to do a good job. It’s different but it’s wonderful. They feed you; give you beer – you have a rider and you have a backstage area that’s yours; staff treats you better. It’s a shocking difference.

M: Are the shows different or are they really the same? (As a headlining band as opposed to an opener)

B: I think that before the intention was always – upstage the headliner because if you’re going in and opening and we were opening for big people … so you know – you’re just the annoyance.

M: while people are waiting for the headliner…

B: Yeah, so, we if we could blow them offstage then perhaps we could upset the evening and people would remember us.

Also you have only thirty to forty minutes to play and we would just bash it out . I know now that I don’t really get warm until about forty-five minutes into it. That’s when I really start loosening up. So now the shows have gone to an hour and a half and even longer at some points. You set yourself up for an evening of music.

M: Tell me about the festival experience.

B: Festivals. We’ve been doing outdoor shows. It’s amazing. I think that a lot of times when you go to shows, you pay a high ticket price at a club, drinks are overpriced… We get a lot of like friends that come out or local support.

Festivals or outdoors shows are people are on their own adventure –they have blankets, beach balls, picnic baskets and it’s not hard to play for them because they are there literally to just recreate and I think a thing that can be hard about it is that sometimes they just don’t want to stand up. They just want to be sitting cross-legged —in the grass.

Me: well they’re there all day – they’re tired.

B: (laughs) Yeah.

We get them up. It’s awesome too!

A funny thing’s happening – I don’t know what the next interview will be like but I’m getting to this point where we’ve played for thousands of people at a time and you know — it’s not enough for me. I can do way more.

Watch the video for the rest of the interview in which Bill discusses creative expression:

To read a transcript of the video click here
To read the first interview click here

~ by maryvent67 on September 12, 2008.