Blog

Brand New Recording. Brand New Rules.

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:08:00 GMT

You may have heard our new demo up on the splash page of our web site; and while we're proud of ourselves for learning how to record demos and use our studio gear, it seems the forces from the musical heavens are telling us to focus on playing with our toys (guitars/drums/keyboards, etc). We're not sound engineers, but it is fun messing with recording gear in the P&B home studio. In the last few months, we've written so many songs, we don't even know what to do with them. There are at least 19 new ideas as of now and I doubt we are going to be stopping there. These tunes are so new, we don't have titles for them. We'd never actually call a song 'Taco Bell Song' or 'Legend of Zelda Song' (#13 and #18 in the pic). Right as we were scratching our heads trying to figure out what to do with all these new ideas, our friend Julio, who happens to be a very talented sound engineer/producer/musician, expressed an interest in recording our new material. While we had no intention of recording official new material anytime soon, it sounded like a fun time and we didn't see any harm in being spontaneous and trying this out.

So, last Saturday night, we dove right in. This will be our first official recording in over a year and a half and there are at least 5 reasons we can think of why this is an exciting experience:

1) It's all brand new. Everything. Our songwriting process, the recording process, and even the music we're creating doesn't resemble the Pinto and the Bean we remember. As you know, we took a good six month break from making music, and the band almost fell apart; but somehow, that break really helped us bond in a new way as songwriters, band mates, and friends; it's all a new dynamic now, and a brand new journey as a band.

2) It's just plain fun to be recording a brand new song; it's so new, we don't even have finalized lyrics or a title for it yet. To give you an idea, it's got some badass drumming and weird guitar tricks we haven't used before as well as new keyboard sounds we've been experimenting with; we played this tune at our recent Empty Bottle gig and saw a bunch of people shakin' their booties, so that's a good sign.

3) We're recording this song with a sound engineer/producer we've never worked with before, which will ultimately alter the overall outcome/sound/vibe of our music. Paul has recorded a catalog of solo music with Nick (the producer/engineer of our album 'The Waiting Place' and director of 3 of our music videos) for several years; while a lot of great recordings came from our experiences with him, it's wonderful to move on and experience the recording process in a brand new way with a different perspective on things; it's a whole new direction we haven't gone in before.

4) We're already halfway done with the recording of our new tune, which is pretty amazing. This process is going by at record speed, which is not something we're used to. Not to say that getting things done so quickly is right or wrong, but different is always a good thing.

5) We'll let you know as soon as it's done of course. Make sure you're signed up to our mailing list for that and you'll be hearing from us soon.

Julio, engineer/producer or our new song, in the P&B living room doing some mad mixing.

Paul's Stab Wound and 34 Stitches

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:19:00 GMT

I've never been in a serious accident in my life until a little less than two weeks ago. I guess it wasn't too serious (well actually it was) but I remember thinking to myself while they were operating on me in the hospital how one minute you can be totally fine, and 10 minutes later you might just be surrounded by doctors preparing to sew 34 stitches into your lower back for a "stab wound". No, I wasn't actually stabbed but that's the status they told me it falls under. In fact, they kept asking me "how did this happen?" and I honestly didn't know.

Well, let me back up a little bit here. It was two nights before our Empty Bottle gig (which was a ton of fun BTW and thanks to those of you who came out to support our first show in over 6 months...if I wasn't moving around too much on stage, you'll soon know why). So, we spent the night rehearsing the new songs and preparing for the show. I wish I could remember the exact order of events here...it must have been around 11:30pm when we finished practicing...Ivan and I were having a conversation and I just remember walking into the room and feeling something sharp rub up against my back, and I jumped onto his futon. Then I touched my back with my hand and there was blood all over my fingers. Guess what I did next? I started to FREAK OUT! And when I told Ivan "I think I need to go to the hospital", he took a look at my back and he REALLY started freaking out. I knew right at that moment that this was bad. Ivan started scurrying around to get a jacket, my puppy Truman was running in circles barking like a nut and obviously scared; he hadn't seen this kind of insanity before; Ivan gave me a towel to wrap around my back. I could see blood just gushing onto the floor. Luckily I wasn't in much pain (possibly from the few tequila shots I had earlier in the night?), but the amount of blood coming out of my body was grossing me out and scaring me at the same time. We still had no idea what it was that could have caused something like this, but it didn't matter right then.

So we jumped in the van; Ivan drove me to Saint Mary's Hospital and we went directly to the emergency room; I was still wrapped in this towel which I'm certain will never be used again. Luckily this hospital is just a few blocks from my place so we got there probably 10 minutes after this bloody mess happened. Now, I can understand Ivan freaking out at whatever the hell my back must have looked like, but seeing the faces of the hospital staff didn't exactly comfort me either. They all just asked the same question, "how did this happen?" I don't know how this happened but I'm going to find out as SOON as I get back home. At that moment I was thinking that maybe Ivan had some sharp/pointy object on his futon, like a knife or scissors or something and that I possibly cut myself when I jumped onto it.

So they take me to an operating table and start pouring water over this "wound" to clean it and keep it from getting infected; I asked, "how bad could this possibly be?" and one nurse just said "You know how when you open a biology book and see a really horrific open wound? That's what this looks like. It's really bad and it's about 5 inches long" I guess that's all I needed to know. From that point on, they numbed me with several injections and immediately started sewing me back together. The nurse said I would be getting a minimum of 30 stitches and also a CAT Scan because this wound was so deep, it would require additional X-rays to ensure my kidneys or lungs weren't also hurt in any way. In fact, the wound was deep enough to be labeled "stab wound". Luckily, the CAT Scan results turned out to be fine; I ended up getting 34 stitches - 16 deep stitches and 18 skin stitches. Well, after two hours of being at the hospital, I was sewed back together and ready to go home and rest (and take painkillers of course, but honestly, I never felt much pain in the first place - I'm guessing because of the location of the wound).

So, if you've read this far, you're probably interested in knowing what it was that caused all this. Ivan searched and searched until he found out exactly what was responsible for this 5 inch gash in my lower back. The doorknob of the room where this happened is made of glass and it was broken into an awkward and sharp looking piece; there was an obvious bloodstain on the sharp pointed corner of it and it's at the same height that my stitches are at if I'm standing up, so the mystery was solved. I must have rubbed up heavily against this sharp corner of the broken doorknob when I walked into that room earlier. Ivan found the other half of it on the floor. When and how did this doorknob even break? That's a good question. It's amazing that something we use every day is capable of causing a 'stab wound' and most likely a permanent scar. But I'm feeling okay and the stitches will be taken out this coming Monday. I'm hoping it's not infected in any way. I've been cleaning it and putting Neosporin on it each day. Anyhow, that's the story of the week :-) I know it's not very music related for a band blog, but hey, the incident did happen right next to our practice space...and on that note, it's time to get back to recording.

Yeah, not the prettiest thing
but I'd rather see this than what it
must have looked like when it was open

We've Got 3 New Bandmates!

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 07:05:00 GMT

Yep, we got some new band members. They aren't necessarily human though. In case you didn't already know, Ivan is a major keyboard junkie and he quickly falls in love with the right set of keys. He has an obsession with some very specific keyboards from the 1980's, and well, he recently got these sweet babies. Well, they actually aren't babies since they're so old...well wait, one of them IS a baby...check em out.

Ivan: This is one of my dreams come true; I grew up listening to 80's music and this is one of the guys that helped mark a definitive sound of those years. I feel butterflies in my chest every time I hear its sweet sounds. This is my new lover named JUNO - yeah, Juno-60 Roland and I'm going to play with him a lot and we're going to make music together.....I LOVE JUNO TO DEATH.

Ivan: This is another new lover; I hope Juno doesn't get jealous; I have enough love to give to both of them; this handsome guy is the DX7 Yamaha, but i call him Yami D. It's another amazing synth that added a very specific sound to the 80's. Many people consider it to be one of the best syths ever made, which I AGREE with. I'm super excited to play with Yami D and obviously we're excited to make music together too.

Paul: Oh yeah, so this last one isn't a keyboard...when Ivan gets birthday gifts for his friends, he tends to defy all expectations. Well, this past year, when I opened up Ivan's gift, there was a little rat in it. I was flabbergasted to say the least...and I thought to myself, "Wow, a rat! Cool! Thanks Ivan!" So the rat grew, and eventually one day, through the biological process of metamorphosis, it became a little dog. A close contender for a name was Elvis, but he ended up being named Truman. And now, he wags his little stump-tail when we rock out in the practice space. He'll play bass in the band when he's old enough to get into the bars (he's only 6 months old currently).

Reminder folks - our first show in over 6 months is this Tuesday night, February 12 at Empty Bottle! It just so happens to be our favorite music venue AND it just so happens to be a free show! But it's ONLY free if you RSVP by clicking this link and following the instructions on the page. You MUST RSVP before midnight on Monday night, February 11 in order to avoid paying an $8 cover. Sorry for all the capitalized words, but we'd love to see you at the show, and we'd hate to see you pay a cover if you don't have to. See you Tuesday night!

2012 - The Year of Change

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:59:00 GMT

Life is, for the most part, pretty unpredictable. As much as you're sure you have a grasp on the future, the unexpected is to be expected at any moment. You could meet the love of your life on the train tomorrow. You could lose the best friend you ever had today. You might win a trip to Disney World the next time you look under a Pepsi bottle cap (does Pepsi even give away Disney World vacations?). You might fall and break your leg the next time you head to the bathroom (which would be pretty embarrassing). Circumstances are unpredictable. People are even more unpredictable. Such a complex species...humans...

2012 demonstrated itself to be a year of change. Some experienced incredibly positive change in their lives while others went through some very dark times. You can decide whether or not this had anything to do with the energy shift on our planet. According to the Mayans, it wasn't the world that was ending in 2012; rather, a major change was happening in the collective human spirit. Is there a truth to this? I don't know, but what I CAN say with certainty is that I witnessed more people go through major life changes in 2012 than I've ever seen before. It was pretty crazy.

Speaking of change...where has Pinto and the Bean been? The last show we played as P&B was back in July of 2012. If you're on our mailing list, you received our newsletter regularly. We were pretty hip to the happenings of facebook and twitter. You could find us hanging out regularly at various local venues checking out different bands. Then bam...we were just gone...why?

Shit happens. Life's a roller coaster ride and that's pretty much the best answer we can give. You could say we took a break from our music and from ourselves, and to be honest, there was no telling whether or not we'd be coming back. Ultimately, battles were won, and here we are because we still care tremendously about the music we create and the people who support what we do. Many of you have become close friends; you know who you are.

So, it's 2013; as we slowly emerge from a twilight zone that closed out 2012, we're excited to say that we're writing and recording new music...not to sound cheesy or anything, but having disconnected from the music scene for so long, we feel like a new band...not really like 'Pinto and the Bean' - but more like...'Peanut and the Butter'....yep, there goes the nerdiness...it had to come out at some point. But seriously, something feels different in everything we do now, and we don't know whether or not you'll like it; we don't even know what the future holds for us. But, for the first time, we're completely on our own as musicians; we have no producer or engineer holding our hands during the creative process or influencing our decision making...we've just got ourselves, our home studio, and about 20 new song ideas which we're working with. Many of them have been turned into raw demos, which we're super excited to share with you soon. In fact, head on over to the 'enter' page of our site to listen to a quick minute long snippet of an untitled new song. When my dad took a listen to some of the demos, he said "now you're writing music for people over 30. Hmm...okay...well, why don't you decide for yourself?

We're taking the stage for the first time since July
next month. Our good friends Radiant Devices (a post punk band whose live performance is unlike any other we've ever seen) have invited us to perform with them at our favorite venue Empty Bottle on Tuesday, February 12. It's a birthday party for their singer Mojdeh and also the band's new single release It's the first time in a LOOOONG time that we're gonna get loud, so mark your calendars. We're hoping to have a few of our new song ideas polished enough to perform at this show. As always, contact us with any questions or visit www.pintoandthebean.com for details.

Night Rider Official Music Video Release

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 00:37:00 GMT

Hey ghouls and goblins and all other creatures of the night. SCROLL DOWN BELOW TO CHECK OUT OUR LATEST MUSIC VIDEO FOR NIGHT RIDER. It's crazy how quickly it ended up online. This video was conceptualized, filmed, edited, and released in less than 2 weeks which sort of blows our minds. Special thanks go to the amazing Andy, our good friend and brain behind the video. He suggested we film it at an old abandoned church in downtown Gary, Indiana, so we headed out there one Sunday afternoon and shot the whole thing. Although we had planned quite a bit of the video in advance, we were awestruck by the overall creepy vibe of the church and ended up just being quite spontaneous as we ran through the church like it was our own personal playground, searching for locations to film different scenes. We also want to thank our good friend Jazz who spent so much of her time getting us all dolled up with makeup and to our friend Adriana, singer of Wonderland Honey, who plays the gimp (remember Pulp Fiction?) in the video. Lastly, but certainly not least, thanks to our good friend Johnny for helping us out throughout the day with various tasks. In an upcoming blog, we'll post pictures from that day and soon a 'making of Night Rider' video. But for now, Happy Halloween. Enjoy!

PINTO AND THE BEAN - NIGHT RIDER OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

A New Life Begins

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:22:00 GMT

Howdy folks - this is Paul - I've given permission for my emotions to control the content of this blog entry today; if you're not in the mood for anything deep, then I suggest reading it some other time, or just skipping it altogether. I guess you could say I'm in somewhat of a strange mood because a chapter of my life came to an end today - and I feel it strongly now. I never thought I'd cry as I left work, but today, walking down the stairs and out the door for the last time, I couldn't help it. Tears filled my eyes as I got into my jeep and drove away. Although I'm super excited about the adventure that lies ahead, I sit here questioning what I'll miss of my past. In case you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about, let me back up for a moment - I've been a Bilingual/ESL teacher for Chicago Public Schools since 2005; I've made a very good living in this profession and I truly feel lucky to have been able to survive as well as I have.

But in early January of this year, you could say I "woke up". It occurred to me that I couldn't exist every day in this comfortable life anymore. It's not that I don't like being a teacher. In fact, I often have a blast with my students. It's an incredibly rewarding job, especially when you witness the positive impact you've made on other people's lives. And it's not like I'm trapped in a corporate America 9-5 cubicle. Being a teacher allows you to get creative and be spontaneous. I decided it was NOT the teaching that I disliked. It was my lifestyle that really brought me down. Throughout college, I told myself I would never fall into the trap of becoming a part of the "real world"...and then one day, I found myself living there quite cozily - and for some time, I really enjoyed it. It's easy to get used to a consistent paycheck and benefits that give us peace of mind, but the truth is, I never set out in life to have those things. All I ever wanted was to make music that moved people and to one day do that for a living. In some ways, I feel I've gone backwards, but when I really think about it, I know that becoming a teacher helped me grow as a human being; I feel it has given me a reason to be humble about the journey I'm about to take.

So, I've decided to leave it all behind. I thanked my boss for the opportunity to teach at such a great school. I said goodbye to my students. I'm disconnecting from a world that many people think I'm crazy for leaving, but it must be done. The biggest changes in life happen when we force ourselves to step outside of our comfort zones. The thought of spending every single day working on music is what's always made me feel alive. There is no denying that, but I found a safer place to live for years - and now it's time to head out on a journey into the unknown and see the world from a new perspective. There is no guaranteed paycheck where I'm going and there are no benefits to keep my mind at ease. Musicians sure do have it tough, and maybe that's why so many give up and find jobs in other fields; creating music becomes a memory of their youth or simply a hobby. I guess the thing with me is that I refuse to ever let that happen; I am determined to find a fulfilling life doing what I love. Part of why Ivan and I work so well together is because we are both crazy dreamers that don't let the reality of the world get the best of us.

To close out this blog today, I want to share one of the final lessons I taught students during the last days of school; several of us read the book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" As you know, Pinto and the Bean's album is called "The Waiting Place", and it's named after a pivotal part of this book. When I asked my students what they felt "The Waiting Place" was, quite a few of them really understood the metaphor - it's a place where we've stopped chasing after our dreams; it's a place where we've decided to get jobs we don't really want; it's a place we've chosen to wait for someone else to save us when in fact, only we can save ourselves. I loved hearing these responses from the kids and I let them know that I've been in my own waiting place for quite some time. They needed to understand that I'm not leaving them because I dislike them or I dislike teaching. I'm leaving because I woke up one day and realized it's just time to move on and do exactly what it is I've always wanted to do. Some of them bought copies of "The Waiting Place", which I thought was pretty funny. But when I think of it, our album really is a mirror of exactly what is about to happen and it's pretty exciting. Today is my last day as a professional in the real world. Everything that lies ahead is unpredictable. The adventure is just beginning.

The Birth of Our Band

Fri, 11 May 2012 09:40:00 GMT

One wintery day in 2009, Ivan was headed off to O'Hare airport to jump on a plane to visit family for Christmas; right before he took off, he said something along the lines of "why don't we start up a band as a duo? Things will be easier if we just start something on our own without relying on other musicians to be on the same page as us." We came to this realization that the two of us alone could create a band we were passionate about. So when we started it up in early 2010, we didn't really know what direction it was going to go in musically. We only knew that our songwriting styles and our voices worked well together; the combination of those two elements would be enough to build the structure of this band...so with an acoustic guitar, a drum set, and our voices, we started Pinto and the Bean.

As song ideas were born, we felt like getting a bit more experimental with what we were doing; Paul thought it would be interesting to take his acoustic guitar and morph it into something different by running it through an effects pedalboard; so he started shopping for guitar pedals - Ivan thought about turning his drums into an acoustic/electric hybrid set so he purchased an 80's Simmons electronic drum kit (one of the first electronic drum kits ever made). We bought a microKORG (you've probably seen a band or two or a million use this because it's an incredibly badass little toy). Plenty of other musical contraptions were also purchased along the way. So, to make a long story short - some weird sounds/effects started creeping their way into an otherwise raw/acoustic band. We eventually started playing shows with these new toys and sounds; later we recorded the songs for our album 'The Waiting Place'.

One of the songs on our album is a ballad called "Wake Up" and it happens to be a favorite among many of our fans. If you don't know the song, you can download it for free by signing up on our mailing list in the upper right hand corner of this screen. We recently noticed one of the top search terms for our web site is "Pinto and the Bean Wake Up Lyrics"...which is interesting because we didn't realize people were searching for our lyrics (Did you know all our lyrics are hand written in crayon? You can find them on the music page of our web site). "Wake Up" was actually the first song we wrote together; we hadn't really decided to officially start a band yet but we were experimenting with songwriting anyway. Ivan had a vocal melody idea and chord structure and he had a general vision of what he'd like the lyrics to convey. So we worked on writing the song. Now, you may know 'Wake Up' from our album, but did you know there's a version we recorded with Ivan playing percussion on a garbage can lid? There's some piano in it and other odd instruments as well; when we listen to our album version next to the original recording, they are so completely different - almost like two different bands. Head on over to the secret page of this site to take a listen to the original recording. We just posted it and we'd love to know what you think. Anyway, do we talk too much? We'll stop rambling now. Talk to you soon :-)

New Music Video Now Officially Available!

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:42:00 GMT

Check it out friends! Our third official music video, shot completely on an iPhone, we present to you,

Let's Make Noise

NEW MUSIC VIDEO NOW UP ON THE SECRET PAGE!

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:31:00 GMT

Hey folks! We don't have a bunch to say today. We'll let our newest music video for 'Let's Make Noise' do the talking. It's up on the secret page of our web site RIGHT NOW! All you have to do to check it out is enter your email address in the space below. You'll get immediate access to it before it's officially released to cyberspace next week.

New Music Video Is Here!

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:04:00 GMT

Our ?Let?s Make Noise? music video is HERE! The specific video release date information is listed below. Nick Palazzo, our director and good friend, is just working on the final touches as we write this. We realize many of you are excited to see it; but rather than do the traditional YouTube release as we?ve done in the past, we decided to spice things up a bit?because we?re pinto beans ? and pinto beans are best served spicy.

Two of the ways you can access the video involve you and ourselves watching it together while throwing back a few beers. The other two options are much more cyberspacey if that?s more your thing. So, without further ado, below are 4 ways YOU can check out our music video for ?Let?s Make Noise?.

1) Friday, March 30, 2012 (Double Decker House Party - 2953 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL) The Premier of 'Let's Make Noise' music video. This will be the very first time any human being aside from ourselves will witness this video. We will be releasing the video on a projector at a hot and sweaty house party in Logan Square before our performance. Our good friends 'Bad Bad Meow' will also be releasing their first official music video that night with us. If you like drinking until the early hours of the morning in packed houses, then you'll probably have a bad ass time at this party. Last time we were there, you could barely move! Fair warning. Tune into wluw.org on Thursday, March 29 @ 9pm central time for a 'Battle of the Music Videos' radio interview.

2) Thursday, April 5, 2012 (Beat Kitchen - 2100 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL) - 'Let's Make Noise' video premiers via projector at Chicago's Beat Kitchen before our performance. For those of you who missed the party, this night will be more of an OFFICIAL release of the video, with extra perks. Each person who signs up for the free raffle will receive a goodie bag including a free copy of our album 'The Waiting Place', and opportunities to win free t-shirts, signed posters, drum sticks, and guitar picks. Also, by coming to this show, you will be supporting a good cause. The CCAC (Chicago Children?s Advocacy Center) will have a table set up at the venue to explain how you can prevent sexual child abuse.

3) Thursday, April 12, 2012 (Exclusive Mailing List Members Only Video Release) - 'Let's Make Noise' music video will be released to the 'secret page' of our web site, which is ONLY accessible to our mailing list. Be sure to sign up on our mailing list BEFORE April 12, 2012 to access the video on this date. Click here to sign up now.

4) Thursday, April 19, 2012 (Worldwide Video Release) - 'Let's Make Noise' music video will be officially released via YouTube to the general public at 4 p.m. central time - in order to view it, simply visit pintoandthebean.com/video. More details coming soon on how you can appear in our next music video by helping us promote and share this one.

Respectable Oscars vs. Trashy Grammys

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 06:33:00 GMT

The 2012 Oscars aired this past Sunday and watching the show was a lovely experience. It makes you want to sit back, relax and order a pizza to go with a nice glass of wine. It's three hours of seemingly honest appreciation and recognition in the world of film. This year's Oscars resonated with energy, soul, and passion. We haven't seen any of the movies nominated, but that didn't really alter the effectiveness of the show. There was a segment where several random actors/actresses briefly discussed why it is they are so deeply in love with acting and another segment where they discussed in detail what movies truly mean to them; several of the of the award speeches were incredibly inspiring and heartfelt. It's refreshing and liberating to witness people in the movie industry speak highly of one another, and demonstrating gratitude for the awards they receive as a result of the blood, sweat, and tears they put into their passions. All in all, from the beginning of the ceremony to the closing credits, it was a hugely intriguing end entertaining three hours that you didn't want to see come to an end.

Now...let's discuss...the Grammys for a bit...possibly a long bit...sorry to kill the positive vibes but we're artists/musicians here, and honestly, the Grammys, which aired a few weeks back, just stink. They're a pile of dog poop sitting on a sidewalk on a hot summer day. It's very difficult to admire the Grammys and the funny thing is that the show is set up in a very similar fashion as the Oscars. There are similar types of speeches, acknowledgements, and awards, all given to professionals in the music industry who apparently deserve all this praise. Here's the big difference between the Oscars and the Grammys. The Oscars FEEL carefully thought out and sincere (hopefully they actually are). The Grammys FEEL confused and plastic-like; there doesn't seem to be much integrity that goes into choosing the best acts of the year. See, the music industry has been crumbling apart ever since underground artists/bands discovered avenues of promoting themselves online. Whereas in the past, musicians at the top of the food chain (a.k.a. megastars such as Lady Gaga, Green Day, Foo Fighters, etc...) had all the power over the independent world of music, today, the playing field is the same for everyone; if you make smart decisions and work hard as an indie artist, you can definitely make a living in the music industry today. Many of these bands/artists whom you have never even heard of are turning their art into full time careers, by carving out their own little niches, finding die hard fans, and living their music dreams. Because there are SO many artists out there who are successfully doing this, the music industry is in a serious state of confusion - major label acts are no longer selling nearly as much product as they were 10 years ago because now they're competing with the world of independent musicians; indie music has skyrocketed to become a HUGE part of the music market. Because the world of music has changed dramatically, die hard music fans now have access to a wider variety of music than they ever did before; the internet has opened up so many doors for artists and people are no longer forced to listen to what the mainstream industry throws at us - music fans can now pick and choose; it's sort of like being at a candy store.

So what does this have to do with the Grammys being trashy? Well, it seems the Grammys only acknowledge what's hot on the Billboard charts, while ignoring the ENORMOUS amount of independent music being created and released. Many of these bands are ones you've seen perform at your favorite music festivals; you purchase tickets to their concerts months in advance; you buy their merchandise and music as soon as it's available; you adore them and thousands of other people do too - this seems to be where the Grammys are confused. They KNOW you're a die hard music fan out there and that an enormous amount of independent bands are making very noticeable dents in the music industry; but it's not noticeable enough to the mainstream viewing public, so would nominating any of them on the Grammys look attractive to its audience? The Grammys need to be on top of what's hip. These bands DO make very good livings as professional artists, but they aren't on the top 40 Billboard charts selling as many records as Adele, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Nickelback, and many others. It's not that any of these artists mentioned are bad. These musicians certainly work very hard on their craft, just as independent musicians do. This is NOT why the Grammys stink. The Grammys stink because everything about them seems to be a popularity contest which concerns only those listed in the top of the charts. That's understandable, and the Grammys tried to trick us into thinking they knew what was cool in 2011 by awarding Arcade Fire with the best album of the year. But really, that was a desperate attempt for them to show they knew something about art when they clearly don't. Bottom line is this: the music industry has fallen apart - the Grammys don't know left from right or up from down, so they choose to nominate what's hot and popular to the mainstream public even though they're very well aware the music industry is in such a huge state of change, and the independents are slowly but surely taking over.

Maybe the film industry is as bad as the music industry, but it just doesn't seem to be as blatantly obvious. It seems to truly embrace the beauty of film and what it stands for. The Oscars seem to want to acknowledge the people out there trying to do something different with their passions and those people who are trying to make a difference in the world to make it a better place. That's why art SHOULD be acknowledged, but right now the music industry is having an identity crisis and the Grammys don't seem to understand that.

93 Band Name Ideas We Had Before Choosing 'Pinto and the Bean'

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:05:00 GMT

*scroll to the bottom of this blog post to read the 93 different band name ideas we had before finally setting on 'Pinto and the Bean'

In June of 2010, we decided this little rock & roll project of ours needed a band name. We had already written half a dozen songs since January of that year and the band certainly couldn't perform concerts without a name. Soon, the thought occurred to us to ask people for their favorite band name ideas and to eventually settle on the one we liked best among all the choices. We headed out to concerts, parties, and festivals and also sent out emails to friends. When there were 100 band name suggestions, we decided to narrow down the list to a handful we liked. 'Pinto and the Bean' was obviously one of the choices. It was sort of funny and it was definitely memorable. It also wasn't such an over the top idea that people wouldn't take us seriously if we did choose it as our name. Whenever people heard 'Pinto and the Bean', they either smiled or laughed, and almost everyone was amused by it. It sort of had a Foo Fighters ring to it. 'Foo Fighters' sounds silly at first, but when you take a listen to any of their songs, you know right away they take their music seriously. Well, our band name may be silly, but we certainly care about the music we put into the world; more importantly, we hope it makes a difference in other people's lives.

So, in the end, it definitely was a tough decision to choose 'Pinto and the Bean' as our band name - for the same reason it's difficult to make any major decision life. Once you do, it's not easy to go back and change it. Yes, there have been moments we've been self conscious about it, and we wondered if people pigeonhole our music into a certain category. What kind of picture does our band name paint in a stranger's mind when hearing it for the first time? Well, we chose 'Pinto and the Bean', be it awkward, silly, memorable or all of those things and more. Popeye the sailor man said 'I am what I am and that's what I am'. For better or worse, our band name is here to stay - and we hope it's not what's on the surface that rocks you, but the energy that lives within the music that does. So, that's our story, and we hope you've enjoyed it.

Scroll to the bottom of this blog post to check out 93 band name ideas people came up with for us. Also, below are the 4 names we were debating upon before choosing 'Pinto and the Bean'

-Coke Babies

-Blue

-No Names

-Paul & Ivan

The following is a list of the band name ideas people came up with. There are more that we can't locate, but here are 93 that we DID find:

93 Band Name Ideas We Had Before
Choosing 'Pinto and the Bean'

-Sound Travels
-Galactic Shamanic Paragdigm
-Brown Town Thank You Ma'am!
-Dumbass Blonde
-Mario Bros.
-2 Raw
-Life Alert
-The Shades
-Cool Water
-The Glacactic Shamanic
-Cheap Beans
-I've Fallen & I Can't Get Up
-Angry Monkeys
-Tampon Lollypop
-Club &
-The Kidney & The Bean
-The Paulivanizers
-We Are Giving You Gold!
-Intergalatic Shamanic
-Strange No Names
-The Crazies
-Fist
-Ignorance Is Bliss
-Pyvan
-Mary Gold
-Organic Fiber Fools
-Chick & The Pea
-The Shadows
-Prison Bitch
-Mighty Lightning
-Double Fist
-Quiet Breath
-Stinky Boys
-Pauly and the Finkleman Doodle Bops
-Pinto and the Bean
-Paulapoluza
-Baby Of 9
-Shamanic Paradigm
-Whereabouts
-Organic Iceberg
-Amy’s Breakheart
-Blueprint
-Looks Better at Dusk
-Glory Hole
-Incases
-Future Mouth
-Punctuation From Mars
-Mario & Luigi
-Neutral 2
-Navy Beans
-Ivan and the Oily Spit Widgets featuring Paul and the Short Stack Sensations
-Flying Fading
-Natural Windblowers
-Banging Against Rusty Rails
-Cuddly Stranger
-Slutty Dumpster
-Galaxy
-Brand New Dawns
-What's Your Middle Name?
-Vergon
-Enigma
-The Argument
-Klutzy Winos
-Thing 1 & Thing 2
-Steamworks
-Paul & Ivan
-Bob's Your Uncle
-Dusty Sanchez and the Teather Speds
-Symbiosis
-Toxic Gasbag
-Dirty Rice
-By, You
-Ivan and the Sappy Japs
-Dust Cloud
-Palvin and the Chipmunks
-Waiting for Melanie
-Coke Babies
-Filfthy Boys
-Annoying Chilean
-Two Beats Off
-The Wet Umbrellas
-The Flaming Hars
-No Names
-Poppy Peterson
-Exit
-A Violet Mind
-The Believers
-Blue
-Life and Limb
-The Watermelon Monsters
-Shoot The Moon
-I Think I Dreamed About You Last Night

93 Band Name Ideas We Had Before Choosing 'Pinto and the Bean'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:26:00 GMT

In June of 2010, we decided this little rock & roll project of ours needed a band name. We had already written half a dozen songs since January of that year and the band certainly couldn't perform concerts without a name. Soon, the thought occurred to us to ask people for their favorite band name ideas and to eventually settle on the one we liked best among all the choices. We headed out to concerts, parties, and festivals and also sent out emails to friends. When there were 100 band name suggestions, we decided to narrow down the list to a handful we liked. 'Pinto and the Bean' was obviously one of the choices. It was sort of funny and it was definitely memorable. It also wasn't such an over the top idea that people wouldn't take us seriously if we did choose it as our name. Whenever people heard 'Pinto and the Bean', they either smiled or laughed, and almost everyone was amused by it. It sort of had a Foo Fighters ring to it. 'Foo Fighters' sounds silly at first, but when you take a listen to any of their songs, you know right away they take their music seriously. Well, our band name may be silly, but we certainly care about the music we put into the world; more importantly, we hope it makes a difference in other people's lives.

So, in the end, it definitely was a tough decision to choose 'Pinto and the Bean' as our band name - for the same reason it's difficult to make any major decision life. Once you do, it's not easy to go back and change it. Yes, there have been moments we've been self conscious about it, and we wondered if people pigeonhole our music into a certain category. What kind of picture does our band name paint in a stranger's mind when hearing it for the first time? Well, we chose 'Pinto and the Bean', be it awkward, silly, memorable or all of those things and more. Popeye the sailor man said 'I am what I am and that's what I am'. For better or worse, our band name is here to stay - and we hope it's not what's on the surface that rocks you, but the energy that lives within the music that does. So, that's our story, and we hope you've enjoyed it.

Scroll to the bottom of this blog post to check out 93 band name ideas people came up with for our band. Also, below are the 4 names we were debating upon before choosing 'Pinto and the Bean'

-Coke Babies

-Blue

-No Names

-Paul & Ivan

The following is a list of the band name ideas people came up with. There are more that we can't locate, but here are 93 that we DID find:

-Sound Travels
-Galactic Shamanic Paragdigm
-Brown Town Thank You Ma'am!
-Dumbass Blonde
-Mario Bros.
-2 Raw
-Life Alert
-The Shades
-Cool Water
-The Glacactic Shamanic
-Cheap Beans
-I've Fallen & I Can't Get Up
-Angry Monkeys
-Tampon Lollypop
-Club &
-The Kidney & The Bean
-The Paulivanizers
-We Are Giving You Gold!
-Intergalatic Shamanic
-Strange No Names
-The Crazies
-Fist
-Ignorance Is Bliss
-Pyvan
-Mary Gold
-Organic Fiber Fools
-Chick & The Pea
-The Shadows
-Prison Bitch
-Mighty Lightning
-Double Fist
-Quiet Breath
-Stinky Boys
-Pauly and the Finkleman Doodle Bops
-Pinto and the Bean
-Paulapoluza
-Baby Of 9
-Shamanic Paradigm
-Whereabouts
-Organic Iceberg
-Amy?s Breakheart
-Blueprint
-Looks Better at Dusk
-Glory Hole
-Incases
-Future Mouth
-Punctuation From Mars
-Mario & Luigi
-Neutral 2
-Navy Beans
-Ivan and the Oily Spit Widgets featuring Paul and the Short Stack Sensations
-Flying Fading
-Natural Windblowers
-Banging Against Rusty Rails
-Cuddly Stranger
-Slutty Dumpster
-Galaxy
-Brand New Dawns
-What's Your Middle Name?
-Vergon
-Enigma
-The Argument
-Klutzy Winos
-Thing 1 & Thing 2
-Steamworks
-Paul & Ivan
-Bob's Your Uncle
-Dusty Sanchez and the Teather Speds
-Symbiosis
-Toxic Gasbag
-Dirty Rice
-By, You
-Ivan and the Sappy Japs
-Dust Cloud
-Palvin and the Chipmunks
-Waiting for Melanie
-Coke Babies
-Filfthy Boys
-Annoying Chilean
-Two Beats Off
-The Wet Umbrellas
-The Flaming Hars
-No Names
-Poppy Peterson
-Exit
-A Violet Mind
-The Believers
-Blue
-Life and Limb
-The Watermelon Monsters
-Shoot The Moon
-I Think I Dreamed About You Last Night

The Making of 'Let's Make Noise' Music Video

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:12:00 GMT

Exactly a month ago today, we headed out to Michigan to begin filming our third music video for the song 'Let's Make Noise'. If you aren't familiar with our two official music videos for 'Midnight Monsters' and 'Robot Wars', check them out because we're total music video nerds and we get all giddy when we're about to make a new one.

Before we tell you how it all went down, we realize you may just want to jump straight to the video...if that's the case, then you can check out the video footage below. It's pretty raw and random - we probably haven't shown this side of ourselves to P&B fans before...yep, it's a dorkier side of us and that's just fine and dandy. So, click on the video below to see the 'Making of Let's Make Noise' video.

Paul's family has a cottage in Lakeside, Michigan and it was sort of a last minute decision to ask his mom if we could stay there for a week to film this video. We just needed a room that was large enough to hold a giant black backdrop/curtain that we bought from a fabric store...we couldn't find a place here in Chicago that was within our budget to rent out for a few days. So the three of us (Paul, Ivan, and Nick) headed out to the cottage and stayed there for the week. If you've ever been to the ginormous Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo about an hour outside of Chicago, we weren't far from that.

So, the way it all went down - we first had to build a structure to hold up the backdrop before we could really do anything else. There was quite a bit of hammering and sawing going on in order to build the giant frame that would eventually hold up the backdrop. Then there was the covering up of every single window in the living room where the video was to be shot. We used dark blankets for this - which is essential for vampires - you may or may not know this, but we are vampires...we need darkness at all times....we didn't wake up until late afternoon each day when the sun had already gone down so the blankets turned out not even being needed....you know what - let's just make a bullet point list below of some of the highlights of making the video:

Animated pieces. We built a ship, a heart, and a clock - all using Christmas lights - so they turned out looking like a Lite Brite...that toy from the 80's that we've never actually seen in person, but heard is pretty cool. The challenge was to animate these Lite Brite objects in the video.
The buildings for the city scene were made from broken down cardboard boxes we got from Walmart. We then covered them in bed sheets and finally painted windows on them to make them into buildings.
The actual filming of the making of the video. We came to realize that although we may not be funny...we think we're pretty funny when we're holding a camera...sometimes
The clothes we're wearing...not really a highlight and not sure why we wore what we wore, but whatever...
The actual structure and backdrop - mentioned in the paragraph above. Without that, the video would never be capable of existing.
Lights - this is really the motif of this third music video of ours. It all revolves around lights...Christmas lights.

Empty Bottle show

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:38:00 GMT

We want to thank those of you who came out to our show on New Years Eve at Horseshoe. We really couldn't ask for anything more - surrounded by our favorite people on the last day of 2011, while making balloon animals, drinking champagne, and playing music.

Our next show is in a few weeks - January 23, a free Monday night at Empty Bottle with some other really great bands...Otter Petter, Mutts, and Wally Dogger. Otter Petter and Mutts have both had their albums on several top 10 lists in 2011...come to think of it, we did too. Our album The Waiting Place is one of Windy City Rock's Frank Krolicki's favorite albums of 2011. Check it out here.

New Years Eve party at Horseshoe

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 06:01:00 GMT

Boys and girls - the holidays are among us and we want to close out the year by inviting you to a New Year's Eve party! We'll be spending the evening at Horseshoe (4115 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL) celebrating the last moments of 2011 in a night that includes a buffet, champagne, and of course music. All of this for $20!

Joining us in the fun will be our sweet friends PoundCake from Kankakee and fine felines Bad Bad Meow from Chicago.

So, mark your calendars to party with us at Horseshoe on New Years Eve; it's gonna be a grand feast, a drunken blast and a perfect way to say goodbye to 2011!

Contact us for any questions or details - band@pintoandthebean.com

Old Christmas Song

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:02:00 GMT

So we were just looking through an old hard drive and found a Christmas song we wrote almost two years ago. This was well before Pinto and the Bean even existed. Listening to it... awkward...is that the right way to describe this song? It's called "Christmas Hug". We're thinking about sending it out in our next newsletter. If you aren't already on our mailing list, sign up in the box above. Thanks folks! Happy Holidays! Here's the flyer to our next show at Cole's on Friday, December 16.

BTW - here's a very recent review/interview with Bad Ass Bands Blog. Thanks so much to Jo Scott for the interview!

Streetside show next Saturday night

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:22:00 GMT

Lovelies, we're sorry we've been away hibernating. It happens during these cold wintery times. We'd love to see your pretty faces next Saturday night at Streetside. Our very good friends Bad Bad Meow will also be performing. Check out their music if you haven't yet. They're a pretty rocking' acoustic country punk duo. It'll be a grand ole time. It's a free show and they've got delicious drinks and food. See you then!

The Waiting Place now available on Bandcamp

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:21:00 GMT

Our debut album 'The Waiting Place' is now available where all the cool kids hang out! That's right, it's on bandcamp. Click here to check it out. T-shirts and posters available soon...We'll keep you posted with happenings...and there are LOTS of happenings coming. Talk soon!

Write Up in the Red Eye

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 03:06:00 GMT

our new stickers

Hey there friends! Our CD release party is only 1 day away! We can't wait to see you there tomorrow. All the details are at THIS LINK - we just got written up in the Red Eye today too which is pretty sweet. Check it out here!

Check out the pics of all that has arrived at the Pinto Bean practice space this week!

cds and posters

and of course t-shirts