If there is a point where future meets past, and east meets west, it’s the new PALMAS album, To The Valley. Coming to headphones near you Friday, November 13, the Philly band has gathered all the metallic sounds of East Coast rock, shipped them across the country to the sandy beaches of California, and time traveled a few decades back to produce a blended sound of old school surf rock.
The album kicks off with a 30-second intro titled “Buzzcut.” The song leads with the a quick drumstick tempo-set and dives straight into the classic guitar slide all surf rock fans know and love. It’s a perfect glimpse into the album but and an even better view into what it feels like to sit in the middle of a PALMAS jam session.
From “Buzzcut,” the album moves seamlessly into the hit single “I Want To Know (Your Love),” a song that was released earlier this year and only left fans wanting more. It’s got a quick start that jumps right into the first verse then glides into a slow and melodic chorus of “I want to know, I want to know your love.” The song switches back and forth from bursts of high pitched, choppy verses to smooth choruses, and it doesn’t take more than a few seconds before there’s nothing left to do but surrender and sway back and forth.
PALMAS sticks with the slow and solid melodies for most of the album, including “Take My Hand,” where they’ve mixed things up with more chops here and there. There’s some added classic beach bash guitar, but the song has a more somber tone than the rest of its precursors. Then, just when we’ve gotten all too comfortable with the easy motion of the ocean, PALMAS surprises us with an upbeat tune that will take anyone right back to the time of dance halls, big hair and poodle skirts, in “Sweet Water.” It’s lighthearted, fun, and impossible to sit still to.
The last two tracks bring us down from the jive of a 1950’s dance hall and back to the laid back rhythm of the California coast line. “Better Guy,” full of “oos” and “ahs,” pines for romantic drives along the shore and dives into the “deep blue sea,” while “San Francisco Bay” “oos” again, this time to with the hopes of bringing a long lost love back home, to the San Francisco Bay.
The album finishes with a personal sign off from the band, which we can only image is exactly what it would feel like to be front and center at a live performance. There’s no doubt PALMAS has mastered what it means to be a 21st century nostalgic surf rock band. In To The Valley, they have found a way to not only rejuvenate the timeless sound that inspired so many before them, but they make it all their own along the way. To The Valley marks a new era for PALMAS and classic rock lovers everywhere, and we’re sure it’s one you won’t want to miss.
Once in a while, a person will walk into a bar, hear a live band, and fall in love instantaneously. For the lucky crowd at New York City’s Parkside Lounge on October 24, this was exactly what happened when Gretchen and the Pickpockets stole their hearts.
The lights are present only on stage and a twinkling disco ball spins overhead, centering Gretchen perfectly at the microphone. She steps up and with a steady inhale, dives into the first phrase of “Sweet, Sweet Love,” a Gretchen and the Pickpockets original. Her voice is clear and rich with an alto tone that cuts through the center of the room. She glides from note to note and her sound bounces off the rat-a-tat-tat of the drums and swoon of the horn. The blend makes its way to the deep and full bodied sound of the base and rounds off with the metallic strum and pluck of the guitar.
The band of five – singer Gretchen Klempa, bassist and brother of Gretchen, Mike Klempa, Tom O’Connell on drums, Richie Smith on guitar, and Ryan O’Connell on trumpet – calls the New Hampshire seacoast their home base but have no problem taking the New York music scene by storm. Their sound is original, refreshing and – in the endless circling of synthetic pop songs in modern music – a welcome chance to revisit the real heart and soul of music.
Described by band members as “alternative rock with jazz” the G&P sound is one that leans heavily on the wails of smooth jazz trumpet paired perfectly with the pep of classic rock guitar. Their songs, such as the signature “Sweet, Sweet Love” and “Break a Sweat” offer lighthearted energetic beats while “Confident,” “Don’t Let Go,” and “Swimmin’ In The Sea” show a more mellow side of the group, treading in lower tones and building to mid-song breakout crescendos.
Kick-starting their music career three years ago, the then group of University of New Hampshire students found common ground in their dorm building’s common room where they would gather to cover their favorite songs. Eventually covering turned to writing and the common room turned into a stage.
“It kind of just happened,” said Gretchen. “It was me and Mike’s idea to start the band and then we kind of like rang in these hooligans,” motioning over to the rest of the guys.
“We wrote some crappy songs and then Ryan came in and fixed them,” added Mike.
There’s a playfulness and ease to the group that shows through in their presence on stage and can be heard directly influencing the sound they seem to so effortlessly create.
Their sound, something fans would be hard pressed to find anywhere else, is pulled from a smorgasbord of inspirations, ranging from punk rock, hip-hop (both 90s and modern) and jazz, to name a few. The proclaimed favorite as far as other bands are concerned is D’Angelo and the common ground for favorite genre is soul music and R&B.
“It’s just a culmination of everything that we like, you know, we all have different backgrounds,” said Richie. “It’s so hard to pinpoint exactly where this comes from because we all have so many different interests.”
“We even had a keyboard at one point,” he added.
“Yeah … for like a week,” Gretchen tacks on with a hint of wit.
Something that stuck a bit more permanently than the keyboard, however, is the band’s name. Keeping on track with originality Gretchen and the Pickpockets as a phrase is just as catchy and unforgettable as Gretchen and the Pickpockets as a tune. The name can be attributed to Gretchen and Mike’s upbringing on Pickpocket Road where they held band practice and their father’s persistence when he heard a good thing.
“For like a year their dad was like, ‘You should be The Pickpockets,’” said Ryan.
Three years later, and here they are.
The future of Gretchen and the Pickpockets is one that, just like the range of inspirations, fans and notes in their songs, has no limits. According to the band, their sound will continue to develop and their reach will continue to grow.
As for the sound, Ryan has high hopes to “experiment with bigger horns sections.”
“In some of our locals shows our friends will just jump up on stage with us and we’ll have like a six part horn section and it sounds really cool,” he said.
“We would just bring, at first cover songs we all liked then we kind of figured out what kind of music we wanted to play,” said Mike.
As for location, the group is hoping to do a Southern tour in the near future but for now is content with their native region of New England.
“I think you can make it big wherever you are if you have talent and know the right person. It doesn’t really matter where you are, to me. We want our hometown to be Boston,” said Gretchen.
The band currently holds the title for “Best Band in New Hampshire” and it’s inevitable that this is just the beginning.
“It’s like you know being in this band, I feel so lucky. Like, these are cool people, and they’re kick-ass musicians so like, you know, you couldn’t ask for a better way to be creative, said Richie, “I’m just happy to be in this group. I think what’s cool about being in this band is since we all really dig jazz and that sort of thing, there’s a lot of room to improvise but even though we have our set song forms, we can push it a little bit. If we want to change tempo a little bit, we go into a different harmony, everyone’s really good at listening and really goes with it.”
“We’ve all invested a lot of time the last few years and we’re all ready to invest a lot more time too,” added Mike.
The hard work is in no doubt paying off. With fans in New Hampshire, Boston, New York and even a “small cult following in Milwaukee” (Richie would like to give a shout-out to Reggie), there’s nowhere for this down to earth band to go but up.
“I think we sort of go by the mantra of, you know…don’t be a jerk” said, Mike. “Be nice and don’t suck.”
To top it all off, G&P are avid food lovers, with a specialty in tacos. As if it couldn’t get any better, fans can follow the band’s food escapades on their website and Instagram.
And so, tacos in tow, G&P left New York for the New England soundscapes once again. On Nov. 5, they will open for Low Cut Connie at Great Scott in Allston MA and plans for a full album are in the works.
For Gretchen and the Pickpockets, there are no signs of slowing down. We couldn’t be happier.
To catch Gretchen and the Pickpockets, check out their upcoming show dates and venues:
On Thursday, Oct. 15, Acid Dad shook the walls of Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn, New York at their second CMJ performance. The Brooklyn local band has only been together about a year, but their sound has an effortlessly seasoned blend that only comes with the most organic of connections. Merging band members from all areas of the nation and globe, Acid Dad is a touch of Los Angeles meets Nashville, meets Columbia, meets Minneapolis, all booming from inside the walls of one intimate Bushwick bar.
Lights fade between shades of blue, green, and red as they bounce off the walls of Our Wicked Lady in unison with the beat of Acid Dad’s “Grim.” Their set list is one that transitions from fast-paced, harder beats to mellow, rhythmic tones as the night goes on, running through a complete set list of band and fan favorites including: “Shoot Ya Down,” “The Digger,” “Master Blaster,” “Brain Body,” “Grim,” “Cinnamon Sky,” and “Worm.”
The band’s name was created just as it sounds with one part acid and one part alliteration. To its four members, Acid Dad “just felt right” and it sounds even better.
The ensemble is made up of four members: Vaughn Hunt of Nashville on vocals and guitar, Dany Gomez of Colombia also on guitar and vocals, Kevin Walker of Los Angeles on drums and Sean Fahey of Minneapolis, the newest band member, on bass.
Described as psych-punk, a term and genre coined by the band themselves, there’s a vintage electric hew in the vocals that’s parallelled in the guitar and balanced on a quick but steady bass line. Matched with upbeat drum hits for the unmistakeable punk influence, the sounds mesh to create an energetic original sound that’s all their own.
The sound inspiration, much like the band, is a melting pot of musical tastes, experiences and icons.
“We try to be very dynamic,” said Gomez, “If anything it’s a combination of all we’ve soaked in, and we kind of try to put it out in our own way.”
“I’ve been around music forever since I was a little kid, and it’s one of those things that you just like do, and you just kind of lose yourself in it. Everything you listen to just kind of gets ingrained in the back of your head, and when you’re writing it just kind of comes out whether you do it on purpose or not,” added Hunt, “Sometimes we’ll be like, ‘Oh, okay. Let’s write a fucking Black Sabbath breakdown here’ and sometimes it’s on purpose, but most of the time it’s pretty organic, pretty natural.”
And just as any new and thriving band does, Acid Dad is constantly evolving, and well aware of it.
“We have phases, too. We have writing phases. Like sometimes we write country, slower songs,” said Walker.
“Yeah, I’m in the country phase. We definitely like the country mood,” Hunt added, a statement which rang true through the sounds of his guitar only one hour ago as the set list slowed and the slightest hint of southern drawl weaved over the chords of “Brain Body.”
Three months after their official formation, the band saw its first big break in March of 2015, while opening for one of their friend and favorites Mystery Lights at Brooklyn’s Union Pool.
“That was a really good step forward for us, because that was when we started playing for people who weren’t just our friends, a little wider audience. Just because they’re big and they’re awesome. And we’ve played with them two or three times more since then,” said Walker. “The whole thing happened really fast,” he added.
With no agents, producers or public relations set ups, Walker handles all of the band’s publicity, booking, and promoting shows and interviews as often as possible. The tactic is clearly working.
“Saturday, we’re opening for Shannon and the Clams, and literally all these bands we were listening to in high school we’re opening up for. That’s honestly our biggest break. That hasn’t happened yet,” said Hunt. “We’re on the fucking fast track.”
By the end of this year, Acid Dad will have played 50 shows, according to Walker.
Big breaks aren’t the only thing Acid Dad can look forward to in the coming year. This winter, the band plans to release their first EP, I/II, which will be written, recorded, produced, and promoted entirely on their own with Hunt handling the EP’s production.
“I’m a producer, and I engineer and write lots of stuff and record all of it,” said Hunt.
“We’re really, like, autonomous, a well oiled machine,” Walker added.
To follow their run of CMJ showings, Acid Dad plans to retreat to their recording studio in Brewster, New York for a few days of writing for the new EP. Together, over the span of a few days, the band will run through their creative Rolodex, pulling from the likes of Neil Young, to the Brazilian psych rock band Os Mutantes. Big fans of 90s hip hop, there may even be some Biggie influence in there, too.
“We practice a lot. We practice at least twice a week, and I’m working on it every day. It is a lot of fuckin’ work, but it’s really fun,” said Hunt, “That’s what Eddie Van Halen talked about. He said, ‘we’re all fucking nerds; we’re all nerds just chilling in my garage learning all this crazy shit.’ You just gotta be into it.”
“So,” said Hunt, “I guess my advice would be to know music history and know music theory. Advice he and his band mates clearly follow as their banter is sprinkled with quotes and facts of legendary musicians, including the Van Halen and the Rolling Stones. They know their stuff.
For this young, up-and-coming band, sights are set on a sound and career they can carry with them long into the future. With role models and passions for a timeless, quality sound blazing the way, there’s no doubt Acid Dad will keep on the fast track for years to come, establishing themselves in ears and minds far and wide.
“Just to play music is the goal,” said Gomez, and play they will, because after all, they’re Acid Dad, and they’re here to stay.
It’s not often the three best things in life come together seamlessly under the same roof, but when music, sizzling tacos and camaraderie meet, an unforgettable night is born. PALMAS, a five-man band hailing from the musically booming Philadelphia, brought all this to life in the bustling kitchen of a third floor walk-up in Brooklyn, New York.
It is the kind of Monday that feels more like a Friday, and the summer heat leaks through the kitchen windows and crashes full-throttle into the stovetop steam. Adam Cantiello, the band’s guitarist and chef of the evening, stands over the front burner flipping chicken breasts while Pat Degan, PALMAS drummer, slices limes. Eric Camarota, bassist, grabs a Modelo from the fridge full of Mexican beers, and Kurt Cain, singer, follows suit. Matt Young, guitarist, keen to create an authentic atmosphere while feasting on homemade guacamole and tacos, makes quick use of Pat’s limes and pours out tequila shots. And so, dinner with PALMAS begins.
“Just so you know, I blindly poured five of them, so you can just pick which one…” Matt warns the group gathering around the tequila and limes.
A quick cheers and universal grimace later, all is down the hatch, and tales of band origin and college parties past are flowing.
“I mean, they’re all awesome,” says Pat of his bandmates. “[Adam] asked me like, ‘hey, I’m jamming with these guys, and they’re all very talented players; you should come out and jam with us,’ and I was like, ‘yeah, cool, sure!’”
Adam pours the taco sauce into the skillet full of chicken. A few minutes later, the chicken is finished, and a hearty helping of tofu takes its place. What’s a PALMAS taco night without a vegan option?
Ten minutes later – who knew tofu was a slow-cooker – dinner – or, la cena – is served, and it’s every man for himself in the taco assembly line. The band grabs plates, and the taco assembly begins. Tortillas, chicken (or tofu), toppings goes the order. A side of homemade guac is mandatory.
One by one, they fill their plates and make their way into the living room. Personal photographs hang on the wall above a couch and coffee table. A tall shelf full of records stands in the corner, and a record player spinning Elvis holds the throne on top. Adam plops himself at the end of the couch with Matt to his left. Pat takes a seat on a stool to the right, and Kurt sits to the right of him. Eric makes himself comfortable toward the doorway, and just as if they were on stage, PALMAS takes their shape.
The tacos are devoured within minutes – our compliments to the chef – and conversation morphs into the serious kind that only happens when you get musicians talking about their music.
“We started this band for fun, not to make money,” says Adam.
“Basically, we all knew each other through the Philly music scene; we all played in bands in the Philly music scene,” said Kurt.
Philadelphia is a true hot bed for music and musicians, breeding artists and groups such as Joan Jett, Dead Milkmen, mewithoutYou, and Dr. Dog…not bad company to be in.
“I don’t know if I can speak for the other guys, but I think this is truly the very first time in my life that I started music for fun,” Matt says. “This was the first time that it was like, purely for fun, and I think that ended up being the best thing ever.”
“Eric, Adam, and I started jamming, and we went through a couple singers and a couple drummers,” continues Matt. Kurt chimes in right on cue.
“Really? A couple singers? I didn’t know there were others… Two singers? I didn’t know that,” he says, poking fun.
Matt continues.
“And then I knew Kurt and Adam had known Pat, and we were like, ‘let’s do this,’ and in the first practice we wrote three songs. We wrote ‘Without You,’ ‘Stay Away,’ and ‘You Were My Girl.'”
One year later, and here they are.
“At first when we started playing – all of us together, as it is right now, this band – we didn’t make anything of it besides, ‘lets do this every Sunday if we’re all free, and that’s what we’ll do, just for fun.’” says Eric. “And then we just started going and decided, ‘hey this is fun, let’s keep doing it every Sunday,’ and then we decided still, ‘hey why not do a show? What have we got to lose?’ First show we played sold out.”
By 10 p.m., plates have been swapped for after-dinner beers, and Elvis has been traded for the surf-side rock, nostalgic sound of PALMAS. Their newest tracks circulate the sound waves of the room, and each band member is set into motion, each their own, fully present and alive. They sit in silence, but not a body is still as the rhythm moves through them like a heartbeat moves through a newborn child, inhaling for the first time. They’ve heard it a million times before, it’s played in their minds and through their fingertips, but each time it rings in their ears, it’s like the first time all over again.
The sound is familiar, echoing that of a 1960s rock hall filled with swinging guys and gals. It’s a sound that feels warm and steady in the bones, speckled with an electric edge. It’s crooning meets quickness, mellow meets passion in an era where repetitive pop beats and Auto-Tune have drowned out what it really means to sing, play guitar, or keep a beat on drums. PALMAS is a rocker’s past meets California future.
Their wish for this sound the world so desperately needs?
“I would like for us to write an album that is actually timeless,” says Kurt.
Matt, on the other hand, wants to be featured in a Quentin Tarantino movie soundtrack. Judging from the sound coming from the speakers, neither of them are far off.
PALMAS’ new album To The Valley will drop November 13, 2015 via Lost Colony following a New York live showing at the Elvis Guesthouse on October 9, 2015.
To keep up with PALMAS and experience their tacos first hand, check out the recipe below (written by Chef Adam himself), and follow them on Facebook for updates.
Palmas Taco Recipe:
1. Modelos, tequila, and limes. Lots of ’em. Now start drinking.
2. Grab a bunch of chicken breast. Trim the fat.
3. Heat up a pan with oil, let it get real hot, then add in chopped onion and garlic.
4. Add in full chicken breast until it’s no longer pink.
5. Heat up a pot with water and a pack of taco seasoning and bring to a simmer. Add in some beer, limes, garlic, hot pepper, and a shot of tequila.
6. Shred the chicken breast with two forks and add the shredded chicken into the simmering sauce.
7. Let the chicken soak in all those juices.
8. Preheat the oven and warm up flour tortillas.
Serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, radish, onion, and fresh salsa.
