In this episode, I talk with Pete Holmström from The Dandy Warhols ahead of the band’s May 11 show at Anthology in Rochester. We get into the importance of local music scenes and why they still matter, even in a hyper-online world. Pete reflects on how music distribution has changed—from passing around mix cds to navigating streaming algorithms—and what that’s meant for artists. We also talk about the Dandy Warhols’ new ROCK REMAKER EP, how it came together, and the collaborators that helped shape it. It’s a good reminder that music is still one of the best ways to build community—and that local scenes don’t survive unless people show up

Mentioned in this episode:

Joe Bean Roasters

Use promo code Lunchador for 15% off your order! https://shop.joebeanroasters.com

Hello, this is Kate from the Sound.

And this you're listening to Nights and Weekends.

Today we have a very special bonus episode where.

Where we are interviewing Pete Hulstrom from the Dandy Warhols.

Welcome, Pete.

Hi.

Thanks.

Thanks for joining us today.

So we're doing this episode because you are playing anthology on May 11th here in Rochester.

We're really excited to have you in town.

Cool.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm not sure if we've played in Rochester before, so that's what I was.

Going to ask you, if you have ever been to the great town of Rochester, New York.

I have been, yes.

A friend got married there ages ago, so I was there at least once and I don't think we ever performed there, but I know we've played nearby.

Yeah, it's definitely a big show for us here.

We have a lot of smaller venues and the venue we are playing.

Anthology just opened back up and everybody's really excited about it and we're.

We're really happy to have you in town.

The show is about local music and raising local music scene up, and our mission here is to kind of try to get people to go to see shows and to really contribute actively within our scene.

So this is a really fun thing for us to have in town.

So we're really happy to have you.

And so you're touring right now with the release of your new ep, which is the Rock Maker Remix Rock Rock Remaker.

Sorry, it's, like, very confusing for me.

Yeah, that was.

That was just something that I've been.

I've been trying to get it going for, for a while.

I wanted it to be a full album, remixes by my, like, favorite, you know, remix people, as well as, you know, just other musicians that dabble in that kind of thing.

But an EP is what we get, and it's got a few of my absolute favorite people that.

That I've always wanted to work with.

So, yeah, it's great.

Yeah, it's.

When I was listening, the contrast between the original album and then the remixed ep, it's.

It's amazing.

I was really shocked at just like the whole goth vibe that is brought to the table.

And, like, was that something that you were going for when.

When you released the songs to be remixed?

No, I think that just sort of captures one of the, you know, the many influences that, you know, that we have.

You know, we've always kind of joked that we were almost gothic a few times, so.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's definitely.

It's a really good listen.

I'm really Excited about it.

I wanted to ask about the process a little bit.

You have different, different people, different groups that have remixed it, including Ride's Andy Bell, who I'm a huge fan of.

How did you pick everyone to do this?

Or was this planned?

Or how did it all kind of come together on the back end?

So as I said, I did want to do a full album.

So these were a few people that I had wanted to reach out to.

I've known Oliver from a place of very strangers for a long time and had always wanted him to do a remix for us.

And so that was just an obvious choice.

And I was really happy that he did the, the Debbie Harry track because I don't know, that's, that's a.

Just a really special one for me.

And then Andy Bell.

I've been a massive Ride fan since, you know, the early days.

We have a song called Ride on our first record that's partially inspired by them.

And we happened to share a front of house, sound engineer, tour manager.

So it was an easy one step process of getting in touch with him.

And he's always done some really cool remixes under the Glock name.

So yeah, he was perfect choice.

Yeah, that's great.

And whenever you sent the music to them, did you, were you involved in the, in the process or did you kind of receive the final product and you were like, you know, I prefer.

To stay well away from it.

I want to see what they do.

It's.

It's way more interesting to just go, just be surprised pleasantly.

You know, I, I tend to believe that you, you pick people you want to work with because they do great work and I certainly wouldn't want to interfere with, with that process.

With their process.

Yeah, for sure.

I was actually having a conversation about that yesterday, just as a musician myself and having my songs mixed or mastered, I mean, it's like all in the person's eyes of how they hear your music and what they do with it.

And it's, it's a magical process because everybody hears that differently.

Yeah, yeah.

And when it comes time for the mixing and mastering, you've heard your song far, many, far too many times to be truly objective.

So it's really great to get somebody else's ears on it.

Yeah.

Even when it comes out, it's like, you know, you just feel weird about that because you've heard it so many times and you've heard it so many ways from demo to final, and it's just, um.

Yeah, it's, I think that's the most Fun part is just seeing how other people process your music and how they.

How they.

Especially in your.

In this scenario, how they bring it to life.

So it's really cool.

So, yeah.

What is your favorite track?

Is it the Debbie Harry track that's out now or that's coming out?

Oh, you mean the favorite track on that?

The ep?

Yeah.

Oh, I don't.

God, that's too hard.

I'm.

I really like the Trent Mueller remix as well.

I.

I do think I like the Debbie Harry song the best, so that's probably my favorite.

Yeah.

The way her vocals come through in the remix, too, is incredible.

Yeah, it's.

And Oliver is just.

Sonic destruction is.

It's impressive.

Yeah.

It kind of takes you on this weird journey and you're like, what is this?

And then it just like goes from place to place.

Do you personally know Debbie Harry?

Have you worked with her before?

No, don't personally know her.

Had an opportunity to say hi, but I was too.

Star Trek.

We.

We were on tour with.

Was that at 4.

2004 and playing in Manchester.

And she was at the Ed Catering.

She was sitting at the table I was at, and I couldn't say anything, but.

Yeah.

So happy.

She's.

She chose to sing on.

On this track.

Just.

I never would have expected that that would be something that happened to a song I wrote.

So, yeah, it's a dream scenario.

And the way she danced was insane on stage while singing the same time.

I mean, it was just like.

She's a magical human.

Are you.

So I see you're playing New York.

You're playing four shows in New York, two of which are sold out.

Is that.

Is that right?

Yeah, there's a one.

One of them is a very small little acoustic thing, so it's no surprise that sold out.

And the other one is also a small show.

But, yeah, we were doing a series of.

Or like multiple nights in smaller venues.

We did that in LA and San Francisco last year and really enjoyed it, so wanted to try and bring that to the east coast as well.

Yeah, that's great.

Do you prefer playing smaller venues?

I.

No, I just like the way big theaters look, or not like giant theaters, but just theaters.

They're just.

Just beautiful and.

Doesn't always sound better or anything like that, but it just looks good.

I like that.

Yeah.

There's something special about Theaters.

Beacon Theater is like, one of the most great, like, magical places in New York, too, which I love.

I'd love to play there one day.

One day.

Next tour.

Do you go out for weeks at a time now?

Are you doing just long, long weekends or what's.

What's your tour schedule gonna be like in the next.

Mostly, like kind of three weeks max.

Not.

Not by my choice.

I enjoy touring still, but the rest of the band has kids and.

And maybe other things that keep them at home, so.

So three weeks it is.

That's a good amount of time, though.

You know, you get, like.

Get in.

You're.

You're in it for a little bit, and then you're ready to come home.

In some cases.

I don't know if that's a good thing.

But after.

After.

After three weeks, you start to forget what home is and just.

You just kind of become this touring thing.

And.

I don't know, I think the shows get better because you're more just fully in.

Into it.

But.

Yeah, it's always.

It just, like, takes you to this mindset, I think, where you're.

When you're with your bandmates and you're just doing it and you're on that schedule, like that new schedule that isn't your home schedule.

It just changes things and makes you just fully focused.

I'm reading this book right now that's all about local music and local foods that whenever you're on tour, you have, like, these crazy experiences with, you know, just the food that you're eating, the restaurants that you're choosing, the, you know, like, whatever's on your rider locally.

And it's so interesting to me because it's, you know, like, such a part of.

You don't get to spend a lot of time doing the things you want in the cities, but you do have to eat.

And I find that, you know, that tie to the local place that you're playing.

Is there any place in particular where you have had, like, that experience where it's been just something where you remember with.

With a.

Just a restaurant or a place or friends that you've shared a moment with?

Oh, God, I'm practically everywhere.

I don't know.

Like, there's.

There's just.

There's actually, like, traditions now.

Like.

Like in some cities where it's like, for instance, in Amsterdam, there's like, the required go, run, get a falafel before the bus leaves that we've been doing since, I don't know, since the 90s.

The falafel place is still in the same place.

I think it's probably changed ownership a few times and names and everything, but it's still like pretty much the same.

There's an amazing pizza joint in Rome that we've.

That we've gone to.

Yeah, I don't so many places.

Well, I'll tie it back to Rochester and say that you probably will then have to get a garbage plate, which I do not like.

But do you know what that is?

It's.

I'm probably getting this wrong and everybody in Rochester is going to hate me.

Um, but it is macaroni.

It is meat sauce.

It's like double hot dogs and.

Or like a beef patty.

I don't know.

I'm vegan, so like this whole thing to me.

Yeah, me too.

I'm gonna miss out on this one.

Yeah.

But yeah, I think that's something that you'll definitely have to try and get when you're here.

Do they have a vegan version of it?

They do.

I really feel like it probably doesn't live up to like the actual version, but I.

So I can't like represent.

I.

I'm sure everybody else in the band will be.

Will get on that one.

Just remember for when you're here so.

Because I.

Because this show is about, you know, our local scene and getting people to the show.

I kind of wanted to talk about that and just talk about, you know, your.

What local music means to you and you know, how you.

How that fostered you if it did when you were starting out in your local community.

Is that something that's important to you?

Yeah, absolutely, it was.

I mean, we came out of our scene.

You know, it's like, I mean, partially a reaction to what was going on, but there was also a few venues in town that, that were very important to just letting us experiment and you know, figure out what kind of band we were going to be.

Our first show was at a club called the X Ray Cafe, which was an underage or all ages sort of art space slash club.

I mean, it was the kind of place where you could put a band together over the weekend and play the next Thursday and then do it all over again with a different band the next week.

And yeah, it was just sometimes they had like touring bands, but rarely.

It was mostly just local stuff and very, very experimental.

And then there was also Satyricon, which is kind of Portland's version of CBGBs.

It's like the old school punk club.

And that was the first place I ever played in high school.

It's like an open mic night.

And the Dandies used to do.

They used to have these different cabarets is what they call them, and things like the pretentious artist cabaret and who knows what else, but you just kind of show up and to switch your show around to fit into whatever theme was going on and.

Yeah, it just allowed us to be a little bit kind of freer and weirder and everybody was okay with that.

Yeah.

Do you think that there's.

I'm seeing this a little bit a difference between, you know, the just DIY and experimental back, you know, 20 years ago as.

As opposed to it is now.

Like, do you see that?

I don't really know because I don't really see the DIY stuff anymore.

I know there's house parties and sort of house shows and I'm sure there's some venues somewhere that.

That are more like the X ray and Satiricon, but it's.

It doesn't seem like it exists in the same way, at least in Portland.

And that's too bad.

Yeah.

Then, I mean, the whole.

The whole music business is radically different these days.

So I don't know that that matters.

But, you know, it's like it was always just a way to get seen and try out things, and now you can just throw something up on the Internet and get seen and try things.

So I don't.

Yeah.

I don't know that it affects the.

The outcome in.

In the end, but it certainly was more fun to go play in weird clubs.

Yeah.

And talk to weird people and have weird conversations.

I think, like, that's the part that is missing that I'm trying to, you know, create awareness around, at least in Rochester.

And I grew up in Pittsburgh and it was very much like that where you just go.

And like, those were the people you knew and that was what you listened to because you saw their band a few times.

Right.

Right.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

And it's just.

I guess it's just a different.

It's a different art form now because you can think about what you're putting in the world and you can refine that and you can mix that or you can do whatever.

And back then it was just like you had to be there.

You had to see that one night.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Everything was more difficult, I guess.

But that made it, I don't know, maybe more important or made it feel more important.

Yeah.

Probably doesn't.

Probably the same thing.

Yeah, no, I hear you.

It's.

It's exactly that.

And it's just.

I Don't know, like even just playing out in the small.

I mean, obviously I'm playing smaller venues, but it's people, people don't come out as much.

And that's a problem because then that trickles down into, you know, like I said before, we have a venue that's reopening, that is our, our larger venue.

And it's like.

But if people don't show up and people don't put, you know, pay their whatever, cover and infuse that back into the scene, then, then we stop investing in venues.

We stop investing in like maybe a 16 year old who is like, I want to start a band, but where am I even going to play?

Who's going to give me a chance?

And it trickles down.

And I really feel like that's something in music right now that's missing.

Do you feel that vibe?

Definitely, yeah.

I think Portland's having the same, same problem.

I play in a number of other bands in town and it's always a challenge getting people to come out.

I don't know, too much on Netflix to watch, I guess.

Gotta get out, gotta get to the gig.

That's what I say every day.

But on a more positive note, are there any artists right now that you're excited about?

Maybe newer artists, younger artists?

Yeah, there's some bands that I ended up being on tours with us, this band called Daystar, D A I I from Austin.

That's fantastic.

They were the first band on when we toured with the Black Angels a couple years ago.

And Tremors is a band that's on this band, this label called Little Cloud out of Portland.

They're super cool.

God, who else?

I love all the new kind of shoegaze stuff that's coming out of the uk.

I guess it's coming out everywhere but like Deary Whitelands and Bedroom.

Oh, there's got to be, there's got to be a ton more.

I know I put you on the spot.

It's really hard to think about what you're listening to whenever, like you're not like, I have to look at my Spotify playlist.

Yeah, I kind of rely on my friend Mike Nesbitt who owns Little Cloud Records to kind of.

He always just hooks me up with whatever he's releasing and he's got great taste and so there's just a ton of bands.

Oh, Sisters of your, Sunshine Vapor who are actually coming on tour with us.

They're out of Detroit.

Um, they're super cool.

Also on Little Cloud.

So.

Yeah, I, I always used to Find my music by the record labels that I was obsessed with.

Like I'm a, I'm a Polyvinyl Records girl, like to the core.

And I remember they used to send like their mix CDs where they put the samplers and I miss sampler CDs.

Like, I just want to listen to a sampler CD.

Yeah, now you get a sampler playlist.

It's not the same.

No, it's not.

What, what advice do you have to bands that are kind of doing the thing like you said, like we were talking about with just like on the road, putting their music out there, doing everything.

But like the Internet is just.

You have to do that as a full time job.

You have to market yourself and you're feeling beating, beaten down.

Like, do you have any advice for bands that are kind of like in that, in the middle of it and just trying to do their thing?

It just has to be fun.

I mean, you know, like the music, playing music, making music has to be fun.

All the other stuff is the work stuff.

You have to do it.

There's no avoiding it.

But if you're not, I mean, if you're not having fun, you shouldn't be doing it because it's not.

It's never really been a reliable, I don't know, job.

It's never been about making money.

So if you happen to get lucky, that's great.

But it, yeah, it's got to be fun because it is.

It's amazing and it's, you know, it's a special thing to be able to make music with people and share it.

So you have to honor that.

Yeah, it's that thing that you just always come back to.

You're like, you have a bad show or you have a bad night or whatever, and it's like, I'm done.

But you just get up and do it again.

I don't know.

I have.

I probably have as much fun at rehearsal as I do at a show.

I just like playing music.

It doesn't matter if there's people there.

It's better if there's people there.

But doesn't truly make me feel that much different because just playing with other people is so, so much fun.

Yeah, it's very special.

Like you said, there's nothing like it if you're a musician and you actually feel that.

What are you working on right now?

Are you working on anything else?

Dandies are working on a new record and we're trying to speed the process up so it's not five years between records.

So Far so good.

I've been working on my own record which comes out under the Peat International Airport name.

That will still be a while.

It's getting good though.

And then I've been playing in this band called Sun Adams since the Pandemic.

And we're.

We're playing.

We're supporting the second record at the moment and working on the third.

That's.

We've got some cool shows coming up.

We got asked to be a part of the Modest Mouse Festival in September.

She'll be super cool.

Flaming Lips and Courtney Barnett and Yola Tango.

That's a solid lineup.

What kind of music is that?

Sorry, it's so hard to describe music.

I know it is obvious.

I mean it's gonna have some similarities to Dandy's, but maybe a trance trancy, a little more electronic and with horns.

So.

Yeah, that's cool.

I'm a trumpet player.

We have a guy in the band that plays trumpet and saxophone and he just started playing flute.

He also plays guitar and pretty much everything.

So it's always fun.

It adds.

It just adds a completely different flavor than I'm used to.

So.

Yeah, it's like makes your brain think about writing music completely different, which is really cool.

And I play bass in that band, so I get to do something a little bit different.

What kind of bass do you play in that band?

I have a Stingray.

Ernie Ball Stingray that I kind of got obsessed with.

I don't know, sort of an 80 more 80s bass sound.

And I saw like Simon Gallup played.

Played one at one point and Steve, Steve, Stephen Severin.

And I don't know, I don't know.

It was quite a common bass and it's just got.

It's got more low end, more high end than any other bass I have.

So it's.

Yeah, it's great.

Yeah, I love those Stingrays.

I almost bought.

I'm a Fender Mustang girl, but though I think they make a short scale version of the Stingray, which I like obsessed with.

Yeah, I was.

It's.

It's a big bass, but God, it sounds amazing.

Yeah, that's all that matters at the end of the day.

I guess.

So I'll ask you one more question because this show is about change makers making our local scene better, putting more positive impact into our local scene.

Who do you consider a change maker in the overall music scene right now?

Is there anybody that is doing something really cool, that is doing things for the better, for musicians?

Man.

Oh God.

I know, I know.

There's something But I can't really think of it at the moment.

I mean, I mean I guess, I guess Modest Mouse at the moment just with the like, you know, help like they're doing some really cool stuff like doing these, these co headline tours and.

And then they're doing a cruise and this new festival they're starting.

That'd be one for sure.

Yeah.

Isaac's always been.

Been pretty cool.

Always into trying things, huh?

Yeah.

Sorry.

No, that's awesome.

I think like, just like thinking about like a music cruise.

Right.

Like what?

That's awesome that we're just getting new formats to go see shows and to get people out and excited about music again.

And I think that's such a huge thing that needs to happen more.

Right.

So yeah, the, the little festivals are.

Are super cool.

Just God Tree Fort in.

In Boise.

Not a little festival, but they have just an incredible amount of bands come and play.

And it's not really a lot of major acts.

It's mostly these like kind of small struggling little bands that tour, you know, constantly.

And it's just the coolest like most, I don't know, inviting, like full, full city festival that I've ever been to.

It's so cool.

That's been going on for a long time, hasn't it?

Yeah.

I only recently became aware of it about four or five years ago and I've been lucky enough to play it every, every year since then.

And just it's.

Every time I'm just like blown away.

It's just so easy compared to other festivals.

It's all like pretty compact, you know.

I guess it requires a city that's not too spread out.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So you can like.

Is it essentially like you go to.

Different venues and then they have a few outdoor places and it's not, you know, it's not kind.

It's not like south by Southwest where there's so many like, like every venue has like a band playing in the front and the back and you know, there's like.

It's too much almost noise pollution kind of thing.

This is just.

It's more.

It seems like it's more for the bands than anything else.

Yeah, yeah.

And that authenticity just like draws.

I mean that shines through whenever, you know, it's like you feel comfortable, you're happy, you're with people that you want to be with.

Like that's the best feeling in the world.

Yeah, it's easy to get around.

It's like, I know the couple times I've done South by Southwest, it's just been, everything is so difficult, and then the show is just over with, and then it's back to being difficult.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

Well, cool.

Well, thank you so much for being on the show.

We're really excited.

It's May.

May 11th at an anthology.

It's going to be a really good night.

We're really excited, obviously, here in Rochester.

And thank you so much for.

For chatting with us today.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

Thank you.

And go listen to the new rock remaker, which is Rock Maker remix.

It's going to be out.

Is it March or May.

May 14th, something like that?

Soon.

Soon.

That's something I should know.

But the first single is out, I Will Never Stop Loving you, which is a Place to bury Strangers remix of that.

So it's awesome.

All right, cool.

Well, thank you so much.

And we will see you on Sunday.

Cool.

Right on.

Thank you.