Interview: Billy McCarthy of Pela

This week I had the distinct pleasure of spending some time on the phone with Billy McCarthy, the lead singer and songwriter for the band Pela. He was an absolutely delightful guy to talk to; extremely kind, humble, interested, and generous with both his time and his story. We covered a number of topics ranging from his preference for Sunset Park over Williamsburg to his technophobia. But most importantly, we talked about music, particularly his love for touring and the excitement he has for the upcoming release of Pela’s second album.

Pela is a four piece rock outfit from New York City, specifically South Brooklyn. Their debut LP, Anytown Graffiti, is an amazing album filled with pure rock’n’roll energy and a vast collection of unforgettable hooks. Based on the strength of this album and the reputation they have gained from their electric stage performance, Pela is catching on. Billy said that he can’t remember the last time they didn’t sell out a show in NYC, and on their last national tour they consistently sold out small to medium sized venues across the country.

Pela loves to play live. Billy exudes such wild stage energy that over the last two years he has suffered major injuries while performing. In Chicago last March he fell off of the stage, on to a pint glass severing several tendons in his left hand. In Seattle, last August he broke his foot jumping from an amp. The former injury led to the cancellation of the tour and a series of major surgeries. He is only now fully recovered from the latter. The band loves the energy of live performance which comes out of a desire to perform for their fans. “The band is really into an interactive and inclusive experience. We believe it’s really not about us. It’s more about the listener. We are always trying to reach across the stage monitors to connect and sometimes we fall down (laughing)”.

And it’s not only the shows, Billy also just loves the experience of being on the road; “I live for touring man”. He loves waking up in different towns, meeting new people, playing his heart out, drinking Bud Light ‘til all hours of the night, regrouping in the morning, and doing it all again. He fondly recalled a quote by Willie Nelson that means a lot to him: “If my house doesn’t have four wheels on it, I don’t want to stay there very long”. Billy is especially excited about the mini-tour that they are embarking on soon in support of The Gaslight Anthem. Apparently, Brian Fallon, leader of the Gaslight Anthem, “really dug” Anytown Graffiti and asked Pela to join them for a tour. Billy said that Pela and the Gaslight Anthem are two of a kind. They are “no bullshit” and “love music and the history of music”. He notes that Brian is really good guy and that “he’s one of the few that really gets it. Its really great man”.

However, the biggest piece of news is that Pela will be releasing their second full-length album this summer. Although their first album, Anytown Graffiti has a devoted following of fans, it has experienced good but not great commercial success. I remember listening to this album around the same time as I heard Boxer by the National. I said to myself, "Both of these albums are going to blow up". I pointed out to Billy that I was shocked when, unlike Boxer, Anytown Graffiti didn’t absolutely explode. He said that he has heard that before but tries not to think about it. He notes that “aband is a slow process and I’m happy with how we’ve done”. They were on a smaller label which didn’t help but he is very happy with the fan base that the album has developed as well as the slow smoldering growth of the band’s popularity. In fact, he says “If I can give any advice to young bands; just don’t break up.” He also points out that the National have been playing music together for over ten years and their first two albums were largely ignored but they stuck it out. They are now one of the most popular bands out there. Although he’s not suggesting that Pela will take the exact same course, he does know that the music just gets better the more that the band plays together and he is optimistic that Pela will continue to grow.

The band will be working with a new label for this disc (despite my pleading Billy would not reveal which label) and Billy is optimistic. The album is self-produced and Billy suggests that it is a progression musically over Anytown Graffiti. He says that the album has incorporated more strings and piano and described it as “bigger” and more “rock and roll” than previous albums. If you have ever heard Anytown Graffiti you must be intrigued by such a comment. The most “beautiful thing” about this album, in Billy’s estimation, is that they scored their number 1 choice to mix the disc; Dave Newfeld who has worked to mix albums for indie-rock icons such as Broken Social Scene and Feist. Newfeld and the band went up to a church outside of Toronto to mix the disc, and Billy loves the sound that he helped them produce. The album is already starting to receive some buzz. John Richards of KEXP in Seattle, one of the most influential radio DJs in the United States, received an advance copy and, although unable to play anything on the air yet, is raving about how great it sounds.

What’s arguably more intriguing than the sonic elements of the album is the songwriting. The LP is titled Rise Ye Sunken Ships which is really a metaphor for the context and themes that shaped the album. Billy says that “Anytown Graffiti is an album about leaving whereas this album is about planting your feet and fighting”. This new album was written during a difficult period. Although not a primary theme, it’s impossible to ignore that this new album was written in New York City in a period after September 11th with the darkness and complexity that followed. Billy believes that 911 and subsequent wars took a toll on the national psyche. Billy came up with the title for the album while he was looking out over the river from Brooklyn at Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Manhattan. It reminded him that despite these difficult times, we are a people that persevere and this album was to serve as a “metaphor that we had to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps”.

The album was also written amid personal tragedy for Billy whose brother has been fighting a long battle with schizophrenia which resulted recently in a serious run-in with the law. Although Folsom Prison is merely a Johnny Cash song theme to many, it is a reality for Billy’s family. This is where his brother is serving a life sentence. The album was primarily written during this time of personal and collective darkness. Despite all of this, Billy describes his band as “optimistic” and that they could not write a “morose” album. That is why the album title is so fitting. Billy describes the album as “uplifting” and full of hope. Like a sunken ship rising to the surface so too does this disc rise from its dark context.

With the growing popularity of their live shows, a new LP coming out this summer, and an extremely loyal fan base, the future looks bright for Pela. Any success that the band experiences in the future couldn’t happen to a better group of guys.