The Pine Boys to Continue Their Busy Schedule; Celebrate New Album with Additional Shows

ALBANY – Releasing Alternative Milk on August 18,th local jammers The Pine Boys have been on quite a productive path as of late. Performing more and more shows, the band has gotten a taste for playing outside of their hometown, making new connections and fans along the way. Over at Nippertown, we had a chance to catch up with Andrew Cerone of the band. What follows is our conversation.

Lucas Garrett: Good to talk with you again, Andrew! How’ve you been?

Andrew Cerone: Doing very well. Been really busy with some shows. I don’t know, I was burnt out from doing a lot of shows. I wasn’t pumping the album too much, so we picked a release date for when we had a bunch of shows. Staying busy. How about you?

LG: Doing the same thing, man! When I talked to you last, you weren’t as busy back then – you’re a lot busier now.

AC: I’d say so, which is a good thing! Even last year, the live music thing wasn’t fully back, but now they’re in a good place.

LG: Where are you playing these days?

AC: This year, we’ve had some out-of-town treks: one was in Connecticut; one was in New Haven, Pennsylvania. Earlier in the year, we played Cooperstown and Glens Falls. It was cool to get out of the Capital Region, even though it’s cool and really important to us. It’s a different thing when you don’t have your friends and family in the audience.

LG: Talk to us a bit about Alternative Milk. Where did that name come from?

AC: I usually have a book of ideas for album [names]. I like the idea because there’s this oat milk, almond milk craze. I thought of it as a comparison to our music – a different option for people. I liked the ring of it, and it went from there. Sometimes it isn’t always related to the album, but I felt the title fit the new vibe we’re going for.

LG: Elaborate on that new vibe. I haven’t heard much like that. How did you create it?

AC: I would say one thing that was different for us this time is, we’ve recorded a lot of albums – all DIY at home. For this one, the songs were more developed together, and live. Also, thinking about how they’d translate live, more than any other albums.  Sometimes, they were a bit all over the place, but this one was like, “What can we jam on?” What did we think would be good live?

LG: There’s a lot of cool carnival sounds coming into it. Where did that flavor come from?

AC: Definitely a lot of our influences. Sam (Lasky) is the keyboard player in our band. he’s a classically trained pianist. Brett (Maney) and I wrote a lot of the songs in the past. We write riffs that sound good to our ear. We’re not thinking in terms of key or anything like that. It wasn’t necessarily intentional. One thing we’re always focused on is the groove.

LG: That can be one of the most important parts of a song: if it grooves or not.

AC: Yeah. I think when I’m assessing ideas or we’re working on new stuff, it’s what makes me want to move my head. That funk groove. It’s the core of a lot of stuff we like.

LG: How long did it take the band to write the album?

AC: One of us [has] an idea, and the other people organically come up with parts to it. Between conception of the ideas – we started playing those out a lot – to when the album was done, was a year-and-a-half.

LG: You said you’ve been doing a lot of shows, and you released the album on Aug. 18^th. What is next for the band?

AC: We’re playing at the Whiskey Pickle in Troy on Oct. 6^th, and we’re playing at the Jive Hive at the end of October.

LG: I love the Jive Hive.

AC: Yeah! I’m really excited to get a live album on the books. We’re all big horror movie fans, as well. I love playing in October; it’s a cool time of year.

LG: What’s your favorite horror movie?

AC: That’s a great question. I’d say The Shining, or the original Scream. The original Halloween, depending. I have a Freddy Kreuger cutout right here. How about you? Do you like horror movies?

LG: I’m more into thriller movies. I’d say my favorite is Silence of the Lambs. Thanks again, Andrew! Talk to you soon and good luck with everything!

AC: I appreciate it, thanks!