They've Got a Pet With Soul

Finally, Splitsville have decided to release a full length Pet Soul album. The Complete Pet Soul is everything you loved about the Pet Soul EP and more. Bass player Paul Krysiak explains:

Compared to your "Pet Soul" EP, not everything on "The Complete Pet Soul" was inspired by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. Why did you still call it this?

Well, in truth the original Pet Soul EP paid homage to more of our influences than just The Beach Boys. The idea was to take Pet Sounds-era Wilson, Rubber Soul/Revolver-era Beatles a bit of the Association and others, and sort of throw them all into the blender. Writing the additional tracks for the full-length version, we found ourselves referencing Burt Bacharach, Phil Spector, The Left Banke, etc. I think for us the title is a short-hand way of indicating to those familiar with our records that this is not the next Splitsville "rock" album, but instead a further exploration of mid-60's pure-pop.

When and why did you decide to make an extended version of the "Pet Soul" EP?

When the original EP was given out for free at Poptopia in LA a couple of years ago, the enthusiastic reception it got came as a bit of a surprise to us. We've been asked so many times since then if we would do more music in that vein. I guess this is just our way of "giving the people what they want." And for us, a project like Pet Soul is a vacation from the usual pressures of writing and recording what you hope will be a hit record. It's nothing but fun to go into the studio and impersonate your heroes for a little while. So recording The Complete Pet Soul allowed us to blow off a little steam before beginning the next "real" Splitsville record.

What was your original intention for Pet Soul when you made the EP?

Fun. We just recorded it for fun. We were asked to record radio jingles for Baltimore's alternative weekly paper. They bought us a bunch of studio time for it. So we cut their ads in a few hours and used the rest of the time they had paid for to record Pet Soul. That may or may not be crime in some jurisdictions. Maybe some day we'll include those radio ads on a rarities disc. Might be good for a laugh or two.

On the album there is a great and special version of the Bacharach/David composition "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" that ends with "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. Describe your thought process in placing this at the end of the song.

The idea came up just because the Buggles tune has a very similar melody to the repeated instrumental theme that Bacharach used. And contrasting the two was (let's face it) just plain funny. But with time the idea took on a certain poignance. As we were recording the song for a tribute album, it seemed fitting to comment on the change the video age has had on popular music. Why DON'T we still hear brilliant and complex work like Bacharach & David's on pop radio? Oh, and this just in... oddly enough, Miramax is using our recording of this song in the comedy "Get Over It," with Kirsten Dunst. We intended to include it only as an unlisted bonus track on the Japanese release, but now that it's featured on the soundtrack of a major motion picture.... well, you've got to cash in when you can.

When you wrote the songs on Pet Soul was their a conscious effort to write material that sounded like particular bands or artists?

The general approach was just to write a good melody that would work well in the context of a 60's-style arrangement. But certainly there were intentional references to (and outright theft from) particular artists and songs. The dirt on the ones I wrote -- "You Ought To Know" was my attempt at an up-tempo Beatles rocker like "And Your Bird Can Sing." The melody of "Aliceanna" came to me after repeatedly listening to the Wondermints cover of Bacharach's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." "Sunshiny Daydream" is "Yellow Submarine" mixed with "I Want To Tell You" and has vocal harmonies lifted from The Association, The Hollies and others.

The singing harmonies from "Tuesday through Saturday" remind me a lot of the Left Banke. Was their sound an influence on this song?

I think I speak for Brandt (and his attorney) when I say that the similarities between this song and a certain selection by the Left Banke are purely coincidental. (Wink, nudge, giggle.) Furthermore, we categorically deny having stolen the idea for the harpsichord solo from "In My Life" (Beatles)

"The Love Songs of B. Douglas Wilson" has a part from "Surf's Up" and something that sounds to me like a piece from "Caroline No". Are there more parts from Beach Boys songs on Love Songs...?

It's chock full of lyrical and melodic references to Brian Wilson. But I think what Brandt did with this one, more important than any specific referencing, was to capture an overall feeling. It's unquestionably one of my favorite songs, because it shifts through several very different movements that work as one to suggest something of the spirit of Wilson's life and work. That he paraphrases "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is what really pulls the whole thing together into such a beautiful, bittersweet package.

Would you dare play "The Love Songs..." for Brian Wilson?

Well, I did give copies of the original Pet Soul EP to a few members of Brian's Pet Sounds band when they came to Baltimore on tour this year. (Got them good and drunk at a local watering hole, too.) I doubt THEY would have played it for him. Given the chance, I don't think I would.

Is "Caroline Knows" derived from "Caroline, No"?

Yes, it is. But oddly enough, Matt wrote the music as more John Lennon than Brian Wilson, really. Only the big harmonies at the end are Wilsonesque, in my opinion. Another of my favorite tunes, if you must know.

In "The Popular" you sing "I feel the pain of the popular". Can you tell me more about this song? The singing melody of the verse reminds me of another song. It sounds a bit like a Robert Palmer song, but I am not sure.

Uuhhhmmm, eerrrrrrrr, uhhhh. (Scratches head...) This is another of Matt's compositions. Musically, it's a Phil Spector "girl group" number all the way. (I wanted to sing "oohh, la, la, la" backups, but no one was buying it.) Lyrically, it's... uh ... well... the Beastie Boys? ("I'm illin' when I'm poppin' locks"?). It's largely an inside joke at the expense of a close friend, another songwriter. Originally, the chorus lyrics were slightly different. After Brandt and I misunderstood what he was singing in rehearsal, Matt changed them in a Costello-esque way to something that makes less literal sense but actually sounds more meaningful. What is "the pain of the popular"? We don't really know, so the interpretation is entirely up to you.

"The Complete Pet Soul" will initially come out only in Japan. How did that come together?

We heard rumors that in certain Japanese circles, the Pet Soul EP was somewhat of a collector's item. And Japan is unquestionably friendlier to Beatles/Beach Boys-esque pop. It just felt right to do an exclusive Japanese release first. Putting it out through Airmail Recordings has been the most painless process we've ever had with a record label of any size anywhere.

When will Pet Soul be released in the US?

Not sure. US audiences aren't exactly banging down the door to get it. Of course there is a small but dedicated following for pure pop in the states, so eventually we will get around to deciding when and how to do an American release.

Are there plans for another Splitsville album similar to "Repeater"?

YES, and no. There will definitely be another rock album from Splitsville in the next year or so. It will definitely NOT be another period piece like Pet Soul. But as to what it will sound like -- I can't say just yet. The safe bet is that it will be ambitious and a bit eclectic. Something like a "concept album", but then again, in my opinion every Splitsville album has had most (if not all) of the earmarks of a "concept album."

At this years IPO, I saw you perform as Splitsville and as the Greenberry Woods. Will Greenberry Woods put out a new album at some point?

NO. Matt and Brandt WERE the Greenberry Woods, and now they are in Splitsville. Simple as that. We weren't entirely happy with the use of the name Greenberry Woods for the couple of pop festivals we played this year. But it's hard to fit "Splitsville plus Doug Edmunds of the Gladhands play songs from the Greenberry Woods and the forthcoming Complete Pet Soul " on a theater marquee. My vote was for "The Gladberry Splits Pet Soul Tour."

Will you go on tour with "The Complete Pet Soul"?

I hope so. We don't want to make a lifelong career of revisiting the '60's. But the Pet Soul material is a joy to play live. We'd love to regroup with Doug and take the show on the road to Japan and Europe before returning to our power trio shtick. We'll see.

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