By Al Sotack  |  Send to Friend

Chris Powell is Pow Pow. At least in the same way that the fruits of Dr. Jekyll’s hard work is Mr. Hyde. Powell is a Philadelphia percussionist with a prolific musical output. Pow Pow is a maelstrom of manic energy that serves as the spastic heartbeat of local outfits Man Man and Need New Body. They are two sides of the same coin, and between the two, they get bored real easy. Not content with just two names, two bands, nor even supervising the lift-off of their one fledging label, Obey Your Brain, the alter-egos have put out a new release under another banner. 

Icy Demons’ Miami Ice is Powell’s newest collaboration with Griffin Rodriguez, of Chicago’s Bablicon. Despite the distance between the two’s home bases, Powell and Rodriguez (here with his own superhero alias, Blue Hawaii) have managed to put together an original band that keeps Miami Ice as danceable as it is outlandish. Like every other release associated with the enigmatic Pow Pow, it is a creature that lurches to its own beat: a stitched-up monster of psychedelia, lo-fi funk  prog breakdowns. 

Despite the insane number of obligations, Pow Pow took the time to chat with us about his newish band, writing songs across the country, and his hardworking dual identity, Chris Powell.

two.one.five: How did Icy Demons come about?  You guys are associated with two separate cities, Philadelphia and Chicago, how did you meet up and when did you decide to call yourselves a group?

POW POW: Icy Demons started after Need New Body recorded their first record in Chicago, around summer of 2000 i believe. it was a chance to explore new sounds and approaches with new friends. Me n' Blue Hawaii had very similar interests & taste in music so it seemed only natural to start playing music together, regardless of the distance between Chicago & Philly. We called ourselves a group & named it Icy Demons after we realized we had enough recorded material to release a record.
 
two.one.five: Why another band? Icy Demons is associated with a lot of different musical enterprises (Bablicon, Man Man, Need New Body) and its touring members all have their own projects.

POW POW: No matter how much you bring to a creative/collective/collaborative situation, you will always be left with ideas that don’t get used or ideas that simply don’t work with a specific situation. Sometimes you can find the ideal people to explore those other ideas with and when you do, you should make something happen with those people. For certain.

two.one.five: Is there a principle musical concern that separates Icy Demons from all those groups?  Are their specific influences you guys want to represent with the Icy Demons releases?  Is it a difference of methodology?

POW POW: I think exploration of rhythm is a common musical interest within the Icy Demons family. Focus on different feels, different movements, different beats. Exploration of fun time signatures. African music seems to have been a huge HUGE influence with our crew since the very beginning of the band. Yeah, African music.

two.one.five: How does the writing process work with the two of you in different cities and constantly on tour?  Is a lot of your collaboration long-distance?

POW POW: There’s been LOTS of traveling back and forth from Philly to Chicago. Driving. Flying. Walking. It’s always existed as a long distance band. The Shape Shoppe studio is in Chicago so i would travel out there constantly. Recently, we’ve been working/recording individually, then uploading files online. It’s the only way we can work together amongst all the touring that has been happening this year. The new Icy Demons record is ideally gonna be finished this summer and will be released later this fall on our Obey Your Brain label.
 
two.one.five: You guys have been loosely associated with the Canterbury Sound, although you guys obviously go off in pretty diverse directions.  How important was that scene, which has more or less been dead for decades, to you guys?  Did it even register?  Or is it something people put on you afterwards?

POW POW : To be completely honest here, i’m gonna Google “Canterbury Sound” after finishing these interview questions. I’ve heard that reference before but i’m totally not familiar with it at all. I’m sure i’ll recognize some band names after Google searching this all. I find it funny that people mention this stuff and some of us have no idea what they are talking about. Once again, i listen to African music.
 
two.one.five: A scene like Canterbury is interesting because it obtained a purity of purpose in its isolation that was common to a pretty large group of musicians operating in a bunch of different bands.  Since you are part of  at least a couple of different scenes in two different cities, could you contextualize and contrast what is going on in Chicago and Philadelphia right now?

POW POW: These days i’m never in Philly and i honestly couldn’t tell you what’s going on in Philly with the music scene. I’m curious myself. I know that Low Budget & Diplo are killer DJs. Buffalo Stance is AMAZING. The Dr. Dog guys have great voices. Marshall Allen & the Arkestra rules. I know there are lots of good places to eat. I could tell you lots about that. On my off time from traveling, i’m usually in Michigan where my girlfriend attends Cranbrook Academy Of Art, so i’m just never in Philly. Same for Chicago. I could tell you where there are lots of good places to eat. Ricobenes Pizza !!!
 
two.one.five: Will you be touring?  Is it more difficult to organize, with all your members’ various obligations?

POW POW: Icy Demons will be touring. Summer of 2008 and beyond. Hopefully in the fall also. It’s hard to organize an Icy Demons tour because everybody has lots of obligations. We’re gonna make it happen though. West Coast in the fall hopefully.

two.one.five: How goes Obey Your Brain?  How does running your own record label and being a part of so many musical projects work out?

POW POW: Obey Your Brain is a REALLY exciting thing for us. We’re learning how to run a record label and we’re really excited about the future of it. It’s all a learning process. It’s stressful but also lots of fun in the end. So far it’s working out. Good thing the internet is out there and assisting our multi-city existence as a label. Obey Your Brain is gonna exist in Chicago for now because it makes the most sense. There are people working & living at the studio, which is shared by OYB & the Shape Shoppe. There are lots of people who really believe in what we’re doing and are happy to help us in this whole beginning process. It’s fun !
 
two.one.five: With your thousand ongoing projects, do you still teach drums in Philly?

POW POW: Yup, i sure do. Good thing i have a flexible schedule. I teach from my home studio in West Philly.