When I arrived at Heaven Can Wait on a rainy Monday night, the room was warm with the light buzz of people chatting and ordering drinks, anticipating the acts to come. I made my way to the Green Room, where I sat down for a chat with the band Pleasure Pill who were in the middle of a month-long residency at the East Village venue. I spoke with the lead singer Jonah Paz, his brother Ethan Paz (guitar), Luke Blake (lead guitar), Ivan Delgado (bass), and Dom Friedly (drums.)
Nida: I heard you guys are currently working on your debut album, so I was wondering what comes first in the song-making process, the lyrics or the sound?
Jonah: It always starts with guitars and stuff, just playing the guitars by myself acoustically, humming, or finding a melody somewhere. Words come last to be honest, but they’re still meaningful and we’re just trying to do the right thing with it.
Nida: And what inspires the lyrics?
Jonah: It’s a ‘try to write every day’ kind of thing you know, sometimes I write about anything, sometimes nothing, but it’s not really for us. It’s for the interpretation of our listeners.
Nida: What are any non-music influences that help you guys create your music?
Jonah: Baseball.
Luke: Jonah’s the one that writes all the music, so we can’t really pinpoint what influences the music but I’d say we definitely all have stuff that influences us artistically. We enjoy a lot of stuff, we like going out and going to the bar every night, going to baseball games, eating food.
Jonah: Just any good, enjoyable part of life. If there’s one thing that inspires the music, it is just being in the moment so that when I go back home, I can think about what I experienced and be like, ‘That was cool.’
Nida: I see, so trying to capture the feelings of all these experiences and moments.
Jonah: Yeah, exactly.
Nida: I know you guys are from San Diego. How does the music scene there compare to New York City’s?
Jonah: I think they’re similar in some ways, such as the quality of the bands. I will say that New York has a really tight-knit community compared to San Diego. I mean, it’s just harder to get around San Diego, whereas it’s way easier in New York. So that’s going to cultivate a more connected scene.
Luke: It’s also harder to be a band here. You have to work more since you can’t drive your gear around to practice or to gigs. You probably have to rent a practice space, whereas pretty much everyone in San Diego can just practice in a garage or be able to transport their gear more easily.
Nida: Outside of these shows, what have you guys been doing in New York City? Anything you’d recommend?
Jonah: We went to Coney Island last night and went on some roller coasters, and it was so great. We’ve kind of been living like vampires out here, sleeping the day away and going out at night. We’ve just been trying to promote the shows, meet people, go to the right things, and go to all the good bars around here.
Some of the bars the band recommends in the area are St. Dymphnas, Mona’s, Sophie’s, Studio 151, and Dave and Buster’s.
Nida: What has been the most memorable moment during your residency?
Jonah: Probably tonight! I think tonight is going to be great, with Savoia supporting us, and Sid Simons DJing. It’s totally set up to be a great Monday night for everyone. I think we’re gonna bring the house down tonight for everyone.”
The band delivered on its promise. It filled its audiences’ ears with the sounds of glittery tambourines, fuzzy guitar riffs, and a nostalgic voice. Its Britpop-inspired sound and style transformed the room into a vibrant homage to the ’90s, where the audience felt the unmistakable Oasis and Blur-esque energy fill the air.
Pleasure Pill has a live album recorded at Heaven Can Wait in May 2024 that keeps the energy and sound consistent from their live show. I can perfectly imagine the song “Line Up The Stars” in the soundtrack for a coming-of-age movie, played during a montage where the main character experiences the joy and thrills from their first rebellious night out.
PHOTO: Nida Ansari
