What if Buddy Holly shed his wholesome image back in the day and transcended eras to join up with the New York Dolls in the 70s? The musical effect would undoubtedly be a mirror image of the rising Nashville based rockers, The Pink Spiders. On Saturday, The Pink Spiders played a sold-out 9:30 Club, along with Young Love, opening for the D.C.-influenced Good Charlotte.
Right now, many people may not have heard of The Pink Spiders, but they will soon enough. Named as one of Alternative Press’s “100 Bands You Need to Know in 2006,” The Pink Spiders are riding high with their debut album from Geffen Records, “Teenage Graffiti,” a high intensity sugar rush drawing on the themes of rockstars’ tour life: sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Produced by Cars frontman, Ric Ocasek, “Teenage Graffiti” is the perfect blend of old school egotistical rock 80s power pop. Essentially, the The Pink Spiders is like Panic! At the Disco, fun danceable closet music for the average emo kid.
Influenced by bands ranging from The Beatles and The Beach Boys to The Clash and Against Me!, The Pink Spiders have a simple, infectious, unruly pop-rock sound all their own. Touring almost continuously since the release of their debut album, the band is gaining increased attention among the teenage music community for originality and crazy shows. While playing a slot on this summer’s Warped Tour, the band expanded their fan base to include audiences of the hardcore and emo genres of rock. “We stuck out like a sore thumb on that tour, but it was good for us to stand out. It was definitely better not to be another run of the mill band,” Matt Friction, the frontman of The Pink Spiders.
Onstage, the band channels their inner rock stars to create a whirlwind of frenzied chaos. Thrashing about on their instruments, flipping off the crowd, and playing with cigarettes in their mouth, the stage is where these boys were destined to be. “We have a good time and don’t take ourselves too seriously. We have fun, but sometimes too much fun,” Friction said.
Concerning the odd match up of their current tour-mates, Friction doesn’t flinch. “They [Good Charlotte] asked us to do it, and it has been one of the best tours we have ever done,” Friction said. “They bring huge crowds, with real music fans. [Plus] we aren’t afraid of people hating us.”
The tour will end, but The Pink Spiders aren’t going anywhere with their sing along pop infused rock. In the coming months the band will be venturing off to Europe and then come back to the States for a co-headlining tour with Kill Hannah. After the New Year they will take some time off and then hopefully head back into the studio to record a sophomore album. But for now, The Pink Spiders are making their mark on each venue and city they play; take it from their opening song “Soft Smoke”: “Let’s see what trouble we can get in tonight/Cause everywhere I go its like the end of the world.”
