Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Pheaturing Kevin Presbrey From Painkiller Hotel


PHIRST OF

Hey there, welcome to another entry of the Phile, on a Tuesday. I can't believe it's the middle of October already. Man alive. Over the weekend U2 played to a sold out crowd of 90,000 in Tampa. And you know who opened for them? The luckiest band in America. Big news: We bombed the moon. We sent a missile into its surface. That’s gotta be a lesson to North Korea and Iran — we bombed the moon for no good reason at all. A day after declaring war on the moon, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Vice president Biden was awarded the Nobel Hair-Piece Prize. Along with his trophy, the president will receive $1.4 million in prize money... so say hello to a whole new closet of mom jeans everybody. So, yesterday was Columbus Day. In honor of Columbus Day, Dick Cheney’s cholesterol was 1492. The president says he wants to do away with the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military. This is not to be confused with George Bush’s “Don’t know, don’t care” policy. So, you kids fans of baseball? The Chicago Cubs are filing for bankruptcy. They’re from Chicago; they’ve spent millions of dollars they don’t have... I smell Nobel Peace Prize. Rush Limbaugh has been named one of the judges in the Miss America pageant. I’m thinking, “A loud-mouthed judge who likes prescription pain killers?” Well, it worked on “American Idol.” I wasn't going to make anymore Kanye West jokes anymore, but the other day he was back at my work place and interrupted another co-workers show. Take a look at the proof.


And he tried to touch Rachel as well. LOL. Thanks to Jeff for taking that picture. So, did you kids see that new poster for the new James Bond movie? I am so excited, 'cause I am a huge James Bond fan, but I didn't know they were gonna replace Daniel Craig already. Look at this.

Man, that theme song is gonna suck this time. Okay, kids, it's time to play the popular Phile game...


Is that a shoulder or butt?



54
Roman Emperor Claudius I consumes a favorite mushroom dish prepared by his fourth wife, Agrippina. What he does not know is that the meal is laced with the toxin of the Amanita phalloides mushroom. Feeling ill the next morning, Claudius summons his personal physician. Unfortunately, the doctor happens to be a co-conspirator in the scheme, administering a colocynth enema which kills Claudius instantly.
1972
Due to poor visibility, a Uruguayan Air Force plane carrying the Montevideo Old Christians Rugby Club crashes high in the Chilean Andes. Of the 45 people aboard the flight, only 27 survive the crash, and just 16 make it to their rescue 72 days later. Their secret? Cannibalism. According to one survivor, "the slight browning of the flesh gave it an immeasurably better flavor, softer than beef but with much the same taste."
1988
A report published in the journal Nature declares the Turin shroud to be a 13th century fake. Although carbon-14 testing places the shroud's fabrication somewhere between 1260 and 1390 AD, true believers spend much of the next several years attempting to explain away the radiocarbon test results.
1997
Nike, Inc. fines one of its shoe factories in Vietnam $5,000 after it becomes known that plant management ordered workers to create 51 rubber penises. Although the schlongs were produced strictly as gag gifts for a company official's birthday, Nike sees no humor in the matter.



This is the second book in the Peverett Phile Book Club. It is available now from fantomfilms.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Mary will be a guest on the Phile next Monday. And don't forget you can purchase the first book club book "Mr. Lincoln Was A Robot" by Victor Langlois, also from Amazon.com.



Today;s interview is with the lead singer for a really cool band from Aurora, Illinois. Their debut album "Black Roses" is available on iTunes now, and they'll be performing next on October 23rd at Uptown Bar & Grill in Bettendorf, Iowa. Please welcome to the Phile... Kevin Presbrey.


Me: Hey there, Kevin, welcome to the Phile. So, what's up?

Kevin: 4 in the morning on a Wednesday, currently working on a new tune... 'nother day at the office.

Me: I have to tell you I am a big fan of your band Painkiller Hotel. Is there such a hotel you know of? I think that's where Elvis stayed sometimes instead of Heartbreak Hotel.

Kevin: Elvis was the founding member man... but to answer your first question of course there is and we're checked in all the time.

Me: You kids are based in Illinois, which means you have to be fans of Cheap Trick. What about the Chicago blues scene?

Kevin: Great city for blues. Really cool clubs all over the city.

Me: Where did the band name come from, Kevin? It's a very catchy and cool name.

Kevin: It's who we are, it's what we breath. Our music is like checking into a therapy session as one fan put it to me once.

Me: PKH, as the hips kids I am sure call the band, has been compared to Tonic and Live (which is also one of my favorite bands). Are you a fan of those bands, and do you set out to sound like those bands?

Kevin: I don't think we set out to sound like them, but we definitely appreciate some of the influence their songs have given us for our own writing. We model our songs off of songs we like to hear so our influences really do come out in our music

Me: What other bands do you listen to, Kevin?

Kevin: Big fan of the songwriter stuff... Ryan Adams, Ray Lamontagne, Radiohead, People in Planes, and of course Yabba Griffiths.

Me: Okay, let's talk about your band. You're the lead singer, right, but who else is in the band?

Kevin: My good mates Klaus Luchs, Adam Harker and Nate Green.

Me: Have you guys been playing long?

Kevin: Handful of years now as this group of guys, the whole adventure started back in 2004 or so.

Me: I have played your new album "Black Roses" quite a bit. It's a very good album, but you did have a veteran producer put it together, didn't you?

Kevin: A great young guy named Chris Sevier. He's really good at what he does and definitely has the potential to be a big name guy someday.

Me: And it was mixed by George Tutko who worked with Duran Duran, the Stones and Rod Stewart to name a few. Did he have some good stories for you?

Kevin: Of course... sworn to secrecy though. Hah, nah he was all business in the studio. Great engineer, and unreal when it comes to mixing.

Me: Kevin, who does most of the songwriting for the band? The songs on "Black Roses" are all originals, right? Do you ever perform covers in concert though?

Kevin: Oh yeah, we definitely played our fair share of covers. It's always cool to play a tune from a band that you really appreciate. Challenges us as well.

Me: I hear you guys have been getting VH1 airplay, which is very cool. Also, PKH's music has been on "The Real World" and some other shows as well. Do you get excited when you hear your music on TV?

Kevin: I think it's great that it's getting out to so many new ears and of course it's really helped get our name out there. definitely puts me in a good mood.

Me: You guys are currently on tour I believe. Have you opened up for anybody cool, and has the response live been what you expected? Train was the most recent cool opening slot we've done, and that was a most awesome experience. We had a great response. Sister Hazel tour dates over the summer were pretty awesome as well. Great group of guys and very cool to tour with.

Me: I think this is neat, and please correct me if I am wrong... Chris Henderson from 3 Doors Down discovered you guys and got you signed. How did that happen, and if you weren't a fan of 3 Doors Down, I betcha you are now.

Kevin: Well, the cool thing is that I'm a big fan of 3DD and really dig their songwriting. Great hooks and great vibe in my opinion. It was an honor to meet those guys and I was more than flattered that Chris took a liking to our music. Basically, he got the CD from our agent Lou and dug it and wanted to sign us to his label. Pretty much, that's how it went down.

Me: So, what's next for the band, Kev? Any chance we'll be seeing you on Conan or Letterman real soon?

Kevin: Letterman has a few issues to deal with before he's ready for our antics. Actually getting ready to head back into the studio in December to start working on an EP. We've been writing a lot of new stuff and can't wait to get it out to people who dug "Black Roses".

Me: Kev, go ahead and plug your website and anything else you want. I wish you all a lot of luck, and you are welcomed back to the Phile anytime you want. Take care, and continued success. Hope to see you in Orlando someday.

Kevin: www.painkillerhotel.com, www.facebook.com/painkillerhotel. Become a fan on FB and follow us on Twitter. And come see us live because that's where it all comes to life. We'd love to play FLA, can you hook it up brotha?


PHINALLY

Thanks to Kevin for taking time out for a really good interview and to Krista Mettler for hooking me up with another great musician. The Phile will be back on Friday with David Melbye from the Heavy Water Experiments and then on Monday with Mary Tamm. So, until then, spread the word, not the turd. Bye, love you, bye.




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