Introducing Pigeon Park!

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Finding a new band is easy, finding a new band you like is often more difficult but sometimes the planets align and a band you’ve heard about years before (and not followed) pop up on your radar again through affiliation with a band you already know and love. Such is the case of Vancouver band Pigeon Park.

We first knew of this rock band through the local rock radio station’s ‘Seeds’ contest in 2012. At that time Pigeon Park cracked the top 20 of the fan voted battle of the bands contest, but due to being ‘all over the map’ with their genre (so says singer Nick Weber ) they stalled in the final round of voting. They did, however, make a comeback in the 2013 Seeds and win the entire package. Flash forward to 2014 and us gearing up to see perennial favourite Sam Roberts Band play Kelowna, and suddenly Pigeon Park is front and center again! The band landed the coveted spot of openers for SRB. With that, we had to talk to them to find out how that came about and what they’re up to these days.

nightMair Creative: Hi Nick thanks for taking the time to talk to us. First time we’ve ever interviewed anyone in a library 🙂

Nick Weber: thanks for asking! And yeah its the first time I’ve been interviewed in a library! (laughs)

nMC: so for those not knowing your band Pigeon Park yet, how did you guys come together as a band? How long have you been around and how would you describe your vibe?

NW: We started the band in high school actually, about seven years ago! Other than changing bass players, we have the same line up now as we did then. We started by playing blues and classic rock, but were kind of all over the place genre wise for a few years. Before our last album, Black Widow, we even did some folk and reggae but realized that jumping around like that wasn’t really helping us get further ahead.

nMC: I remember you guys from the 2012 Seeds contest – you’re right, you were kind of all over the place.. what changed?

NW: we started concentrating more on the writing and made things a little heavier, and decided to stick to a harder rock sound. People love it, we love it and it makes for a more energetic show I think.

nMC: and you guys won the Seeds contest in 2013! Did that get you anywhere as a band? Was it worth winning that?

NW: Absolutely! Monumentally.. the prize pack was 10 grand in cash, 10 grand worth of equipment from Long & McQuade, a 5 song EP produced by Garth Richardson, and a chance to open for Sam Roberts Band.

nMC: you guys made top 20 the year before but didn’t win… what changed?

NW: Dunner (previous program director and Seeds supporter) really took us to task with some advice. He mentored us about tightening up our genre, and doing some marketing (social media sites), and encouraged us to enter again the following year and here we are.

nMC: so many younger bands out there don’t know things that industry should be teaching and aren’t – like marketing and online sites and being consistent with a sound or even a good band name

NW: yes! It’s very ‘trial by error’ and you have to figure it out for yourself.

nMC: seems every band is now struggling for that tiny piece of the pie and often in competition against each other.

NW: yes thats the nature of the beast for this industry. The younger bands don’t know really yet what they’re doing, and they are definitely fighting tooth and nail for the shows, radio play etc, and so they should be. But when you mature and get to a certain point in your career where you are doing shows like this (with Sam Roberts Band) you should be supporting the other bands. Bad mouthing or fighting people to get your way, isn’t something I’ve ever believed in, in any facet of life really. As a band we pride ourselves in being respectful and working with and learning from other bands.

nMC: so you guys will fit in very well with Sam Roberts (SRB being one of the ‘nicest’ people out there in the industry)

NW: absolutely! Out of all the bands we’ve opened for, he’s the only one that’s come up to us of his own accord, and introduced himself at the start of the tour.

nMC: and you’ve only been on the road with him for 2 days!

NW: yes! We showed up and met him and he was like, ‘hi nice to meet you guys, its going to be a great night, etc.’

nMC: Sam Roberts Band are known for their high energy, as are many great bands, do you find that you as a band strive to keep up with the opening band?

NW: yes! That’s the name of the game – strive to be better than the headliner ( laughs).. I want to try and put on a better show – every night. I don’t care who’s playing, I want people to remember us when they walk away at the end of the night.

nMC: what do you think sets Pigeon Park apart from all the other bands out there right now?

NW: well, from what I hear on the radio, we are different than anyone else out there right now. When I see other bands live, there aren’t a whole lot of bands right now that are high energy, and fun to watch. Standing in one spot playing isn’t good enough. When I wake up the next day after a show and I’m sore – I know I did a good job the night before. I love getting people on their feet, and watching them dance and move, and we have to set the tone first if we want them to give the energy back.

nMC: what is in Pigeon Park’s future?

NW: we’re finishing the tour with Sam Roberts, then touring with The Tea Party for about 8 shows. Then we’ve been asked to be part of Grey Cup weekend at the end of November…. then into the recording studio for a few weeks, and we hope to release a new single by March. This year was our best yet, we anticipate next year to be even better.

nMC: Good luck with the show tonight and upcoming dates, and thanks for taking the time to talk to us!

NW: thank you!

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