RFC Interview: The Panda Band
There is a certain familiarity and charm to the 60's influenced, yet very modern pop-rock that The Panda Band creates. This 5-piece act hails from Perth, Australia and has drawn comparisons to Sgt. Pepper's era Beatles, The Flaming Lips, and Arcade Fire, mostly due to the sophisticated harmonies, blips and beeps, and aural soundscapes that populated their debut release This Vital Chapter. We last saw them live at Martyrs' back in March of '07 and they were spectacular and humble. RFC was more than happy to invite them back to Chicago to play Bandwidth TONIGHT at one of our favorite venues, The Hideout.
We had a chance to quickly catch up with Chris Callan of The Panda Band, while they prep their tour vehicle for a drive to Chicago, then onto a series of west coast supporting gigs for Magnet.
So, you guys recently obtained VISAS to live in the States for some time, what's the plan for The Panda Band in the US?
We originally came here for CMJ but we thought it would be a good opportunity to get out and play some shows. We want to tour as much as possible, living in Australia makes it hard to fly back and forward all the time. We have just finished recording the demos to our second album so finding a producer and hopefully recording it here is in the pipeline.
There was a great article with you on KEXP Live in NYC, I noticed Stevie was missing. What's his status?
Steve couldn't make it for this trip due to bad timing, we are now playing as a four piece with Chris filling in the keyboard duties. KEXP was our first show with the new formation and to make things more nerve racking it happened to be on a live radio show....
Speaking of CMJ, how did your shows go? Did you see anything good?
The shows were fantastic, the response is always great here in the states...people seem to understand the music here.We actually didn't get a chance to check out many bands this time. Little Birdy and The Dirty Secrets, our brothers and sisters from Perth, played great shows.
I just checked out your new apartment on YouTube, it's pretty big, you could play your own life size version of RISK, do you have any favorite games that you play when on tour?
Haha! if we knew what Risk was we would probably be playing it. We usually play a game called "see who can write the best song." Those little movies are becoming a good pass time so keep your eye out on our myspace for new videos.
Tell us about the new EP you have coming out.
It is called the Pioneer EP released on Filter US recordings, check out our myspace to see the video for "Then you appear" a song taken from the Pioneer EP.You can grab a copy at our shows or online
Last question, who are you listening to right now?
Right now i am listening to Wilco, Dr. Dog ,and Super Furry Animals...all at the same time...nice harmonys...
Thanks for your time, Chris!
Be sure to check out THE PANDA BAND when they bring down the house at The Hideout TONIGHT as a part of Bandwidth! The wonderfully entertaining Pale Young Gentlemen will also play.
For a sample of the PIONEER EP check out the video below...
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