Early last month, I went to see The Damnwells and Juliana Hatfield play at Engine Room. Opening the show was Absolute Pistol, a local act I had heard of but had never seen live. Their music was an interesting mix of funk, rock, blues, and pop, and the crowd responded to their onstage energy. I was curious enough to check out their website, listen to their album (which they handed out for free at the show), and to email the band to see if they would answer a few interview questions.
The band plays this Saturday night (August 7th) at Sidecar Pub with Skye Moore and Silverleaf.
Jazzy Sinclair, lead singer for Absolute Pistol, was gracious enough to take some time to answer these questions for Houston Calling.
Ten Questions for Absolute Pistol
HC: How did Absolute Pistol get started?
Jazzy: It started out back in the day with Johnny and Del Pez jamming together. They were writing silly songs with T.J. Hammer. Their philosophy was to have no musical boundries. This was back in 1998. Johnny and Del Pez got sick of singing and when they couldn’t find a suitable singer things kind of fizzled out. Then Johnny met Jazzy in 2001 and things slowly started moving again. Snaps answered an ad in the paper and within a couple weeks we were playing gigs.
HC: A friend described Absolute Pistol as a cross between Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt. What do consider to be your musical influences?
Jazzy: Faith No More, Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz, Primus, Concrete Blonde
HC: I see your name a lot in and around the Houston scene. What is your take on the Houston music scene? Any suggestions to make it better?
Jazzy: We would like to see a little more diversity in the music scene. We think that when it comes to supporting the scene, people are looking for something different.
HC: When I first saw you play I expected a No Doubt cover, but instead you whipped out “Like A Prayer” and really got the crowd interested. Very impressive. What do you want the crowd to expect from “The Absolute Pistol Show”?
Jazzy: Something people want to hear, but not expect out of a band playing in a typical rock venue. People hear enough “No Doubt” on the radio. We like to bring something a bit more obscure to the show. “Journey” is next on the agenda.
HC: What is the one description that you hate to hear about your music?
Jazzy: “Chick Band”
HC: What’s your take on the state of the music industry? Are you for or against the MP3 “revolution”? How are you using the internet as a tool to market Absolute Pistol?
Jazzy: The Music Industry will always be bad, but hopefully we can overcome the stereotypes and cookie cutter pop appearance that has taken over the last few years. We are more than happy to give out our music for free. The more people that have our music, the more we get our name out there. Bands need to play live music to earn a living, not sell over-priced CDs.
HC: If you could have any band cover one of your songs, what song would it be and what band?
Jazzy: Probably “Picnic” performed by Air Supply. It would be amusing watching them chase that song.
HC: What’s your favorite Houston band?
Jazzy: Plump or X-Houston bands, The Xenos and, of course, Dead Horse.
HC: What’s next for Absolute Pistol? Working on a new album?
Jazzy: We are working on a new album as we speak. Looking to release this fall. It will be a bit more funky.
HC: What is in your CD player right now?
Jazzy: White Stripes, Burden Brothers, Mr. Bungle, Bob Marley
Thanks to Jazzy for answering these questions.
Please be sure to go check out Absolute Pistol at Sidecar Pub (11202 Huffmeister) with Skye Moore (whose video for “What’s Up With That?” was directed by Billy Bob Thorton) and Silverleaf (fresh off of their win for Best Alternative Band award in the 2004 Houston Press Music Awards–congrats guys).
Now Playing in My iPod: Explosions in the Sky — The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
