Over the past five years, we’ve had the pleasure of watching Papadosio go from a smaller band to one of the marquee acts of the jam scene. The group just released their latest album, Extras In A Movie, and have a calandar packed with tour dates to support it. We recently caught up with singer/guitarist Anthony Thogmartin and drummer Mike Healy for a Q&A about the new record, New York City (where they play tomorrow 11/13/15), and tour life.
Extras In A Movie is out. How does it feel?
Anthony: Great. Its fantastic to be able to finally play songs we have been sitting on for so long.
What was different about making this record than others in the past?
Anthony: EIAM was really current. Our last album took 3 years to put together, this one took 3 months. We recorded what was happening in the now. It was also more collaborative than anything else we have done. Creative contributions didnt just come from the main songwriter.
Do you have a favorite song from the new album, or one that means something particularly special to you?
Mike: That’s a super hard question because everything is so new and exciting for us. It’s just amazing being able to play all these songs live finally. We wrote some new parts for the live show and extended some of the songs. It’s really fun playing all of them.
We’re excited to catch the upcoming show in NYC. In some ways I see NYC being similar to the band (it’s generally a progressive place), but in other ways it’s sort of the opposite of the band (lack of earth / nature). What do you make of that?
Anthony: NYC is a jungle man. Ecologically speaking, It’s got a high level of concrete bioavailability and an extremely diverse set of humans!
There was a pretty big upswell in your fanbase circa 2012, at which point did say to yourself, “oh man I think we’re going to make it.”?
Anthony: The concept of “making it” is what I like to call a “pie in the sky”. Even if you set a specific goal for yourself and achieve it, as a musician there is always something better, a bigger stage, a larger crowd, etc. I realized a couple years ago that the moment someone cared enough to watch us play, we made it. Some of our first shows are still some of the best memories I have. Sure playing in front of a huge amount of people is a rush and I’m mega grateful that so many people care about our music. For me personally, I have learned a whole lot over these years and the way to really make it is to be content with where you are at in the now. To hold onto the idea of making it, is to constantly set your sense of wholeness and contentment just out of reach.
Is the Great Thaw going down again this year?
Mike: Not sure
Do you guys ever listen back to sets and critique / discuss?
Anthony: Absolutely. Most of it is done from memory. We are constantly trying to figure out how to evolve our music. Every soundcheck is a new opportunity to further refine our sound and make that night’s setlist more interesting and completely unique from the last one. This might be one of our strongest areas as a group.
What are your favorite things to eat on the road so we can all spoil you come Christmas?
Mike: Cheese is always nice with some smoked meats!!
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