‘The Unbranded’ to perform at KEPW benefit concert April 12

Echo: I’m your host, Echo. Welcome to Underground Echo, where we dive into the depths of emerging music scenes. Let’s start with The Unbranded here. We have Kyle and Michael with us today from The Unbranded. And let’s start with your roots, folks. What inspired the formation of The Unbranded and how has your vision evolved over time?

Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, The Unbranded originally started as a solo project when I was still living back in Colorado. You know, the music scene there I found was sort of polarized between black death metal and super hippie folk, and so there wasn’t really a place for sort of a punk sound. And The Unbranded still isn’t really punk, it’s more punk-inspired. We’ve always sort of lived in this like liminal space of what the kind of sound was.

[00:00:53] So, you know, we just put out the new record, ‘No Angels Here.’ The first couple of demos, or couple of songs on there, you know, ‘Drainage‘ and ‘Novocaine,’ and those were just originally written by myself about seven years ago. When I moved to Eugene, I just started playing and trying to get out into the scene, and that’s, you know, when I met Michael. And, as it grew from just sort of a solo project when I started inviting people in, that’s when our sound really started to solidify, I think, no longer just sitting in a basement by myself, but actually collaborating with real humans.

[00:01:33] Echo: Absolutely. So how has Eugene’s creativity and music scene influenced your own music scene?

[00:01:41] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, you know, I’ve never felt more welcomed into a scene before and (That’s beautiful) it’s really amazing. Yeah, there’s so much talent here, but it’s not a pretentious talent. You know, we’ve been able to really collaborate with all sorts of different types of artists, photographers. We just filmed a music video with Thor Slaughter from town. We did that over behind behind Sheldon High School at CTV (Community Television).

[00:02:10] Echo: Sounds fun.

[00:02:11] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Just a riot, yeah, yeah. So, and I think that’s, you know, that’s really part of The Unbranded sound itself is, you know, the name ‘The Unbranded’ comes from not knowing what type of music I was originally playing.

[00:02:27] Echo: Right.

[00:02:28] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): You know, I’m a ‘90s kid. I pull a lot of inspiration from lots of different, you know, sound sources. And I remember just talking to my wife and being like, I think it’s just like, unbranded rock. I also have no tattoos, and I work in marketing. (Right.) So I thought it was funny.

[00:02:46] But yeah, you know, as as we’ve played with more and more bands, you know, in the PNW, I think we’ve just gotten more comfortable with being in that liminal space of not really trying to define what our sound is anymore. But when we write a song, we know if it sounds like us.

[00:03:11] Echo: Okay, yeah, it’s an unbranded brand.

[00:03:14] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): It is, very much so, yeah. (laughing)

[00:03:18] Echo: So what is one of the most memorable moments from your performances?

[00:03:24] Michael Rose (The Unbranded): I feel like it’s when we really just sync up on stage, when we’re playing certain songs like Majesty, it has certain breaks, and we really just sync those up and it gets everything flowing in the right way.

[00:03:48] Echo: And do you think the audience feels that flow state with you?

[00:03:49] Michael Rose (The Unbranded): 100 percent.

[00:03:49] Echo: That’s pretty cool. How. do you approach songwriting? Is it a collaborative process or an individual effort?

[00:03:56] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, for the most part it’s been more of an individual effort. I’ve usually written the songs and brought them in total or almost there to the rest of the band but you know, We firmly believe that every every member has full control over their sound and their instrument. So I’m not attached to how Michael or Daniel wants to interpret the drums or the bass.

[00:04:23] Because, almost always, when I write the songs, they’re about 35% to 40% slower than they actually end up being by the time we’re done with them.

[00:04:33] Echo: Yeah, I have that problem. I understand that problem.

[00:04:36] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): So apparently when I’m writing, I need a much slower beat to compose with, and then once we translate it into what we play as a band, it really starts to get its legs.

[00:04:48] Echo: So what are the themes or messages that you aim to convey through your music?

[00:04:52] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, so I got sober in 2011. (Congratulations.) Thank you. Yeah, and when I got out of rehab, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had all this time. And so I started playing in punk bands. And so, you know, recurring themes of dealing with addiction, not only to, you know, just substances, but just, you know, problems in life.

[00:05:19] You know, so that’s definitely a recurring theme, of just the struggle of being human, trying to be a better human. And yeah, you know, there’s one thing that everyone in the band shares is some sort of religious trauma in our background (Okay), so we sing about that quite a lot actually.

[00:05:40] Echo: Can you detail a little more about that?

[00:05:43] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, yeah. So, you know, I was raised in a really strict Christian household. I had never heard a distorted guitar until I was like 13 or 14 years old, okay? And I remember my sister’s boyfriend at the time had a Green Day Kerplunk cassette, okay, and it absolutely changed my life. I’d never heard anything that sounded like that before. You know, my mom listened to 102 ZOO on the radio, Ashtabula, Ohio.

[00:06:18] And then, you know, so like, I liked Boyz II Men and All-4-One. And as soon as I heard a distorted guitar, I was like: ‘I didn’t know you could do that.’ I didn’t know that existed. And, you know, and then came all of the ethos that comes with like, you know, the punk community, (Right) DIY, and, you know, the leftist politics and it just completely opened up my world.

[00:06:46] Echo: The subculture.

[00:06:47] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): The subculture, yeah, yeah.

[00:06:49] Echo: That’s pretty cool.

[00:06:51] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, you know, it’s one of the things, though, that I think I’ve personally struggled with as a musician is finding a home, right? Like, I don’t wear the punk rock uniform and so…

[00:07:01] Echo: Right, so you get outed as a yuppie (laughing).

[00:07:05] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, it’s, I’m like, it just, it contributes to this feeling of just like, ‘Wow, I really am just a square peg in a round hole everywhere,’ right? Right. But then finding, you know, Michael and Daniel and creating The Unbranded together, I feel like I finally have that home.

[00:07:27] Echo: Oh, that’s wonderful.

[00:07:29] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Very much a family like that.

[00:07:31] Echo: I love seeing that. We’re a family at KEPW too and I think that’s the best kind of working relationship where you can call your co-host or your co-worker and say ‘I love you’ and genuinely mean it. (Yes.) You know what I mean? (Yes, 1000%.) And when you know you can count on those people that always have your back and be there when you need them, it’s truly a family you’re creating.

[00:07:54] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah. Yeah, the music might have been what brought us together, but it’s that love and care for each other that keeps us here.

[00:08:03] Echo: Absolutely. If you could tour with any band or artist, who would it be and why?

[00:08:13] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): That’s such a great question. (There’s so many options.) There are so many options. You know, one of the tricks to our songwriting is I’m often inspired by the sounds of different bands.

[00:08:27] So like ‘Majesty,’ for example, I call our Coheed and Cambria song. It’s just got this kind of like prog rocky thing and it’s sort of inspired by them. Coheed would be amazing to tour with.

[00:08:41] There’s an upcoming band that I really love called Bad Nerves. They’re from the U.K. and they’ve come over to Portland a few times. I would love to open for them.

[00:08:52] Echo: Okay, so if you’re listening to those bands, Unbranded would love to play with you. (Yes, we would.) But let’s talk about what you’re going to be playing upcoming, because we have a show coming up with you and five other artists that’s going to benefit KEPW and, of course, local artists.

[00:09:10] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Absolutely, yeah. Yeah. We’re very excited for that show.

[00:09:13] Echo: Yeah? What are you thinking about, unveiling anything new? Or just enjoying the collaborative effort, tell us a little bit more about what you plan to do with the show.

[00:09:25] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, so, you know, we’ve actually just been working on a new set that has a bunch of the songs that are going to be on our next album. So we’ve been, you know, the current set is a mix of what’s on the record and then what we’re getting ready to record now.

[00:09:41] So I think it’s a really good mix. I think you can see sort of the growth and progression and a lot of the newer songs were exploring some different sonic territory than where we were last time. Yeah, but they still, I think they match together beautifully, so I’m excited to share them with your audience.

[00:10:03] Echo: So, how do you engage with your local community through music other than just shows like this?

[00:10:13] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, community is so important for the music scene. I think just showing up, going to other band shows, buying stickers, buying the T-shirt of the band that’s on tour, you know, I always just want to make sure that we’re paying it forward.

[00:10:35] I’m a firm believer in karma and I think karma is amazing because it does, you know, give you back what you put in and so much of life and especially art is like that. So, you know, I think the more that you engage with other musicians, whether that’s streaming them, listening to them on the radio, calling in or requesting their music, there’s so many small ways that have such a big impact and it can just lead to being a good community member.

[00:11:07] Echo: Absolutely. So what advice would you give to emerging bands in Eugene?

[00:11:13] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Never give up. Just keep doing it. I’ve been playing in bands since I was 14. I’m going to turn 40 in July.

[00:11:22] Echo: Oh, congratulations.

[00:11:24] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Thank you, yeah. And it’s not that I’m a spectacular musician or a great songwriter. I think the secret behind all of it is that I just never quit.

[00:11:37] Echo: Yeah, persistence pays off.

[00:11:39] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): It does, yeah. And don’t lose the joy of it, you know. This is still my favorite thing to do, every time that we get together for practice: ‘Wow, I wish we could do this every day.’

[00:11:52] When we recorded the last album up at Jackpot! (Studios) in Portland, it was one of the best days in my entire life. I had so much fun and I just couldn’t wait to do it again and yeah, you know, if you’re doing what you love with good people, just keep at it and you know, eventually the success comes.

[00:12:16] Echo: Absolutely. Folks, if you’re out there and you want to come to the concert that’s upcoming, it’s going to be April 12 at Sacred Connections, that’s 810 W. 3rd Ave. and the show will be going from 7 p.m. to 12. Do you know when you’re going to play? Do you know the time you’re going to play yet? (We don’t.) You don’t.

[00:12:39] Okay, so you’re going to have to come to the whole show folks and see every band. Yes, (As you should), as you well should anyway, but it will be playing live on the radio. We will be live streaming it on YouTube and you will get a chance to meet the band. (Amazing.) So we’re excited about this. What’s the thing you’re most excited about this concert?

[00:13:00] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): You know the postapocalyptic theme has me really really intrigued.

Echo: Are you guys going to dress up?

[00:13:07] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): We do like costumes.

[00:13:08] Echo: I think you should. I’m going to dress up. Folks, if you dress up, that just adds to the fun of the party. We want you to dress up. So if you have a good idea for a postapocalyptic costume, come and impress the band. [laughing]  

Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Can’t wait to see what you come up with. (Absolutely.)

[00:13:24] Echo: Well, that’s about all time we have for today. Anything else you want to shout out or say before we go?

[00:13:34] Kyle Pivarnik (The Unbranded): Yeah, just, you know, support your local community, support your local radio, you know, especially these days. It’s so important to celebrate that which brings us joy. You know, sometimes it feels a little silly to me, to be, you know, pursuing a rock band, you know, just given everything that is happening in the world. But it really is those moments of joy and celebration, and it gives us that opportunity to come together as a community, you know, to both celebrate and lift each other up.

[00:14:18] Echo: Amazing. Do you want to say anything before we go, Michael? Got any shout outs?

[00:14:24] Michael Rose (The Unbranded): No, just thank you very much for having us on.

[00:14:26] Echo: Yeah, thank you guys for coming. You’ve been amazing. This is Kyle and Michael from The Unbranded and then who else do we have on your team? (Daniel.) Daniel on the drums, okay, so Michael is our bass player and we’ve got Kyle on the lead singing and songwriting and guitar, and then we’ve got Daniel on the drums. (Absolutely.). Amazing. So it’s going to be quite the show, folks, come and see them.

[00:14:57] And that’s all we have for today. You’ve been listening to Underground Echo special, a shout-out to everyone who’s listening: We love you very much. Please come to our show. $10 at the door. You’ll enjoy it.