It’s hard to believe that, as the summer winds to a close, so does this year’s round of The Zone @ 91-3’s Band of the Month. It’s been an amazing year of local talent, but The Zone saved the best for last: Pastel Blank.
Victoria BC is filled with premiere indie-rock outfits, but Pastel Blank may take the crown as the coolest. Blank’s genre-bending sounds takes cues from new wave, indie rock, and modern psychedelia. Helmed by Angus Watt with bandmates Oliver Hollingshead, Connor Head, Eric Killian, Luvy Vishek, and Hanum Yoon-Henderson.
After our Rocktographers photo shoot at Tyson’s Secret Studio™, Angus Watt, the mind behind Pastel Blank, stuck around to chat about the band, music and pizza boxes.
Tyson Elder: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me, Angus. First off I’d like to say congratulations on being the final Zone Band of the Month for 2022.
Angus Watt: Thanks!
TE: In June of this year you released your debut full-length album, Pastel Blanc. How does it feel to finally have it out in the world?
Angus: It feels cathartic. It took longer than I’d like to admit to get this album out, but it felt really important to do these songs justice.
TE: On a personal note, the record has quickly become a summer staple for me on evening drives to the lake. It’s a lot of fun, but songs like Cellophane Clocks and Slouching Like A Seraph capture the cooling relief of a dusk drive with the windows down.
Angus: Ah that makes me happy to hear! That’s a sweet association to have with those songs.
TE: I would be doing a disservice to fellow Rocktographer and resident geek, webmeister Bud, if I didn’t ask you about Goomba Stomp, the first song on your album. Was it inspired by Mario?
Angus: Haha. Lyrically, no, spiritually, yes. When Oliver [Hollingshead] and I recorded the demo, we showed it to a friend who remarked that it sounded like music to stomp goombas to. When it came time to submit final song titles, I kind of went back and forth on whether or not to give it a more serious title, but I figured we’d come out of it with either a sponsorship or a cease and desist from Nintendo . . . press is press!
TE: Let’s get into your Band of The Month feature song, Fences. From the first listen, I was hooked. The song has this urgency that’s lost in most modern indie songs, but it remains danceable and fun. How did the song come about?
Angus: We needed a fast song in our set. I remember I had just bought this white Stratocaster after rewatching Stop Making Sense and seeing Alex Weir looking cool as all hell. When I got home, the opening riff to Fences was the first thing I played on it.
Fences is the type of song where it seems like everyone in the band is just holding on for dear life and trying not to fall off the tracks. When I was writing it, I could really clearly picture the band frantically thrashing away on stage with these hard stop punctuations of tension and release.
I wanted the vocals to be rhythmically driving, as opposed to melodically focused. The lyrics came pretty quickly; I was sitting in my room late at night trying not to wake anyone up. I wanted to try writing from a character’s perspective, but in a way that pokes fun at the blindspots of self-assured virtue, without coming across as spiteful. It’s definitely very tongue in cheek.
TE: People who hear it this month are going to fall in love with it pretty quick. I really encourage everyone to track down the song on whatever streaming platform they use to hear the full version of the song. The radio edit is great but the original has a great breakdown at the end that they will be missing out on.
Angus: Yeah, go check out the full version! That end part came about when we were recording with David Parry. In classic procrastinatory fashion, the song wasn’t quite finished, so one night after recording I worked up the end section with a looper pedal.
TE: Beyond your recorded work, you and your band put on one hell of a fun live show. Recently you played the rooftop of the Yates St. Parkade as part of the Eventide concert series finale. I don’t want to worry anyone but people dancing and jumping in front of the stage had the concrete structure bouncing a little. Could you tell me a little bit about your live six-piece band?
Angus: I’ve heard that from a few people now… hopefully the bouncing is intentional to the design?
I’ve always loved playing with a big lineup. When you see that many people having fun on stage, it catches on quickly in the crowd. I feel incredibly lucky to be playing with this group of folks:
- Connor Head (guitar), who runs Catalogue Studios over in Rock Bay. He can play Grant Geissman’s solo on Feels So Good in entirety and has had multiple pet crows.
- Eric Killian (keys) is a good friend of mine who has introduced me to a lot of great music and films over the years. We were both working at Habit Coffee when I asked him if he’d like to hop on keys for some shows.
- On that same day, Luvy Vishek also started her first day at Habit. We discovered we love a bunch of the same music (I think our bonding points were The Slits, Suburban Lawns, and DEVO), and she mentioned that she played bass and was looking for some people to jam with. She came to rehearsal a few days later and killed it.
- A few days before the first show with this new lineup at the All Ways Home Festival last September, I said that it would be great to play with a percussionist, and Eric reminded me that our friend Hanum Yoon-Henderson was currently in a deep rabbit-hole of percussion obsession. Not only does he have a deep knowledge and love of rhythm, but Hanum is a natural performer who brims with joy when he’s playing.
- Oliver Hollingshead used to play drums in Pastel Blank, though he recently took a step back to focus on his solo material. He also mixed Pastel Blanc and is one of the most musically gifted people I’ve ever met.
- The show on the parkade was our first with Brennan Doyle playing drums, and he did an incredible job learning a whole set with literally 2 rehearsals. He also just put out a beautiful ambient record called “Seas of Noise”.
TE: While we’re talking about your band can you tell me how the “New Song” pizza box came about?
Angus: That’s all Hanum! He just showed up one day with a box from Victoria’s best pizza restaurant, Standard, and began providing CC for the set.
TE: Your next live performance is on the Saturday night of Rifflandia in Electric Avenue. What can we expect from your performance?
Angus: Choreography, pyrotechnics, feral mimes, synchronized rappel entrance from the ceiling, and a live theater biopic re-enactment while we play are all things you are welcome to expect!
TE: What’s next for Pastel Blank?
Angus: We recorded our next album at Catalogue Studios back in April. I’d like to have it out next year. This next album leans into the genre-bending: Remain in Light, ABBA, Graceland, Fela Kuti’s Zombie . . . hell, there’s even a Willy Wonka-type “Wondrous Boat Ride” moment. I’m very excited to share.
Until then, we’ll be getting out on the road to promote Pastel Blanc and get people dancing.
TE: Thank you again for taking the time for our photo shoot and chatting with me for turn in the Band of the Month program. I’m really excited for the world to get to know Pastel Blank.
Angus: Me too Tyson, thanks so much for having me, and thanks to The Zone for featuring Pastel Blank!
Fences, by Pastel Blank will be featured on The Zone @ 91-3 all month. Find out more about the band and listen to more of their music on their Band of the Month microsite.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.