Porcupine Racetrack
In an effort to expand my musical horizons and learn about some of the local bands in the Bay Area, I took it upon myself to find some interesting local, independent bands. That’s when a co-worker told me about Porcupine Racetrack. After releasing their newest EP, I sat down with Chris Morell, one of the founding members of PR, and talked about the nature of being a small band, their newest EP and any upcoming plans. Be sure to check out their MySpace to learn about any upcoming shows and get a preview of their new EP.
Alexander Monney: What is your name and what do you do for the band?
Chris Morell: My name is Chris Morell. Hmm, what do I do in the band? That's kind of a loaded question. I split my time between guitar, vocals, bass and drums. It's kind of a long story of how the band started, but without going crazy in-depth, I write about half the songs and I usually play guitar while singing lead in those songs. On songs that Andy Burt writes, I usually play bass or drums. It's something that started out of necessity because we couldn't for the life of us find a drummer that meshed with us in San Francisco, so we keep the rotating three-piece system in place at our live shows. It gives us an interesting hook, and we're often told we sound like two different bands. Not sure if that's good or bad... I guess you can judge that.
AM: Where did the name Porcupine Racetrack come from?
CM: If I were more of a sketch comedy snob, I'd probably end this interview right now! It's probably the most well-known (and quite ridiculous) sketch from MTV's The State. What's funny is that I've had friends or random people come up to me about the name. This is how the conversation usually goes:
PERSON: I just wanted to tell you that you have the BEST band name ever!
ME: Thanks! What did you think of our music?
PERSON: You guys play music?
Actually, it took us a while to settle on Porcupine Racetrack as our name. Initially I really liked Morning Commute, and Andy was pulling for something like Variety Show. So after some boozed-up arm-wrestling contests, we all turned our keys and went with Porcupine Racetrack... and it was catchy enough to stick.
AM: Describe your style of music for those who haven't listened to you before.
CM: We classify ourselves as indie rock, but that genre seems to be growing broader by the day. San Francisco indie rock? OK, we're getting there. We're heavily influenced by bands like Spoon, Okkervil River and Dr. Dog, but I'd like to think we've carved out an interesting niche. And it usually doesn't come across until you see us live. We often play scratchy, heavy guitar and juxtapose it with soft keys and hooky lyrics. Though after we finished our EP, I was hooked on to some of the bass lines that James Ryan was playing specifically the end of the last track, "The Summertime."
AM: How did Porcupine Racetrack start?
CM: Believe it or not, with minimal hard drugs and male strippers. Andy and I used to work together, realized we were in to a lot of similar music (and had both played a lot of different styles of music), and started meeting up to work on some very early ideas. We started renting a rehearsal space in San Francisco and slowly began structure some songs out. Then we met James about six months later, began arranging all these songs and ideas until we had a live set. It wasn’t until we got out and played that we really began to mesh. Honestly, I think the best advice I could give to beginning bands is to just get out and play as much as you can. It wasn't until then that we really came together.
Interestingly enough, Andy and James met on the SF subway system BART on a workday morning, which is why I initially thought Morning Commute was an appropriate moniker. Maybe the name of the next disc? You tell me.
AM: You recently added a member to your band. What was that decision like to add a fourth member and what is she offering that was missing from the original trio?
CM: You know, three members for a band that records keys, and second and third guitars, means that it's really tough to reproduce that sound live. Plus we needed something to unify the sound and really fill it out. First, we thought drummer was the way to go, but being that finding a good, reliable drummer in SF ain't easy, we thought finding someone who was another jack-of-all trades might be best. And so we found Olivia, who's a whiz in keys, but can also pick up the guitar or drums if needed. And she's a godsend for vocal harmonies. It's really changed the sound... in a good way.
AM: What do you think are the benefits of being an independent band in San Francisco?
CM: You know, none of us are in this for the money... all we really want to do is get out and play. San Francisco has great live music venues that are very helpful for indie bands, but I don't think any of those bands will tell you that it's easy. Building relationships with bookers, making friends, proving that you can fill a venue... those are things that come slowly.
San Francisco is a blessing and a curse. It has amazing venues, but unlike LA, there's very little foot-traffic for clubs and venues, meaning you really have to build a fan base and get people out to your shows. And many places in SF don't have built-in audiences like other cities. So again, you really have to do your work with promoting, using things like Twitter and Facebook to push your stuff out there, etc. It's a full-time job, which is of course a second job for most of us.
AM: Do you get to play outside of the Bay Area much? If so, how were those experiences?
CM: Because we're still relatively new, we're working on building a SF fan base. We're looking at shows in the East Bay and Santa Cruz, and have invites down to venues in LA and San Diego with some other bands we know. But for now, building those local places has been key for us. But the California mini-tour isn't that far off.
AM: You just finished an EP last year. What is that process like for an independent band?
CM: Man, well, it takes a shit-load of time. I think slotting out the time in our busy schedules is really the hardest part. Thankfully a friend works out of an Oakland based studio called Stout, and he already knew our stuff, so we booked a weekend and got it done in one shot. Obviously as an indie band, we were aiming to keep cost low but still get a really nice analog sound. Stout has a real nice analog setup with vintage gear. We tracked over the weekend, and then mixed over following month. It really didn't pop until mastering, and then it clicked and we were all incredibly happy with the result.
AM: How do you guys work around everyday life to get that stuff done?
CM: Can't lie. Sometimes it's insanely hard to get everyone out to practice three days a week after an eight or nine hour workday. But our collaborative love for and drive to play music keeps us going.
Personally, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I wasn't involved in making/playing music in some fashion in my life. I think about playing all the time, and music is one of the few things that relax me in life. Sometimes I just have to force myself to pick up the guitar or even a pen and paper, and I'm always glad when I do.
AM: Did the album turn out like you wanted it to?
CM: I think it's better than we thought it would turn out. That said, like most artists, we're perfectionists. So yeah, I think it could be better. There are small things I hear in the EP and say, "I wish we could have added a riff here or a keyboard run there." But at some point you just have to be satisfied with what you create, trust that it's good and get it out there. There's always the next one to improve and learn from each one.
AM: What has been the best moment for you all as a band so far?
CM: We recently played a show at club called Kimo's in San Francisco. It was a nice turning point for us... big, packed show with an energetic crowd. But really, it's the little things that really hit for me. Like reading a YouTube comment on a song we covered that says, "That made me tear up," or getting a Tweet with someone quoting the lyrics of your song. That shit goes a long way.
AM: Any upcoming plans for shows or promotion for this new EP?
CM: Mostly just pushing to play more and more, and then a full album later in the year. For anyone that lives in the Bay Area, we're at Kimo's in March and the Hotel Utah on April 2, with a great band Blisses B.