PipemnanRadio Interviews Gringo Starr at Shaky Knees 2023

On this episode of the Adventures of Pipeman, Pipeman is joined by Gringo Star, a band from Atlanta, Georgia. The band, which has been playing for a long time, is at Shaky Knee, and they discuss the rainy weather, which they hoped would turn into a Woodstock vibe. The band recounts how they kept their gear dry during the rain, and one of them shares that some of the best shows he has ever seen were downpours. They all agreed that it is better than extreme heat, which can be unbearable. Pipeman shares an experience from a festival he attended last year in France called Hell Fest, where it was 104 degrees, and he did interviews outside because it was cooler. The press tent was like a sauna, and he would take the rain over that any day. The band shares that the best gigs are when it is raining, and there is a little mud fest, and everyone is just having a blast. When asked to describe their music, Gringo Starr shares that they play a variety of rock and roll, and they have been playing together since 2007. The band is made up of two brothers, who started playing together when one was in high school and the other was in middle school. They started playing at middle school dances, and now they are playing at Shaky Knee. The band has played at music midtown, and they recount their experience with their old band name. You can find everything you need on how to follow them on social media, how to get the new music, how to buy some of the merch all over on their website gringostarr.net so be sure to check it out if you like what you hear.

On June 2, Atlanta's Gringo Star will release their new album On And On And Gone out June 2 on My Anxious Mouth. Gringo Star is also announcing U.S. tour dates. The upcoming U.S. tour will include shows in New York City, Atlanta and more. All upcoming shows are listed below.

Gringo Star have made a name for themselves as one of Atlanta’s most valuable rock & roll exports, carrying the torch for hazy, psychedelic garage rock in a city primarily valued for its contributions to hip-hop. Brothers Nick and Peter Furgiuele are the constant creative force of Gringo Star, and have outlasted wave after wave of buzz bands and indie blog darlings, carving their own career path through constant reinvention and an unparalleled work ethic, amassing a loyal and enthusiastic international fanbase along the way. Their mind-bending take on doo-wop inspired R&B and British Invasion rock & roll has garnered praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, Paste Magazine, KEXP & more, and landed them on bills alongside everyone from Cat Power and Feist to The Black Angels and Weezer, not to mention tours with Wavves, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, and their Atlanta-based contemporaries Black Lips.

Though the band’s 2008 album, All Y’all serves as the start of Gringo Star’s storied career, the band’s core songwriting duo, the Furgiuele brothers, have been playing together since they were kids, born into a family with strong ties to Georgia music history. “Our grandad started out in radio in the ’40s and ’50s in Columbus, GA.,” Nick explains. “He was a huge promoter of R&B back when it was still super segregated, and he was playing black music and putting on shows with Little Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers, a lot of Gospel shows. So we grew up hearing all these stories, listening to all this music. Our grandfather was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame posthumously. And my grandma—all her photo albums are like Jackie Wilson shirtless backstage, hanging out.”

With their family’s R&B connections and their young obsession with early rock & roll, it wasn’t long before the two brothers started making music themselves. When Nick was 15 and Peter just 11, they picked up bass and drums, respectively, formed a rhythm section and joined their first garage band. “We played together in the...