Pale People says Put the Headphones On, Now Hit Play!

Progressive punk rockers Pale People, have gotten a few releases tucked under their belts. But that is not stopping them from releasing more works of theirs including an all new album "The World Is Yours" due out this late summer! More plans are in the works for a tour plus more music and who knows what else! The band took some time to discuss their releases, touring, and plans ahead.


1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.

We are:  Mack "Dave" Gilcrest on piano and vocals!  Kurt "Dave" Skrivseth on bass and guitar!  And Austin "Dave" Graef on drums!

So Dave and Dave met each other in their university's jazz band, and bonded over their mutual dislike for it.  When Dave started experimenting with a punk-cabaret compositional idiom, he called Dave for assistance, thus initiating Pale People.  'Bout a year later, Dave, having known Dave since high school, joined as the band's second drummer.  That brings us approximately up to Dave.

2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?

Most of our songs deal with people who're eccentric and lonesome, existing just outside the boundaries of common society, fading slowly away.

3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?

We come from Missoula, MT, USA.  Much of the Missoula scene is dominated by funk and bar-rock bands--for that reason, among others, we've never really found a comfortable niche in our hometown.

That said, there are some really cool bands here.  One of them is Mendelssohn (facebook.com/mendelssohnmusic/), whose music is lush and compelling.  Check 'em.

4. How would you describe your style?

Poorly.  The closest we've come to an accurate moniker is "Broadway punk."  Something between the Dresden Dolls and the Pixies and Talking Heads and the Velvet Underground and Stephen Sondheim.

5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?

We've released two albums:  Bright Ideas (2016) and Portraits (2017).  The first is the product of two weeks of late-night sessions in a cramped recording studio we weren't allowed to be using.  It's a bit crude in execution, but its soul is earnest, and it's got songs about the NSA and Frankenstein and Greek myth and porn. (palepeoplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/bright-ideas)

The second is a lot tighter, and we're proud of it.  It's 10 songs about 10 characters:  among them, Honey Boo Boo, the Rev. Fred Phelps, the (fictional) world's greatest Tetris player, the (non-fictional) woman who died on her couch in London and wasn't found for 3 years, Mack's childhood bully, Mack's father, and Mack's mother.  (palepeoplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/portraits)

6. Do you have any new music in the works?

Yes!  Yes, we do!  We're very nearly done with an album called The World Is Yours--it should be out sometime in August.  Songs about, among other things:  the colonization of Mars; irony in the advertising industry; the human bones recently discovered beneath an elementary school in Miss., MT; waking up during major surgery; and Mack's mother, again.

7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?

Plans here are a bit sketchier, but we're hoping to get a Northwest tour going after the album's released in August. Ideally 3-4 weeks.  Stay tuned, sexy.

8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?

One thousand more songs.  We've been working on some stuff lately based on Shakespearean characters.  A song about Emilia (from Othello), for instance, and about what's it's like to be married to the perfect psychopath.  And a song called "Hail King Lear," which speaks for itself.

9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?

The aforementioned Bandcamp links!  Pay whatever you'd like.  We play cabaret-punk in Missoula, MT, and are therefore very broke--so thanks for your help, sexy.

(We're also on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Soundcloud, et cetera, ad nauseam.  Oh, and our website, palepeoplemusic.com.)

10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?

Okay, put the headphones on. Do it slowly, and be gentle to your flesh.  Don't be afraid.

Now:  we'd like you to remember what it felt like to contemplate really evil people, when you were young.  Maybe you worried you were one, or might become one. Maybe you spent years trying to figure out a way inside that kind of mind.

Now hit play:  youtube.com/watch?v=uGPRKD-FI1Q. Excelsior!