SOUNDCHECK: Pentimento

It seems every where you turn, the name PENTIMENTO is boldly underlined. For the past few months, the Buffalo four-piece have built up steam thanks to a New York-bred aggressive punk style that’s attached to them Panic Records and rattled their 2011 extended play Wrecked along with a new split release with Young English. While currently on the road before dates at Pouzza Fest and Bled Fest (not to mention Gainesville’s Fest 11 later this year), we met up with drummer Michael Hansen to chat about the things that matter, such as parachute pants, 90s’ throwbacks and a love for artists such as Seahaven and rising acts Half Hearted Hero and Born Without Bones. 

What was the first article of band t-shirt you ever purchased?

The first one I ever bought was a Korn t-shirt. I was in sixth grade and I had just got this pair of those giant, elephant parachute pants – like those huge denim jeans that were just like giant dusters. They were disgusting. Thinking about them now makes me cringe. But I went to the mall with a friend of mine and I had $15 in my pocket – and of course it was burning a hole – so I was like, “Let’s do it. Let’s get a Korn t-shirt”. It was all downhill from there (laughs).
 
Do you still have it?

I ripped it skating or something weird like that, but it’s no longer in commission otherwise I’d probably still wear it.
 
Was there ever an artist you were never allowed to listen to as a kid?

My parents were always really, really cool with me about that sort of thing. There was definitely stuff that they were very hesitant about. I went through a phase where I got super into Marilyn Manson and stuff like that. My parents were definitely weary but accepted it and allowed me to listen to that type of music and express myself just as long as I wasn’t hurting other people or myself. They didn’t really care as they just figured it was just music and they grew up on rock n’ roll too with their parents in their era saying, “You’re listening to devil music!”.
 
Who do you think has the greatest discography of all time?

Man that is a solid question. I have to be super careful. I guess off the top of my head I’m going to have to go with Strike Anywhere. They’ve been one of my favorite bands for a long time and I feel like every record they’ve put out since the very beginning has been not only progressive in it’s own way, but a solid record overall. A lot of the bands I love were hit or miss early on, or as they progressed they turned into something that was just far from the sound I loved from them, but Strike Anywhere is a band that has not only done great records, but they’re consistently great.

Who do you think the one of the most underrated musicians today?

Wow. I just think there’s a lot of bands out there that are really pushing the envelope or at least doing what they do incredibly well. There’s a ton of bands out there that every time I listen to them, I wonder why they’re not millionaires. There’s a band called Half Hearted Hero from Massachusetts. They’ve been around for quite a while but being active in college has kept them from touring. They’re some of the most excellent people out there and they write amazing songs and just do what they do so very well. Born Without Bones is another band from Massachusetts.

Particularly Scott Ayotte as he started on his own and has had this revolving door of musicians to act as his band even though he’s our age. He is one of the best songwriters ever. He’s like a genius and he is the greatest person I know at involving his emotion. When he sings, you feel it and there is something to be said of course for artists who can pull that off. Icarus The Owl are another band that are incredibly talented – great songwriters and an amazing live band even though they don’t seem to be catching on.
 
Hard work pays off, and coming from that, what song would you say describes you?

Oh man. I would say pretty much anything that Mariah Carey has ever done (laughs). I feel like I resonate with… um I guess I’ll just leave it at that. I mean there’s so many songs out there, but I don’t think anything gets the inner me like “Always Be My Baby”.
 
I was about to lead into what your worst injury was from a concert you have attended and then I noticed that right now your hand looks pretty messed up.

Well that’s just from drumming. It’s actually not too bad right now but this has been a short tour so that’s probably why. My hand’s definitely taken a lot of damage from playing drums. I think I’ve been pretty fortunate with concerts though. I can’t really say that I’ve ever gotten hurt. I’ve definitely got kicked in the face when guys were crowd surfing. Nothing too serious.

What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a concert ticket?

That’s a tough question too. I went to see the Goo Goo Dolls once in Buffalo; they played with Third Eye Blind and that was when I was 13-years-old. I think it was like $50 or something crazy. I guess most of the shows I go to are between the $5-$10 range and the bands that are playing those are the ones I genuinely enjoy. I don’t really get a chance to go to bigger shows as much as I would like to.
 
The last big show I went to was seeing Every Time I Die open for Gwar last year. I’m not the biggest fan of Gwar, so it I paid a fair amount to see the other bands open.

Gwar is like a spectacle and the things they do on stage require a ton of funding, so that’s probably why it cost a lot but I hope Every Time I Die was worth it. They’re friends of ours. Luckily, Keith is a really big supporter of our band. I grew up during this weird time period where when I got to high school, Every Time I Die was starting to gain momentum so I got turned on to them at a early age and got to watch their band progress from the Buffalo scene, you know, regionally then nationally and internationally. It’s been great, but the one thing I have to say about those guys is you will still catch them at other shows and that’s awesome. They still support bands and they do their best to give back which is really cool. We shared a practice space with them last summer and got to hear them write a lot of what turned out to be Ex Lives. They’re super cools guys.
 
Whats one album you can’t stop listening to lately?

I can’t stop listening to Seahaven’s record Winter Forever. It took a lot of getting used to at first, but the songwriting on the album is impeccable. Lyrically it’s really cool and there’s a lot of super interesting themes on the record. A lot of very dark and personal stuff but the lyrical content on the record is awesome and the music is just awesome as the mood of the entire thing front to back is just great. Since it came out it’s been in heavy rotation. We’ve had the pleasure of playing with them before and they’re great live and they’re just a super consistent band.
 
How would you compare that to the first record you ever bought? Does it hold any meaning to you now?

That’s a tough one. I remember for my tenth birthday I got a Green Day CD, an Alanis Morissette CD and a No Doubt CD and I listened to those a lot for a while. I think the first thing I ever purchased with my own money was Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine. I won’t go as far as to say that record means anything to me now but if they’re on the radio or whatever, I certainly don’t mind listening to them. They were a part of a phase that I was at during middle school. Yeah, I know (laughs)… but we all have to start somewhere.
 

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1 Comment

  • Linda Chojnacki says:

    I enjoyed reading about your journey. And I loved turning you on to your first concert with the Goo’s. Look at cha now, recording at GCR. Love ya!

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