PIEBALD - Official Website | MySpace
Line-up
Travis Shettel, Andrew Bonner, Luke Garro, Aaron Stuart
Bio
After a dozen years in the independent rock circuit, it’s pretty safe to say that Piebald has encountered its share of experiences and journeys, whether they’ve been on stage, on the road or in the studio. And now, four full-length albums and numerous shows later, Piebald is bringing its remarkable history, dynamic personality and uninhibited energy to the small screens of its fans across the world.
And it’s all best evidenced via the band’s latest release, a DVD/CD set titled Killa Bros and Killa Bees. The band’s second release for SideOneDummy Records (the same label that released Piebald’s fourth album, All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time), this collection sports a DVD crammed full of live performances, off-stage antics, tour and studio video from the foursome — vocalist/guitarist Travis Shettel, guitarist/vocalist Aaron Stuart, bassist/vocalist Andrew Bonner and drummer Luke Garro — who are no strangers to racking up countless miles. In addition, a Piebald B-sides audio disc is also included, packed with tracks ranging from mothballed, subdued acoustic-based gems to unreleased rarities that further supplement the band’s bouncy, sing-along melodic rock foundation.
Founded in the suburbs of Andover, Massachusetts by members Shettel, Bonner and Stuart, Piebald made their recording debut while still in high school with the 1995 EP, Sometimes Friends Fight. Throughout their years, the band built a substantial resume of live dates, touring stints, and several additional releases, including When Life Hands You Lemons (1997), If It Weren’t For Venetian Blinds It Would Be Curtains For Us All (1999), The Rock Revolution Will Not Be Televised (2000) and We Are The Only Friends We Have (2002). Piebald entered the studio with veteran producer Paul Q. Kolderie (Pixies, Radiohead, Dinosaur Jr.) to record their most recent full-length, All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time (2004).
Assembled with the talents of video editor Mike Parziale, the DVD footage on Killa Bros and Killa Bees was primarily pulled from the past few years of Piebald’s stage and studio experiences. Taking a year-and-a-half from initial concept to final product, the insightful and entertaining DVD finds Piebald being their oft-amusing and amiable selves, whether it’s in front of an audience or just in amongst themselves.
“We just felt that a DVD for Piebald would be a great way for people to see us, as people, on stage. We just have good chemistry with each other and we enjoy being together and traveling,” Shettel proclaims.
And together they’ve been for a while, as the DVD even shows Shettel and Stuart in a pre-Piebald band known as Dorknob, performing at a high school talent show in 1993. However, Shettel admits that viewing such history-in-the-making can be a bit embarrassing for him.
“Every time I watch that, I’m like, ‘I can’t watch this! I can’t do it!’ I’ll look down until it’s over and I hear myself make that horrible ‘ahhh!’ and then I know it’s done and I can watch the rest of the DVD. I don’t really like that part, but I understand it’s important.”
The DVD also includes several live songs filmed from Piebald’s U.S. and European tours, plus an intimate look into the sessions for All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time, via a guided tour hosted by Stuart, who introduces the camera to a large plastic statue of Santa Claus that he claims doubles as a percussive instrument. A few bonus scenes also are part of the package, including the band acoustically rehearsing a new song in their RV and a brief clip of Shettel keeping an audience member in check.
“We finally had enough footage, we’d gathered as much as we could,” Shettel reveals. “We wanted to make sure that it was really amazing when we finished with it, rather than, ‘Oh, we’ve gotta bust this thing out and get it done.’ I think we finally had the footage and the motivation to make this happen.”
The process in assembling such a comprehensive documentary extends to the artwork for Killa Bros and Killa Bees, which includes a booklet displaying handwritten notes from band members, and a collage of Piebald memorabilia, some of which was inserted courtesy of Shettel’s personal collection.
“I gathered t-shirts that I had, old record covers, pins, ticket stubs, every picture I could find with any of us on there or the van. I just pulled out any — not to sound lame — Piebald memorabilia that I had, Mike scanned it all and made an awesome collage for the cover,” Shettel declares.
The audio disc of Killa Bros and Killa Bees is equally engaging, particularly for the longtime Piebald fan, in that it reveals a unique look back at Piebald’s past through both rough demos and polished studio outtakes. “I have pride in all of my children,” Shettel says about the disc’s tracks. “They’re not any less-good creations. They just didn’t make the cut, but I really want people to hear ‘em.”
In fact, Shettel had rummaged through the master tape bins in an effort to locate particular demos, and ended up remixing several of his four-tracked compositions exclusively for the release. Additionally, a few songs on the CD hailed from the band’s recent sessions for All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time.
“There are a couple songs on there that are on our last record and you can hear a version that was made previously and see how it’s changed, what’s happened, where things have been added,” Shettel explains.
Although there aren’t any immediate plans for a new studio album, Piebald will tour this fall in support of Killa Bros and Killa Bees and Shettel imparts that the act might even perform a couple new songs as part of the band’s set. This marks the first major tour for the group since their 2004 European tour. With members spread across the nation, residing in Los Angeles, Florida and Boston, Piebald have agreed to put their day jobs on hold and head back into the van for another journey across the country.
“Now we’ve reached the point again, where it’s like, man, jobs suck,’” Shettel exclaims. “I know it wasn’t always perfection and sweetness but being free and playing music, there’s just nothing like it.”
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PIEBALD
Accidental Gentleman
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Tracklist
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