Episode 22: Pilkington
Happy continuing summer season to all! We're all still here. We haven't melted into a puddle. We haven't been eaten by sharks, bears, um... moose... and... um... other things you may encounter during summer.
First off, some important dates:
-August 29th and September 5th. I'll be doing live tapings of the show for the Philly Podcast Festival at Bridgeset Sound, at 710 South Street. 8/29 will feature Drew Harris of The Naked Sun, Wilmington singer-songwriter Rachel Schain, and Benjamin Hughes, whom you might remember from Episode 12, and who keeps putting out releases each month of 2015, and they continue to be superb. Shows start at 9pm, they're free, and we'll probably have beer. Hear that, all! Beer! That's exciting! Where else can you get that? Seriously, though, hope to see some of you out there.
-September 12th, I'll be attending the Mid Atlantic Podcast Conference in Westville, NJ. I may or may not be on one of the podcaster panels. But I'll be there anyways. Come say hi. I'm sure I'll have some kind of nametag to identify me.
This week on the show, I have not one but two guests at the table. Edward Everett and Becca Todd from the band Pilkington have been doing their thing for years in Philladlephia. Formed out of the ashes of Panic Years, which was a Philly band that seemed unstoppable, we talk about a lot of things. Most importantly, we all lay our cards down on the table about what sucks about being in a band. Because, it turns out, it's a lot of things. It's not a neg fest by any means, but it was nice to speak openly and honestly about the many frustrations that go on behind the scenes of any band, succesful or not.
I hung out with Pilkington this week. They opened up a show at Boot and Saddle in South Philly (my old neighborhood, even). After their set, Ed and I got to talking and he told me all these phenomenal, trashy, gossipy stories about going to SXSW with Panic Years when they were being courted by radio and labels. They were largely laugh-out-loud funny, and strenghtened my belief that most music industry types know eff-all about squat. He told them in a way that, while funny, were not really self-serving or ego-driven. I remarked, more than once, that he should have told me these stories on the microphone when we were doing the interview. It seemed a shame that they were just being sent off into the ether with no one to record them.
And then it dawned on me. What a stupid way to think about a conversation with a new friend! Ed and I were getting to know each other and were telling stories about common experiences, and why on Earth should I be dissappointed that it wasn't "on the record"? Why do intimate, personal talks with someone have to immediately be turned into content to be broadcast to the world? It was great talking with Ed as just a person and not as an interview guest. Why not leave it at that? A conversation between two guys who were having fun letting off steam. No hashtags, no likes, no site hits or analytics. Just people enjoying the company of people in the moment. Imagine that?
Have a great couple of weeks. I'm going to try to unplug a bit and have a version of a vacation. Hope to see some of you at the live tapings later this month. In the meantime, go have your own conversation with someone off the record just for the joy of connecting. Not everything we do is meant for others to participate in. Sometimes it's just for two.
Cheers,
DD