The first time I saw The Pink Hearse Paparazzi Project they almost literally melted my face off. I was standing in the back of a very dimly lit gymnasium, most likely tuning my guitar, when the band took the ‘stage’. Suddenly there was this wild energy in the room – some dude was up front shouting post-modern diatribes at the audience, there were bizarre sounds coming from the guitarist and the bassist – who flailed about as wildly as the two drummers, yeah, the two drummers, who pounded away relentlessly forcing bits of sticks and cymbal shrapnel to take flight with every hit. My face might not have actually melted, but I’m positive that my brain was never quite the same after.

One of the members, Scott Nichols, had extended a friendly internet hand some weeks prior in advance of us sharing a bill at the Saratoga YMCA. Upon checking out their website I was skeptical; the damaged, art house approach to videos and photos of the band initially came off as disingenuous to me. And, to the uninitiated, the .mp3’s did not quite fully capture their current live sound or the incredible sonic territory they would tread over the next 2 years.

After my first live experience with Pink Hearse, my mind was changed. Their show was a unique combination of complete sonic nihilism, but strangely interspersed with beautiful, sprawling moments and arching dynamics without any sort of pretense or cheesy-ness. What set PHPP apart from a lot of other bands was their ability to almost seamlessly integrate the sum of their collective influences. Instead of picking a common ground among members and running with it, they managed to fuse noise, post rock, post punk, hip-hop, metal, electro, and even some dub-like grooves into songs that were neither too contrived nor too disparate. It was weird, but weird in an awesome, compelling way. No two songs sounded similar, but all the songs sounded like The Pink Hearse Paparazzi Project.

PHPP was kind of this weird precursor to the current internet age, where people have access to everything, all the time, in an instant. Movements, mediums, and aesthetics used to travel slowly, now music is released and almost simultaneously cut up, remixed, sampled, referenced, and then people are on to the next thing. Pink Hearse was doing that from song to song, or sometimes within the span of a song, never too content with any one idea. Though most of the times that I saw them, they were more of a band entity, PHPP started as a multi-media project – making videos and visual art as much a part of their identity as the music was. Their live approach also often found them improvising as well as constantly performing new material or reworked older songs. I should also point out that Pink Hearse, who were based out of Glens Falls, NY, were the first local band that I ever saw use a laptop on stage. This might not seem all that significant now, as the laptop is almost as commonly used as an instrument as it is for… uh, computing. But in 2004 (2003?) this was not a common sight, and serves as testament to the truly progressive nature of the band.

Despite being a hugely creative force when they were working together, the band seemingly had a myriad of scheduling difficulties which would periodically take their toll. Vocalist Timothy Mahr reportedly vanished for large chunks of time, eventually prompting the band to reinvent themselves as a 4-piece around 2004. Additionally, other responsibilities within the band and Ian Nichols’ increasing commitments to his other band, The Mathematicians, lead to increased downtime between shows and the eventual dissolution of The Pink Hearse Paparazzi Project sometime in 2005. In fact, their last show took place at Café Lena (Saratoga Springs, NY) and featured none of the members of the band, but rather, members of the Mathematicians, Parwana, and The Blue Water Tribe dressed in identity concealing costumes and improvising an entire set. The only member of Pink Hearse in attendance was drummer Gerard McKenna, who watched from the audience. There was also another fabled ‘last show’ which was scheduled at the now (thankfully?) defunct New Age Cabaret, which was cancelled due to poor weather.

As I sit here listening to Full-Length, their only ‘official’ full length, I am reminded of how awesome Pink Hearse was, but saddened by the fact that, despite how good it is, their recorded material comes nowhere close to the surreal experience of seeing them live. I’ve tried desperately to collect whatever I could get from these guys, but unfortunately most of it has disappeared into the ether as hard drives crash, people move, and CD’s get scratched. This video was taken during one of the most fun weekends I’ve ever had (as visible around 1:12) – the Pink Hearse portion doesn’t start until about 3:20.

Download Pink Hearse Paparazzi Project’s ‘Demo’ and ‘Full-Length’

Pink Hearse Paparazzi Project was:
Scott Nichols – Bass, keys/samples, vocals
Ian Nichols – Guitar, keys/samples, vocals
Greg Peters – Drums, samples, vocals
Gerard “G Money” McKenna – Drums, guitar
Timothy Mahr – Vocals, keys/samples

and for posterity…

All stories are subject to discrepancies that are inevitable when trying to remember exactly how things went down many years and hundreds of beers ago. If you have details pertaining to any of these articles, or would like to add supplementary media, music, personal accounts, or anything else, please email ferguson@b3nson.net. Also, if you were once in any of the bands mentioned and would like to include anything, edit anything, or omit anything, please let me know. If you are interested in contributing your own article about a favorite Capital Region band, please contact me. I would love to get more stories and insight!

Previously on 518 Mixtape…
Foreward/Rewind
Track 1: Rockets and Blue Lights