Pardon The Interruption – A Hot N Fresh Discussion!

Interview with David Noble

1. Your new album “Hot N Fresh” has just been released. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the album and what the recording process was like?

The Pardon The Interruption (PTI) boys and I headed into the studio in July of 2021.  We had been playing outdoor gigs (due to the pandemic) for the past year and a half prior to recording and had not really been in the same room together unmasked for a long time.  It felt so good and comfortable to be hanging with the band again, and we all deeply appreciated the opportunity to record.  The engineer/co-producer Sean Beresford had access to a “top of the line” recording studio called Calliope West in San Rafael, California.  I think the true inspiration behind Hot N’ Fresh was reconnecting with my music brothers and being creative in an awe inspiring environment.

  The recording process went quick for the drums, bass, and sax.  We were able to record the “basics” for all 3 instruments in 3 days.  Doing 9 songs in 3 days is quite a feat for any band.  Over the next year we recorded overdubs for guitars, percussion, keyboards, additional horn parts, and vocals.  Although this album took more time to complete than anticipated, I am glad we did not rush the process.   

2. Your music has been described as a fusion of punk, rock and pop. How do you balance these different genres in your compositions?

Every member of Pardon The Interruption is a connoisseur of rhythm.  To my ears, the “through line” connecting punk, rock, and pop music is rhythm.  The audience responds to music through movement, and rhythm precipitates movement.  As long as people are dancing in response to the rhythm, then we know that we’ve done our job regardless of the genre.   

3. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while creating “Hot N Fresh”?

The timing of this album was the most challenging.  By early summer of 2021, it looked as though the pandemic was lifting and everyone started unmasking and going back to business as usual.  Then came the Covid spikes, super spreader events, and multitude of variants that felt like we were taking one step forward, two steps back.  We would schedule time to head back into the studio to wrap up the recordings, then someone would get sick or exposed to an individual who tested positive for Covid.  Our bass player Rob Fordyce was caring for his elderly mother at the time, and my wife was pregnant with our daughter, so no one wanted to take a chance.  It is a miracle this album got to see the light of day.

4. How does this album compare to your previous music, and how do you think your sound has evolved over time?

Our previous recordings sound great, but the songwriting and musicianship on Hot N’ Fresh is head and shoulders above anything else we have ever done.  PTI had matured as a band and we learned to play and write to our strengths.  We had also been playing all 9 songs off the Hot N’ Fresh album for several months prior to recording and felt confident going into the studio.  It is a beautiful moment when you capture lightning in a bottle, and this album feels that way from start to finish.  

5.Your live shows are known for their high energy and audience engagement. How do you prepare for live performances, and what do you hope audiences will take away from your shows?

 To be honest, we’re not the most “well rehearsed” band out there.  When PTI does rehearse, we mostly learn new material and tighten up anything from the previous show.  Rob Hooper (drummer), Jamison Smeltz (sax), and Rob Fordcye (bass) are all such professionals, they can absorb new material with minimal effort.  

I think the strength of our live performances comes from being in the moment.  The band and I all trust each other completely, so we take chances when we play live.  The solo section of a song might be long one night, and short the next night.  I might decide to do a “sing along” with the audience during a breakdown, or segue into an old David Bowie cover.  Wherever the band wants to go, we collectively make a pivot in that direction knowing that somehow we’ll land on our feet.  The audience gets to not only witness the band taking chances, but participate as well.  Safe is boring, and Pardon The Interruption is anything but safe.  Playing it “by ear” also allows each performance to be unique, so you will never see the same Pardon The Interruption show twice.     

6. Are there any particular artists or musicians that have influenced your music, and how have they impacted your style?

Pardon The Interruption is heavily influenced by bands and artists like The Police, Talking Heads, Fela Kuti, Fishbone, Stevie Wonder, Prince, and countless others.  The new wave sound of The Police and Talking Heads speaks to the prog-pop sensibilities of PTI.  Fela Kuti was the inspiration for a lot of the Afro-beat style songs throughout the album, and the ska zaniness of PTI is deeply influenced by Fishbone.  Both Stevie Wonder and Prince impacted the greasy funk stylings and conscious lyrical content of Pardon The Interruption.  Although we can’t hold a candle to any of the bands or artists mentioned, we feel compelled to try and carry on their message both musically and lyrically.

7. What do you hope to achieve with your music, both in terms of artistic expression and impact on your audience?

 As a band, we don’t ever want to become too comfortable.  Great things happen when artists push themselves beyond their comfort zone.  I would like PTI to continue taking chances and dare to challenge our influences, instead of mimicking them.  We don’t know what we don’t know, and people are often blind to their own potential.  If something scares me musically, that usually means I should do it anyway.  There is nothing more beautiful than witnessing someone being brave, and we invite our audience to do the same.  Creativity is one of the most powerful forces on the planet.  We all have the ability to do amazing things, whether it be writing, painting, dancing, filming, constructing, deconstructing, and/or making music with people you love.  Pardon The Interruption is about finding joy in discomfort, creating something unimaginable, and encouraging everyone to do the same.

8. Your band has a very distinct and memorable name. How did you come up with “Pardon The Interruption”, and what does it represent to you?

The response I often get when people inquire about the band name is “Do you know there is an ESPN show with the same name?”.  The band name Pardon The Interruption was born out of frustration.  I was living in San Francisco at the time, playing in several bands, and I couldn’t help feeling that the local music scene had gone stale.  This was the same scene that had birthed Carlos Santana, Tower Of Power, Sly and the Family Stone, Huey Lewis and the News, Mr. Bungle, Janis Joplin, Green Day, Steve Miller Band, Primus, and many others.  A lot of the bigger local bands in the area had succumbed to doing “tribute sets” to bring more audience members out to shows.  It was as if original music had taken a back seat to cover songs.  Well established local acts were now regurgitating the music hits of a bygone era to pay the bills.  I was not interested in doing the same.

Pardon The Interruption was a departure from that mindset and pushed all 4 band members to focus on original material.  Of course the first several years were difficult, and many times we played in venues that were almost empty.  Then something changed.  People looked up from their cell phones, we got requests for our original songs, and a scene around PTI started to develop.  We finally had the attention of the local music scene, and people respected the fact that we weren’t pandering to satisfy the music masses.  It was an interruption for sure … but at least we say “pardon” first 😉

9. Can you tell us about any particularly memorable moments or experiences you’ve had as a band, either on stage or off?

Pardon The Interruption seems to have the most fun whenever we shoot a music video.  For the song ‘Rhythm Is Right’ off our new album Hot N’ Fresh, we decided to shoot a music video at a local dance studio.  We hired 4 female instructors to dance with us and try to teach us some moves.  There was no script, and everything in the video was completely spontaneous.  I asked each band member to come up with a solo dance and gave them no other instructions.  Our sax player Jamison was struggling to come up with some dance ideas until we gave him a chair.  The next thing you know, Jamison is doing his best impression of the chair scene in the 80s movie Flashdance, and everyone else is rolling on the floor.  There are literally too many laugh out loud moments in that video to name.  Go to YouTube, search for Pardon The Interruption Music, and locate the video for ‘Rhythm Is Right’.  I promise you won’t see 4 middle aged men having more fun anywhere else.

10. What’s next for Pardon The Interruption? Do you have any upcoming tours or new music in the works?

Pardon The Interruption has arrived at a really exciting part of our career as a band.  We have bigger and bigger festivals reaching out to us from all over Northern California, and we’re planning a Southern California tour in the Fall.  The band has not stopped writing music, and we have another full length album worth of material ready to record in early 2024.  Whatever we’re doing, it appears to be working.  Looking forward to the next chapter in the PTI saga.   

Information: The Band — Pardon the Interruption (ptimusic.com)