Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Rocking FIFA 10, Fight Night and The Sims 3: An Interview with Pint Shot Riot
By Louis Bedigian

“We’ve had more hits on our MySpace and Web site for sure; also, word of mouth is a big part of it. We get people coming up to us saying things like, 'Did you know your music is on Fight Night 4!?'”

These days, every band wants their music to appear in video-games. Unlike mainstream radio and TV music networks, which are primarily about persuasion, there doesn't seem to be any specific way for getting music into a game. For punk rockers Pint Shot Riot, whose music can be heard in FIFA 10, Fight Night Round 4 and The Sims 3, it was solely a matter of being heard by the right DJ.

"We managed to get some airplay on a radio show in LA called ‘Import Only,'" revealed Baby Dave, the band's bassist. "The DJ took some of our music to EA. They must have liked it because next thing we got the call to say they were interested and the rest is history!"

 
The Sims 3

Did EA request a specific song from you or was there a specific song you wanted to submit?

Baby Dave: EA suggested some songs they wanted to use and we got the final decision, but they chose the songs we would have suggested anyway so it was all good!

Is this a three-game deal, or are there plans to appear in other EA games as well?

Baby Dave: We signed a deal for a certain number of games but also with an option for more in the future

Was this the first time Pint Shot Riot got its music into a game?

Baby Dave: Yes, it’s the first time we’ve been approached to be part of such a huge, multi-national project so it’s been pretty amazing.

The Sims 3 and Fight Night Round 4 are still pretty new, but have you noticed any impact on the band's awareness since those games were released?

Baby Dave: We’ve had more hits on our MySpace and Web site for sure; also, word of mouth is a big part of it. We get people coming up to us saying things like, “Did you know your music is on Fight Night 4?”! We’re currently building towards the release of our debut album so hopefully it will create some momentum towards that point.

Are you hoping – or perhaps already trying – to get your tracks in a music game like Rock Band or Guitar Hero?

Baby Dave: We would definitely love to be a part of Rock Band in the future. It would be amazing to have people learning our songs on individual instruments and getting that deep into them. Also, to play your own song on Rock Band must be an amazing feeling, I have to try that!

 
FIFA 10

Despite the growing number of bands appearing in video-games, the market is relatively small compared to other mediums. Because of this, do you think it's easier to get into games than it is to get a song on the radio or TV?

Baby Dave: I don’t think it’s any easier because you still need the same qualities to be noticed. The currency is songs in any media so the important thing is to start by concentrating on making the best music you can.

Your music has been compared to the original sounds of punk rock – the way the genre used to be. Is that something, in part or in whole, that you were hoping to achieve?

Baby Dave: We are into so many different genres and types of music I couldn’t say we specifically aimed for that, but I think that music changed forever after what punk achieved. It opened up the idea that if you truly believe in what you’re doing, anyone can pick up a guitar, form a band and make incredible music. Any British guitar band of our generation has to feel the influence of not only punk but the way punk changed music in our country thereafter.

On that note, your bio notes that Pint Shot Riot was "Influenced by the spiky rhythms and even spikier lyrics of The Clash, the working class rock 'n' roll attitude of Oasis and the melodies and harmonies of The Kinks." What else has influenced your music? Any particular bands or musical styles?

Baby Dave: We draw inspiration from the long history of amazing guitar bands from England, which is still as strong as ever and we hope to add our names to it. Having said that I truly believe there is only two types of music – good music and bad music – and anything that has passion, an interesting beat or quality musicianship is worth drawing inspiration from. Between us we listen to pretty much everything and anything. The last three records I listened to were Moving Pictures by Rush, Mezmerize by System of a Down and an awesome Stax records compilation.

Pint Shot Riot is slowly building its musical arsenal with new singles, but the band finally started recording its debut record in January. How is that progressing? Has it been a challenging experience?

Baby Dave: It has been hard work but the best work we could ever ask for! We definitely feel the whole experience has been the best thing we have ever done and we are very, very happy with the results. We are near completion on the whole project and the next challenge is to release it the right way and to let people hear it.

Are your singles – specifically "Track Punches Kicks Trenches & Swords" from The Sims 3 and Fight Night Round 4, and "Not Thinking Straight," which is slated to appear in FIFA 10 – representative of how the full record will sound?

Baby Dave: I’d say “Not Thinking Straight” is more representative as it is a newer song and we wrote it around the time we were writing most of the rest of the album. “Punches....” was actually the very first song the four of us wrote together as Pint Shot Riot, so although it means a lot to us as a song, we’re looking in slightly different directions these days.

Will either of those songs appear on the full record? If so, do you plan to change anything and re-record them (as bands often do in this circumstance)?

Baby Dave: Well, “Punches....” is an older recording, which is available now on our mini-album “Round One” through iTunes, so we haven’t included it on the album. “Not Thinking Straight” is a track we will have on the album and possibly as a single release at some point too.

 
Fight Night Round 4

Walk us through your writing process. Is there one man spearheading each song? Do you work on them together as a group? Or does each person handle an individual part of the song, and when finished, you all put them together?

Baby Dave: A bit of each of the first two, really. Usually Rocket or sometimes Rob will come up with a lyrical idea, chorus or first draft of a song to start with and show it to the group, and we then work together to build it into a proper song, together in the our rehearsal studio. Me and Mini sometimes work our parts out together as a rhythm section so we can feel what each other is doing and keep it tight, but in general we all throw ideas into the mix and see what works best. I think song writing and arranging are the most rewarding things about being in a band.

How much of an impact has your producer, Peter Miles, had on the band?

Baby Dave: A large impact on the record, for sure. Peter was a dream to work with, and a very laid-back, thoughtful kind of guy. His ideas on how to record us and how to achieve sounds were inspired, and we bounced off of that the whole time we were recording. He got us into a lot of old-school guitar pedals and tape delays and stuff which we really enjoyed playing around with and he also created an awesome, chilled vibe for us to do our work in.

Pint Shot Riot has been releasing its music through its own label, Life in the Big City Records. Do you plan to release your full album the same way?

Baby Dave: We are still working out the best way to release it but there is a strong argument that the best way could be to do it on L.I.T.B.C. It seems the role of the record company is becoming less and less important as time goes by, so why not maintain total control over our output and do it ourselves?

Sounds like a plan. Thank you for your time.

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