Interview: Pterodactyl

Tweet

So, I caught up with Jesse from high-energy post-punk heroes Pterodactyl and had the pleasure of asking him a few questions.

So, your latest release, Worldwild, has got kinda mixed reviews. Do you think it's a huge step for Pterodactyl?
Are you talking about the reviews being a big step or the record?

The record.

Yeah, it's certainly a step. It's different than what we've done before. It's our favorite of the music we've made.

Cool. To me it sounds like it has a more psychedelic feel. One of the songs, "Alex" sounds like Drums Not Dead-era Liars. What influenced you guys?
Well Alex is a song that I recorded alone in my room before I even joined Pterodactyl. I think the influences are far ranging. We like a lot of different stuff. Our friends' music, the music we grew up with. I mean do you want specific bands that we like, stuff like that?

That or pretty much anything else that influenced you.

I think venturing out from the city inspired all of us. Alex for example is definitely about escape and I certainly did a lot of that in the last year. We all did in one way or another. Before I joined the band they all went on some tour or something and something happened at a hotel room near the woods... I don't exactly know but it's in some press release or some shit. I'm sure that experience influence the record. As far as what we listen to, it's all over the place. Joe really loves Ponytail. We all like The Beatles. I love fucked up sounding guitars like that band Mayyors from Sacto and all of Zach's projects: Ex Models, Knyfe Hyts, The Seconds. Everyone loves Marnie too!

I can definitely hear the Marnie Stern in the music.

We're friends. Zach and Matt played in one version of her band. Kind of inevitable. Like I said we're definitely influenced by our friends and a lot of modern stuff but it's hard to pinpoint any one thing.

Speaking of Zach from Ex Models, is he an official member of the band or is he like a touring member? I saw some YouTube videos of you guys playing live with him.
He is no longer in the band. When he was, he was an official member. No scabs.

Ah. The cover for Worldwild is a little obscure to me with the whole neon rainbow thing along with the polaroid. Does it have a meaning to it or does it symbolize anything?

It doesn't really symbolize anything. It's anonymous youth in some other version of the world. What ever it means to me or anyone else in the band has no real relevance. It's just a starting place for the listner's imagination if anything. A visual reference point. We just tried to put together images that we felt represented the music and how it made us feel. Adventure!?! I really love how all their faces are obstructed. I love the anonymity of it.

It *is* pretty neat. I like the back too; how it kinda looks like an evolution chart.
Ha, I never thought about it that way. We just wanted both sides of the vinyl to look like they could easily be a cover.

I saw a few of your music videos and there's nearly a video for every song on Worldwild. Is there some kind of DVD on the way?
That's a good idea. We might have to do one now! As of right now there haven't been any plans to make a dvd. We just wanted to release them into the wild aka the internet. There are still some that we haven't put online yet and some that aren't yet finished. Some songs have multiple videos! Easy Pieces, for instance has at least 3 maybe more. I don't know if I've even seen them all yet.

I noticed that in your previous self-titled album you were a lot noisier and spastic. Do you think you've changed because your music has matured or you just decided to change directions?
Well that was recorded several years ago. Change is important. I don't think any of us are interested in making the same record twice.

Agreed. Since you've been on tour, what would you say was you favorite and least favorite show and why?
Well I can't speak for the band. I can only speak for myself and I've only been on two Pterodactyl tours as a member. My favorite show on the last tour was the Round Robin show at SXSW. My least favorite shows are one's where we lose shit. They all kind of run together. The round robin show was with These Are Powers, DD/MM/YYYY and Ponytail. It was a lot of fun and everyone sounded great even though it was outdoors.

Sounds like an awesome show, although I can't say I'm a big fan of DD/MM/YYYY, but that's just me.

To each his own.

Dusted Reviews compared the band's sound to Les Savy Fav and Lightning Bolt and even a user on iTunes compared you guys to early Modest Mouse. Would you agree with any of these comparisons? The only one I find apparent is Lightning Bolt.

No, I don't think any of them are relevant. I don't think we sound like any of those bands and I don't think if you heard us playing somewhere you might accidentally mistake it for one of those bands. I get the LB comparison... it's drum related. I'm not really interested in comparing I guess. I dunno... sorry.

That's fine. I'm just so obsessed with comparisons it's crazy.

Well what do you think it sounds like? Modest Mouse and Les Savy Fav... that's so 2003-2005. It's 2009! Soon to be 2012!

The end of the Aztec calendar! EEK! I think it sounds like Oneida mixed with a more hyper-melodic Ex Models.

I've never even listened to Les Savy Fav. I had a Modest Mouse phase for sure but people were comparing them to that before I even joined the band. I've read that description on Dusted before too.

Les Savy Fav used to be this kind of technical punk but now they went soft and just sound plain old boring. I honestly don't get that comparison.
Well we will certainly try and get more boring so we can make those comparisons make more sense.

Hahaha. Now the name Pterodactyl, do you know where it came from? I know you can't speak for the entire band but I'm just a little surprised no other bands have that name. Does it represent anything?

Let's see I've heard them give this speech before. It's like the word has a certain child like quality to it. It conjurs that time when you're first getting interested in dinosaurs when your a little kid. These beasts who's time has already passed. There is a sense of wonder and soon the sound of the word, the shape of the word begins to take new meaning. Something like that... it's easy and striking. There are lots of bands with variations of Pterodactyl for names. Andrew WK was in one.

I'm really interested in the way the guitars sound. What kind of pedals do you guys use?

Well that has recently changed due to some sad circumstances involving us losing all of our pedals. Let's see there is a line six looping station in there, a couple equalizers. My new set up is the Looping Station, Russian Big Muff, Holy Grail Nano and some crappy Danelectro distortion pedal. I try and keep my distance with pedals. I don't need another deep relationship, know what I mean?

Yeah, I have a Big Muff too. Danelectro's brand of pedals don't really interest me. Plus their names are a little oxy-moronic. (ex: FAB Metal)

Ha! Zach had a pretty sick pedal chain. Before Pterodactyl I was a no pedal enthusiast. I didn't use them and didn't want to. It's a pain to have pedals. They are annoying. They are easy to rip off, they break. The Line Six is the worst. That pedal is a curse!

Haha. Are there any bands or albums you've been digging recently?

Yeah! Let's see... Grass Widow! I just bought their tape last night. I'm going to go see them for the third time in a week in a couple of hours. They are sooooooo good. Ummm...what else. Mayyors, Tom James Scott, Valet, Vieux Farka Tourre, Ohsees, Strange Boys, new Dirty Projectors, Angerl Deradoorian, Golden Triangle, Matthew Herbert, Mika Miko, NINJASONIK!!!!

What are Grass Widow like?

Grass Widow is a 3 piece band that most people would probably say sound sort of similar to Vivian Girls because it's 3 girls singing and they have the same basic set up although the guitar player also plays trumpet sometimes. They do these really really amazing harmonies and sound so amazing live. One of the best live shows I've seen in a long time. The guitar sounds is a bit more surfy and experimental than Vivian Girls. I really like them too! I've probably been listening to Stillness is the Move by Dirty Projectors more than anything else lately. That and the song after it that Angel sings that sounds kind of like Nico. Oh and I love Finally Punk, Yellow Fever and The Carrots! Everything that group of folks from Austin does is fantastic! And Cold Blooded by When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth! But I played on that song too so maybe that shouldn't count. There are so many great bands in Austin!

I definitely have to check them out soon. Have you heard Tiger Trap? They were an old girl group from Sacramento back in '92.

No I haven't.

Wait, When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth! DUDE. I totally forgot about them. Not Noiice is such a great album! So underrated.

I'm all over that record! That's awesome. I don't really play with them much anymore because I'm in New York now but I'm a founding member of that band! That's me singing the opener, "Toeing the Line"!

You're the guy who made the most awesome screaming noise ever? WOAH!

It hurt really bad and probably put nodules on my v chords but it sounds pretty cool. I actually kinda copied that sound. You have to check out The Band ...of Death. My good friend Josh Brown was the singer. We went to high school together. They were fucking awesome. Dustin Pilkington from Total Abuse and Best Fwends went to school with us too. Texas is a small world if you're a weirdo. Josh sounded like a bird being dragged at high speed. So good and what I did is nothing even close to the sound of that shit. Amazing!

Were you in the music video too?

The "Heat" one? Yeah, I'm a Kurt! The one talking in the beginning, the one on the right. And Matt and I were in the "Ruler" video for Marnie Stern too! I was such a video whore last year! It was fun! Matt actually directed and filmed.

Oh Marnie. She seems like a really nice person.

She's always really nice and easy to talk to. I can't say anything but the nicest stuff about Marnie. Some people give that kind of answer to that kind of question all the time, like when you watch a "behind the scene's featurette" on a DVD. And the principle are saying how much of a genius the director is and so on and so forth. It seems canned.

It definitely is. You can predict like 15 minutes before hand they were cussing out the director.

I hate that shit. Totally. But Marnie is great for realz!

What's your opinion on Jagjaguwar and Brah Records?

I mean they are our record labels. So I like them! What did you mean by that question?

I meant if you like what they put out.

Ah, yes I do like what they put out. I haven't heard every record but they put out some really great stuff! I mean the whole organization, Brah, Dead Ocean, Jag... some really, really cool shit. Great people too.

Is there anything you'd like to say before signing off?

You are what you eat!

[Pterodactyl Myspace]

[Buy Worldwild from Brah Records]