And take the stage at Pappy & Harriet’s Monday, April 17
By Jason Hall
Pond is an amazing Australian psychedelic rock band. If you haven’t heard them, give them a listen. It’s worth it. Pond features a revolving lineup and shares members with fellow Australian band Tame Impala.
For those of you going to Coachella this year, they are a part of Sunday’s lineup. Be sure to make them a part of your Sunday schedule. If you can’t make it to Coachella this year, they are playing up the hill at Pappy & Harriet’s Monday, April 17. This is a great opportunity to see a Coachella caliber band play a small venue at a discount price.
We sat down with their long time keyboardist Jamie Terry and discussed everything from living in the same house as Tame Impala, to playing one of the largest festivals in the country one day, and a small venue the next.
CV Weekly: When did you realize you wanted to be a musician?
Jamie Terry: “I was kind of a late starter when it came to playing any instruments, but pretty much as soon as I inked up a guitar, I knew. I was about 16 then.”
CVW: What bands or musicians did you listen to when you were growing up?
JT: “I think Dad’s 60’s music collection was the big influence. You know… The Beatles, Rolling Stones… the classic sort of stuff. We had a book of Beatles chords above the piano and I would just sort of read the chord above each word and look up on the internet which keys I needed to press. Pretty soon I could play most of The Beatles catalog.”
CVW: What albums to you think belong in everybody’s collection?
JT: “Oh… that’s a pretty tough one. There’s so many that should really be experienced by everyone. It’s such a diverse and amazing collection of material that we’ve made as a species. I don’t know if I could limit it to any small number. Everyone is so different and there’s a time and a place for all of it. In this internet age, there’s just so much music coming out all of the time. I think the best is yet to come.”
CVW: What are you listening to the most right now?
JT: “Man, I’m obsessed with Nigerian pop music. The new music coming out of Nigeria is incredible. I can’t get enough of it.”
CVW: How did you join Pond?
JT: “I wasn’t there for the very beginning, but it emerged out of another band, Mink Mussle Creek. When they finished up, it became Pond and Tame Impala and a couple of other bands. I was in another band at the same time. I loved seeing Pond play. I thought they were one of the most exciting bands playing in Perth. I ended up moving into a house with the guys and when they wanted to get a bit more focused and wanted to make the sound a bit fuller they chucked me in on the keys.”
CVW: Some of the members of Pond are in Tame Impala. Are there any difficulties juggling schedules between both?
JT: “I think if we weren’t all so close, it could be a bit harder because it generally means when Tame (Impala) is on a promotional cycle – which is almost 2 years- that it is difficult for Pond to tour. Plus, when the guys come back off of their tour, they want to have some time to hang with their women and what not. We don’t have to spend years on the road. We can spend more time at home and live more wholesome lives. There is less time to use, but the benefits are there. It’s been a foot in the door for us anyway. It gets our music out there.”
CVW: Where is your favorite place to tour?
JT: “South America for sure. It’s wild down there. Such enthusiastic fans who sing along to every riff like it’s a football chant. It’s a real interesting culture down there. I always find that really rewarding.”
CVW: Will your set change between Coachella weekend 1 and weekend 2?
JT: “I wouldn’t think so, although, possibly a song or two. Is it common for people to go to both weekends?”
CVW: I think it can be used as a tool to see all of the bands I want to see. You can see a band on weekend 2 that played at the same time as another band you liked during weekend 1. I know there are people who go both weekends to specifically see the same bands twice, but there are tons who only go to one weekend or the other.
JT: “Once we have a set worked out, we tend to stick to it other than a couple of songs we could throw in to mix things up. I think when the record comes out we’ll have a bit more material to work with. We don’t want to play too many songs that folks never heard before. I feel people are ready to digest one or two songs they’ve never heard before, but any more than that can be a bit much; especially in a festival context. You’ve got a lot to take in that day or weekend.”
CVW: Is there anything special you have planned for the show at Pappy & Harriet’s?
JT: “That seems like a good opportunity to experiment with the set list a bit more. We haven’t thought that far ahead. We won’t have a chance to do too much rehearsal until just before we tour. Is that something that a lot of bands do?”
CVW: I’ve never been there to see a band perform between their Coachella sets, but it’s a special place. During our festival out here, Desert Trip, Paul McCartney played a show up there. It’s a very intimate and special place in the middle of the high desert.
JT: “Yeah. It pops up pretty frequently here. People talk about it. It’s like hallowed grounds. People are always glowing when they speak about it. That’s very exciting. We’ll try to do something special for that and for Coachella. It’s my first time going, and our first time playing.”
