Rae: This is Rae, reporting live from Kennet Square! Okay, for those of… those who don’t know, how did Breaking Pangaea come into existence?
Will: I’ll take that one. I saw Fred play in his old band, Brody in a basement in West Philadelphia, and it was just coincidentally…
Rae: Wait, where in West Philly?
Will: 45th and Osage…? It was a random house show, there was a party and a band in the basement. And it turns out that Clint was playing in another band, that was… Never Lets Go. So I saw Fred play, and a couple months later, I found that his band was no longer. So I searched him out as far as playing, and things clicked, and he said hey, I know this guy who plays bass, that was Clint. And that was two and a half years ago.
Cece: This is Cece! Are there any bands or artists that you guys, individually, or as a band, draw inspiration from?
Fred: David Lee Roth! I grew up on 80s guitar and that’s pretty much a big influence on me, plus more recently I’ve been into a lot of great singers, and… sorry.
(Fred wanders off to talk to someone.)
Fred: That was the guy running the show! But of course we like a lot of the bands that, like...uh... I pass!
Clint: I guess I like the same bands that everybody else likes. You know, At the Drive-in, Coheed and Cambria. Inspiration-wise, I like classic rock. I rock out to the classic rock station.
Fred: Led Zeppelin…
Clint: Yeah.
(Rae tells a terrible classic rock joke that should not be repeated.)
Rae: Someone explain the songwriting process to me, what’s that like?
Fred: Basically, I strum chords by myself and hum things over them and start to make words out of them. That becomes the start of a song. I bring it to the guys, and we spend a lot of hours, uh…
Will: Ruining all of Fred’s stuff!
Fred: Exactly, they reject stuff. It’s like putting it through a filter, and what ends up at the end is something all three of us concocted, and made into a Breaking Pangaea song.
Cece: What is each one of your favorite Breaking Pangaea songs and why?
Fred: I like “Lullaby,” because it makes…I was going to say something stupid. I was going to say it makes my heart flutter. It has a lot of personal meaning to me.
Clint: I like “Suspended” best. As soon as we started playing it live, it automatically became my favorite song, and then we recorded it, and I don’t know, it is by far the best one to me.
Will: Mine would have to be “Turning,” because of what went into it. It’s a different song from the rest of the songs on both the CDs and even ones we haven’t recorded. Making it was a lot different, it took a tremendous amount of time and effort and mental anguish, I guess. It’s like, blood, sweat, and tears.
Rae: What’s the hardest thing about the road?
Clint: It probably sucks the most for Fred because he’s a vegan, so there’s nothing for him to eat on the road. I guess it’s tough to be in a van for three months with two other people.
Will: Nothing’s tough about the road. I get to eat all the food I wish I was eating at home. The sleep pattern’s fine, and you don’t get to shower very often, or change your clothes, but I’m totally okay with that.
Cece: What’s the best thing about the road?
Will: I already answered that! But performing, doing it five days a week is the best, too.
Clint: The OTHER best thing about the road is diving off cliffs in California, which is something you don’t get to do every day. Oh, and pulling off to the side of the road, and there’s a beautiful mountaintop, and me and Fred get out and look at it. And Willie sits in the car and complains about it. “The mountain’s too high!”
Rae: How long are you guys going to continue touring before you go back in the studio?
Fred: We’re writing new stuff right now, and then we’re touring from the summer to December, and then January is when we’re thinking about recording the new record.
Cece: For each of you, in five words or less, describe your music for those who have never heard it.
Will: In less than five words? Rock.
Clint: Let’s see. Soulful…melodic…punk…ish…ZEEOW!
Fred: Fabas! We fit that into every interview, don’t ask…
Rae: In one word, each of you describe your other band mates. Will and Clint, what’s one word for Fred?
Clint: Crazy!
Will: Weird.
Rae: Will and Fred, what about Clint?
Will: That’s really really hard. I know I’m easy and Fred’s easy, but... I would describe Clint as hard.
Fred: That’s not accurate! I would say, kinda cute? Teen-ager-ish…
Rae: How would you two (Fred and Clint) describe Will?
Clint: Mean!
Fred: Uh…is nerd too bad? How about mathematical?
Cece: Fred, do you think you’ll ever find a way to keep your glasses securely affixed to the bridge of your nose for an entire set?
Fred: Yes, I’m going to try to get hooks on the arms as soon as I can.
Rae: Clint, what does your tattoo mean? We always try to look at it while you’re playing, but we can’t see.
Clint: It’s a symbol I’ve drawn since I was little. I don’t know what it means, but I just decided it must mean… me.
Rae: It means “Clint-tastic?”
Clint: Clint-fabuloso!
Cece: Will… can I touch your hair?
Will: Yes!
(Cece caresses Will, and we part ways so that the boys can go bring their rock to the masses.)
