It’s pretty much common knowledge now that live shows are the only surefire way to make money in the modern music business, so it pays to keep an open mind about when and where to play. Take LA noiseniks The Soft Pack: we caught up with them on a boat on the Thames, where they were preparing to play a curious London leg of their European tour. The hold of an old barge isn’t the oddest of their recent touring exploits, however.
“This reminds me of when we played ten shows in a day,” says guitarist Matty McLoughlin, while trying to stop his drink sliding off the table. “That was all at kids’ houses and record stores, it doesn’t really matter what it sounds like, you just have fun and crank it up.”
Bassist David Lantzman elaborates. “We played at one fan’s house. We had a competition, got a bunch of emails in, ‘Write us a short essay on why we should play your house.’ As crazy as it was to play ten shows in a day, that was the only one to get kind of messed up, because his band played before us and the cops showed up…”
That’s the risk you take when you play in residential areas, although many more bands are now taking the plunge. Increasingly popular services like Pledgemusic – in which bands offer ‘exclusives’ in return for donations toward new records – often include a ‘we’ll play at your house’ option, in return for a fee. McLoughlin admits that the ten-gigs-a-day idea was a “complete publicity stunt, but it was cool, the kind of thing Creedence Clearwater Revival would have done, like a real working band.”
So what odd location do they fancy next? “Playing at Prince’s house,” says McLoughlin. “I heard that Prince had Maroon 5 over. He makes pancakes and then jams with you, and he’s got the most amazing sound set-up.”
“I’d totally be down for that,” agrees Lantzman. “I bet you he makes really good pancakes too.”
Soft Pack’s single ‘More Or Less’ is out May 10th.
Soft Pack Facts
– The Soft Pack were previously called The Muslims but “it became such a hassle,” admits guitarist McLoughlin. “And it was really hard to Google us.”
– According to Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Prince offered pancakes at his party but they were “too tired” to accept. Maroon 5 are so hardcore.
