Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Flock To Colorado
PPPP’s shares updates, new album, and encounter with Martin Shkreli
By Eric Frank
March 21, 2016
This week, Baltimore's Pigeons Playing Ping Pong will once again bring their brand of high-flyin' avian funk to the Centennial State. This relentless quartet has been gaining major steam while covering considerable ground in the US. While they tear up the northeast and become increasingly active in the festival circuit, Pigeons have developed a unique relationship with Colorado.
I first caught the band by accident in Denver at Quixote's True Blue. Almost instantly, I was absorbed into the music and wild stage antics, heads bobbing in unison like birds dancing atop a telephone wire fueled by the electricity beneath their feet. Front-man Greg Ormont certainly exudes an electric vibe, showcasing his stylish "running man" dance while the young lead guitarist Jeremy Schon picks at your brain with remarkable and energetic precision.
With their new album Pleasure about to drop on April 1st, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are flyin' high and loaded with new material for their spring tour—which, for Colorado, begins in Frisco at The Barkley Ballroom on Tuesday, March 22. With stops in Telluride, Steamboat Springs, Fort Collins, Boulder and Denver, Coloradans have plenty of opportunities to join up with the flock and experience the Pleasure for themselves.
With three singles already released (“Live It Up,” “Burning Up My Time,” and “Kiwi”), fans have already had a chance to preview the forthcoming album. But we nearly missed the chance entirely due to an offer made by the band to America's most hated entrepreneur, Martin Shkreli. After purchasing Wu-Tang Clan's newest album all for himself for $2 million back in December and attempting to do the same for Kanye West's latest release, Pigeons offered Shkreli exclusive listening rights to Pleasure for the sum of $2.5 million.
Surprisingly (or not), the pharma industry's bro-iest douche-punch responded to the offer, and while he complemented the band's funkiness, he remains among America's most hated people.
Check out what them Pigeons had to say when we chatted with them about the upcoming Colorado run.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Interview
PPPP members
GO: Greg Ormont (vocals, guitar)
JS: Jeremy Schon (guitar, vocals)
BC: Ben Carrey (bass, vocals)
AP: Alex Petropulos (drums, vocals, sometimes plays with magnets on his free time)
COjam: PPPP kicks off their tour in Colorado and you seem to have developed a unique relationship with the state. What makes Colorado so special to Pigeons?
JS: Awesome music scene, gorgeous scenery, dank beers, and some of the best skiing/boarding. We love Colorado!
GO: It always feels more like a vacation than a tour. Everyone loves Colorado and we’re no different. It’s simply the best.
COjam: PPPP's new album "Pleasure" drops on April 1. What can we expect from it?
GO: Each song will give you… PLEASURE. HEYOOO!!! Get it?... Pleasure? We couldn’t be more proud of how this album came out. Compared to our previous efforts, this album is by far the most professional sounding studio result we’ve put out to date. We recorded with the owner of Wright Way Studios in Baltimore and the man is simply a boss. The Flock deserves a great record, and I think we’ve done it.
COjam: Domefest has a killer lineup this year. Can you speak of past years and the excitement of 2016's festival?
GO: Domefest has grown beyond our wildest dreams and the excitement continues to build as we approach our biggest year yet. For a Pigeons fan, it really is a one-of-a-kind experience because you get to see us working in the trenches all weekend, and also catch three nights of unique PPPP sets. We go the extra mile to ensure that all of our bands are feeling loosey goosey and that the fans are having a blast all weekend. Artists and fans chill together and there’s always magic in the air. This year, Domefest moved to a sick new site at Fort Royale Farm in Bedford, PA on May 19-21 and we’re supremely stoked to reunite the Flock for an epic party in the wilderness.
COjam: Why do you FUNK?
JS: Cause it feels good to be ALIVE!
AP: That is the question…
GO: Cause that’s all I wanna do is.
BC: I didn’t realize there was an option…
PPPP Colorado Tour Dates
Tuesday, March 22 at Barkley Ballroom
Thursday, March 24 at Fly Me to the Moon Saloon
Friday, March 25 at Fly Me to the Moon Saloon
Saturday, March 26 at Old Town Pub
Sunday, March 27, 2016 at Old Town Pub
Thursday, March 31 at Hodi's Half Note
Friday, April 1 at Fox Theatre
Saturday, April 2, 2016 at Cervantes' Other Side