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Pale Oaks are a newly formed playing heavy pop music as they describe their own music. Tomorrow, Saturday April 8th, we’ll have the chance to get to know them a bit better, at Romantso, supporting One Leg Mary. Meanwhile, you can read the following interview… But before, make sure you press the play button!

Feel free to introduce Pale Oaks to our readers…

Pale Oaks started out as a solo project by me (Akis Vogiatzis-vocals/guitars) after my previous band Satelights decided to call it quits a day. I wrote a few songs and with the help of Manolis Giannikios (Whereswilder) on drums we recorded seven songs at Unreal Studios with Alex Ketenjian and Costas Ragiadakos. To be able to perform the songs I asked for help from some of my friends. I used to play with Theo (drums) and John (guitars/vocals) in Satelights and Dimitris (bass/vocals) I knew from supporting his band We.Own.The.Sky. We went on tour and had a blast and I beg them daily to be permanent members of the band ever since.

Having listened to only 2 songs for this one ‘Thieves’ & ‘Disasters’ I noticed that melody plays a significant role in your music, along with a distinctive amplifiers’ use. So heavy pop should be the term, right?

For many years pop used to be a dirty word most people associated with crappy music, but it takes a lot of skill to write great songs and get everything you need to say across in under 4 minutes. We come from a punk-rock/hardcore/metal background so we put our own spin on it using low tunings and loud guitars. Hopefully we can make it our thing.

On April 8th, you will be performing at Romantso supporting One Leg Mary. Will any covers be included in your setlist?

We wanted to include a cover but we had a few problems with our studio and had limited time to prepare for the show so we decided against it. It will definitely happen next time though.

What urged you form the band last year? Any previous experience?

I wanted to keep making music after Satelights stopped so I tried singing for the first time after being just the guitarist in bands for many years. It is definitely something I struggle with since I don’t really consider myself a singer but it was the only way to keep making and performing music at the moment. We all were or still are in other bands and knew each other from playing and attending shows.

How was the live experience at Six d.o.g.s with Bandage last December? Baptism of fire?

It was the last show of our first tour in Europe and the Balkans so we were as well prepared as we could be. On the other hand, I feel extra nervous playing in our hometown in front of our friends and some of our favorite musicians.  It was an awesome way to end the tour playing to more people than we expected. Also, Bandage are the best guys we could have hoped to spend 14 days on the road with.

Which bands have influenced you most regarding Pale Oaks’ sound?

We listen to everything from Kendrick Lamar to Meshuggah, but I would say that bands like Biffy Clyro, Thrice, Mew and Phoenix are some common influences between the four of us. Lately we’re really into The 1975.

Plans…Plans…Plans?

We had the chance to tour with our good friends Bandage for a couple of weeks in November and it was an amazing experience and we can’t wait to do it again. We’ll be releasing more songs in the near future and we are writing new material for what will hopefully be a full length record.

A message to our readers from Pale Oaks? Why should we not neglect you?

For some weird reason we saw a few couples making out during our set while we where on tour. So we can pretty much guarantee a successful first date. You can’t go wrong with that.

Photo credits: kppzt

Christos Doukakis