Exclusive Interview with P.M. TIGER

P.M. Tiger is a quartet of mustachioed, long-haired gentlemen from Tampa, Florida whose genre-bending synths and raw rock guitars are nostalgically retro and incredibly slick. Catfish Motel’s new single is about things that appear outstanding but are not always as great as they appear. This song tugs at your heartstrings and makes you reflect on your current connections with others. The objective of the quintet is to make you comfortable with being uncomfortable with the human experience of being scattered 90% of the way to Camp.

P.M. Tiger, a band formed in 2018 by frontman and composer Jordan Rosenberg, have traveled extensively across the United States, recruited The Strokes producer Gordon Raphael, and amassed significant streams while living in a van while playing for Plain White Ts. The band’s contagious energy is equally influenced by Earth, Wind, and Fire as by anything Julian Casablancas has ever done. Their synthesized indie rock resembles a cyclone sweeping through a loose collaboration between Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, and MGMT, blending the 12 notes of the scale in a way that the human ear will find pleasantly sympathetic.

If you’re able to connect the dots between Earth, Wind and Fire, Tom Scholz of Boston, Grizzly Bear, Cage the Elephant, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, and Portugal, you’ll find that they all have something in common. If you are a fan of The Man, MGMT, Inner Wave, and Foster the People, you may appreciate listening to P.M. Tiger scream. Check out their song Catfish Motel and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

P.M. TIGER: The group originally started in Peachtree City, Georgia back in 2018. Jordan wrote a handful of songs that made his brother, Josh (Keys), and close friends Max (bass) and John (Guitar) instantly interested in the project. As Jordan kept writing, the band started to take shape through rehearsing, playing shows, and starting to create PM content. With continued dedication from each member through relationship struggles, personal struggles, and worldly struggles we all kept the dream alive and rolling bringing us to our strongest point… us now.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

P.M. TIGER: Jordan had formal guitar lessons from the ages of 10-15, moving on to becoming a self-taught songwriter and composer.

Joshua has had formal training for roughly 2 years, continuing self-taught practice along the way.

Max has not had any formal lessons but his passion for the bass drives him to be the player he is today.

John has had formal lessons as well as being self-taught.

Adam, he’s a wildcard.

3. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

P.M. TIGER: Being weird and different is okay, enjoying what you like and showing it off is okay, being yourself is the PMWay. Our music carries with it a lot of different emotions from heart ache, to anger, from frustration to love and everything in between. I (Jordan) would describe our music as unique yet familiar, bringing you something fresh and new that makes you feel right at home.

4. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘P.M. TIGER’?

P.M. TIGER: My first influences in music (way back) were actually heavier artists like Asking Alexandria, Escape The Fate and Bring Me The Horizon, however as I started finding myself resonating with songwriting my influences shifted. Those artists included Circa Survive, The Strokes, HRVRD and Elton John. The mashup of artist influence has definitely played its role in our music and songwriting for PM.
The name P.M.Tiger was from the mind of our own John. He visited in the early days (in Peachtree City) and spotted an actual Paper Mâché Tiger in my room and promptly suggested the name. It was denied by all of us at first for weeks… and then like a light switch, it was chosen by the group as a whole!

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as INDIE?

P.M. TIGER:

For myself (Jordan), I have been modeling after musicians I Idol since I was 10-1 haha. I would spend hours in my room covering songs at full blast, pretending to be a member of my favorite band. Having not too many friends and moving around quite a bit while growing up, this was really how I connected and became entangled with music. I’m being myself and realizing it was okay to express myself musically, it helped develop an appreciation of being unique and individual, being yourself. And that is something we as a band have made our goal, to connect with everyone as themselves by being our own genuine selves.

6. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

P.M. TIGER:

This is a unique question because as a smaller band, you don’t really get much back physically, except people’s reactions when you show them your music. As the primary songwriter, I personally do feel a huge fulfillment by playing live and sharing what we have with others, connecting with others through music and the emotion behind the music is something insanely special. Would I love to share these emotions, feelings and music with the entire world and listening population… yes please!

7. Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

P.M. TIGER:

This is a fun question because inspiration can truly hit me whenever. It may be in a dream, during an argument, during a period of self isolation and seclusion. Maybe it’s when I’m at my happiest, or at my lowest. The craziest part to me is it’s so random and when it hits, it HITS.

I almost always hear all of the musical parts, melodies and all, at once and work to record part by part in my personal studio. Along the way my idea evolves and becomes a finished demo and from there, I will share with the guys and from there it is workshopped person-by-person until it becomes a PM track. It’s a magical and beautiful process really and has led to hundreds of PM tracks being written so far.

8. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

P.M. TIGER:

The most difficult thing I have personally experienced musically so far would be working in a group with close peers and noticing people’s differences in communication. This is something that constantly takes work and dedication but keeps the group growing together. It’s very important for each person individually AND as a team.

9. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?

P.M. TIGER: Creative studio work will almost always have my heart as I am a songwriter at heart. Writing and letting fresh music ideas flow through me is a high – unmatched. However, I cannot lie, as I have performed more and more over the years a new hunger has formed and the excitement is TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Truthfully, when I think about creating vs. performing, they are completely matched. I truly love both for different reasons.

10. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?

P.M. TIGER: I like this question because I think everyone’s interpretation on music is so special and important. I also think there is something written within the songs/music that can be directly related with. To me, the true beauty comes when I can feel an emotion from the music, and you can feel a different emotion from the same song, yet we can share that we both are feeling something from the same song together. Now that is something cool.