On Friday, January 24th, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong will welcome their fifth studio record, Presto. Pre-order for CDs, Vinyl LPs and merchandise is going on now: bit.ly/ppppresto.
The band—comprised of Ormont, fellow guitarist Jeremy Schon, bassist Ben Carrey and drummer Alex "Gator" Petropulos—are quick to cite their annual holiday shows as playing an important role in shaping the sound of Presto. As devout fans know, every Halloween and New Year’s Eve, the band hosts intricately themed blowouts, usually with a clever pun for a title, that find them adopting the styles of various other artists.
“Those shows have been crash courses in learning new ways to play and arrange music,” says Ormont. “We picked up different techniques from all these different genres that we were able to draw on when writing Presto.”
Writing is a never-ending process for the band, who also tour roughly 200 dates a year. What starts as an extended improvisation in the group’s rehearsal space will often lead to an unexpected melody or chord progression, which will go on to form the foundation of a track. Once the foursome fleshes out the song's structure and Ormont adds lyrics, the band will take the song on the road and perform it live for their most trusted confidants: The Flock.
“The crowd is like an equal member of the band at this point,” says Ormont. “We really feed off their response and truly value their input, and we can tell right away what works and what doesn't from their reaction.”
To date, tracks "King Kong," featuring Here Come The Mummies horns, and "Dawn A New Day" have been released from Presto. The official music video for "King Kong" was directed by Jay Blakesberg and featured cameos by Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico from moe., and D.J. Williams from Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. The lyric video for "Dawn A New Day" was released in conjunction with a fundraiser in support of Backline, the music industry's source for mental health and wellness resources.
In support of Presto, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have added a slew of headlining tour dates for 2020.
Kicking off in Tempe, AZ in early February, the band will play a string of dates across California—including double night runs in Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA—before a date in Crystal Bay, NV, and three stops in Oregon. Seattle, WA in late February rounds out the West Coast stops, followed by two plays in Montana, a stop in Salt Lake City, UT concluding with two nights in Frisco, CO at 10 Mile Music Hall.
Additionally, via their recently announced foundation, Dawn A New Day, the band will donate $1 from every ticket sale to Backline during their initial 2020 run. Future partnerships are expected to be announced in 2020.
All newly announced dates, including early bird passes for the band's the 11th annual music and camping festival Domefest, are on sale this coming Friday, November 22nd at 10 am local time. Tickets and more information available at pigeonsplayingpingpong.com/tour-dates.
PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG
Tour Dates
11/20 - Fayetteville, AR - George's Majestic Lounge ^
11/21 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
11/22 - Austin, TX - Emo's
11/23 - Houston, TX - Last Concert Cafe ^
12/6 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #
12/7 - Washington, DC - The Anthem ~
12/13 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom #
12/14 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom *
12/30 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
12/31 - Asheville, NC - ExploreAsheville.com Arena &
1/7 - 1/12 - Miami, FL - Jam Cruise
2/5 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee >
2/6 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern >
2/7 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour >
2/8 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour >
2/12 - San Luis Obispo, CA - The Fremont Theater >
2/13 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst >
2/14 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall >
2/15 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom >
2/16 - Crystal Bay, NV - Crystal Bay Casino Crown Room >
2/19 - Eugene, OR - Sessions Music Hall >
2/20 - Bend, OR - Midtown Ballroom >
2/21 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom >
2/22 - Seattle, WA - Neptune >
2/25 - Missoula, MT - Top Hat Lounge
2/26 - Bozeman, MT - The Rialto
2/28 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Commonwealth Room
2/29 - Frisco, CO - 10 Mile Music Hall
3/1 - Frisco, CO - 10 Mile Music Hall
^ w/ Thumpasaurus
# w/ lespecial
~ w/ Here Come The Mummies
* w/ Fletcher’s Grove
& w/ Tauk
> w/ Goose
