Interview: Pakalolo Patrol

SAM SHIELD ’18
A&E EDITOR
Last Wednesday, I sat down to talk with a new Trinity College based band Pakalolo Patrol. The four piece group plays surf inspired music with punk rock intensity. Imagine a calm day at the beach, throw in an open container citation and a shark attack, and you have Pakalolo Patrol. Here are some thoughts from the minds behind the patrol.
Trinity Tripod: “Who makes up Pakalolo Patrol?”
Pakalolo Patrol: “(The band) is made up of me, Justin Martin (Guitar, Lead Vocals), James Rodger (Bass), Jason McLeod (Drums), Francisco Chang (Guitar, Backing Vocals).”
TT: “What are some of your influences?”
PP: “We take elements of surf, indie, garage, and punk rock. We really dig Sonic Youth, Pixies, The Cure, and Surf Curse. But our biggest influence is definitely Hawaii 5-0.”
TT: “Do you have any plans coming up?”
PP: “We just played The Mill last Saturday. We’d love to start playing more outside of Trinity. Right now, we’re really focused on recording our EP and have a gig in Woodbridge coming up on Friday the 13th of October at the Amity Teen Center.”
TT: “Where can we hear your music?”
PP: “Bandcamp and Soundcloud. You can check out our single “Surfin’ Yüng Man” at soundcloud.com/OnPatrol. All of us are on the Mill’s executive board right now. We are currently working together as a team to renovate the Mill’s recording studio. Usually we do the best we can with what we have, like recording on multiple iPhones. We even tried recording inside the Crypt of the Trinity College Chapel.”
TT: “How did that sound?”
PP: “Absolutely spooky. It sounded like an echo inside an echo.”
TT: “Is this your first band, or have you all played music before?”
Martin: “This is my first band in college. I stopped playing music my Junior year in high school. My mom was a musician. My entire childhood, the main message she would pass down to me was, “Please don’t want to do music as a career. You don’t want to do it.” I used to sit up in my room listening to music all night, and have genuinely loved it for as long as i can remember.”
Chang: “This is my first serious band. I’ve always played guitar, but this is probably the most serious I’ve taken music.”
Martin: “My mom is a musician, so I’ve been playing in groups here or there. Played some smaller gigs in high school, but Pakalolo Patrol is the first band where we’re playing for people who like to have fun.”
Rodger: “I was in a band with four bassists once. It didn’t last very long, it’s really hard to make songs with four bassists.”
TT: “How far are you looking to take Pakalolo Patrol?”
PP: “Music has been a ton of fun, it’s a great way to relieve stress. Definitely willing to take it as far is it goes. As long as the four of us remain friends, we’ll always be on patrol. No matter what happens, I know music will be a part of our lives.”