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"The Plaza Records Sessions, Vol. 1" is Pet Mosquito's new 5-song release, available on compact disk beginning this Friday.
Pet Mosquito band members include (from left) Evan Hall, Jessie Groninger, Everett Gariepy and Berget Borowitz.
It was less than a year ago that Pet Mosquito released their first full-length album, “The Last Goosebumps Walkaway.”
This Friday, the outspoken young Carbondale punkers drop a five-song compact disk of another impressive effort, “The Plaza Records Sessions, Vol. 1.”
To be fair, according to their Bandcamp page, the group describes itself as a “garage rock, indie, punk, art band.”
Regardless, momentum for the high energy two boy-two girl group is sweeping through the area with a swarm of pesky and persistent poetry plied over a passionate and powerful purlieus of proto-punkified but melodic, memorable musical hooks you just can’t shake from your brain.
The group has invaded and become the new “house band” at the Lost Cross punk hangout in Carbondale. They also will be playing a one-hour set, beginning at 4 p.m., this Saturday at Vulture Fest in downtown Makanda.
Pet Mosquito traveled on an extensive performance tour this past summer, with stops in St. Louis, Missouri; the California cities of Anaheim, Fresno and Santa Cruz; Wichita, Kansas; Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago.
While the band’s first album was recorded digitally in a home studio and contains a full complement of 10 songs, the Plaza Sessions is markedly different.
Recording took place in the back room studio at Plaza Records in Carbondale, where owner Marcus Lappin captured Pet Mosquito on reel-to-reel tape.
Far from the sometimes crisp, digital sound of Goosebumps Walkaway — an undeniably awesome first effort, Plaza Sessions has the aural sonics, swirling urgency and occasional static of an early Black Sabbath song heard on AM radio. The taped format seems to lend itself to the very nature of Pet Mosquito’s rocking, punky, borderline psychedelic approach to their songs.
Lead vocalist and primary songwriter Everett Gariepy, age 21, barks, wails and moans his way through insistent, trenchant lyrics such as the session’s second track, “You Bought It.”
“I may come across as rude or maybe kinda spastic, but one day you’ll read my name on Irrational Geographic.
“And if it touches your lips you bought it, and if it touches your lips you bought it. Oh no, I forgot my wallet!”
The catchiest tune of the collection is one co-written by Gariepy and bassist Evan Hall, age 20, called “New Madrid.”
“It’s a goofy, fun song about how the ground could open up and swallow us at any time,” Gariepy said.
The music at first sounds like a grungy take on Focus’ “Hocus Pocus,” but then moves into Sex Pistols territory featuring some wild bashing by drummer Berget Borowitz that likely left some sawdust on the floor of the studio.
“It’s just like a peach, nothing’s left but the pit. I don’t care what you preach, I’m not going to step in it.
“And I’m standing on a fault line, feeling like I’m falling in. New Madrid, New Madrid.”
Borowitz, age 20, explained how she came to play music with Gariepy.
“As a kid, I drove my family crazy playing the drums in our small house with no music to play along to,” she said. “So my Mom thought it’d be better for everyone if I found a friend who played guitar. It was fun.”
Borowitz cited a diverse list of drummers who inspire her playing, including David Lovering (Pixies), Karen Carpenter (the Carpenters), Rat Scabies (the Damned), Maureen ‘Moe’ Tucker (Velvet Underground), Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) and Carla Azar and Meg White (Jack White).
Gariepy said his inspiration as a songwriter came from experiencing the music and lyrics of the Woodbox Gang while growing up.
“Our songs are fun, but they also mean something and tell stories of the world around us,” he said. “I think our brash lyrical content is me not being as poetic as Hugh DeNeal, but instead finding our own voice to report on the world around us.”
Gariepy’s “report” in the last cut, Regret, clocks in at just a minute and 10 seconds. Fast? The song’s tempo is a blistering 208 beats per minute.
“Used to jump into the ocean, but I don’t know how to swim. Every time I came out of the water, the world looked so grim with —
“Regret, is all I do these days, is all I do these days.”
The tune features 20-year-old band member Jessie Groninger on trombone. She also contributes keyboard, percussion and vocals in Pet Mosquito.
“Trombone might be considered a non-traditional instrument for a punk band, but I feel like our music is well suited for it,” Groninger said. “It kinda fills in a sonic gap between the guitar and the bass, which I think people enjoy. Playing music with Everett, Evan and Berget for the past year has strengthened my confidence beyond what I thought was possible.”
Groninger said the best part of being in Pet Mosquito is “the feeling of playing a show. Once we’ve started, I’m no longer worrying about anything but the music. Looking out into an audience and seeing many of the same faces at every show feels like we’re just a big swarm.”
Pet Mosquito will tour the first two weeks of January 2023, to play gigs in Memphis, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Orlando, Atlanta and Nashville.
The Plaza Records Sessions, Vol. 1 will be available for purchase on CD at Plaza Records in Carbondale — of course, beginning this Friday. It also is available as a digital download on Bandcamp.com and can be heard on most streaming music sites.
Next week: Music Historicity will review Carbondale cinemaphotographer Charlie Queen’s new short film, a horror-comedy titled “Mort.”
Gary Gibula is an SIU alum, musician, writer, editor and author of the Music Historicity columns. He can be reached at gary@gratefulgary.com.
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"The Plaza Records Sessions, Vol. 1" is Pet Mosquito's new 5-song release, available on compact disk beginning this Friday.
Pet Mosquito band members include (from left) Evan Hall, Jessie Groninger, Everett Gariepy and Berget Borowitz.
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