Emerging from different parts of the world, but based in south Sweden, Pittman Cole have just released their first LP “Guilty of Prog N’ Roll“, making their own statement of how they like progressive rock to be played, in their own unique way.
Myth of Rock had the pleasure of talking to their guitarist Dusty Chambers (a.k.a. Martin Larsson) about the band itself, his own music journey so far and more.
Enjoy!
Hello Martin and thank you very much for your time to take this interview with Myth of Rock, I hope you are doing well!
Thank you, it is an honour to be recognized by mythofrock!
Pittman Cole will soon release “Guilty of Prog N’ Roll”. Before we go into the album itself, would you like to introduce the band to us? How and when did it form, how long have you known and play music with each other, etc. I know that you all come from different countries for example, so how does this add to the complexity of getting together, rehearse, etc.?
In 2020 I started writing songs for a new band and the band Pittman Cole was formed in 2022. We were formed in Malmö, Sweden but the members backgrounds are from places like New Zealand and Ukraine, so a bit of a unique mix there. But we have all been living in and around Malmö for many years. We have always rehearsed a lot cause we believe in forming a strong musical unit together and we want to be great as a live-band.
Obviously, you all have different music background, different taste, etc. How did you decide to write and focus on progressive rock in specific?
We started off with a common love for Deep Purple and we also have that setting including organ. We are also inspired by bands like Opeth and Dream Theater but we are not focused on being a progressive band really. The most important thing is to make heavy and groovy music. There are bands like Soundgarden and Metallica who also make quite technical songs from time to time, but its not technical for the sake of itself but more as a way to build drama and unpredictability to the music.
Let’s get into the album now. First of all, I love the title “Guilty of Prog N’ Roll”, which is very catchy, love that! How did you come up with this title and who actually picked it?
It goes back to our musical style which we have called “Prog N´Roll”. We had some other ideas aswell but we picked it and made it blend with the album cover which is a “mugshot” of the four members wearing striped prison outfits.
While listening to the album, I personally found influences from progressive and hard rock, both from the 70s and the 80s, but I can distinguish quite a few modern glimpses as well, with contemporary influences. Would you like to share with us the writing process of the songs, the band’s influences in writing this album and how did you all blend all these elements?
We always start by writing individually, then present to the band and work out the arrangement together. We spend a lot of time on every song. We are a lot inspired by 60s and 70s bands like The Who, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple but also newer acts like Opeth, Slayer, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and others.
What was the location of the actual album recording and when this happened?
The album was recorded in different studios including Old Barn Drum Studios with Anders Kollerfors (Narnia) and a studio in Bjärnum with Damir Bijedic. But a lot was recorded in our home studio where we have a simple but good setup to record vocals, bass and guitar. Recording took place during 2022 -2024 and the mixing and mastering was done in 2024 by Erik Mårtensson from Eclipse.
I personally like all the meticulous and really great job in the details you have all done on this album (keyboards, guitars, rhythm section, orchestration, etc.). Are you a fan of paying attention to the very little detail, or you are happy with the sound comes out at the end, as a general result?
I think the details are just as important as the general result. If you think of many of the songs you like, often it is just one detail or one section which really takes the song from good to great. A good songwriter can capture those elements and build them into a song in a great way.
I absolutely love the names of the band members (Dusty Chambers, Derek Chambers, Vince Rackmore and Don Irvine). Could you share with us the details behind this which is really cool actually?
It is more like a fun thing for us, we like to play around with names and to have an artist name really helps to boost the ego 🙂. And it can help to create the band as a unique entity instead of just four guys playing together.
Now, focusing a bit more on you: How did you start playing music, which were the bands/artists you liked more while growing up? Do you remember your first gig?
I started with playing the piano at age 9, then switched to guitar and bass. I was in a band from age 15 and has been ever since. My first idols were Mikael Wiehe and Bruce Springsteen, then for some years I was obsessed with 60s music like Rolling Stones and Beatles. And at age 13 I discovered hard rock and heavy metal like Guns n Roses and Metallica. My first gig was at a school revue in 9th grade, we did “Seek and Destroy” by Metallica 🙂
What is your aspiration for Pittman Cole? How do you foresee yourself and the band in the coming years?
We want to release more albums as we have many great new songs written already. And then we are looking to get out and tour/play as support act to other bigger bands.
Which bands/artists have been on your Spotify playlist lately? And, do you mostly listen to older stuff or you like exploring and discovering new artists?
In the past few days, the Swedish band Wilmer X 🙂. And I tremendously enjoy Sepultura they are maybe the heaviest band that ever existed.
Do you have any plans for gigs, following the release of the album?
We will host a releaseparty at Medley in Malmö in the 18th of April, together with Dick Stunbolt. And then we will appear and the Malmö Melodic Festival in July.
Thank you Martin for taking the time to answer Myth of Rock’s questions, I wish you all the best moving forward, and hope to see you soon, probably at the Release party in Malmö.
Thank you very much, it is an honour to be intervewed by mythofrock!
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