Recently I had a chance to have chat with Pentimento drummer Michael Hansen. If you havent had a chance to check this band out, I strongly suggest you get on over to www.facebook.com/pentimentoNY and check out their new EP "Wrecked EP" If you are into "Where you want to be" era Taking back Sunday and Hot water music, this will be some jams that will get stuck in your head.
LITSL: So mike...what made you start this project?
MIKE: Pentimento was formed in July of 2010 after the 4 of us sat down together and had a talk about how frustrated we were with where we were at in our lives musically, and how bad we wanted to be involved with a project that was active and actually doing things to push forward. Every project we’ve been a part of (whether it was independently, or a band that different combinations of us were in together) never really went anywhere. It all collapsed due to poor work ethic, shitty dudes, bad attitudes, lack of communication, etc. Once we all sat down and realized that each one of us was as serious and dedicated as the next, we knew we had something special. It was a very exciting time, and those things that initially sparked the idea of Pentimento are still the same things that we look to for steam a year later.
LITSL: Its good to know you are all so driven. Speaking of drive, what are some goals you have for this band?
MIKE: We’ve had a very busy year, but we always try to keep ourselves focused on what’s next. We’re simply looking forward to finishing our full-length this winter, being on the road as much as possible, and sharing our music with anyone and everyone.
LISTL: I like that. Its always refreshing to me to see a band that has no let up in work ethic. Do you have any tour dates coming up?
MIKE: Lots of tour dates coming up! We leave on the 20th of this month for a North East run with our good friends in Heartwell.( www.facebook.com/HeartwellNJ ) We’re finalizing our fall schedule at the moment, but all of our available tour dates for August and September can be found on our facebook page! www.facebook.com/pentimentoNY
LITSL: Excellent to know! Can you fill me in on what the song writing process is like? Is it a group effort? Does one person kind of come up with the skeleton of a song and the rest fill in?
MIKE: We use a lot of methods when coming up with song ideas. We definitely make time at practice to jam ideas on the fly. There have been times where we’ve randomly come across a riff or progression or drum idea we can all get stoked on and run with it for a bit. But the way we normally approach writing has changed in a big way with the help of our good buddy Jake Darling. He’s been cool enough to sit in on practices with us and bring his recording gear to our studio so we can demo new songs as we’re ready. A lot of times, I’ll have a skeleton of a song and I’ll lay down the instruments and vocal ideas that I have. From that point, the other dudes give their input and we get to tweaking it and adding other ideas. It’s proven to be a really effective approach. Having the chance to listen to the demos over and over again has really changed the game for us. It’s allowed us to take a step back and hear the songs as a listener, rather than the band that’s playing them. It’s helped us cultivate our sound and try new ideas and really get a feel for things. Having the demos, and the ability to record the demos whenever we feel the need to has been an incredible tool to have and we’re really thankful that Jake’s willing to help us out that way.
LITSL: That rules, Mike. I think one of the biggest things a band can do is take a step back from their music and try to listen to it as a stranger would. Totally unrelated, but what is your biggest pet peeve with the music industry?
MIKE: Cute Is What We Aim For. That is all.
LITSL: I feel ya dude. So if thats a band you hate, then what band would you love to open for?
MIKE: I’m sure the answer to this question would be different for everyone in the band, but if it was up to me - AFI.
LITSL: Sometimes the bands we loved at 14 stay with us forever. Can you tell me favorite show you've played?
MIKE: That’s a tough question. Playing shows at home is always great because we’ve got a lot of incredible friends that are kind enough to support us. Seeing all those people automatically makes it a great time. I’d also say any time we’ve ever played New Jersey, it’s always a party. New Brunswick, NJ is definitely our home away from home, which is kind of cool because that’s where a lot of our favorite bands are from. Recently though, the four of us had a talk about this type of thing and came to the conclusion that every night is great in it its own way. We’re at the point in our lives as people and musicians where we don’t really consider shows to be “good” or “bad” anymore. Sure, some nights we play better than others…and the fact that we’ve been fortunate enough to not have had anything terrible happen (yet) helps in forming that collective opinion.. But in reality, we’re doing everything we can to give our all every single time we get behind our instruments. For as hard as we try to work, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that this is about having fun.. So at the risk of sounding completely cheesy, every show is our favorite.
LITSL: Thats a great point dude. As long as you are working hard, and playing shows with all of your heart I dont see how it could be bad. Im sure it beats the shit out of working a fast food job.
LITSL: I dont see a lot of facial hair in the band. what gives with that? Is your band anti-beard?
MIKE: I wouldn’t say we’re anti-beard. The issue is that ¾ of us can’t grow facial hair. The 4th one shaves regularly so the rest of us don’t feel bad about our hormone disorders.
LITSL: I dont buy it. Tell that dude to grow a beard already so he can establish his dominance over the rest of you. On the topic of touring, can you tell me what your favorite tour food is?
MIKE: Anything that’s free. Or anything cooked at The Pagano’s house. But it’s fair to say that Popeye’s Chicken is a staple on the road. We don’t have that in our hometown, so it’s something we look for when we’re out.
LITSL: Have you stopped at any ridiculous roadside attractions?
MIKE: The only thing I would consider a ridiculous roadside attraction that we’ve stopped at in recent times was a White Castle in New Brunswick, NJ. Never again. Once while I was on tour with a different band from Buffalo a couple summers ago, we stopped at a reptile museum. That was pretty awesome.
LITSL: What was label hunting like? What did you do to separate yourself from the pack?
MIKE: I think the only thing bands can do to separate themselves from others is display a strong work ethic. Effort is a big part of this whole thing, and as long as you’re willing to put in the work, doors will certainly open. We originally decided to use the press kit approach to try and gain some label interest, because most labels want to see bands put in the work it takes to create a presentable press kit. It’s a good way to let everyone know you mean business. We used a small pressing company called Kunaki to do a run of 100 copies of the EP, wrote up something to include, and put ‘em in the mail. We sent out about 20 press kits to all the labels we could think of that had artists we enjoyed. At the same time, we’d posted a full stream of the EP on our facebook and bandcamp pages, which is what proved to be the definitive factor for us, rather than the press kits, oddly enough. During the first two weeks of our online stream, we were fortunate enough to have been contacted by several respectable labels, including Panic Records. We all just about pissed ourselves, and couldn’t wait to learn more about what Panic was interested in doing with us. Since signing, the relationship we’ve developed with Panic has been incredible, and we absolutely feel that we’ve made the right choice for Pentimento by calling Panic Records our home.
LITSL: Well Mike, thanks for taking the time to talk! I hear AP is doing an interview with you soon. Ill look for that and hopefully I'll catch you on tour sometime!
Pentimento is:
Singer/Guitar: Jerry Pauly
Mike Hansen: Drums
Lead guitar : Lance Claypool
Bass: Vinny Caito
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