I often wonder why I spend time and energy on this music blog. I mean, does anyone need to hear my thoughts on Michigan rap or breakcore or Guided By Voices? But then I remember that there are things inside of my head, stupid things, things that I try not to burden my friends and family with, though I inevitably do; things that, if I have no proper outlet for them, will fester and erode my day-to-day functionality, and, if further unaddressed, will lead me back to where I was at the age of 11: alone and in a mental hospital. What I’m trying to say is that I need an outlet to write about a jam band called Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
Last time on Jam Band Chronicles, we talked about Goose, a “tasteful” Vermont band that has been getting attention from the indie rock world. Some say they are the heir apparent to Phish. Though they also have a bird name, Baltimore’s Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are not that kind of jam band.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are funky. They are maybe the closest thing to the Chilli Peppers or Spin Doctors in the contemporary jam band world. I got some DMV intel that this band was started in 2009 as a college goof, but their trajectory in the game has been anything but a joke: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have taken frat funk to the big leagues. It’s house party music that somehow made it all the way to Red Rocks.
This is not a band that was designed to get a Pitchfork review. They were designed to cultivate a cult fanbase that calls themselves The Flock. They were designed to do a mash-up set of Pink Floyd and Daft Punk covers. Their lead singer calls himself Scrambled Greg. I could keep going but I need to save some shit for the rest of the post.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong take their name from a famous Skinner experiment that members of the band learned about in a Psych 101 class at the University of Maryland. They are the musical equivalent of a dorm party light. I mean, what is not to love? Don’t be an asshole. If my music career is ever 10 percent as successful as Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, I will be happy.
"Hakuna Matata→Time To Ride" (Live at Madison Theater 12/31/17)
When it comes to Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, there is no use wading in the kiddie pool. You gotta jump right into the deep end. And that is exactly what we are doing: Plumbing the depths. Here, they are in matching makeup and Mickey Mouse ears, getting funky with a Lion King standard. They jam on that motherfucker for a good amount of time. Psychedelia is not this band’s strong suit. Eventually, the music segues into what is probably the most important song is the PPPP cannon: “Time To Ride.”
“Time To Ride” is the song that sold me on the Pigeons Playing Ping Pong brand experience. It’s a call to arms. Some might be shocked by Scrambled Greg’s vocal performance. It sounds like a parody of Anthony Keidis at his most unhinged. But it goes further than that. During the verses, the vocals transcend Keidis and enter into a nonverbal space—almost like scatting or the work of Yamantaka Eye. It’s the sound of your friend trying to rap after eating an 8th of mushrooms. Scrambled Greg does not look like someone you would want to encounter while tripping.
A fleeting chunk of a jam starting near the 16-minute mark sounds like of turn-of-the-century Sonic Youth. Someone in the band makes a pigeon noise; Scrambled Greg flaps his arms like he’s doing the chicken dance. He rhymes “loopy” with “droopy.”
"Funk E. 'Dead Hot Sergeant Peppers' Medley” (Live At The Variety Playhouse 11/3/18)
I’ve already mentioned the Pigeons Playing Ping Pong mashup set of Daft Punk and Pink Floyd covers. They called it “Daft Side Of The Moon.” But what about their three-way insanity mash of Beatles, Chi Peps and The Dead? It would be hard to think of anything more convoluted… Of course they wear full Peppers drip—John and Paul, not Flea and Chad. Throwing The Dead on top of it all seems like overkill. In the hands of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, “By The Way” and “Shakedown Street” have roughly the same energy. Through the frat funk blender they go.
“Fame (with moe.)” (Live At Red Rocks 7/12/18)
Talk about a crossover! Here, the two bands cover a Bowie standard at one of the more iconic music venues in America. Not going to cap: I have very little knowledge of moe., other than the fact that I believe my friend Brian once got a job burning CDs for them. As I was reading moe.’s official biography, a quote from bass player Rob Derhak stood out. Of the band’s early inspiration: “We liked music, we liked to party, and we wanted to put those two things together.”
"Henrietta” (Live At The Georgia Theatre 4/27/18)
Another personal favorite PPP tune: Scrambled Greg’s ode to his pet porcupine Henrietta. (Opening lyric: “My baby's got quills/Rough and unkind/Eats my nectar and the rind.”) This track got a lot of burn in the tour van circa 2018. The thing about going on tour is that it makes you lose your mind. It has now occurred to me that I'm spending a lot of time on Scrambled Greg. Maybe not giving the rest of the band their due. So, I want to quickly give a shout to the band’s bass player Ben Carrey, who, with his Buddha-esque build and long-ass goatee, looks like the kind of guy that would readily share his weed with you. But, again, Greg steals the show here: He’s wearing what looks like pajama pants and he sings through a grin.
Speaking of animal jam bands from the DMV, have any of you fucked with that recent Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished reissue? High school favorite of mine; I listened to it for the first time in years today and it kind of hit. I remember my friend Jonathan telling me that his local college radio program director described the record as something like “Merzbow meets Mercury Rev,” which is not entirely wrong. Brian and Jonathan in a single blog post: It’s a big day for The Church Of Crystal Light. Anyways… The album remains an affecting, confusing piece of twee noise. Nothing else really sounds like it. All that jazzy brushwork and brittle synth. The bonus cuts deliver, too: Never heard their cover of “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac before. Remember when everyone thought they were the new Radiohead? I’m not brave enough to slap on Merriweather yet.
“Lowdown→Upfunk” (Live At Brooklyn Bowl 4/14/23)
I now realize that I have been banging mostly PPPP tunes from around 2017 and 2018, which maybe implies that the band has already peaked. If the above 2023 documentation is any indication, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are on one long plateau, which could last anywhere from five to fifty years. As I stare at the screen and watch the band perform a song called “Upfunk,” I exit my body and think about all the choices I have made that have led me to this point. It’s a Monday afternoon and I am writing about a jam band voluntarily and for no money.