An Interview With The Baltimore-Based Group, STACKED LIKE PANCAKES!

Get to know Stacked Like Pancakes! Though these Baltimore boys have been lumped in with the Ska scene in the past, they’re back with their next single “Hollow” to prove that they are anything but.

“Hollow” was produced by multi-platinum music producer and writer Matt Squire, whose credits include Kesha, Demi Lovato, Good Charlotte, Selena Gomez, All Time Low, Panic! at the Disco, and Taking Back Sunday – just to name a few. With his experience and knowledge, Stacked Like Pancakes have crafted a straight fire rock song, complete with growling guitars and boisterous brass.

Listen to “Hollow,” here: https://youtu.be/XcQW_DHjZNI

Additionally, “Hollow” marks the official launch of the band’s third record, Strange Creatures, which they will be attempting to fund entirely on Kickstarter. The campaign began yesterday and will run for 2 months, during which time they will be attempting to raise $100,000 for the recording, production, and distribution of the record.

Connect With Stacked Like Pancakes Here:

Website: www.stackedlikepancakes.com
Facebook (15,564 likes): www.facebook.com/SLPancakes
Twitter (4.1k followers): www.twitter.com/SLPancakes
Instagram (10k followers): www.instagram.com/SLPancakes

Learn more about Stacked Like Pancakes in the following All Access interview:

So what is one song that you are all loving right now? What is a song that you all disagree about loving right now?

We all jam out to Bruno Mars when he comes on during our van rides – especially 24k Magic. And when Alec drives he usually puts on Weird Al…it’s not that we don’t like Weird Al, it’s just an hour + of Weird Al leaves us with mixed feelings during a long van ride…

How has 2018 been treating you all so far? What is one musical goal that you have for this year?

We played our first show of 2018 at one of our favorite hometown venues, and a ton of people came out despite the super wintry weather. We recently announced our new single “Hollow” and the upcoming album Strange Creatures. Our musical goal is to release this album, so long as the Kickstarter is funded!

Can you recall the moment when you all thought you could be in this band together? Was it hard to come up with a name that you all thought fit your sound and who you are?  I love it by the way- it’s such a fun visual!

It was actually effortless. Just a minute or so of brainstorming. When I founded the band with a couple of friends at the time, we didn’t really care what we called ourselves. We just wanted to put some music together and have fun.

How much do you think you all have grown as a band since you first formed? What has remained the same about your dynamics? 

Well considering the fact that I was an adolescent teenager when I formed the band, I’d say I’ve personally grown quite a bit! The first five years or so of the band were quite challenging, simply because there were so many people in the band coming and going for all kinds of reasons. It was hard to build chemistry with the changeover, and it was a journey in itself to find individuals who were as passionate about the future of SLP as I was. To be perfectly honest, not much has remained the same from the beginning, but it’s all for the better. There has been a lot of growth overall in the last decade of the band’s existence.

Let’s talk about your newest track, “Hollow.” What was the inspiration for it? What was it like working with your producer, Matt Squire, on it?

Artists like Cage the Elephant and Foo Fighters were the biggest inspirations for the overall sound. Oftentimes with my songwriting, I like to create fictional situations, and this song is exemplifies that challenge. The character in this song is somewhere between clinical insanity and clinical psychological experimentation. I’m not really sure what it is exactly, to be honest. But it’s grungy and weird and discomforting, and a ton of fun to perform live.

How do you think “Hollow” prepares people for the rest of your forthcoming third album, “Strange Creatures”? How did you go about picking it to be the first track released from the collection?

To me, “Hollow” epitomizes this made-up genre that we’ve been pushing: brass-rock. It’s a rock song – period. There isn’t a trace of ska in this song. This was part of the reason that I felt it was a good fit for the first release of the album – I wanted to make a clear statement of the evolution of our sound going from ska to a heavier, dirtier, fuller brass-rock.

Why did you decide to fund this new album entirely on Kickstarter? What has the response been like so far on it?   

I considered other platforms like IndieGogo. The problem with IndieGogo is, say we knew we needed $100,000 for our new album but only raised $60,000 on IndieGogo. Sure, we would still get the $60,000 (before taxes and fees), but we’re not meeting what we know to be the actual cost of the album. The all-or-nothing approach with Kickstarter is a huge challenge, but it ensures that so long as we are successful, we’ll have the funds to put out the best possible record. The fact that we’ve raised over $30,000 in just a couple of weeks has been incredible. Our fans are amazing. We got this!

Where do you think you are all happiest- in the studio recording new music, on stage performing or elsewhere? Where can people see you perform at next? 

I think we would all agree that we are happiest when we’re on stage performing. Seeing our fans smile and dance and sing along makes everything okay. We’re heading out the Strange Creatures preview tour (Part 1) where we’ll be showcasing some brand new music for the first time. This run will be through much of the east coast and a little into the mid-west. Get tickets for your show! smarturl.it/SLPtickets

How do you think being a musician and in this band gives you all the most joy in life today? With everything going on in the world today, how do you think your music is a reflection of these times?

We personally think that the arts, and music in particular, are a fantastic way to just take a break from the constant problems of the world. We have always found that when we’re at rehearsal or playing a show, or even just listening to music after a long day, we really are taken away from all of the pressures of every day life.

Who are you all listening to these days? What artists have continued to inspire you and your music?

We actually started a playlist on Spotify called “Our Favorite Pancakes” – it’s pinned to our Spotify artist profile. That would be the best spot to find out what we’re listening to, so give the playlist (and us) a follow!

How important do you think social media has been to this band? Do all you help to maintain all your sites or is one of you more into it all? Or do you rely on your PR/management team to handle it all?

It’s extremely important to stay in touch with our fans on our socials! In many cases, it feels like our fans are our best friends. There are groups on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook made up of a lot of our ultra-dedicated fans. We love them all. For the most part, we all chip in to the social media content and upkeep.

Who would you love to work with in the future? Who are some of your favorite artists right now? What do you think would be a dream collaboration for this group?

We would love to go on tour with the Foo Fighters, Watsky, Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, twenty one pilots, and Cage the Elephant. Dream collab? Watsky. Or Weird Al. Or both.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs? What do you hope they take away from one of your shows?

We hope that people will see a departure from ska and embrace brass-rock with our new album Strange Creatures. But at the end of the day, genres are for libraries. Support the artist – not the genre! We put everything we’ve got into our shows and we have a lot of pride in our live performance. We strive to make every show the most energetic show we can offer. Our goal is to have everyone leaving the venue saying, “holy shit. I can’t wait for them to come back.”