Atlanta rock and roll four-piece The Pinx have just released their fourth album (read the track by track here) via Earache Distribution which was produced by Tom Tapley. Sticking true to the guitar wielding rock n roll thrilling many an audience in from many a stage. We put some questions to Singer Adam McIntyre to introduce Backseat Mafia readers to the band.
Give us a potted history the band
The Pinx are based in Atlanta, Georgia and have been playing shows all over the southeast USA for about sixteen years. The latest lineup of the band is really fantastic, and while we’ve been playing dive bars and rock clubs most of this time, we’ve also scored some bigger shows opening for the likes of Ben Harper, Blue Öyster Cult, Graveyard and Royal Thunder. I also have shared the stage a few times with Wayne Kramer of The MC5.
Who inspired you to start making music
The first thing my parents did when they brought me home after I was born was put on Led Zeppelin II for me. Many, many wonderful musicians have inspired me to be better and do more along the way, like the blues and R&B musicians in Montgomery Alabama and the musicians I saw on TV like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, but it always comes back to the gentlemen who did it properly and had the most fun doing it, Led Zeppelin.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
Led Zeppelin IV, where the band got to their fourth record and created the shining, definitive statement of what their band was capable of.
The Rolling Stones “Exile On Main Street”, which is a fun, large record that explores lots of styles and emotions and works as an album, singles be damned.
If you’re trying to explain whom you sound like to someone that’s never heard you, what do you say
It always comes off as unhelpful and flippant but it’s true, we sound like Rock And Roll. We’ve got the fire and fun of Cheap Trick, the hooks of Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, the bombast of Led Zeppelin, the songwriting of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and the dueling guitars of the MC5.
Tell us about your new track ‘Hot Rod’
“Hot Rod” is a big dumb lumbering stoner rock song. I wanted the first track on the new album to return to the roots of the first Pinx album (“Look What You Made Me Do”) thematically. It’s all ego, and all masculine energy with a little humor. It sets the stage for a good time and also acts as a starting point for some of the more complex thoughts and feelings that come after it. I did that guitar solo along with the band, live in the studio, and the boys were full of fire as we tracked it. We recorded at Mastodon’s studio West End Sound with the fantastic producer and my old friend Tom Tapley. He knew what we were reaching for on this album and helped us to deliver a major label quality rock record on an independent budget.
Where can we get hold of it
Spotify, bandcamp, Tidal… it’s everywhere you get music online. Just look up The Pinx.
Tell us how you write
I am down for getting songs any way they happen. The first song on our first album (The Desert) was absolutely spontaneous; I started playing a riff and everyone just jumped in, I made up some words on the spot and the jam went through several changes… and we recorded it just the way it popped out. That’s so incredibly rare, and not something one can count on. I like to wake up, write down a few lyric ideas and grab a guitar, do a little recording in the middle of the day, and then write a few more lyrics as I’m about to go to bed. Sometimes a riff pops out at soundcheck or practice. Sometimes Chance brings in a complete instrumental and asks me to write lyrics. I try to hone my craft as a songwriter constantly, which hopefully, with a little luck, makes way for inspiration to come in and do its thing without me getting in its way too much.
Tell us about your live show
Early on in the band I used to do a shot of whiskey and slam a Guinness before walking on stage. What resulted was a consistently wild live experience where the audience never knew what was going to happen. I might smash my guitar or deviate from the setlist to include a Faces cover or we might just deliver the best show of our lives. But there was also the risk of getting absolutely derailed. I stopped drinking entirely almost 5 years ago, and since then I’ve had to relearn how to be that wild, unpredictable front man without liquid courage. It’s terrifying at first but then I remembered that feeling of being a kid, jumping on my bed with a tennis racket and pretending I was Pete Townshend jumping 12 feet in the air. That’s what I dial into now. Fun. And since I’m consistent now and not messed up, the live shows can really flourish and be very tight. Things are more professional now, without sacrificing any of the energy. Just a little danger.
What can we expect from you in the near future
It’s our intention to come play the UK – hopefully early next year. When I played in Stonerider, we got to play a 7-week tour of Europe which included about ten days in England, Scotland and Wales and I would love to come back. It’s imperative in my mind that we do this. We will keep releasing singles and videos from our new album and that will eventually include crossing the ocean.
Tell us your favourite records that’s rocking your headphones/tour bus/stereo
The last three albums I listened to were Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, Suspicious Package by Earl Greyhound, and Rick James Fire It Up.
Check out the bands track Break Your Heart, below:
Find out more via the band’s Website or Facebook
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