One listen to Pickwick’s Motown inspired thumper “The Round” and you’ll wonder if Fitz and his Tantrums even have a chance. Although the recent rock and soul revolution is becoming as crowded as Bassnectar’s set at the Coachella Sahara Tent; the Seattle six piece carries high energy soul and funk workouts alongside a blackened riff howl that gives em’ immediate rock credibility.
Pickwick also recently announced a run of North American dates in the fall with Neko Case and then Black Joe Lewis. This will follow an August 6th vinyl release of their debut LP Can’t Talk Medicine, which was self-released digitally and on CD on March 12th of this year, selling more than 1,600 copies in its first week and debuting at #36 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart.
In 2011 the band released their Myths 7-inch series that landed them on KEXP and The Stranger’s list of bands to watch. Can’t Talk Medicine followed the band’s January 2013 covers EP which included stand out track “Lady Luck” featuring Sharon Van Etten.
Pickwick was honored to play the opening day of the Seattle Mariners season. Since then, the band has toured the country with sold out shows in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and more and secured a headline spot at the Capitol Hill Block Party in late July next to the likes of The Flaming Lips. Glide had the honor of chatting with the band recently….
Can’t Talk Medicine is your full length debut after the release of Myths. It is surprising you’ve just released your debut, considering the amount of local Seattle success you have enjoyed including a sold out New Years Eve gig at the Showbox. How much do you credit Myths to generating label interest?
Myths‘ local sales are responsible for some of the fair weather labels’ interest, but there were some other labels that were interested for reasons that we could wrap our heads around: partnership, development, art–you know? In the end it just made sense to continue our history of pressing and distributing our records on our own.
When we were doing Myths vinyl singles were somewhat novel locally, so I think that helped make our shows more of an event. With the live show came a substantial physical product to take home almost each time we played. We’ve also tried to preserve the excitement we feel playing live by playing new songs that aren’t fully formed yet. For me it’s exciting to watch a live show when you can see the band is riding that line between succeeding and catastrophically tanking onstage. I think we do that well.
Do you feel Can’t Talk Medicine best represents Pickwick currently musically and creatively? What songs or moments on the album are you most proud of?
Can’t Talk Medicine is the best representation on record of where we are musically and creatively, but to get a glimpse of where we’re headed our live show is a better representation. I am proud of the whole thing; the flow from song to song, the arc of chronology represented in songs 2-7, taking listeners from our beginnings to where we are currently leaning. I’m proud that we finished it considering our limited budget and time, with us all working day jobs. But I really love the instrumental “Myth” that leads into “Brother Roland.” I think that strange space might be my favorite part.
How long did the songs on this album take to come together? What was the recording process like and was writing for these songs easier than your 7 inch series?
Some of the songs we’ve had for a while, like “The Round.” But they all come together in the same way, with someone bringing a riff or progression to the basement and all of us working it out together. Then I usually pull from a strange thing I’m learning about, for example The Source Family, and draft some lyrics.
We recorded the record in our house, which isn’t sonically ideal, but it felt right. We recorded as much as we could to 1/2 inch tape and added found sounds from the lonelywithnoise.com audio collections our roommate curates. We recorded background vocals in the kitchen and I wore pajamas.
Soul and R& B is not the typical sound most people associate with a band from Seattle. How did you go about forming your sound and was it intentional to go in that direction?
We are informed by 60’s bands like the Animals, Spencer Davis Group, the Young Rascals and the Sonics. The way they all interpreted R & B has made an impact on us, but ultimately our sound is the product of the six of us writing songs in a basement together more than any one influence.
What are some of your favorite places to play in Seattle and what venues have been most supportive of allowing you to grow on stage?
We played a lot of lightly-attended shows at the Sunset Tavern. They were very kind to us. But Seattle has a ton of great venues, and we’ve been lucky enough to play most of them.
Who would you say Pickwick is most influenced by in the past and present?
We all have different influences. Currently I really like UMO, Night Beds and Palace Brothers’ Days in the Wake. We all were pretty floored by the new Tama Impala. I will forever be indebted to Chad Vangaalen for everything he does.
You receive a lot of love and support from fellow Seattle station KEXP. Can you describe your relationship with KEXP and how they began spinning you?
After Myths came out we were playing around locally and we had a friend working at the station who gave our stuff to John Richards. He and the rest of the staff have been amazing advocates of our music. When we brought our Covers EP to John recently he interviewed us on the spot and played all three tracks. Unheard of for any radio station, we are so thankful for their support.
“Lady Luck” featuring Sharon Van Etten is one of the many standout tracks on Can’t Talk Medicine – how did that collaboration start?
I think her little brother convinced her to do it. He had somehow heard of us. We were as surprised as anyone that she said yes. And she adds an element to that song that I don’t think any of us anticipated which was really cool.
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What bands out of the Pacific Northwest do you feel you have the most kinship with and why?
Mychal from Campfire Ok is a friend of mine and I am consistently impressed with his songwriting. Hey Marseilles and Ivan and Alyosha are friends who we can talk shop with while trying to navigate this business. I really admire Pleasure Beauties and Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside. And Radiation City will have their day in the sun…genius records, amazing performers.
What have the biggest highlights for the band in the past year in terms of certain performances? What has been the biggest downer?
Singing with Lizzie from Radiation City at the Showbox on NYE was a highlight for me. The Neurolux in Boise was amazing. Hardly Strictly in SF was pretty cool. The biggest downer has been learning how to be a business and delegate within our six members. We’ve played some weird shows for sure, and after those we regroup in our basement after tour and keep writing songs.
How do you see your music progressing as Pickwick continues?
I think we get restless quickly and need to keep moving forward– we’re continuing our current obsession with farfisa, fuzz guitar and screaming.
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Pickwick 2013 Summer & Fall Tour Dates:
*w/ NEKO CASE
**w/BLACK JOE LEWIS
Jun 29 – Gillette, WY @ Donkey Creek Festival
Jul 10 – Boise, ID @ Alive After Five Concert Series
Jul 11 – Reno, NV @ The Alley
Jul 12 – Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar
Jul 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Getty
Jul 14 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Jul 16 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Soho
Jul 17 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlows
Jul 27 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
Aug 25 – Eugene, OR @ Eugene Celebration
Aug 28 – Jackson Hole, WY @ Pink Garter Theatre
Aug 29 – Bozeman, MT @ The Filling Station
Aug 30 – Missoula, MT @ Stage 112
Sep 08 – Portland, OR @ Musicfest NW
Sep 11 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues*
Sep 12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre*
Sep 13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Lensic Performing Arts Center*
Sep 14 – Denver, CO @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House *
Sep 16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden Amphitheater*
Sep 19 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s**
Sep 20 – Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt**
Sep 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer**
Sep 24 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Sep 26 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 (w/ BJL & Okkervil River)**
Sep 28 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop**
Sep 30 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall**
Oct 01 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue**
Oct 02 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre**
Oct 03 – Norman, OK @ Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art**
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