The Power of One - PK

Some might say, that along with Punk, and Disco, that Rock is dead. I beg to differ. Hailing from San Luis Obispo, California, the Rock outfit PK is strikingly original. Taking influence from garage Rock, to the Gipsy Kings, PK is a local favorite of mine, and definitely not something to miss out on. With driving, well thought melodies, and punchy rock guitar, PK strikes a home run every time. Where as most music labeled "Rock" comes of Cheesy and tacky, PK is leagues away from such a musical catastrophe.Intelligent and energetic are the words of choice.Here is a delightful conversation I was so lucky to have with them.

B:Just so people can get to know you a little bit, explain in one word (or three) what best describes the band to you!
Nick:Rocktastic!

B:This new music is somewhat a departure from your last EP. Simply: Why?
Travis:I think that we have grown as writers as well as people and it shines through in the new stuff. I feel that our songs have become more cohesive and have a better sense of 'flow' than on our EP. We wanted to write songs that felt better as a whole and could tell a story, whereas our older stuff felt a bit more rambly and unfocused. In general I think the new stuff rocks more and feels better but still keeps its tinge of uniqueness that is PK.

B:Is your band more of a collaborative effort when it comes to music, or do you all put pieces of your songs together as individuals?
Nick:We are definitely a collaborative band. Usually someone will come to practice with an idea or Travis will sit down with a vocal idea or general melody; from there the five of us try to smash our big heads together into one whole pie of a song. A PK song wouldn't be what it is without us all of having some sort of influence on the writing.

B:I hear a lot of Strokes and more garage rock bands in your sound. I also hear your own unique style nestled in there, which is so important for bands. Do you think that's a safe assumption to make?
Nick:Yes! That is actually a huge compliment to us. We have been striving to have a little more raw rock feel to our music as opposed to a lot of bands out there right now. The records that are coming out now a days seem to have this same sort of plastic feel to them. We are trying to get a more rough sound, while still being able to appeal to people and keep a unique sound. We love that assumption!

B:Today's music world is extremely vast, especially with all the media outlets we have. Where do you imagine yourself fitting into this?
Travis:Yeah, that is tough. It seems hard now a days for a band to stand out in the huge sea of music out there. A lot of the time I feel like we don't really 'fit in' with much of whats going on as far as the trends that litter the mainstream outlets. We really just want to be ourselves and bring back some rock and manliness to music and maybe that will help us stand out!

B:I've always loved "Innocence" very much. Is there a story there in the song, or is it a concept song?
Travis:Yes, there's definitely a straightforward story in there... but as a whole the song alludes to a deeper concept. When I was younger I had this misconception that lyrics that I personally found convoluted and confusing must have been really deep and poetic...otherwise why wouldn't I understand them? As I got older I started reading books by authors like Hemingway, Bradbury and Steinback and would be so blown away by how they could convey so much on so many levels in such a simple and direct way. I've realized that it's pretty easy to throw nonsense into a song and call it poetic but the songs that really hit home are the ones that are perfectly direct. I've got a long way to go but it's at least when I'm striving for... it's a perfectionist's game.

B:You guys come from a very interesting place for music: The San Luis Obispo Area. Can you explain what it was like growing up in the music scene? I also understand you guys moved to Santa Cruz at one point too.
Nick:The SLO area has been really awesome for us growing up even though it's a pretty rural area. We all grew up together playing and going to local shows and the scene has always been awesome to us here. We've always been sort of the underdog in the scene so I think kids see what we are all about and are really supportive here. Santa Cruz was a bit different but we were still able to find that niche of people who appreciated it. Lately it seems like the entire music scene is at a sort of lull. Its hard to get kids to come out to shows, venues are shutting down like crazy and it's really, really sad. We want to spark it all back up and bring this Frankenstein of a scene back to life!

B:For Travis: What influences do you have for your voice? You have an extremely unique style and tone to your voice.
Travis:I wish that I could say that I had enough control over the timbre of my voice to tell you why it is the way it is... I listen to some mainstream music but feel kind of dumb because my favorite group is the Gipsy Kings... but don't think they've completely influenced me just yet. I've had people tell me that I have a very different way of delivering but it's not something I've ever really paid attention to or focused on... I just let it do what it does. The only possible answer I have is that I lived in England until I was five so when I came to the US I had to go this scary speech doctor at school who had no legs and he'd make me say "snake" and "car" a bunch of times ... I don't know if he ever fixed anything but I sometimes wonder if it translated into my singing... I definitely don't have an English accent when I speak normally though.

B:You guys have an interesting name. If I'm not mistaken, the name is from the movie "The Power of One" . Can you explain how you got the name for the band?
Travis:Hot damn, you're a good researcher! Actually... It was the book by Bryce Courtenay that inspired the band name... When I was younger I used to spend my summers out on the east coast and sometimes when we were tired of stomping around the woods or getting eaten by bugs we'd go down to this old library and grab books to pass the time. I'm not sure how that one got in our pile but I remember going back to the house and starting this novel i'd never heard of and just not being able to put it down... I felt like that kid from the Neverending story. Anyway, when Matt and I started jamming together when we were like 14 or 15 we needed a band name and weren't really taking ourselves to seriously and we just decided PK would be cool... even though in the novel his name is "Peekay"... Most people actually don't know that story though because it's rather anti climactic to tell so we generally just make up acronyms depending on the person or place or situation... It's a fun game we play.

B:Any upcoming events and shows you'd like the readers to know about?
Nick:Lots and Lots of awesome stuff happening right now. We're releasing our first full length around the middle of November and will be playing as many shows around California as possible to support it and build our base.We're going to be featured in the November issue of AP Magazine, under the 'Hometown Heroes' section and it hits stands the beginning of October. It's issue 256 I think.

B:Any Final words?
Nick and Travis:Thank you for letting us do this interview! Thanks to anyone who actually read this far or anyone that read this and has supported us, we can't do it without you! Look forward to new music and new fun from us soon! If you don't know who we are talk to us, we will convince you to like us I promise! Um, always look both ways before you cross and I think that's about it! Oh and these were great questions by the way!! Woohoo!

You can listen to PK at myspace.com/pk