Pressure Kids Interview

What was the inspiration behind the “Team” music video?

Katy was the first one to float the idea of us playing quirky, caricature-like versions of our high school selves. We wanted it to feel really youthful, fun, lighthearted. The song itself has some teeth to it so we wanted a lighter contrast for the visual. We were out enjoying a beverage at our favorite bar (where a few decent ideas have been hatched) when we came up with the idea of playing against an actual team of kids in the climactic part of the video. 

Do you think being friends for so long helped in the creation of your EP?

Most absolutely. We’ve known each other so intimately for the better part of a decade, we’ve built an artistic trust and a deep emotional understanding of one another that I think definitely translates into the recordings. There is so much we’ve been through together, we’ve seen each other at many pivotal moments of growing into ourselves. Listening back to these EPs sends me to so many different moments in my friendships with these people, I hear respect and trust and mistakes and laughter and all of the elements that make good records and successful friendships. The Pressure Kids and The Pressure Kids: Vol. 2 were designed to be this expansive thing that paid homage to our first five years of work together, to building a band and a family with each other. Some songs on there are some of the first we ever wrote together, others were finished at the 11th hour. This band has always been built on friendship; it’s something I’m really proud of. 

What do you consider the sound of your EP to be? 

I think it's a pretty eclectic record, there are a lot of different kinds of sounds, the songs are very different in bone and build. There are big, chaotic moments of catharsis and there are moments of quiet and ambience, we wanted there to be stuff that was tender and stuff that smacked you in the gut. 

What is your favorite song to perform live?

This changes from season to season, but we’ve recently brought a newer song called “This Door Remains Closed” into our live rotation and it’s felt really good the past few shows. It was a bit of baptism by fire, the first time we played it live last month my acoustic guitar shit the bed right before we were about to rip into the song. After a panic-stricken moment we decided to play it acoustic and off-mic on the edge of the stage. It ended up being one of our favorite moments of the night, that song really proved it wanted to make it out there for the people.

What inspired you to get into music?

I remember being a little kid, sitting down at our family piano and having a chocolate milk-induced, cranium-shattering epiphany that every song ever written and every song that will ever be written was contained somewhere in those 88 keys, and that this was something I had the power, that everyone had the power, to contribute to, to be a part of. It melted my mind. I’ve always been enamored with the idea of making worlds, of getting to create something that is an expression of yourself that others get to interact with in their own ways, that your music means one thing to you and can then take on a multitude of new and unexpected meanings for someone else. Once I realized you could make a career out of this, travel with your mates, only work for a few hours every night, I was sold.

First album you ever bought?

I used to take the money that my brother and I would make from our lemonade stand (and it was a lemonade empire, let me tell you) and buy Fleetwood Mac CDs at Borders (RIP). I didn't know much about the band besides the fact that I liked when “Rhiannon” came on the radio, so I randomly grabbed one that had a penguin on it (Penguin, if you can believe it). It took me quite a few CDs to realize that there were nearly 10 albums of English Blues music to trudge through before Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham joined the band - thankfully our lemonade stand raked in some coin. 

If you can replace yourself in band with another musician or even a celebrity, who would it be?

I would love to hear Bill Murray’s honey-croon take on“Fever.” Rumor has it he’s a decent guitar player, too.

What should the fans of the band expect in 2020?

More and lots of it. 

Second Part of the Interview: Deep Dive of The Pressure Kids

Zach, I heard you used to be quite the swimmer. Is there anything you took away from competitive swimming that you applied to drumming or music in general?

Yeah, I swam for 13 years competitively. It was a fun time and also took over my life for better or worse. I learned how to manage time and developed a strong work ethic because I was balancing school, a job, and a social life while going to swim practice twice a day. Nowadays, I feel like sometimes we can all feel like we are drowning because we are fitting in practices and meetings while trying to also pick up extra shifts to save up enough money to go on the road. It's exhausting, but worth it and it pays off. If it wasn't for my time in swim and the great coaches I had (shout out Coach Fossmo and Coach Chris Wade), I don't think I'd be able to navigate my life now.

Nick, was your project Mr. Manager a reference from the tv show Arrested Development?

It absolutely is and 1,000 points for picking up the reference.

Katy, you’ve been performing your own original songs ever since you were a teenager and even released an EP a few years ago. How involved are you in the songwriting process?

We've developed a collaborative process in the time we've been together that I think we're all really proud of, and it's one we're conscious of keeping open to evolution. Typically, Nick or Allan will kick things off with a riff or chord progression or melody, and then we all follow suit, building the song around itself. For me, that turns into writing all of the keys parts I play & choosing the harmonies I want to sing. As someone who only wrote solo work growing up, our collective approach to songwriting has been quite freeing for me. It's a privilege to get to write parts that complement your bandmates' work, work that's being created right in front of you.

Justin, I heard you used to have your own radio show and even interviewed bands yourself. What made you decide to be a radio dj? 

When I first moved to Nashville, one of the guys I was living with was working on starting an online radio station with a friend of his. They asked if I wanted to put together a weekly show featuring local music. I figured it would be a cool way to get to know the scene around town. It was fun while it lasted, but the station never picked up much steam, and my DJing days are long gone. The legacy of DJ Bavibeats lives on, tho.

Allan, what can you tell me about the The Tennessee Whalers?

Deep cut! The Tennessee Whalers was more or less a folk-pop project formed between Nick, two other college buddies, and myself. It was another opportunity to explore music-making with Nick in addition to our time spent together in The Pressure Kids. For the Whalers, I mostly played slide guitar and sang along. I still miss seeing Nick play banjo barefoot in a straw hat.