No-nonsense punks Pretty Pistol have recently released their EP Welcome to the Dead Club. Citing influences like Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes and Milk Teeth, you can see where they get it from. So in typical punk fashion, I’ll let their music speak for itself…
Simple things first – where are you guys from
We’re from London. We used to say we were from South London, but we’ve all spread out across the city now, so we can’t really carry that off any more.
How did you meet?
Me and Emma met at a Hole gig back when we were teenagers. One trashed hotel room later and we were mates. We got Pretty Pistol going with me, Emma and guitarist Billy; our previous bassist left and we found Rich on Gumtree. He was looking to buy a second-hand sofa and accidentally joined a band. It’s worked out okay so far though.
How long have you been playing as a band?
About a year and a half.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
It’s from the Marilyn Manson song “The Love Song” – “I got a crush on a pretty pistol / Should I tell her that I feel this way?”
What are your influences?
Nirvana, The Kills, Be Your Own Pet were big influences on us. We all have our own things that we’re into individually, but when we get together to make music it’s gotta be loud and fast.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We’re loud, fast and unapologetic. We’re not interested in rock ’n’ roll bullshit, that’s all dead and buried. We know exactly who we are and we’re proud of it. We’re glad that people like us but we’re not bothered if they don’t.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
I was watching a lot of serial killer documentaries when we were writing Welcome to the Dead Club. Take from that what you will…
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
It’s dangerous, raucous. We’re thrashing around, crashing into each other. We like keeping the crowd on edge. We must have played 25 shows over the last year and a half. Maybe it’s more, we’ve kinda lost count.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We don’t really do wild things for the sake of it. Theatrics are fine but it’s a bit much for us. We just get on stage and let the moment take over us. Whatever happens happens. It’s not a case of doing a wild thing, it’s about creating a dangerous atmosphere and throwing it out to the crowd.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Billy and Rich are Fender boys – Bill plays a Fender Jag and Rich plays a Fender Jazz bass. None of us earn enough to live somewhere with enough space for a drum kit, so god knows what drum kits we end up using.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our new EP Welcome to the Dead Club is out Friday 13th April. It’s fucking sick, so go and listen to it. And there’s a special extra something coming along with it too, so look out for that.
What are your plans for 2018?
We’re gonna do some touring, try and get outside the M25 for once. Write some more songs, drink some more beer, get back in the studio and see where we end up next.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We’d love to support Brody Dalle, because she’s just a legend. One of the best bands we ever played with are called Phoxjaw and we’d have them open for us every time if we could. They’re so good that we look good by proxy.
From previous Band of the Day, Zebedy: if you had to replace your front person, but you could only pick from superheroes, who would it be and why?
How dare you. I am a superhero. Batman’s all dark and shit so probably him. We know he’s got a decent growl, at least.
From previous Band of the Day, Then Comes Silence: when was the last time you talked about death?
It comes up a lot in the music. It’s not all “woe is me”, it’s more of a morbid curiosity. I’m fascinated by it, but also fascinated about why we’re fascinated by it.
From previous Band of the Day, Memorial Parasite: what’s the most musically experimental thing you’ve ever done?
I tried playing the drums once. I’m now not allowed to play drums.
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