The Untitled Interview #53: Starring Daniel Pujol

There’s a certain I don’t know what about Daniel Pujol. Perhaps it’s that hint of devil may care that courses through those catchy songs of his. Perhaps it’s something about having grown up in a haunted house. Perhaps it’s the inescapable pull he has musically. Don’t believe me? Just ask Jack White. I had the immense pleasure of seeing Daniel and his PUJOL cohorts a few months back on their tour with fellow Nashville residents and sonic ass-whuppers, and I tell you what, boys and girls, that was one mighty fine, melt-in-your-mouth, blow the house down rock & roll set.

We in the DC metro are lucky enough to have a repeat PUJOL-ian performance. Make dang sure you’re at Comet Ping Pong Friday night, my friends, because this profound pairing of PUJOL and Monotonix should assuredly not be missed. Prepare to peel yourself off the ceiling. But first, check out what Daniel had to say about Mozart, animals, and Peter Gabriel.

Les Enfants Terribles: How the hell are you?
Daniel Pujol: Pretty good!

LET: What was the last song you listened to?
DP: “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel!

LET: Playing music is:
DP: Like holding your breathe through a tunnel just to make a wish.

LET: What album most made you realize you wanted to make music?
DP: All of Mozart’s B-Sides.

LET: Beatles or Stones?
DP: Man, that’s like Ying or Yang, McDonald’s or Burger King, you need the other one to keep the initial one spry and strong.

LET: Top 5 albums (of now, of this month, or of ever):
DP: Lou Reed: Street Hassle, David Bowie: Lodger, The Beatles Collection (all the albums in a album box, HAH!), Iggy Pop: Lust for Life, Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street.

LET: Favorite music-related movie?
DP: “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

LET: Half-full or half-empty?
DP: Half-there.

LET: Which of your peers do you think is making the best music these days?
DP: Wez Traylor of Natural Child.

LET: What’s the first thing you think when you wake up in the morning?
DP: Dear Gawd, please protect me from my million emails, and give me the patience to humor the cat’s conscious effort to convince me that he “made” me feed him.

LET: Little-known Pujolian fact?
DP: I LOVE animals.

LET: The greatest record store in the world is:
DP: Nashville’s Dead’s webstore!

LET: Shaken or stirred?
DP: Black, no sugar.

LET: Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
DP: “You can have something NOW, or you can wait, and have what you want.” ~Dad
LET: If you weren’t in a band you’d be:
DP: Adjunct teaching at a community college or doing Teach America in a rural high school.

LET: Favorite thing about Nashville?
DP: The music scene.

LET: What do you find most comforting/most disconcerting about going out on tour?
DP: I miss my loved ones, but Adam and I make sure to sit around at coffee shops and mope about how much we miss our Scully’s. Adam Tanaka is the most comforting thing about touring.

LET: If you were so inclined, whom would you form a tribute band in honor of?
DP: MEEMAW.

LET: Best song ever written?
DP: “Sexual Reality” by WIZARDZ, off the album Cyber Sex Offender.

mp3: Too Safe (PUJOL from Black Rabbit)