TT the Bears, July 2006 

 Huddled around a cluster of tables hastily shoved in front of the entrance to the Middle East Upstairs, The Pilgrims found themselves both an interview and a fire-hazard. The two Pilgrims plus Boston pop-rock sensation Baker successfully blocked the flow of traffic into the restaurant, creating an obstacle that made serving tables a contact sport. However, the five delightful members of Baker provided enough amiable chat to make us forget all technical difficulties and slip into a dreamy world of pop hooks, all-night dance parties and swimming competitions.

Pilgrims of Sound: How long have you guys been playing together?
Baker (collectively): About 10 months? We’re coming up for a birthday at the end of September.

PS: Influences?
James: No music, just partying.
Steve: CARS!
Andy: I was really into 80’s music because I had an older sister…stuff like The Smiths and The Cure kind of stuck with me. But everyone else is totally different.
James: I just like the band Bread. That’s all.
Nicole: I come from a pop-punk background…Weezer and stuff like that
James: Harry and the Potters!
PS: They rock.
James: You know them? That’s Nicole’s favourite band. She’d quit this one to join them.

PS: Anything you want the readers to know?
Andy: Conan played water polo with Prince William.
Conan: He was a little boy when I played against him.
Andy: Last week Baker had a swim race, and Steve, the owner of the pool finished dead last. I think his afro slowed him down.
Conan: And I kicked him in the face!
Andy: Conan is very competitive
James: I thought it was all for fun, but then I saw Conan. (gestures wildly in a manner that vaguely suggests swimming)

PS: How was the race regulated?
Conan: I just said I won and no one disagreed. I had that glint in my eye, like, “I won, right?!”
Steve: I lost. Put that down, that I lost.

PS: So where do you guys hope your music will take you?
Conan: To the top! I think as far as we can go, no limits, you know?
Andy: We don’t do anything else.

PS: Day jobs?
James: I just live off Baker’s wealth
Andy: I live off the 15 drink tickets we got paid in New York this weekend. We got paid in beer last Saturday.
Conan: Yeah, they walked over with a tray of beers and were like, “Here you go guys, thanks for the music.”
Andy: I called all my family and people I went to high school with, was like, “See, I told you I’d do it!”

PS: How was your recording experience?
James: We just kind of bashed it out, we had 2 days to play, we just went up [to Vermont] and recorded. I had just as much fun hanging out…It’s very isolated, there’s like, one store in the town, no cell phone service.
Andy: Steve had a mental breakdown because his cell phone wasn’t working! We didn’t tell him until we got there, and he was like, “OH MY GOD I DON’T HAVE RECEPTION”
James: At one point I walked into a separate bedroom and Steve is pacing back and forth with the antenna.
Conan: Its cool being isolated, so we could concentrate on recording.
Andy: We didn’t know each other that well then, so it was a good way to kind of get to know each other…sexually.
Conan: Yeah, we all had sex.

PS: How do you measure your success as a band?