Supply and demand

Music | January 25th, 2017

“I’ve been in bands before and I was looking to be active again--I got a good taste of it that night jamming in the basement.” says Matthew Gebhardt bassist of Fargo punk trio Pretty Hardly.

Gebhardt and Pretty Hardly guitarist Sam Ova met at a party at Ova’s house--affectionately referred to as “The sh*t house”--one fateful night. The two bonded over beers and a jam session. Ova met fellow musician Michael Pink in a similar scenario and the punk trio Pretty Hardly was formed. They played their first gig in 2014--and haven’t stopped playing. You may have seen them playing their original material or you may have seen them playing a Replacements or Lemonheads set during a halloween cover set at the Aquarium.

Each musician has played in bands for a decade or more. “I started out playing drums initially--before I played guitar...in bands around town back in the old days at Ralph’s,” Pink said. For Pink, revisiting the drums wasn’t too much of an adjustment. Gebhardt, a guitarist, learned how to play bass for Pretty Hardly. “He never played bass before.” Ova said. Gebhardt interjects, “He bought me the bass.” Ova continued, “I literally bought him a bass and said you’re now the bassist of the band.”

This Saturday they will be celebrating the release of their self-titled debut album. They will be sharing the stage with Dingus, What Kingswood Needs, and Jake Ingamar. All tracks on the album, with the exception of “Nervous Kids,” were produced by friend and Aquarium sound man Ryan Cofer. The album has been a year and a half in the making--due to coordinating busy schedules and the arduous task of picking and choosing material.

Ova, Pink and Gebhardt each have their own songwriting process, once a piece is written each member plays into what fits where. “It doesn’t take us much work to actually work together.” says Ova. Pink jokes, “There aren’t ever any weird shouting matches where one of us goes off to the mountains for a week.” Gebhardt added,”If somebody has an idea then we try it--it’s never one guy who says that’s the way it should be and the other guys disagree--we all agree.”

Their sound oozes DIY punk energy. The lyrics are thoughtful--disillusioned yet hopeful. The last track, “Nervous Kids,” is starkly different from the rest of the album and is of acoustic punk ballad proportions--the perfect closer to an album, show, or just your night in general.

When asked how they would describe their sound, Gebhardt started, “We always get compliments--but I’m not sure if people are being serious.” Ova interjected,“We’ve been told we sound like a sped up version of The Cure before.” Gebhardt added, “Someone told us that you sounded just like I thought you would--he looked happy when he said it so it must have been a compliment.”

IF YOU GO:

Pretty Hardly CD Release

Saturday, January 28, 9pm-howling

The Aquarium, 226 N Broadway, Fargo

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