Search This Blog

Saturday, February 23, 2013

A Gentlemanly Conversation with Night Panther



           The last few weeks have been a little crazy, so I haven't been able to do much in the way of interviews.  However, that all changes today with the first of what should be a couple of weeks of new interviews!  This week I sat down with Night Panther, 3 guys from Doylestown PA who make some pretty funky music.  We talked about being based in the suburbs, songwriting influences, and sexy band names!

Who is Night Panther?
Night Panther is Farzad Houshiarnejad, Michael Cammarata, Christopher Radwanski

How'd you come up with the name?
We wanted to be called Black Panther strictly because it sounded sexy, but we couldn’t do that for obvious reasons. Thus, Night was the sexiest word next to Black.

So you guys wanted a sexy name?
Precisely! It’s recession proof.

How did you guys get started?
We were in two other bands together, but it just wasn't the music we wanted to make.  Night Panther was something we wanted to do for a while, and when our last band separated it was the perfect opportunity.

What is "Sex Pop?"
Its a collection of everyday thoughts put into a genre.

What do you mean by that?
Its nothing you want to spend too much time on really, its just a name, kind of like when you have a baby and you need to name it something before you even like it

You guys identify as being from Doylestown PA.  How does living in a small suburb affect your music?
Theres less of a chance catching HIV. But the music would be created the same way, whether its in a city or a suburb.

Do you think the music scene is much different in the suburbs?
Not that much different. Everyone seems to know what they're going for.

Who would you guys say your major influences are?
Top 40, the post punk synth legends, phil collins, tom cruise etc.

Anyone more specifically?
Jean Claude Van Dame (we really mean that)

How do you guys approach songwriting?
There are all sorts of stages that go into the writing process, and in no particular order. Lyrics are usually never written first. They start off with a very strong feeling of emotion that eventually molds into a song. Nothing is ever pre-planned. Lots of drinking.

What do you think sets you guys apart from others in your genre?
Thats for the listeners to decide.

You guys seem to be conveying a certain style in your pictures, and music videos.  Has that been something developed with your music or before?
At first all we wanted to do is wear fur coats, even before we finished a song. As we started to come into our own we developed a style that merged its way in and out of our music. As we matured as musicians we took ourselves more seriously...we remember our first practice very well. fur coats. no shirts. lots of Budweiser with limited edition American flag cans...it sounded like a gorillas first mating call.

What goals do you guys have for your music?
To make a living on it until we get to the point where its depressing to still be doing it.

What's the hardest thing for you guys about writing music?
Lyrics. Shit takes forever. 

Can we be expecting an LP soon?
We're going to continue to record and release music for free until we get a 360 deal or 10/90 split.

You release all your music for free.  Why do you think that's a good way to do business?
We sell our songs on bandcamp, a dollar per song. But you can also download it for free on soundcloud. It's the listener’s choice to either purchase or download, we've been happy with the outcome so far.

As always I want to thank these guys for taking the time to talk with us.  Check out their soundcloud and bandcamp to hear some of their music and like their facebook to hear about updates.  Check out their new song Lioness below!


Need more interviews?  I don't blame you.  Check out our interviews with Professor Elemental and Blanche Blanche Blanche.  Also like us on facebook to keep up with new music and bands 


No comments:

Post a Comment