Palomino Blond is killing it and spent some time answering our questions about their music. Let’s see what they have to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
Carli: Palomino Blond is a species of tarantula. I was working at a restaurant when I heard the name for the first time from a line cook friend of mine who was going to get one as a pet. They’re apparently super docile so they’re common as pets. I thought it’d be a cool band name and so did Kyle so we rolled with it.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Carli: In December 2017, I started writing songs with Kyle and demoing them at his house on Garageband. We both played guitar and sang and wanted to do something melodic yet heavy, sweet and dark, pretty and evil. We got some friends to join on drums and bass and played a bunch of shows. We were in bands in high school that gigged a lot so we reached out to those bookers like “yo, would you book our new band?” Our demos got some decent reception so we booked a diy tour, a bunch of shows, and prioritized the live show more than anything. I think that’s the most fun part of being in a band.
How would you describe your sound?
Carli: Loud…for sure loud. I think someone called us bummer pop once. We like stupid guitar solos but we also like shoegaze and doom metal and bubblegum pop. There’s aspects of radio pop and beats informed by dance music. Sometimes it sounds evil, sometimes it sounds pretty.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Carli: For me I can say Smashing Pumpkins, Boris, Slowdive, Portishead, Broken Social Scene, FKA Twigs, Chelsea Wolfe, Veruca Salt, the Cure.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Carli: Digital Bath by Deftones.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
Carli: On tour we’ve played with a lot of cool local bands in each town and I’ve been listening to them a lot. Like Total Wife and Melaina Kol in Tennessee; Gollylagging in Boston; Funeral Homes in Jacksonville; Mx Lonely in NYC; Newgrounds Death Rugby in South Carolina; Doused in Philly; Luby Sparks from Japan (we played a one off with them in Boston). My friends in the band Her New Knife came on tour with us too and they put me on to a lot of cool stuff plus their own music is phenomenal.
Who is your dream producer?
Carli: I would love to work with Flood. He’s so iconic. Justin Raisen too, he’s done a lot of my favorite records – Yves Tumor, Sunflower Bean, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Carli: Yves Tumor would be a dream collaboration for me. Thundercat too.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Carli: I picked up guitar originally because I wanted to learn how to play every song on Doolittle by Pixies. My cousin and sister and I had a childhood dream of being in a band together before I even touched guitar. I played piano because my mom put me in lessons and that kind of started my fascination with music. I’m motivated to keep making it because it just helps me get things out of my system. Sometimes I’ll be so caught up in obsessive thoughts about something and when I write a song about it, it can help me move on from it. Not always but sometimes. It’s therapeutic and guitar playing has an athletic aspect that makes it fun to physically just play.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Carli: Usually I get a skeleton of an idea on guitar and mumble melodies over the top till something sticks. I demo while I write so I don’t forget anything. If I get stuck, I send whatever I have to my bandmates and they help me build it out.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Carli: Come to a show. That’s where the best connection happens. Instagram and Twitter get worse every day.
Web – www.palominoblond.com
Bandcamp – https://palominoblond.bandcamp.com
Instagram – https://instagram.com/palomino_blond
Facebook – https://facebook.com/palominoblond
Twitter – https://twitter.com/palominoblond
Tik Tok – https://tiktok.com/@palominoblond
What’s next for you?
Carli: We’re working on our next album. We dropped a single called ‘Machine’ that we’re stoked about.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
Carli: We have five more days of tour left. I’m writing this from the venue in Nashville. We just finished sound-checking. I had some boba tea afterwords which made me feel good. I have to reward myself with little treats on the road because between the shows, there’s not very much fun stuff that makes being on the road feel worthwhile. I’m half joking, I mean, I love hanging out with my bandmates, just most of the time we’re in the van and one persons driving, other person’s sleeping, and I’m doing my best to psych myself out of feeling carsick. Hoping to do more touring soon. Come to a show.
