Pinkish Black, the Fort Worth experimental/dark rock duo, rolled into Raleigh on November 16th to perform at Slim’s Downtown, the longest standing venue for live music in downtown Raleigh. They recently came off of a run of shows with synthwave duo, Zombi, and were doing a string of their own headlining shows in support of their most recent album, Bottom of the Morning. In support of Pinkish Black was local rock group, Beneath the Monolith, and Rochester, New York’s psych rock band, King Buffalo.
Slim’s Downtown is a small and intimate venue only holding about 100 people. It affords the opportunity to get closer to the stage and be a part of the show. After the opening two bands performed, Pinkish Black’s Daron Beck (Vocals, Keyboard, Synth) and Jon Teague (Drums, Synth) took the stage and performed much of their new album for the people who had filed into the stage area. The duo’s equipment took up a large portion of the stage. Beck ’s keyboards, synths, and mellotron sat within inches of Teague’s synths and forest green drum kit, which was emblazoned with the logo of their previous band, The Great Tyrant. These few square feet were all that was necessary for this duo to create an eerie atmosphere throughout the venue.
Sometimes, when taking in a band live, their live set can lose the same power or mystique that occurs what their recorded outputs initially capture. If I am being completely honest, I was concerned this may happen when I was watching the openers. Thankfully, when Pinkish Black began, that concern was quelled within the opening seconds of “Brown Rainbow”. Beck and Teague crushed it. They brilliantly emulated the same feeling that accompanied Bottom of the Morning when I initially heard it digitally. The two of them have their equipment mastered and were able to shift through the different sounds their music incorporates seamlessly.
While their music may seem a little unsettling to those who listen to it, the gentlemen of Pinkish Black are, on top of excellent musicians, very cool human beings. After their live set wrapped up, I had an opportunity to introduce myself to them and chat a little bit about this review I’m writing now and the following interview (which I was supposed to do in person, however I got stuck at work late…). Thankfully they were cool enough to agree to do the interview through email. Check it out below. You can also support their awesome music by purchasing their albums here.
CD: Hello, gentlemen! Thanks again for the great show in Raleigh. It was great meeting and having a brief moment to talk to you both. I also greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss things a little more about the new album, touring, and other things. I’ve been referring to you guys as an experimental metal group when I am telling everyone I know to listen to your music. Do you consider yourselves to be experimental to a degree, or would you classify music as something different?
Jon: I hope so. We might have an aesthetic in mind, but translating that into songs is always an adventure.
Daron: I think it may come off as experimental because it’s two guys making a bunch of noise but overall, it’s just dark and heavy rock music with leanings in all sorts of directions.
CD: Bottom of the Morning is quite an imposing album. I find it to be incredibly deep both sonically and emotionally, as I’m sure you both do as well. What was the writing process like for your latest album? Was there a direction you knew you wanted to take or did things kind of fall into place as the album came together?
Jon: It’s a bit of both. We tend to write a few songs, play them for a bit, then write others (hopefully) to tie them all together.
Daron: I think we have always written with the entire album in mind. We write some and then see what is missing. It has a direction to begin with but we never know exactly where it will end.
CD: You two have had a tumultuous last few years. A lot of stuff happened that could send people into some dark places. Your resilience in the wake of tragedy is remarkable. Was there any particular thing you two found comfort or solace in since Razed to the Ground?
Jon: Playing music.
Daron: Yes, playing and writing music. Aside from that, I found comfort in losing myself in nostalgic TV and music.
CD: Why did you choose to release the final material from The Great Tyrant with Bottom of the Morning?
Jon: It was a finished record, just sitting on the shelf. I didn’t think that anyone would want to release a record by a defunct band that nobody had ever heard of. Thankfully Relapse had enough faith in it to release it. It was pure luck…
Daron: I had wanted it to come out with the new Pinkish Black album so people could see how long we’ve been working on this sound. Also, I liked those songs and I loved being in that band so I didn’t want to see it all go by the wayside.
CD: I noticed while you were preparing for your set that you both have a TON of equipment. I thought for a while it wouldn’t fit on Slim’s stage. How long did it take to amass all of the instruments and pieces that create Pinkish Black’s sound?
Jon: It’s essentially the same gear from the Great Tyrant, with a couple of synths added to take place of the bass. Luckily, we had some excess gear to work with when the time arose.
Daron: A lot of our gear was stuff that was used in Yeti, Jon’s old band, so it’s been amassing for over a decade.
CD: Do you have a favorite piece of equipment or something you have been trying to get a hold of to make music with?
Jon: I love all of my gear when it’s working properly. It would be great to add a compact modular synthesizer, but all of my equipment budget goes to replacing broken cymbals.
Daron: We have a love/ hate relationship with our gear. A lot of it is pretty old and cranky. I’d love to have a Nord Lead or one of the new digital Mellotrons.
CD: Thinking back on this tour and other shows you’ve done this year, did you two have anything crazy, bizarre, noteworthy, etc. happen while on the road?
Jon: We’ve had the chance to play with some amazing bands this year. Sleep, Neurosis, and most recently, Zombi. It’s always an honor to share the stage with artists that you respect. We also had a chance to visit Sun Ra’s grave while we were in Birmingham.
Daron: Nothing too crazy… I guess the most noteworthy thing I can think of is becoming friends with many new people.
CD: Did you find the drug-toting dog in Montreal? It looked like it meant business….
Daron: Thankfully, he usually finds his way back to us!
CD: If you guys could create a dream tour for Pinkish Black to be a part of, which bands (current or former) would be on said tour?
Jon: In all honesty, the recent tour with Zombi was a dream tour. It was a great pairing of music and personalities. If I we’re to create a fantasy bill, Magma, Arthur Brown, and Black Sabbath (ca1975) would be pretty amazing.
Daron: I would love to spend the rest of my life touring Goblin and Zombi. We all fit really well together. For my personal tastes: Scott Walker, Silver Apples, and Cocteau Twins.
CD: I read in your interview with Noisey, there are a lot of Krautrock influences in Pinkish Black as I know it is a lot of the music you listen to. I’ll be transparent and admit I’ve never really been exposed to it before but I do know of its influences in music today. Do you have any suggestions for artists or songs I should check out?
Jon: Can Tago Mago, Cluster Zuckerzeit, and Ash Ra Tempel Ash Ra Tempel are good starting points. The book, Krautrocksampler (by Julian Cope), is an excellent reference. I was lucky enough to have a close friend to turn me on to these bands long ago. Thankfully, now people can find most of these elusive albums on-line.
Daron: I think the perfect song to introduce someone to Krautrock is “Spoon” by Can from Ege Bamyası album. Also, a band that was heavily influenced by Krautrock that I highly recommend is This Heat.
CD: Thank you very much for your time and doing this interview. You’ve made a huge fan out of me; I have greatly enjoyed both listening to your music as well as seeing it live. Best of luck with the remaining dates on your tour and please come back to Raleigh again soon!
Jon: Raleigh is always great. Thanks so much!
Daron: Glad you liked it! We’ll be back!