Born and raised in the NOLA scene, melodic punks Pears know a thing or two about the best bands in New Orleans. But we’re not talking about the usual suspects of Down, Crowbar and Eyehategod, Pears are looking deeper and digging into the dirty underground world. We caught up with vocalist Zach Quinn and Brian Pretus to talk about the best underground bands from their hometown, and they didn’t disappoint. Stick some new New Orleans noise in your ears.
High
Zach: “Fun, kinda sound like Sebadoh. Their new album is really great, although it’s not out yet. The first Pears tour ever was with this band, and the guitarist/vocalist Craig is also a rapper.”
I’m Fine
Brian: “These guys are some of my best buddies in the world. If you like fest punk then you should check this band out. But you’d better hurry up because they’re trying to turn into a doom band.”
Thou
Zach: “Doom metal from Baton Rouge. I’m not really traditionally a metal guy, but this band is awesome. They’ve been around since I was in diapers… so like ten years or something.”
Donovan Wolfington
Brian: “They’re our friends. Their singer Neil drove us on a couple tours but they’re one of the best NOLA bands ever, if you ask me. They sound like Weezer if Weezer was pissed and never turned into a rap/pop band. For fans of Joyce Manor and Culture Abuse and shit.”
Mea Culpa
Zach: “Sick punk, rock ‘n’ roll stuff. Vocalist Dylan is also in another newer band that’s really awesome, but I can’t remember the name… But basically everything he does is good. They have a music video where they are under a bridge and they’re playing cards, I guess just being bad.”
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Cauche Mar
Brian: “Some crusty pals doing a weird like classical/black metal thing – I’ve never heard anything like it. Weird instrumentation, weird songs. If you’re into original ideas at all, you’ll definitely like it.”
Lovey Dovies
Zach: “God damn, James Hayes can write a song! He’s got a baby now who is really cute, and I don’t know if there’s ever gonna be more Lovey Dovies records, which is a massive shame. There are two full-lengths and they are fucking perfect.”
M.O.T.O.
Brian: “It stands for Masters Of The Obvious. They were from New Orleans, relocated to Chicago, but then I guess moved back to New Orleans. They’re super-old, like maybe a thousand years old. Zach got me into them forever ago. It’s almost comically lo-fi, pseudo-Ramones type stuff. You can pretty much guarantee their song titles are going to be lyrics for the. Sometimes they play with their original line-up, which isn’t very good, and sometimes they have like fill-in people that usually totally rock.”
Little Bags
Zach: “I was in this band. It was like alternative punk stuff. Go buy the tape at the Community Records website.”
Pears are supporting Rise Against across the UK and Europe in October and November.
Rise Against UK and European 2017 tour
Oct 25: Oslo Sentrum Scene, Norway
Oct 27: Stockholm Fryhuset, Sweden
Oct 29: Copenhagen Vega Main Hall, Denmark
Nov 01: Birmingham O2 Academy, UK
Nov 02: Manchester O2 Apollo, UK
Nov 04: Leeds O2 Academy, UK
Nov 05: London O2 Academy Brixton, UK
Nov 06: Dublin The Academy, Ireland
Nov 08: Newcastle O2 Academy, UK
Nov 10: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Nov 11: Paris Bataclan, France
Nov 12: Amsterdam Afas Live, Netherlands
Nov 14: Munich Zenith, Germany
Nov 15: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Nov 17: Dusselfdorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Germany
Nov 18: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Nov 19: Berlin Velodrom, Germany
Nov 21: Zurich Halle 622, Switzerland
20 years on from NOLA, Down reflect on its flood-fuelled creation...
