I recently spoke to the guys from the excellent up and coming punk rockers Pulling Punches.
Hi
there, Pulling Punches!
Who is Pulling Punches, and how did you
get together?
Joe:
Pulling Punches is a group of friends that explode whenever they get together
and the result is pure, raw, energetic rock.
Michael:
We’re a band that grew up listening to a lot of punk and hardcore records. The
band has gotten together entirely through Craigslist believe it or not. Each
member was looking to be in a band and responded to an ad. We are a product of
the internet in that way. Maybe that makes us huge geeks. Maybe we should be
sponsored by Craigslist. We should really look into that.
As
far as band members go:
Michael
sings
Rob
and Sam play guitar
Joe
rocks the bass
Mike
plays drums.
How has 2012 been for you guys?
Michael:
Well, it doesn’t look like the zombie apocalypse is coming any time soon, and
we’re thankful for that.
Joe:
2012 has been a solidifying year, we picked up our two guitarists and that has
been a huge piece in pushing the band forward.
Before Sam and Rob came along it had been about a year since we had a
full line- up.
What are you up to at moment?
Joe: Right now we are writing new songs, and
recording some of our favorites so we can get our sound out. We really went through a restructuring when
Sam and Rob came in the band and people can hear that in our songs.
Michael:
We were thinking about global domination, but it doesn’t seem likely. We’re finishing
up recording an EP this month. We’re really excited for people to hear our new
sound.
You released a couple of tracks last
July. How was the songwriting process?
Michael:
Both songs were written quite a while ago. Affleck Plays the Shark was written
in what felt like 5 minutes. It was probably done over the course of one practice
though, it came quick. “Breaking Bottles to Forget” on the other hand took a
while, we’re glad we survived that one.
Sam: The tracks released in July were written by previous
band members, so I can't really say how that songwriting process was. We're
coming out with a 6 song EP of new songs written by me and Rob. For most of
these songs, I demo them, bring them to Rob, and then we rework the songs
together - adding parts, rearranging the structure, etc.
Joe:
Michael has volumes of lyrics just waiting for songs and Rob and Sam have said
at different times that their song writing techniques really mimic each other
while still pushing each other to create different melodies.
Any plans for new material, or a tour
before the end of the year?
Joe:
We are pumping out the jams as fast as we can and we play as much as we
can. I work at a school which is a
little restrictive with tour schedules although once we get an album done and become
more established it will definitely come.
Michael:
The new EP, which I think we’re calling “Complicating a One Car Funeral,” will
definitely be out in 2012. A tour won’t happen this year, but we all want to do
it, so we hope more road trips are in our future.
Sam: I am hoping so hard that we can get a tour together
in the coming months. We've never actually been on tour, and it's always been a
dream of mine to get out on the road and play shows every night. We're trying
to put out a 6-song EP before the end of September, when we're playing a show
(9/30) with Rescuer (Rise Records) at the Barbary in Philly.
What should we expect from any new
material?
Sam: The new material is definitely a lot different from
the old material. It's an interesting (read: weird) combination of hardcore,
punk, and pop that I can't really describe. Though if I had to, I'd label it melodic
post-hardcore/punk. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Michael:
We try to be awesome with everything that we do, so I’m going with more
awesomeness… Perhaps some Iron Maiden inspired guitar riffs too.
What bands influence Pulling Punches? Who
do you guys listen to?
Joe:
I’m going with H20, Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, and Minor Threat
Sam: Right now I'm listening to a lot of The Ghost Inside,
Gwen Stacy, Norma Jean, and I just got my hands on a Defeater's
"Travels" (thanks to Michael, and the Bridge Nine 20 Cds for $20
deal)
Michael:
The Smiths and Joy Division. Within the genre we play, my favorites are Grade
and Strike Anywhere.
If Pulling Punches was a particular
chord, what would it be?
Sam:
We'd probably be some crazy jazz chord like
a F7b9. Yeah, something like that.
Joe:
open D
Final words?
Joe:
Michael carries a switchblade, Mike has the largest collection of red hair in
the band, Sam resembles the comic book character storm, just with black hair,
and Rob is a virgin.
Michael:
Joe is the tallest band member, and he plays bass, so we at least have that one
rock n roll cliché down.
Sam:
Book us! Please?! :D We put on a really good
live show, I promise!
Like Pulling Punches on Facebook.
Listen to Pulling Punches music on Bandcamp.
Photo Credit: Charlie Gibb
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