The story behind the formation of Philadelphia band Pithair is a very familiar one. "The band was started with the very stereotypical story about two best friends sitting at a bar going, 'yo. we should start a band!,' vocalist Tori Roccia tells No Echo. "We all come from different musical backgrounds, some of us in hardcore bands, some in metal bands. From hardcore to metalcore, doom to thrash, punk rock to riot grrrl; if its loud, fast and heavy, we love it."
All of those musical influences make total sense when you listen to the group's two 2018 EPs: Fuck Hardcore and Pithair. Does the material rip? Yes, you betcha. But there are moments when the quintet shift their tempos into an evil crawl, showing off that doom influence Tori mentioned above.
"The way we write is very collaborative," says the singer. "Someone will come in with a riff or an idea and we all work on it together, make it a song. Then I'll take it home and write the vocals, using the feeling of the music along with my own personal experiences to write lyrics.
Both the self-titled EP and Fuck Hardcore, lyrically, have one main thing in common: abuse; neglect or emotional/physical abuse from a partner, self-abuse, abusing drugs, etc. And everything that comes from abuse! Codependency, anxiety, depression. The emotional roller coaster of one day feeling like you can grab the abuser, no matter what is it, by the throat and tell it to fuck off and the next day crawling up in a ball and admitting defeat."
Tori is psyched about Pithair's local punk community: "We love being involved in the Philly scene! There are so many amazing spaces, bands and people coming out of this city. Since we started we have been welcome into our local scene with open arms, amazing support from peers, and have really been able to thrive in Philly."
How about a hot tip on a band from Pithair's local scene that No Echo readers can check out? "A specific band in the scene who has become sort of a sister band to us is Witching. Bad ass people with big ass hearts and a kick ass sound, we feel especially close to them, and appreciate all they do for the scene."
Stay tuned to a full-length from Pithair coming later in 2020.
Pithair on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp
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