What is up people? On today’s Q&A Special we have a band from Ireland but they were formed in Athens, Greece. Philarmongrel is a seven piece ensemble with two drummers and two bassists. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to have an online interview with the Irish fellows, and they were kind enough to reply to our questions. Check on the random whatnot Q&A Session with band.

Q: Why do you name your band Philharmongrel?
A: We’ve always found that a portmanteau, spoonerism or some other play on words is a good way to come up with a memorable band name, myself and Keith’s former band were called SKINSIZE KINGS (a spoonerism of kingsize skins). Philharmongrel is basically a portmanteau of philharmonic and mongrel. Philharmonic seemed to sum the twenty six strings, umpteen cymbals, seven drums and tongues, fourteen lips, and lungs that make up our sound. The mongrel pointed to the fact that were a hybrid of two separate bands Kill Goliath and secrecy of state – (John/Drums)

Q: What inspired you to make a seven piece band?
A: It really wasn’t a conscious decision to make a 7 piece band. At the time we where touring in Greece as two separate bands, Kill Goliath and Secrecy of State. We were offered some time in The Matrix recording studio, run by Dimitris Misirlis, in the place of some cancelled gigs and we decided to write a song together and record it. The process and the result was really fun, and the end result was something everyone involved really liked. It made sense to us all that moving forward with the project as a band was going to be something fun and inspirational to us all. I guess we were just prepared to try something new, and so far it is working. (Michael Patterson – Guitar/Vocals)

Q: There aren’t many math rock bands out there. Who do you guys look up to?
A: Math and progressive rock would have a big influence on our playing style, dynamics and sound. For us, having asymmetric time signatures in our songs is almost a given, along with incorporating soca stylings, we would lend alot of our influences to bands like Tool, Porcupine Tree, Mars Volta, Karnivool and Toe. We would definitely look up to a lot of Irish and British bands like Red Neck Manifesto, New Secret Weapon and Oceansize. Like most bands, Philharmongrel is a reflection of our individual influences. It is fundamentally sound as a notion, based as it was on the idea of exploration using the tools of rock but none of its strictures. (Robbie, Guitar/Vocals)

Q: Do you count in “math rock”?
A: “I count in numbers, but I play in riffs” – (Keith/Bass)

Q: Two drummers and two bass. How do you work it out? Don’t you guys get confused?
A: It can get really confusing, even dizzying if you were to think about it too much. We have one song on our forthcoming E.P. called 100th monkey that songs definitely makes me a little dizzy when we play it live and I have the easiest jobs on that one. Usually we keep it simple by thinking of ourselves as two parts of one big rhythm section. LEAD rhythm section and RHYTHM rhythm section. We play one big siamese kit. The Left side has cymbals, hi hats, snare and a 20” kick drum. The right side has four toms and a 16” kick drum. The left side acts like an anchor for the song, just holding it down while one bass player locks into that groove. The right side fills the gaps with fills and patterns on the toms and rims while the other bass player locks into his groove and so long as no one thinks about too much about what they are doing it doesn’t fall apart – (John/Drums)

Q: When did you guys first get to know each other?
A: We have known each other for years now. Six members of the band all grew up in the Midlands of Ireland, Athlone and Moate, all within a very short distance from each other. Over the years the musicians have played in various different projects together. We have also played a lot of shows together as the two separate bands, so we really have known each other well for quite a few years. There are very good vibes between the seven of us, and it has made it quite easy for us to come together on a musical level.
( Michael Patterson – Guitar/Vocals)

Q: What is behind the video clip “Sitting Pretty Are Ugly Things”. In the video you spray paint on walls and floors in an abandoned building. Does it feel good to vandalize?
A: When we were in Athens we decided shoot the video, seeing as mood and events in the city at the time captured the essence of the song and the project as a whole. The crux of Sitting Pretty is in its message, the caveat within, to question establishment, to understand and not stand under. Some friends of ours told us of this disused army base on top of a mountain overlooking Athens, apparently it was once used to monitor UFO activity in the Athens basin. It was the perfect symbol to accompany the song.
I don’t think it’s a question of vandalizing, the motives of the graffiti concept was less about defacing a property but more a medium of expression to accompany our proclamation, and we had a lot of fun doing it. (Robbie – Guitar/Vocals)

Q: Do you have any plans to have a tour to South East Asia, especially in Indonesia?
A: “If they book us, we will come” – (Keith/Bass)

There you go guys. Our quick Q & A session with Philharmongrel. So you don’t count on math rock, I see. Thank you Philharmongrel for answering our random questions, good luck for you guys. If you guys are going to play here in Indonesia, do hit us up! Now let’s hear their song “Sitting Pretty Are Ugly Things” below. Put on your headphone, turn up the volume and enjoy!