In April of this year I met up with Piano Moving Company to talk about future plans, past shows and their Berlin experiences thus far. Originally from Burlington in the U.S., they made their name here by playing, quite literally, underground shows at the Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station earlier this year. Armed with positive energy, accordion, guitar and clever lyrics they brought some much needed life to this rather sketchy spot, won themselves a fan base and were soon playing real shows all over town.

Their music is a treat for anyone with a sentiment for old-time tunes, a mix of blues, ragtime, bluegrass and chanson and finally after a long absence everyone will be able to enjoy these kids live again. They roll back into town as part of their European Tour with Vermont Joy Parade, their original band and the source of most of their songs. They’ve got several shows lined up over the next month so make room in your calendar.

Anna and Benjamin of Piano Moving Company were fun to talk to, here’s Part One of the interview:

What’s your connection to Vermont Joy Parade?

Benny: Vermont Joy Parade is a collective. When we started, it was a bunch of our friends who were song writers and musicians that came together for  a project. Eventually that became a super solid band, and because it was successful, we figured it’s definitely a band more than a collective. When half of us came out here (Berlin), we called ourselves Piano Moving Company. We play most of the same songs plus extra stuff with new arrangements.

 

What made you come to Berlin?

Anna: I had the luck of meeting a Berlin singer-songwriter named Rike Scheffler who was touring in the U.S.. Our paths crossed because we had a mutual aquaintance we were both staying with.  A conversation ensued and I told her I was feeling like making a fresh start somewhere new. She said “Oh, you’d love Berlin. I’ll help you out.” I was very excited about this so I sold everything I owned and I bought a one way ticket.
When Benny joined me here (Berlin) we started to gig. Then, Galen joined us and we had this incredible run of shows. It really thaught me that at this time of my life, my place is with the band. Going back to the U.S.  is exciting now. We’ll rejoin with the others and tour as Vermont Joy Parade again.
Benny: And we’re releasing our album, on CD this summer. Last year we released it on vinyl only.
What’s the title?
Benny: It’s called “Kicking Sawdust”
Anna: Which is antiquated lingo for “drop everything and join the circus”.

 

Do you have any funny stories from recent concerts?

Anna: Well most recently we got to play a show on someone’s sink.
Benny: That was great. Probably my favorite show in Berlin.  It was the first time we’d played with our friends Fenster. They’re really up and coming… they’re incredible and just released their debut album. We played at a house party with them in a place that had one of those huge living rooms with the kitchen and living room together. We played as the last band and we decided not to plug in, and instead used their kitchen counter as a stage.
Anna: We noticed that people were trying to get in and see the music but they couldn’t fit. So what we did was push all the music equipment aside, go to the opposite side of the room and stand up on the sink and the washing machine.
Benny: Everyone packed into the room.
Anna: We fit everyone in there and they could see us because we were elevated.
Benny: We were stomping and I could feel like I was going to break this sink.
Anna: I actually threw my neck a little cos I couldn’t fit myself up on the washing machine without fear of falling. I was kind of jacking the guitar head up a bit and kept hitting the wall.
Benny: That was probably the best energy I’ve felt at a show. Pure absurdity. It’s fun.
Sounds like a show not to have missed.
Benny: We played in Poland for a ton of people, we played Schokoladen ‒
Anna: ‒ Schokoladen was a really great show.
Benny: White Trash. They’re all great venues, but it’s the house parties with a bunch of people who are really into the music, that are the best.
Anna: You know what? Let’s talk about Kottbuser Tor. Becasue that’s how we made it big in Berlin. That’s how we created the buzz and that’s how we supported ourselves all winter. Benny showed up and he said “So what do you think? Can we busk here?” and I said “I don’t know it’s really cold, but I’ve seen people jump on the trains and busk on them, though, I don’t think I’d want to do that… and I’ve seen people play in the U-Banh station underground but I’m pretty sure we won’t be well received or we’ll get in trouble.” But in the end we went to Kottbusser Tor, 5 nights a week for two months straight and it was incredible .
Benny: Every night was amazing ‒
Anna: ‒ and Kottbusser Tor is known as this junkie, dingy, homeless hangout ‒
Benny: ‒ people were smoking heroin right next to us.
No wonder they received you well. [laughs]
Anna: But you know it’s also Kreuzberg. It’s a lot of youth generation, coming through, going to shows, coming home for the night so you get this really interesting mix of homeless people, drunks, junkies and youth culture. We’d sometimes draw a crowd of 30-40 people that would stay ‒
Benny: ‒ or more ‒.
Anna: ‒ for the whole show.  People would miss their trains and they would just hang out with us all night.  It got to a point where when we didn’t show up we’d come the next night and they’d say “Hey I was here I brought my friends and some beers and you guys weren’t here last night”. Eventually people started handing us their cards. People said “Hey, come play here” or they’d get our info and they’d call us and we started booking all these shows in all these little clubs around Berlin because people had seen us in the U-Bahn.
Benny: I had been calling and emailing, trying to get shows all around Berlin before but there’s so many muscians here. Then as soon as we started playing in the U-Bahn it was like show after show after show.  It’s easy to get shows but it’s hard to get those good shows those ones that either pay you or it’s really fun to play them with a built in crowd or anything like that. Sometimes on two nights of the week we’d play two shows in a row. It was really intense.
Anna: We had a good run there for a while.
No Problems?
Anna: We got robbed once ‒
Benny: ‒ we got robbed once.
Anna: I got in the guys face.
Benny: There were weapons drawn and everything. It was pretty intense but Anna’s  pretty hardcore.
Anna: I grew up in New Jersey so even though I’ve been a Vermonter for 8 years I think a situation like this brought out the Jersey in me. It’s a pretty weird place to grow up.
So you saved the day?
Benny: She saved the day in terms of our dignity but she didn’t get the money back ‒
Anna: ‒ but that’s okay .
Benny: What are you gonna do?
Anna: One of the most interesting things that struck me were instances when the cops would come in for drug busts. They’d be looking for someone in the crowd who had drugs ‒
Benny: ‒ they’d be searching everybody.
Anna: Sometimes when I sing I have my eyes closed, especially if it’s an emotional song or if it’s something I really want to channel in an intimate way. So there would be times when Benny would whisper to me “Bring it down, bring it down”. I’d still have my eyes closed but we’d bring the energy down to something mellow, and after the song was over when I’d open my eyes there would be someone getting handcuffed or ruffed up or something like that, right in front of us but the cops wouldn’t ask us to stop playing because we had somehow calmed the scene. People were standing around watching while there is this aggressive action going on but the music somehow calmed the situation, and then the cops would leave with whoever they were looking for.
It’s like a symbiosis.

 

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting here in Berlin?

Anna:Don’t be afraid do busk. Don’t feel like busking is below you because from our experience that’s how we planted the seed.
Benny: It’s the most honest musicianship cos you give it to people for free. It’s the most honest proffession cos you do your thing regardless if people are paying you or not. You’re not asking for money, they can donate how ever much they want based on how  good of a musician they think you are, whether you have good energy or whatever it is. It’s an amazing thing to do. It’s an important thing too because so many people wouldn’t come to your show because they don’t go up to smokey bars at night or they don’t have money, and this way they can still see you and you can still kind of burst their bubble of isolation and alienation. You’re kind of coming into their world.

 

What would you consider the greatest hardship you had to face by becoming a musician?

Benny: Fighting off the women…it’s really difficult…my girlfriend. I’m not even kidding. No, I am.
Anna: I think every time you overcome a hardship another one presents itself. I think it’s a journey. I think the first five years I was doing it, there were certain hardships and then as soon as I would overcome one wall another one would be presented.
Would you change it if you could though?
Anna: No, I don’t think I would because that’s the nature of exploring anything in this existence. You try to hone a skill whether you’re scientist or a doctor or a writer or a journalist and you’re going to see that world opens up a path for you to travel, and I think that path is very similar for anyone whose in the same business that you’re in. Any musician who is on that similar journey would know exactly what I’m talking about and those specifics.

 

After the tour with Vermont Joy Parade are you planning to stay here in Berlin?

Anna:Me and Benny are the two members of the band that have been here the longest. I think we’re drawn to stay in Berlin for quite some time. Originally we were both seeking visas to stay for the year, but the excitement of our U.S. tour is bringing us back preemptively. I think that when we come back in the fall we may pursue the visas again and stay in Berlin because it’s such an incredible place to live and play music. As far as an urban setting I think it far surpasses anything Ihave found in the U.S..

Piano Moving Company are: Anna Pardenik (guitar, accordion, vocals),  Benjamin Strosberg (banjo, trumpet, vocals) and Galen Peria (accordion, piano, vocals).

Their first of many shows in Berlin with Vermont Joy Parade will take place in Kindl Bar on the 27th October. See you there.

Stay tuned for the second part of this interview with the full band Vermont Joy Parade.

 Interview & Photo: Olga Baczynska

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