Society High – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

PT: We were all in other bands before getting Society High together , and I wrote and recorded a lot of stuff in the past, I did a lot of cool stuff with my old bands and the memories and nostalgia of those days still mean a lot to me, but the difference is, when we got Society High together in 2003 it was finally the sound I was always going for.  If you listen to my old bands recordings you can tell the direction I wanted to go but it wasn’t quite there, whereas the songs we wrote and recorded with SH everything came together very fast, and everything clicked pretty much right we hit the ground running in 2003 with non-stop shows, practice and writing/recording. The songs I wrote in the first 10 years of SH was probably my best stuff and we still play most of it today.

RRX: Like songs, every artist has a unique felling about their first show. What was your first show like? was it your best show? If not, what was your best show like?

PT: The first show I ever played was Feb 99 at Mother Earths Cafe in Albany with my first band in High School No Tomorrow. As for unique feelings there sure was ! a mix of excitement and nerves, but a few songs into the set the nerves wore off fast and I knew this was something I probably need to do forever. In my band at the time was another founding member of Society high WU , AND also playing that night but in a different band at the time (the Sofa Kings), future Society High  Drummer and Bass player (Rocky and Juicehed)   SO  … All of us playing our first show together MUST mean something , even if we were in different bands at the time haha !   That feeling of playing that first show always stuck with me, even to this day, the night before a show I’m STILL just all stoked about having a gig haha

RRX: We have to play somewhere, and sometimes those places have more going for them than a stage and a power outlet. What is a memorable place you played, and bonus points if it’s not a well-known place.

PT: Ahhh hundreds of shows so many places stand out !  So before we could land gigs at actual bars and venues, we would  put shows together at this Rotterdam Knights of Columbus  and even though they were “basement” DIY  shows, they were legendary fun times that we still talk about, even if no one really knew about it outside of Schenectady haha, so many other cool shows over the years,  the Pussycat Lounge in NYC was so cool and one of if not THE best shows we ever played,  an honorable and certainly well-known mention we did get to play CBGB before they closed all I can say about that is,  I had the same feeling being on that stage as religious people say when they visit their holy land and of course  Valentines , the best memories of this band really were at 17 New Scotland Ave , that was our home

RRX:  Our Style comes from the extension of our influences. It’s like an evolution. We’re influenced, and it inspires us to influence. What can you say about your influences, and what you feel you’ve done with their influence as a musician or band? have you extended their work?

PT: we certainly all have different tastes in music in this band, my earliest musical influences start with my parents having a pretty great record collection, Alice Cooper, Jimi Hendrix, Zep, Beatles, The Animals etc,  that’s what I listened to mostly as a kid. then in my early teens bands like Green Day   were exploding, then that led me to discover Rancid, Nofx, Bouncing Souls in my later teens and The Ramones of course, the list is endless really haha. I feel the 90s skate punk stuff comes through in my songs more than anything else ,  I would like to think yes we have extended the works of those bands that is a nice concept for sure , everyone’s  style and influences come through in their playing, my guys are all metal heads playing punk so there is definitely a “society high” sound  and I don’t think we sound too much like any one band

RRX: With the exception of singing, everyone has an instrument, an inanimate object that has the distinction of being a lifelong friend. Smooth or temperamental, these objects have a character. So pick someone to answer, you can tell us something special about what you play, your technique, your instrument?

PT: I think everyone that has played in this band has their own style and technique and a very close connection to their instruments. We have had a few different line ups thought the years and I think all members past, and present added their own personality and flavor to the songs, Johnny M, Nicky No Shoes, WU, Justin Sizlack and Rocky and Juicehed. Personally,  I know I am lost without my guitar, I have been playing my entire life starting with a few chords my grandfather taught me  . I know It really might sound crazy to some people but yes for sure, the guitar is a lifelong friend

RRX: we let it out differently when we play music. The happy, sad, good, and bad; it can all be put out musically. Overall, do you feel better when you sing about the better times, or the worser times? Is there a difference you can describe?

PT: Playing music, especially in a band, is the greatest outlet I can think of. I have songs of both the happiest and worst of times. I don’t know if there’s a huge difference in how I feel when playing one or the other, happy, sad, good or bad. I have always been able to let it all out in my music. I do know that no matter the subject of the songs, nothing has ever balanced me out more than music and I’m just happy at 44 to be lucky enough to still be playing our original Punk Rock N Roll nonstop for over 20 years and all our friends and family still come out to party with us after all these years