The Inquisition: 011.Pelican

1. How did you came up with the name of the band?  

We didn’t really put very much thought into the band name. A friend of ours had a funny story about a guy with a pelican tattoo and someone said “that would be a good band name.” I’m not sure that was true, but I suppose it suits us. 

2. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it?  

Usually a song begins with a riff or small collection of riffs. We meet in smaller groups, usually duos, to start fleshing them out into full song structures. Once a song is mostly structured we bring it to the full band and build out the other layers of the arrangement. Often a song will start longer and get edited down as it gets fuller. 

3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home?  

All four of us have really different frames of reference and listening habits. There are a few bands that overlap: Radiohead, Neurosis, Eyehategod, Thin Lizzy, but mostly it’s all over the place. All of us are ravenous music listeners that can’t be pinned down to one genre or sound. 

4. What is the first record you've ever bought ?  

If I remember correctly it was Tom Petty’s Damn The Torpedoes. “Even the Losers” remains a life anthem to this day. 

5. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with ?  

Now that Slowdive are touring again, they immediately come to mind… 

6. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to?  

There’s no question that the internet helped our global reach even as it hurt our record sales. I think Turkey and Russia are the countries we’re most surprised to have played and had crowds familiar with our music. 

7. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like spotify?

Both. We’re fans of any means that makes our music available for people to listen. 

8. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?  

Similar to where we are now - we intend to keep making albums and playing shows wherever and whenever we can. We all have lives outside the band and it has to operate in whatever free time we can spare, but it is 100% essential to us to have this creative outlet. 

9. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?  

Of course, the album art gives a record a visual association for the listener which is emblazoned on their consciousness, whether it’s a tiny jpeg or a large LP cover. We put a lot of care into the art curation of our records. 

10. What is you favorite album cover?  

The Clash "London Calling". It’s become iconic, but even separate from that it communicates such a sense of urgency and aggression. That music doesn’t sound aggressive by modern standards, but it’s in there lyrically and the album cover really helps underscore that sense of social anxiety and frustration that runs through the album; like it’s been bottled up and now it’s ready to explode.

11. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format?  

The reason CDs had such a boom is that people craved the portability. Portability has obviously also driven the popularity of mp3s and now streaming technology, but those mediums don’t have very good sound quality. Music isn’t anything but organized sound - the people who can’t live with less have been turning increasingly to vinyl as a reaction.  

I’ve collected vinyl records for over 20 years; I’ve always been enamored with the way the art plays a prominent role and the tactile feeling of putting the needle into a groove. I also appreciate side breaks, I think they help most records flow better.  

12. What's the funniest story or moment as a band?  

We played Primavera festival in 2007 (maybe 2008?) and I remember the festival organizers were rushing us through our soundcheck a little bit because they’d planned this big photoshoot where the entire crew and all the bands from the festival would pose together. So we kind of rushed things a little bit and headed down to where they were doing the shoot. It was, like, 15 crew people, us, and Sonic Youth. It was pretty surreal - no one else showed up. I kind of wish we’d engaged them in conversation or something, but I was way too nervous. That was a very fun fest - our stage was us, ISIS, and Grizzly Bear right before they became a huge band. 

I dunno, not very funny I guess, but that’s what just came to mind.  

Pelican are touring next week along with Tombs:

     

June 12 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah   

June 13 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey   

June 15 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's   

June 16 - Sacramento, CA - Midtown Barfly   

June 17 - Portland, OR - Branx   

June 18 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater   

June 19 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's  

More info: 
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