You would be hard pressed to find a more energetic group of guys in Little Five on Saturday night than Atlanta-based trio Trash Panda, an indie-rock band known for fusing elements of psychedelic rock, grunge, punk, and soul music, into catchy chorus’ and deep lyrics covering topics such as toxic masculinity, nightlife, and relationships in the social media age.
We caught up with the band prior to their show at Aisle 5 on January 20th with band members Patrick Taylor, Max Hewett, and Mitch Standfield leading us on wild walkabout around Little Five Points, a small, hip borough of Atlanta.
Patrick Taylor (Right) and Max Hewett (Left) performing at Aisle 5 in L5P. – Photo by Christopher Little.
Trash Panda was preparing to close out the night, following a hard-to-beat EP release performance by another Atlanta-based indie-rock band, ZALE. After launching into a rip-roaring opening including major hits like “Atlanta Girls” and “Giuseppe”, Trash Panda slowed down into some of their more psychedelic grooves, like new single “Stay Low”.
The fun wasn’t over however, as Mitch Standfield launched into a several minute long drum solo, as the crowd shouted “Thunderchimp!,” the drummer’s nickname and social media moniker. Patrick and Max flew off into the crowd, running around and getting everyone involved in the cheering.
“Thunderchimp” Mitch Standfield in his natural habitat. – photo by Alisa Malkova.
Once returning to the stage, Trash Panda ended the night with a heartfelt song as a plea to the current US president, and with several songs off of their upcoming debut, full length album, The Starclimber. OpenEars’ contributors Alisa Malkova and Christopher Little interviewed the band shortly before the night began, asking what things made the band what it is, their favorite moments so far, and where they are headed in 2018.
OE: So tell us about yourselves, who is Trash Panda?
Mitch: “Like the cliff’s notes?”
OE: No, the exhaustive history of your entire band
Max: “ ‘I was born on a farm in Augusta, Georgia!’ ”
Patrick: “It was a dewy morning *laughs*”
Patrick: “We started this band a couple of years ago, as like a recording project. Mitch and I, we were craigslist roommates. Over the course of a year we wrote some music, recorded an EP at home and put it on Spotify. And people listened to it! We decided then that we needed to make a real thing out of it. Then I saw Max at a party, we had went to school together, and Max was asking ‘Hey, do you know anyone that needs a bassist?’ ‘Cause I’ve been playing a lot of bass.’ And I was like ‘interestingly enough we do!’ So then, we were a trio, we actually played our first show here at Aisle 5!
Photo by Christopher Little
OE: What can you tell us about the music you’ve played?
Max: “So when I joined the band it was very psychedelic sounds, we did a lot of open jams, just jamming on a couple of chords at a time. Then as we progressed we messed around with funk, and now we are sort of settling in to an indie-rock type of sound. The last song we did over at special electric, “Fancy Feast”, is like sort-of a grungy, loud, rock song.”
Patrick: “It’s also got this like ‘Hippy Sparkle’”
Mitch: “It’s also got a bit of metal there too”
Photo by Christopher Little
OE: What are your plans for 2018?
Patrick: “We’ve got some big plans for 2018, we’ve got a full-length album that is probably going to drop in a few weeks, we’re gonna, woosh, throw it out, surprise everyone. There is another album in the works, that’s materializing right now, about 15 songs that are developing at the moment.”
Patrick: “We are searching to find our artistic identity with this one. We are pulling from some really deep influences, like really deep into childhood, some really deep stylistic influences, stuff we haven’t pulled from before. It’s gonna be our best work yet, for sure.”
Max: “The whole way we are recording is way different than we’ve done before.”
Photo by Alisa Malkova
OE: What are you expecting from tonight?
Patrick: “We’re gonna melt some faces!”
Max: ”We’re gonna have a dang good time!”
Mitch: “Hell of a party!”
OE: What’s your favorite story to tell about the band?
Max: “I have one…it’s really gross though, not sure if I want to tell a magazine…”
Patrick & Mitch: “Go on and tell it!”
Max: “Well there was this one time…”
*CONTENT REMOVED, YOU DIDN’T WANT TO READ IT. TRUST US.*
Trash Panda just announced a surprise pop up show at The Drunken Unicorn on Friday, February 9th to celebrate the release of The Starclimber, the band’s debut full length album, in their hometown before hitting the road. There are rumors of surprise guests, so don’t miss this one! All ages show, $10 in advance, $25 VIP package which includes a signed CD and t-shirt with your ticket.
Check out Alisa and Chris’ photos from the show below.
Video production, photos, and interview conducted by Alisa Malkova.
Additional video work, photos, and write-up by Christopher Little.
