Pist.On: Pissed On or Piston?
by Michael McCarthy (antzine@aol.com)
Taken from LiveWire
Well, yeah, their album cover sports a cute little doll taking a leak and is appropriately entitled Number One, but, um, do these energetic Brooklyn musicians really call themselves "pissed on?" Or do they secretly subtract the humor and say "piston?" "Because we're all really sarcastic, we say Pist.On, but it could be either way," says bassist Val Ium, who came up with the name and also receives album credit for sarcasm. "That's why we came up with that name, so you could tell your parents," she adds with a laugh. "Especially in my strict Catholic family. To them, it's Piston. Besides, we figured, we're a Brooklyn-based band, we're definitely at the bottom of the food chain, we're gonna get pissed on. So, we might as well call ourselves Pist.On."
So, what does it sound like to be Pist.On? Tight yet crunchy? Melodic yet heavy? And with infectious vocals that go from being oddly soothing to disturbingly abrasive within the same song? Yes, yes, and yes. Singer/songwriter/rhythm guitarist Henry Font is a master of blending all of the above.
Produced by Josh Silver of Type O Negative, they're certain to gain comparisons there, although the similarities are pretty slim as Val is quick to point out. "We've read some reviews where people have said we sound like Type O Negative, which we find really strange. The production elements are there because of having the same producer, but as far as the overall sound goes? The bass is much, much more up there than it would be in a Type O mix.
And I don't think the songwriting is the same by any stretch of the imagination."
Not that the Type O audience hasn't already embraced them. "Even though we didn't tour extensively with Type O Negative, we always felt like their audience was the most open-minded because they're probably the most melodic band we've played with," Val explains, but that's not her only reason. "I also think the audience has a lot of girls and that they feel, you know, more open with a girl up there going nuts. They can relate. Well, I hope they can relate. Maybe I'm wrong."
How did Josh Silver come to produce the album? And how the heck did Pist.On come to be?
Val: Henry and I have been working together for eight or nine years now. He started a side project of the band he was in and said, "I'm really sick of playing bass, you play the bass and I'm gonna switch to guitar and sing." We did a demo we gave Josh and he said, "This demo is complete crap, I'm gonna do a new one for you." He worked really hard on it and got along really well with Henry. They had such a good time together that he continued to work with us.
When did lead guitarist Paul Poulos and drummer Danny Jam Kavadlo come into
the picture?
Val: Josh suggested bringing them in after we did the demo. We tried out all kinds of people and had a different drummer, but he didn't want to continue. Things like that. In and out. Then Josh helped bring them in.
Val must also give Type O Negative's famed frontman Peter Steele a bit of credit. "He started calling me Valium and I liked it. So, I said, that's a good idea, I think I'll steal it from you. Not that I take it. It's funny because he actually calls Josh Prince Valium."
But enough about Type O. There's another band Pist.On may unfairly be compared to, that being White Zombie. "I get compared to Sean a lot," Val says, not surprisingly, "and that bothers me because I think it's clearly because we both have somewhat heavy songs and I'm a female. I don't think we sound anything like White Zombie at all." And do people ever give her a hard time for being the lone female in the band at a time when that's become trendy? "Yeah, all the time. But I'm doing my part, you know? I did not choose the sex that I was born as. I work with three other people and the way we see it is that we're just four people trying to do one thing united."
Moving past the comparisons, I asked Val which section of the record store she'd like to find Pist.On's album in. "The cut out bin," she quickly joked, elaborating, "We hate being categorized. Some guy called us melodicore, but I really don't see much hardcore. Maybe in "Parole" and "Eight Sides", but those were the first songs we did and Henry's going more toward the "Turbulent" and "Grey Flap" direction. It's difficult to describe the way he writes. He comes up with these things and we just try and mess them up for him."
Speaking of the way Henry writes . . .
I've noticed some things about your songwriting. For starters, the lyrics are very deep and could all stand as poetry. Something you also write?
Henry: I don't really write poetry. I just like to write what's on my mind. Some of the things don't make sense to other people. They're phrased in a way that helps me understand them a little better. But, yeah, I take it as a compliment when someone says that because that's what you're trying to do as a songwriter. Have something that's poetry in stance that stands up through the test of time.
Do you start with the lyrics when you write?
Henry: I write all the songs on acoustic guitar and try to come up with a rhythm and a chorus first. Then I start filling in with the verses. I tend to look more towards melody and catchy choruses. I think that works best in catching people's attention.
Another thing I noticed is that all your lyrics are in first person. Deliberate?
Henry: First person being myself, thinking how somebody in that position would feel. I'm trying to take it from my perspective.
So, you're wearing some other people's shoes. They're not all about you.
Henry: Exactly. "Eight Sides" is about somebody who's schizophrenic and has eight different personalities. "I Am No One" was written after I watched The Exorcist. There was this line in there when he's playing the tape backwards. I was like, wow, that would make a good song idea, to word something like that. People would hear that and say I, myself, am saying I'm no one. I like to throw people curves. See how they react to them. I like to make people think.
What section of the record store does Henry himself want to find his work in? "It's hard because in record stores today it's gonna be like alternative, metal, and hardcore, you know? I'd like to see it in the category that says something different."
Where does he think it will end up? "We're probably gonna be lumped into metal, but we'd like to have our own special section. Hard listening as opposed to easy listening." Well, wherever it ends up, it sounds good to us! Don't think they'll be pissed on much longer.
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