Championed as “The most exciting and promising band in Sheffield” by BBC Raw Talent, almost instantly word began to spread of the band’s infamous live shows and dynamic, non-formulaic approach to writing songs. Within six months of the band’s existence they had attracted the attention of UMBRO sportswear who had asked for permission to use the bands anthemic track, “Friday Nights” as the score for an international commercial for the company’s “Bring It On” marketing campaign. This immediately opened doors at an international level seeing MySpace views, requests for material and touring schedules increase significantly.
Rather than buckling under the pressure the band quickly entered the studio to record their self-titled debut E.P. Instead of quenching the fan base’s insatiable appetite the E.P created a snowball effect, with Pistola Kicks being played across the airwaves from Singapore to the States. The release most notably entered into a Canadian and North American college radio chart at number 13 in between major players Kasabian and Ash.
A number of high profile support slots and headline gigs later, Pistola Kicks received a formal request from the Singapore National Arts Council to perform at the opening festivities for the 2010 Youth Olympics.
Not content with resting on their laurels, the boys have recently started performing their highly acclaimed “Los Pepe Sessions” in addition to their touring schedule. The concept of these sessions was born out of the idea ‘to perform and instil the essence, thoughts and motives of every second of a song into the receivers head in an attempt to maybe plug into their lives’. The band aim to achieve this by playing stripped back acoustic sets to intimate venues across the U.K. These sessions have seen the band perform with the accompaniment of their in house string section in delivering different approaches to conveying both specially written material and their set classics.
Their success to date aside, Pistola Kicks are something of an enigma; their experimental and unpredictable sound is paired with uncompromising melodies and hooks, a phenomenon that even gets front man Joe Moran thinking; “The singer and musician in me are constantly at odds with each other. The musician strives to push boundaries; to gain some higher ground in such a saturated genre, yet the singer wants to express and create a melody people can relate to and follow. Somehow it works. If people want to come to our shows and lose control they can, if they want to listen and sing along they can”
The band pride themselves on their DIY work ethic, the fact that they do not rely upon the resources of a record label has failed to slow them down. Kicking off a busy schedule during 2011’s festival period with a headline appearance on the Sound City stage at the Rockness Festival (Scotland), the three-piece were nominated for the “best British band” award at the festival. Pistola Kicks brought the summer of 2011 to an end in true fashion releasing their much-anticipated debut double A-side single ‘Proceed Advance/Lazy Baby Hurricane’ on the 24th September. The single has received much airplay and is also to be used by celebrity designer Rebecca Minkoff, as part of the score to her latest New York City fashion week film.
With a promotional tour of the UK underway and a consistent recording schedule in place Pistola Kicks aim to make 2012 their own.
Watch this space!