Pitchshifter: back to rock your world

Pitchshifter, the legendary, genre-defying agent provocateurs, are taking their high-octane show on the road for ‘possibly’ (please note this is the editor’s word not the band’s!) the last time … until the next. JS hilariously summed up the reality of booking tours below. There will also be exclusive vinyl and merch to snap up at the gigs.

JS was asked when the next tour might be as the questioner cannot make the current run. He said:

In advance of the shows, I spoke with rhythm guitarist Tim Rayner about Pitchshifter, the gigs, and much more. You can listen to the interview, on Paul Dupree’s Transmission programme, by clicking the arrow in the image below (chat starts bang on the two-hour mark).

But the rest of the fellas did not get off lightly. Although they are busy rehearsing, I set them some extra-curriculum questions to get their grey matter working. Gotta be switched on for a tour!

Pitchshifter’s favourite tour and gig memories

JS

Which is your favourite Pitchshifter track to play live?

That’s a difficult question; we have a lot of albums. (Check Pitchshifter’s Bandcamp page here.) I love the .com classics like ‘Please Sir’, ‘Microwaved’, ‘wysiwyg’, and ‘Genius’; however, ironically, they’re some of the hardest to sing (they’re pretty high for a baritone). I guess if it’s gun to my head, it’s ‘Microwaved’.

What is the likely setlist going to be for the upcoming tour? Spoiler alert!

Well, playing live is a different consideration to making a record. The goal is to keep the set moving along at a decent pace. And so, although there are a few slower songs to give the room a break, the set mainly comprises up-tempo bangers. Some old, some new. You’ll have to come to a show to see!

Mark

Apart from Pitchshifter, which is your favourite live band you have seen?

One of my favourite live bands is Nails, I have never seen such intensity and mosh pit carnage in my life.

After all these years, do you get nervous before you play live?

I don’t get nervous, I get excited. It’s awesome that people still want to come out to shows to see a band I started in 1989!

Dan

In your Pitchshifter career, what is the funniest thing you have seen while playing live, either happening in the crowd or on stage?

When playing live, the show flies past in a bit of a blur – it’s a mixture of adrenaline, stress, ecstasy, and hilarity – all at once. In terms of interactions with the band during a show, I’m obviously stage right of our Glorious Leader. When I’m in full ‘splayed leg rock pose’, Jon would occasionally crawl through my legs and look up at me, grinning maniacally, OR kick one of my feet away, OR stamp on my pedalboard, which always made me laugh.

One funny/odd crowd incident sticks in my mind – we were playing a show at the Charlotte in Leicester. It’s a sweatbox and was rammed. The walls were dripping before we played a note and we were escorted through the crowd to reach the stage. I remember feeding Cheesy Quavers (editor’s note: other junk snacks are available) to audience members en route.

Unfortunate stuck bottle episode

It’s a tiny club so we were nose-to-nose with the crowd. There was a girl stood right in front of me with her finger stuck in her beer bottle to stop her from spilling it. The first tune dropped, the whole place kicked off, and the same girl got her finger broken in the melée whilst it was still stuck in the bottle. She showed it to me in the break after the first song and told me to STOP THE SHOW! Security took good care of her but the odd angle of her ‘bottle finger’ has always stayed with me. I just hope it wasn’t her important finger. (Editor’s note: a person’s pointing finger is important. Right, Dan?)

What do you like most about touring? If such a thing exists!

On the upside, touring is a complete privilege, a chance to step out of an ordinary life to do something extraordinary, which so few people get to experience. The bond between band and crew can be incredibly powerful. I love the post-gig haze, sat in the lounge on the bus, chilling and hanging with friends with whom I’ve done amazing things but who I don’t normally get to spend any meaningful time with. I also love the racket we make. On the downside, well, someone is making a film about that…

Tim

What has been your most outlandish rider request?

I’m a man of humble means, so my usual rider requests are generally just a blanket ban on dead animals with absolutely nothing to be sourced from the local wet market.

In my younger, silly days, however, I would request left-handed paraphernalia and things that were generally difficult to source or that didn’t exist. This only really worked abroad; however, and even then it was a stretch.

Can you name your favourite Pitchshifter gig you have played?

The Queen Charlotte was definitely the most raucous. Punk A.F. We all loved it. The local yoot graffiti’d the tour bus free of charge whilst we were playing. If memory serves me, JS actually met one of the artists in person mid-spray, who then kindly removed the paint he’d applied with his shirt and jacket and possibly his face and hair.

We played a festival in Estonia one year called Rabarock. That was new territory for me and Tallinn is a beautiful city. We had a dressing room next to The Fall. That must’ve been one of Mark E Smith’s last shows. Anyway, we had a guest vocalist from a big Estonian band. He was going totally nuts on stage and decided to leap into the crowd at the end of the song. He landed on the security barrier, luckily cushioned by his ribs and face. It seemed to happen in slow motion and amazingly he didn’t die.

Simon

Which is the best venue you have ever played in/favourite support act?

ROCK CITY BABY BLACKGOLD OBVS!

Tour dates

A gentle warning to Nottingham folk. At time of writing, there are tickets available for the hometown show. Unless you want me to send Simon round to yours I suggest you nab the last tickets.

SOLD OUT Tuesday, 26 November @ Thekla, Bristol

Wednesday, 27 November @ Gorilla, Manchester

Thursday, 28 November @ Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea

SOLD OUT Friday, 29 November @ The Garage, London

Saturday, 30 November @ Rock City, Nottingham

Enjoy!

I grabbed a photo of Dan, Si, and Tim at the rehearsal studio. Was sounding phenomenal. Don’t miss the live experience.

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