The local Alternative/Pop-Punk band, Pinkleef, is releasing their new EP album, Chasing Doubt, on Saturday Feb. 12. Composed of juniors Will Valentine, MHS; Ian Fletcher and Colman Jin, John Burroughs; Adam Jacobson and Henry Zimmerman, Clayton; Pinkleef will also perform at Cicero’s that same day to promote their new album. They took a moment to chat with us about their album, their fans and some of their future plans.
Let’s cover the basics first. How did the band start?
Zimmerman: “It was summer in 2008, after eighth grade.”
Jacobson: “I wanted to start a band. I did community service with Ian so he joined, and then Colman joined too. We got a MySpace and we got a show based on stuff I recorded on my own. Henry was a last minute addition.”
Zimmerman: “Ian used to play bass and do vocals, but he wanted to just sing. He was buddies with Will in soccer, so then Will joined and took over the bass.”
So how did the band name Pinkleef originate?
Jacobson: “We weren’t creative enough to come up with a name, so we went on an online band name generator. Up came ‘pink leaf,’ so we shortened it and spelled it incorrectly.”
Tell us about what each band member does for the band.
Valentine: “I play bass guitar. All of the guys are awesome; they’re great musicians.”
Zimmerman: “I play the guitar.”
Jin: “I play drums, and that’s it. I’m also in the group shots, but that doesn’t count.”
Jacobson: “I play the guitar and sing. My biggest contribution to the band is that I write most of the songs. Ian and I write the songs and then adapt them to the band. Ian sings; he’s very critical.”
Jin: “He has a godly voice.”
Zimmerman: “He’s the third best vocalist (tenor) in his age range in MO.”
How is Chasing Doubt different from your previous album, Ellipsis?
Jacobson: “We have a lot more experimental things [in Chasing Doubt]. There are a lot of guitars, bass, vocals and drums. We even have a tambourine and a reversed piano. For this album, we took full advantage of having songs go back and forth between Ian and me and having us interacting more. It’s a pretty good album. It’s getting attention from many record labels—the guy that signed 3OH!3 is going to listen to it.”
Do you guys have a lot of fans?
Jacobson: “We have about 1200 fans in MySpace. We have fans in random places like Australia, France, Brazil and other South American countries. We actually have some fans in St. Louis too.”
What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever done?
Zimmerman: “Well, there was this one girl who made shirts with our faces on them. They were like photos of our faces on the shirts. Then there was this other girl, we had an acoustic song, ‘Everything I am,’ and she made covers of it in Youtube. It’s a three-minute song, and she split it into three videos.”
Jacobson: “Usually, people aren’t creepy. They don’t know who we are. I like it when fans go ‘Hey, what’s up?’ not when they freak out.”
Zimmerman: “I kind of like it. It’s not like I’m going to talk to them, but it’s fun.”
So what can Pinkleef fans expect from the band in the future?
Jin: “We are about to start going on college radios. We’ve been on 105.7 The Point before, and they played one of our old songs, ‘Memories Pt. 2.’’
Jacobson: “They play songs that are radio-friendly. Also, Chasing Doubt will be in iTunes on Feb. 12. It’s going to be five full band songs plus a surprise.”
Jin: “Our fans will have to go to the concert to get the surprise, though; it’s not going to be online.”
Zimmerman: “We’re also going on tour this summer, but we’re not sure yet. It would be two tours – two weeks each. We’re tagging along with other bigger artists.”