The Phensic On the Making Of ‘DCxPC Live Vol. 23’
Photo Credit: Matt Glock
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your 'DCxPC Live Vol. 23' and the story it tells?
We were introduced to Scott Pasch and DCxPC Live right after we recorded live versions of seven of our songs in the studio. The timing was perfect because we wanted to give people a sense of what our live show was like. In addition to the recording we also made videos which capture the band in a live setting. So working with Scott and DCxPC was perfect for our goals of putting out vinyl that featured us performing live.
Can you share any memorable experiences or stories from performing 'DCxPC Live Vol. 23' live?
We had all agreed before recording that we would only do 1-2 takes of each song and that made it more like a live performance and put a bit of pressure on each of us in a good way. We wanted the songs to have that energy and passion that you get when you play live. You can generally tell if a live take is good and in this case we all agreed that the songs sounded great and had that energy we were aiming for. We also invited James Kelly, the trombonist for Hub City Stompers to join us for the recording. He came in and improvised his solos which was really amazing to experience in real time. At one point you can hear our singer Roger yell out encouragement to James while he is soloing. That made the recording for me!
How does this album fit into your overall artistic vision?
As a relatively new band who is building a fanbase both in and outside the U.S., we wanted to give listeners a real sense of what it would be like to see us and experience us live. This album will be a great companion to our first album "Don't Test Me" and the next studio album we are currently working on. We had also talked about having a goal of releasing vinyl and this album checks that box.
How would you describe your musical style or genre?
I'd say we start with a foundation of 2 Tone ska, reggae and dub that gets combined with punk, indie rock and a lot of soul and R n B. We are proud to call ourselves a ska and reggae band but our goal, hopefully, is to have our own unique sound. We hope when people hear our songs they say, "That's The Phensic!"
How do you interact with fans before and after your performances? How important is fan engagement to your band's overall success?
After our music, fan engagement is the most important thing we focus on. Since launching the band in mid-2023 we've worked hard to create a social media presence that connects with ska and reggae fans all over the world. Interestingly, the majority of our fans on social media are outside the U.S., with most in Mexico. That's no surprise to us since Mexico is now the ska capital of the World. Luckily, our guitarist Robert speaks Spanish and that has helped us tremendously. That said, as we play out more and get to travel more around the U.S. we are really looking forward to meeting more ska fans and getting the chance to introduce our band and our sound to a bigger audience. And we are so excited that our album on DCxPC Live will be a big step in that direction. If you are in the Philadelphia/New Jersey area we hope you'll come see us at our album release party at Broken Goblet Brewing on Friday May 17th. We'd love to meet new people and talk ska!