Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have quickly become one of my favorite bands. It’s not just because their band name is so great, but because THEY are so great. Check out this conversation I had with Greg about their new studio record Pizazz, his dream date with Trey Anastasio and what life is like with their new drummer.
Taraleigh: Pizazz is your 4th studio record. What has changed for you since your first release and what has stayed the same?
Greg: Well, hopefully, each album is better than the last, which is kind of how we approach everything we do. The way we see it, as long as we continue to work hard and challenge ourselves on a daily basis, we’ll be moving in the right direction. Similarly, tonight’s show should be tighter than last night’s show, and so on. It’s a stress-free approach that keeps us progressing without getting bogged down by the future. So in essence, we didn’t set out to make the best record of all-time, we simply aimed to make our best record of all-time, and I think we succeeded, partly because we’ve all grown as musicians individually, but mainly because we’ve all grown as listeners, especially since our addition of Gator on drums in 2015.
Taraleigh: Speaking of your new drummer, Alex"Gator" Petropulos, this is your first recorded release with him. How did he become involved?
Greg: Alex’s old band Lifted opened for our guitarist Jeremy Schon’s old side project The 14th Circuit back in 2010 or 2011. Jeremy actually played bass in that group, he’s one multi-talented Pigeon. Later in 2011, Alex’s band opened for us in Hartford, CT at a tiny club called Sully’s Pub, which was not a packed show, to say the least, but we all were blown away by Alex’s chops that night. So when our original drummer Dan amicably told us that his time with our band had come to an end, we immediately hit up Alex for an audition, along with a few other quality candidates, but it was no contest.
Alex showed up with pages upon pages of notes and absolutely annihilated every transition with confidence and precision. We offered him the gig that night. This was our first glimpse of his never-ending drive, which constantly inspires us to learn more, practice more and write more.
Taraleigh: Gator being a Pigeon seems like a dream come true for everyone involved. Has it changed your dynamic of songwriting?
Greg: Writing music with Gator behind the kit has been a breeze. He takes our worst ideas and makes them show-worthy and elevates our halfway decent ideas into great music.
Taraleigh: He took something great and made it even greater. The story behind "Doc" is quite touching. How did the idea arise to write a song about one of your first hometown supporters? Is Doc still out there somewhere?
Greg: Yep, Doc’s still kicking it in Federal Hill in Baltimore. He’s not doing great health-wise, but I just saw him downtown a few weeks ago by our favorite club, The 8x10, and his spirits were high as usual. He’s really excited that his song made it onto Pizazz and he’s super stoked to hear it. The guy’s been through a lot, yet always maintains a positive attitude and “puts you in front of me.”
As far as the songwriting went, I enjoy writing from the perspective of a different character than myself, and there was no better character to assume than the enigma that is Doc, our favorite hometown homeless man who has supported us from our earliest days. It took me getting to know a wildly honest homeless man to truly understand why Baltimore’s nickname is Charm City, and we’re really stoked to honor him with this funky track featuring a hometown horn section that knows him well too.
Taraleigh: What a beautiful story. To all the readers, let’s all take a moment and send Doc a little love and some healing vibes. Next time you go to a PPPP show, do a little healing dance for Doc and make it funky! Why does PPPP think it's so important to put the "Fun In Funk"?
Greg: People take life too seriously. What’s the point of living if you can’t wear pajama pants to work? So when you come to our live shows or listen to our albums, we hope you check all of life’s baggage at the door and let your funk flag flow. We’re all about spreading overwhelming happiness, living each moment to the fullest and appreciating our time here on Earth by cramming in as many high-energy psychedelic funk jams as possible.
Taraleigh: I’m wearing my pajamas (which happens to be a unicorn onesie) to your next show. Over the last few years, you've developed quite an engaged fan base and following. Did you ever expect to have such loyal fans when you set out on this journey?
Greg: It’s pretty wild that our little dorm room project has turned into what it has, and we’re never going to stop raising the bar for our fans. We feed off the crowd’s energy at our live shows more than they know, and when people tour with us for multiple nights in a row, it inspires us to stretch our material and extend our jams into new territory. We’re so grateful for our crazy fanbase, The Flock, whose endless support always pushes us to step up our game across the board.
Taraleigh: What is something you can share with your biggest fans that they might not know about PPPP?
Greg: As for something they may not know about us, back when Jeremy and I first started playing coffee shops and open mic nights as an acoustic duo at the University of Maryland, Jeremy used to start the show with 20-30 minutes of solo looping called "The Jeremy Schon Experience," then I would join for the last 10-15 minutes to play a few originals and cover mashups like “No Woman No Farmhouse” (Bob Marley/Phish). Back then, I took all my solos on the mouth trumpet, which I clearly need to bring out of retirement.
Taraleigh: Clearly!!! Rumor has it, the band name came to you and Jeremy in a Psychology 101 class back in college. If you could Bill and Ted yourselves and bring present time Jeremy and Greg to talk to college Jeremy and Greg, what would you tell them?
Greg: Hey Greg, don’t accept that dare to drink an entire jar of pickle juice at that college party. It’s not worth it, man.
Taraleigh: Totally not worth it! If you could have a margarita on the beach while the sun was setting with any musician (living or dead) who would it be and why?
Greg: How’d you know that I love margaritas? You get me, Huffington Post, you get me.
Taraleigh: I had an intuitive hit. Haha.
Greg: This is a great question, of which I have many answers, but I’d have to go with Trey Anastasio from Phish, although Stevie Wonder is a close second. I’m just not sure what Stevie and I would talk about, but I’d love to pick Trey’s brain about touring, songwriting, guitar, family, and a million other things. Although I guess Trey’s drink would have to be a virgin pina colada, which I’d probably opt for as well out of respect. But who needs booze when you’re watching a sunset with Trey?
Taraleigh: Good point! If anyone out there is friends with Trey, please set Greg up with him for a man date of epic proportions. Now that Pizazz is out, what's next?
Greg: Never stop! We’re going to keep playing shows, writing new material and pushing ourselves to be at our best.
Taraleigh: Besides your date with Trey, any big plans for 2018?
Greg: We’re going to tour the entire country in 2018 and crush a ton of awesome festivals, including the 9th annual Domefest, our pride and joy of a music festival curated by Jeremy, me and the rest of the band. We’ve already begun planning next year’s Domefest, which should be our biggest gathering of the Flock yet!
Taraleigh: I hope to be there frolicking in the sun with the flock. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me and many blessings for all of the things that you are Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are up to.
The magic in me sees the magic in you,
Taraleigh Weathers
If you are a live music lover who wants to rage the sweet life, check out THIS from Taraleigh.
Stream the new record Pizazz on Spotify
Check out Pizazz on iTunes, Amazon Music and Google Play.