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What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

For some of us, music was an escape. For others, it was this attractive energy that we just had to be a part of. Our current incarnation formed from the ashes of our old band, The Foxery, which was a 6 piece that really had 4 touring members. So eventually those 4 touring members just wanted to recreate the energy we experienced on the road and decided to focus our efforts on Pleasures instead.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

Our latest release is a three song ep that has one our most aggressive songs alongside one of our poppiest songs. And then one that falls somewhere in between. This is the first release with our new drummer and I think it really shows the difference that adding him made to our songwriting. It’s a more loose and without inhibition.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

musically, we’re all over the place but I think one band we all like to some extent is mewithoutYou. The way they’ve evolved over the years and really allowed where they were in life to influence the sound of each record is admirable. I don’t think we sound like them but I know we all pull inspiration from them. Non-musically, I think we’re driven by a desire to want to make our small world a better one to live in. Maybe not as selflessly as it sounds because it’s definitely an outlet for us all. But the thought of positive vibes resonating through someone from us is a good one.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

I’m sure every band says this but I really don’t think you can pinpoint our sound very easily. Maybe each ep has a genre coherence but we jump around so much it’s hard to call it any one thing. Sometimes we’re feeling campy and boppy, sometimes we wanna stomp and be brooding, sometimes we write a folk song and then just bury it in atypical accompaniment. I think a lot of bands these days are so genre hyper-focused that they put out 10 song albums with 10 different takes on one song. And that’s boring to me. Shade galore.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

desert island albums: Neil Young – After The Goldrush Johnny Cash – Live At San Quentin Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer, Different Park

Desert island movies: 28 Days Later, Ice Age, and Big Fish

Desert Island books: Shel Silverstein’s A Light In The Attic, Shel Silverstein’s Falling Up, and Redwall (they might appreciate me specifying that this is Mike answering these questions. They’re all more interesting and cultured than I am.)

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Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

I prefer being in the studio because we built one that we can record in anytime we want and we record all of our own music. So that’s my comfort zone. BUT I definitely start to feel funky if we don’t get out and play live at least every couple months!

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

We have had so many wild and funny moments in this band, I have a hard time picking one. But we put out a weekly podcast called PleasurePod where we often recount a lot of those memories so that’s probably a better place to find that.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

I think our most unique song might be Visitations. We had two of our friends write radio commercials to perform during the song and they’re just strange and unsettling and hopefully create an atmosphere that’s somewhere between campy and disconcerting.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

our future plans include releasing a 16 song LP. One side is 15 one minute songs and the other side is one 15 minute song. We just decided to challenge ourselves and set an arbitrary goal and we’re having a blast writing it!

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

What would be on the menu at a Pleasures restaurant?

-gummi bears

-taco bell chicken flatbreads (bring them back you cowards)

-some sort of flat sodas/stale foods/uncooked vegetables for Trav

-a pasta dish that’s more parmesan cheese than pasta

-copious amounts of chinese dishes

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening:

Connect with Pleasures of the Flesh:

https://www.facebook.com/potfky/ 

https://www.instagram.com/pleasuresflesh/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/68yeLBQinIH3DFQpZWuX16