“We pour every ounce of ourselves into every note when we perform live,” says Pigeons Playing Ping Pong singer/guitarist Greg Ormont. “When we’re recording in the studio, we try to maintain that euphoria while finding a way to pack it into a tight, focused vessel. Each song becomes like a spring-loaded can of worms: there’s all this energy boxed up in a neat little package, and then when you come see us live, the cap comes off and the contents fly out in every direction like fireworks.”
It’s a whimsically apt metaphor for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, a band whose very existence is rooted in the unyielding quest for joy and positive energy. Blending infectious funk grooves, psychedelic jams, and experimental electronics, the Baltimore four-piece’s new album, Pizazz, is a buoyant, blissful reminder of just how much fun music can be. Eschewing the traditional funk band lineup that typically includes keyboards, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong constructs effervescent soundscapes with just two guitars, bass, and drums, crafting their music with a sophisticated ear for both open space and dense layering.
While Pizazz is, in many ways, a familiar continuation of the journey that’s earned the band its rapidly expanding and rabidly devoted following (known as The Flock), it also marks the beginning of a new chapter for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. The album’s eleven tracks are the group’s first recorded with new drummer Alex Petropulos, whose airtight grooves and explosive power push the band’s sound to new heights, making for an impressive rhythm section alongside bassist Ben Carrey.
Tracked live on the floor in Baltimore’s WrightWay Studios, Pizazz rises and falls with the same inimitable mix of precision and frenzy that defines the band’s one-of-a-kind live show. Glide Magazine called Pigeons “a band that melts faces and pulls no punches,” while C-Ville Weekly praised the growing “cult around [their] high-energy music, goofy stage antics, and all around good vibes,” and JamBase raved that guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Schon is “destined to become one of our generation’s finest guitarists.” Since the group’s inception nearly a decade ago at the University of Maryland (where the band’s name came to Ormont and Schon during a moment of transcendence in Psych 100), they’ve built up a reputation as one of the most engaging and life-affirming acts on the road, maintaining a relentless tour schedule that has them performing up to 200 shows a year and hitting festivals from coast to coast. The band even founded their own gathering, Domefest, which recently celebrated its eighth year and attracted nearly 2,000 members of The Flock for an immersive weekend of love, music, and community.
10/6 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater %
10/7 - Steamboat Springs, CO - The Old Town Pub
10/8 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
10/10 - Bozeman, MT - The Eagles Ballroom *
10/11 - Missoula, MT - Top Hat Lounge *
10/12 - Sandpoint, ID - The Hive *
10/13 - Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge *
10/14 - Portland, OR - Star Theater *
10/15 - Bend, OR - Volcanic Theatre Pub *
10/19 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent *
10/20 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst Atrium *
10/21 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour *
10/22 - San Diego, CA - Casbah *
10/24 - Phoenix, AZ - Last Exit Live *
10/26 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada *
10/27 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk *
10/28 - Houston, TX - The White Oak *
10/31 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West *
11/1 - Chattanooga, TN - Revelry Room *
11/2 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In *
11/3 - Asheville, NC - Salvage Station *
11/4 - Richmond, VA - The National *
11/24 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel *
11/25 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live! **
11/30 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *
12/1 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club *
12/2 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Putnam Den *
12/8 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts ^
12/9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre ^
% Flocktoberfest
* w/ Flamingosis
** w/ Ripe
^^ w/ The Magic Beans
