By Laura Hunt Little
Earlier this year, The Pedestrians, one of the most high-energy bands in the Coachella Valley was elected by popular vote of their equally enthusiastic fans to perform at Goldenvoice’s Tachevah Palm Springs Block party between weeks 1 and 2 of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. In front of a crowd of a few thousand, the band stormed the stage looking more like a theater troop than a rock-ska-punk-hip-hop-funk-soul band and carried the audience on a half hour rocket flight of rhythm and sound. After a summer hiatus, The Pedestrians are back at The Hood, this Saturday, October 26th.
If you were to meet any of the individual members of the band offstage, you would likely never guess the existence of wild alter personalities. They are working guys and family men. Yet, when they come together as The Pedestrians, the freak flag flies high. A symbiotic relationship exists between the band and their fans, whose energy feeds off one another at every performance, elevating the experience to dance party meets performance art.
Co-formed originally in 1993 by Michael Lewis, Rob Peterson and the late Darol Mata, the band has had various forms and members over the past two decades, but one constant has remained throughout – the passion for performance. “We perform because we love our music and our people,” shared Lewis. “It’s my heart and soul coming out for the people we play for. It’s our release that keeps us sane in a crazy world.”
For the past several years the band’s membership has consisted of Michael Lewis and Rob Peterson on vocals, with Peterson also on percussion; Armando Flores on bass; Brandon Henderson on guitar; Tim Mc Mullen on drums; Cesar Hernandez on trumpet and vocals; and Morgan Fitch on trombone. Together, they fuse a lot of funk, rich harmonies and horns over Afro Cuban rhythms for a sound that can be likened to Fishbone (a bit) old school Red Hot Chili Peppers (a little) Living Color (for texture) and Sublime (for seasoning). “There are six writers in the band. Everybody writes. Two people have Masters’ degrees in music. Everyone plays multiple instruments. That’s why we have such a wide range of styles,” explains Lewis. “And, Rob loves Samba. So we do that, too.”
If their original sound is the motor, then The Pedestrian’s showmanship and costumes are the chassis. From head to toe, each member of the band carries off a thematic or unique look for the performance. Although it may first feel Vaudevillian, each style is worn with such genuine conviction, that it adds to the thrill ride for their fans.
The fans fuel the band. One of their most popular songs is even named in tribute to their audience, CV People. “Every time we play the song, the fans connect and we connect right back with them,” shares Lewis. “I honestly don’t know how we keep it going sometimes, but the performances are almost like a spiritual healing – for the people dancing – and for us as players – it physically makes you stronger and feel better at the end of the gig than when you started. It’s the weirdest thing.”
The whole package – of seven highly-energized, costumed performers fully engaged in delivering the performance of a lifetime whether to a club audience of 50 or street fair of 5,000 – feeding off the energy of their enthusiastic fans – is what makes the freakish magic that is a performance of The Pedestrians. Check them out at The Hood, this Saturday, October 26th. Show starts at 9pm.
