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Piano, Paintings, and Pilgrim the Cat: Inside the World of Pocket Vinyl
- thewaxzine
- 8 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Pocket Vinyl is a band that has accomplished a lot in their time. Fastest time to tour in all 50 states, comics, paintings, and at times it feels like they're still just getting started. They've dipped their toes into everything a band can think of and more! I've always been impressed with them in that sense, considering the amount of work they do, while also managing to make great music. It's something that not many people posses. I got the chance to catch up with Eric, Pocket Vinyl's resident Pianist and Vocalist. Elizabeth is the other main member, and she paints a new painting on stage during each of their live shows. I've seen it many times and it's really an incredible dual experience. If you ever get the chance to see them I more than recommend it. Also, this interview is a part of their "Digital Tour" that's happening from April 17th through early May. You find out more about that here. Or support their kickstarter here. But without further ado, Eric from Pocket Vinyl!
Interview edited for clarity and conciseness
Wax: Personally, I consider Pocket Vinyl to be a pretty special band, you guys do so much for a small band (50 States in 45 Days, painting on stage, over 1000 shows, and so much more). Do you consider yourselves special in that way? Or maybe another way I wouldn't think about?
Eric from Pocket Vinyl: Yeah, I believe we have created a special thing, but it happened gradually and almost by accident throughout the years. We just started, continued, and then one day I looked up and realized we created something unique. On our first tour, I was just going to go alone with a piano. Then Elizabeth and I got started dating, and she'd painted on stage before. We wanted to hang out a lot (obviously) so it made sense for her to come along and do that. We didn't plan it at all, but it's become the most important aspect of our live show and identity as a band.
Her comic (the Touring Test, @thetouringtest) then started because she wanted to make a comic. Then we made a documentary about small touring bands (Drive. Play. Sleep.) because I wanted to see a documentary like that. We tried to break that world record (50 states/shows in under 50 days) because we saw it existed, and then Elizabeth made a graphic novel about it because she wanted to.
We've always tried to think "what would I want my favorite band to do?" and then use that as a guideline. We're ultimately just trying to keep ourselves interested in what we're doing, and that often involves mixing it up a lot. If you keep doing that, after a while you cobble together something fairly one-of-a-kind. I think that's true of any artist.
But that all said, I've spoken to various people with "power" in the industry, and it seems like the thing we hear the most is "you're great, but I have no idea how we sell you." There's no easy lane that a "piano-led indie rock with a painter" band plugs into, so perhaps our uniqueness is as much a strength as it is a weakness, in that specific regard. Those who do find us, though, tend to get it, and are in it for the long haul with us. We have a small fanbase, but they're passionate and willing to explore with us, which we really appreciate and love.
Wax: "Drive. Play. Sleep." came out 9 years ago now, do you still connect to that life the same way you did then or has it changed?
Eric: Yeah, actually. That movie has aged fairly well, I think, and still reflects our experience these days and the experience of all small touring bands. I still believe in the ideas it puts forth, like focusing on community, doing art for the sake of art, and the alluring adventure of touring. Even though I've gotten sick of being on tour countless times, there is still a romanticism to it that hasn't been debunked for me. Hope it always feels that way.
Wax: You are a very eclectic band, what do you do to bring out that eclecticity (is that a word, probably not)?
Eric: As I said before, we often just think "what would I want my favorite band to do?" and try to do that. Sometimes it's "make a comic about a stray cat" or "make a non-sexy album about sex and sexuality" or "try to play a show in every state in the fastest amount of time." You kind of have to listen to and trust your instincts on what to do next. Any eclecticity (no idea if it is a word, either) is just a result from trying to challenge ourselves artistically over and over again, if for nothing else than to stave off our own boredom.
Wax: For someone trying to delve into that world, where should they start? Eric: I'll just say Rabbit on Fire. Though, that said, we've literally had different people claim every single album we've done as "the best" Pocket Vinyl album, which I admit I am incredibly pleased with, so there's really no bad place to start.
Wax: Would you say the scene back in CT motivates and supports you as a band? In what ways?
Eric: I think support in a scene is directly related to how involved you are in it. There have been times when we've been very plugged in locally, and the community aspect of a local scene really shines through. There have been other times when we've toured a lot, or fell out of things nearby for a year or two, and an absence is felt. Like any relationship, it gives back as much as you put in. But the scene has always been there, and we've always felt welcome. In fact, I'll say that personally, I think what's been happening in the last few years post-COVID has been some of the best music/bands happening around. I'll especially call out Xenos and Slyne & The Family Stoned as two examples of brilliant musicians making amazing music as good as anything you can find.
Wax: What is your personal proudest moment as a band?
Eric: I disagree with the premise of this question. Every album, song, book, whatever being released is always such a proud moment. The excitement I get from releasing a new thing now feels the same as it did the first time. Everything we release gets put through so many artistic filters by the time it sees the light of day that we're also so proud knowing we couldn't have made it better. And that's nothing to say of our biggest shows and tours, either. I can't really pin down a single moment I felt the proudest.
However, I will say that I'm proud that it's been our full time job for nearly 15 years. We made a lot of sacrifices to make that work, and also got a lot of help along the way from fans, friends, family, and people we met on the road. It was by no means something we did "by ourselves" to any extent, but we did stick with it, through thick and thin, and continue to do so. There were so many times we were burnt out and ready to give up, only to find ourselves with strength left, for reasons I can't quite explain either. Elizabeth and I just kept going. Call it "passion" or "drive" or whatever, but it hasn't let us stop (which sometimes feels both a blessing and a curse). All that is to say, I'm proud that we've been able to make ends meet for so long. It gives us an amount of self-respect you can't obtain any other way, I think.
Wax: Given your longevity, how (if ever) do you see the road ending? Will you be playing into your 80s?
Eric: I truly have no idea. We're taking it as it comes. That'd be absolutely awesome if we were still 80 and playing like we do. I anticipate we may feel different then, but pitching ourselves as "a musical institution for 60 years" would look great on a poster.
Wax: You're planning a "Digital Tour"? Tell me about that.
Eric: Alright, so a little backstory first: In late 2024, this cat started hanging around our porch, meowing loudly for food. We fed her that first day, and long story short, she's now an inside cat. But man, it was a dramatic, fun, scary, wonderful experience to get from there to here. Elizabeth started posting small day-in-the-life comics about this cat online, and suddenly an audience started to accumulate, and to this day, I think it's the biggest thing we've done yet, at least in terms of reaching people. We ended up calling the cat Pilgrim, and Elizabeth chronicled the entire story of her as it happened. People online got VERY involved, and frankly, we didn't even know where the story would end. She was posting comics about all this happening about a month or two behind real life events, and when scary things happened, like Pilgrim nearly dying from medical complications, we weren't sure if this comic was going to end happy or sad.
As it went, though, we realized we needed to have some kind of "end" for the story, if for nothing else than to give people following along a satisfying narrative. In mid-Feb. 2026, Elizabeth posted the final Pilgrim comic, and right now, we're running a Kickstarter to compile the whole saga into a book. We pitched it to a bunch of publishers, but none bought it. But we're DIY at heart, so crowdfunding this thing is right up our alley. Plus, the entire Pilgrim saga spread via word of mouth anyway, and having the community be a part of putting it out in the world feels right.
To help promote, we decided to go on a "digital tour", which is happening right now as you, dear reader, are reading this. The campaign is running from April 17 through May 9, and I encourage you to check it out. I'm sure Wax will put a link to it above or below all these answers [Wax note: we did BOTH, take that Eric], so go find that and come be a part of this thing. Now is always the best time to get on the Pocket Vinyl train!
Wax: Thanks again to Eric for taking the time to have this talk! Again, go support them with their Kickstarter, and by supporting the Touring Test, and Pocket Vinyl. I don't disagree with Eric that everything PV's done is a great starting point, but if you need a personal recommendation I'll give a few. Their single "Thunder Blanket" from 2022 is one of my personal favorites, and "You Never Say Goodbye When You Leave" is the album I have the most memories with. But "Rabbit on Fire" is certainly their most robust record yet, with full band contribution, and a full production, but their entire discography has something to love. One last time, thank you to Eric and Elizabeth, and to you too for reading this far!