“Touring musician” and “toilet humor” are two concepts that don’t always collide. But for Indianapolis hardcore band, Pat and the Pissers, they’ve made it their trademark — and Bloomington has brought them back for another run.
On Friday, house venue The Far Side hosted Pat and the Pissers, along with Bloomington indie-grunge band Emily Spinach and Chicago psychadelic rock band Kangaroo Court.
Pat and the Pissers frontman and vocalist Alex Beckman hails from the Indianapolis area and said the band plans to record an album in January. The plans come after the last leg of a short touring stint that took the group from Indianapolis to Bloomington to Nashville, TN, but that doesn’t begin to encapsulate the success they’ve seen this year.
“We went on a big tour in May that was our most successful one yet,” Beckman said. “We toured through parts of Texas, down through New Orleans and Charlotte in a big loop. We did a couple dates in Ohio, so that was fun.”
Alongside Beckman, the group’s lineup consists of guitarist Matthew Keyser, bassist Alex Kilmer and drummer Connor Host. Like any group of musical nomads, they derive their energy on tour from inside jokes and clever comments that provide the basis for their lyrical style.
Beckman said their most recent EP, “Growth,” is the piece Pat and the Pissers found their sound. He cited it as his favorite.
“Song-structure wise, it’s our best that we’ve put together so far,” Beckman said. “Sonically, it was recorded by Bill Stack in Indianapolis, and I think he just did a really good job capturing how we actually sound live and putting it onto tape.”
Such a milestone shows immense growth from the band’s humble beginnings. The band found its footing almost by accident when a gig with Beckman’s previous band fell through and the venue still needed an act.
Thus, Pat and the Pissers were born in 2018 amidst the Do-It-Yourself scene of Muncie, Indiana. Beckman recalled frequenting Bloomington several times a month during his college years and expressed excitement at the prospect of returning to a house show venue in the area.
“Energy, energy, energy,” Beckman said of recent performances. “The crowds have been so good, the scene in Indianapolis just keeps growing and it’s really cool. Everybody’s extremely nice, everybody is really friendly. The crowds are just so respectful and so much fun.”
The group’s two albums and two EPs have amassed nearly two thousand monthly listeners on Spotify.
“It’s fun,” Beckman said. “Now having songs been out for so long and you get to hear people yelling the words back at you. That’s pretty much the greatest feeling in the world.”
In 2023, Pat and the Pissers released more than “Growth”. The band also saw albums “Soil” and “America’s Dream” pressed to vinyl, with the latter of the two releasing 50 special edition copies filled with real maggots through Romanus Records.
“We’re trying out a lot of new material and a lot of songs we’ve never played live before,” Beckman said. “So generally, we’ll mix in one or two new songs and play all old stuff, just because it’s easier and people want to hear the songs that they know.”
Things definitely aren’t slowing down for the group anytime soon, as they have an abundance of new material in the works for 2024.
“Come January we’re recording a new album,” Beckman said. “And then after that, we’re gonna do a couple shows in Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago in February and March. And then in February and March, we’re also going to Springfield, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis. Really excited for that.”
