Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Floridian indie-emo legends Pohgoh returned from hiatus to drop their third album, the ambitious, personal magically brilliant Du Und Ich on Spartan Records in November. TGEFM had an opportunity to sit down with the veteran four-piece to discuss the recording of Du Und Ich, the changes in the scene over their 25-year-career and the future of Pohgoh.
1. Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats, on the release of Du Und Ich.
It’s been getting a ton of play on my end. Could you tell us a bit about the album, what you were listening to while you were writing the record and the recording process?
KEITH ULREY (drums): Thank you so much! I’m glad you’re enjoying it. We had a great time making this one, for sure. As far as what we were listening to during that time….. I don’t think there’s anything in particular that was being hit a lot collectively, or had any major influence on the recording process. That being said. We are all massive fans of The Beths and do find ourselves all jamming them quite a bit, so that’s probably a safe answer, haha! To this day, we’ve always worn our influences on our sleeve. Bands like Superchunk, Ida, Versus, etc…. they always make their way into the songwriting by osmosis.
MATT SLATE (guitar): Jawbreaker, The Beths. The recording process for this one was amazing! It’s always an absolute pleasure to work with J (Robbins, producer). He’s seriously one of our favorite people on this planet!
2. Which song off the new record are you most excited to be playing live and why?
SUSIE ULREY (vocals/guitar): Definitely “House Burned Down”. While a downer of a subject lyrically, it’s just fun to play. Simple as that.
KEITH: I agree, maybe “House Burned Down”. It just starts with all cylinders firing, the 4 of us right in at the jump, including Susie singing. I also love the dynamic between the chill chorus and the rockin’ verse. The ending when Susie’s tremolo starts… i just love it every time.
MATT: For me it’s definitely “Hammer”. The stars really aligned with that one for us. It’s such a powerful song, especially when Gordon (Withers; cello) can join us live (which he has a few times).
3. What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry since you started Pohgoh and how did the recording of Du Und Ich compare to the recording of 1997’s In Memory of Bab?
KEITH: Man, that’s a loaded question. So much to think about. I don’t know that we could speak to industry changes that affected us in any way, we have always looked at and treated ourselves, to this day, like a DIY indie band. We’ve never had a manager, a booking agent, nothing. We do it all ourselves. So, we can definitely see changes peripherally over the years, but not much has changed in our eyes. I’d say that’s a good perspective. As far as recording. In 1997, we were poor punk scene kids, so Bab was done very quickly and efficiently for nothing. Recording on 8 track tape with few overdubs. 20+ years later, recording Secret Club and Du Un Ich, we have way more patience and time. We all have good jobs and can afford to take the time off to really concentrate in the studio. When we did Secret Club in 2017 with J, it was our 1st album in 20 years, we wanted it to be raw and immediate. And I think we accomplished that. With this latest album, we told J we wanted to say yes to everything. Got an idea for an extra part? Yes, let’s try that. How would cello sound on this song? Let’s find out. It was really fun and liberating to experiment and flesh out ideas to the fullest.
MATT: It’s definitely more difficult to be as DIY as we always have been. I would say booking tours without a booking agent is more difficult than it used to be.
4. One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
KEITH: 25+ years and still on our radar, we gotta bring up 90s indie band Versus from NY again. They are one of our favorite bands of all time and, as mentioned prior, highly influential on us. They put out some incredible albums in the 90s and had a nice following, but never reached that larger conversation like say Pixies, Pavement, Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth, etc. They’ve continued to put out albums, even there latest just a few years ago, that are incredible. Most of their earlier work is not streaming anywhere, so you may need to hit YouTube or something, but it’s worth it. On a personal level, for me, I’ve been obsessed with UK band Desperate Journalist.
SUSIE: I am equally obsessed with The Beths. My Spotify 2022 Wrapped in December showed that I was in the top 1% of listeners, so it’s borderline problematic, haha!
MATT: The Beths, Versus, Soul Glo, Signals Midwest… There are also a ton of 90s bands back at it like us that deserve more attention. Karate, The Van Pelt and Giants Chair, to name a few. .
5. Now that we’ve gotten our hands on Du Und Ich, what’s next for Pohgoh?
KEITH: We took a month off to focus on the holidays, but we’re still pushing the album. We’re very excited about it and want as many people as possible to hear and enjoy it. Right now, we are planning an US East Coast tour in May. I’m hoping to lock that down and announce in a couple months. As far as the rest of the year? We’re open to anything.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
