Tony from Bowling discuss the chaos of their first full-length

Transmission 163: Interview with Tony from Bowling

Tony from Bowling is a psych-garage rock band based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with members from both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Their music incorporates distorted guitar elements, improvisational segments, and punk-oriented energy. The group’s debut full-length album, Appear, was published on February 8 through Michi Tapes.

Title: Appear
Artist: Tony from Bowling
Genres: Garage Rock, Lo-fi, Noise Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Label: Michi Tapes
Description: Tony from Bowling discuss Appear their approach to psych-garage rock and the influences that shaped their debut album released on Michi Tapes.

How did you arrive at the name Tony from Bowling, and does it hold any particular story or meaning for the band?

Tony is who the songs are about. And it references the sport, not any place. Look him up, he’s everywhere.

Growing up in Pittsburgh, what was your first real gateway into psych and garage rock? Was there a specific album or show that lit the fuse?

First gateway were bands like FIDLAR, Orwells, Wavves, Ty Segall, stuff like that. Also only 1/4 of the band grew up in Pittsburgh, but we were all into the same kind of music. The rest of us are West Virginia boys. 

What drew you to that particular corner of modern psych rock?

The music is a party and their shows reflect that, but not at the cost of quality artistically. 

When you first started performing, what obstacles arose while creating a psych-garage rock sound in your local scene?

We’ve been pretty lucky, playing house parties and things like that gave us a pretty good head start. At first we weren’t old enough to drink in the bar, that was definitely an obstacle. Then that turns into drinking too much but you figure it out. Also most bands around us back then were like emo-adjacent and kind of a sad vibe, which was tough because we just wanted to party and have fun. 

What was your reaction upon hearing the mastered version of “Appear,” and does it differ significantly from your earliest vision for the track?

We were stoked on it, hearing everything cleaned up rules. Definitely a step in the right direction for us recording wise. 

Were there any particular hurdles when arranging the track order for Appear, and how did you ultimately decide on the sequence?

I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted it to flow once some of the songs were there. I wrote everything with the intention of it working longer form, this is our first album so I thought about it a little differently. 

Outside of music, which interests—such as film, literature, or visual arts—have you found to be influential in your work? How do these outside influences factor into your songwriting or performances, and do you think they will guide any future projects?

Literature and visual arts definitely. Anything with a feeling of impending doom and psychedelia gets my brain turning. I think it just sparks our desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. 

After releasing Appear, what are your plans for additional recordings, possible tours, or other new projects you might pursue next?

We’re playing live as much as we can for the next few months. We have a northern trip on the books with our buddies from New Hampshire – Dog Lips, they’re amazing. We’ll be going back into the studio soon too.

Matteo Damiani

Matteo Damiani is an Italian photographer and author. Curator of the sites Retrofuturista.com; weirditaly.com; china-underground.com and others