Bungalow Hate: Interview with Pure Ecstasy

Pure Ecstasy are the blissed out pop project of Texan Nate Grace. Basically, the least pretentious way I could possibly describe his sound is that if a blurred photograph of a forgotten memory made music, this would be it. Combining the shoegazey elements of Further and the heavily distorted vocals of Desolation Wilderness into a snug wrap of thickly stacked sound, Pure Ecstasy are at once a delicate reminder of what getting high used to mean to you and how important Jesus and the Mary Chain continue to be too modern music. I would usually attempt to cut this piece into easy to manageable snippets, but I think the distracted nature of the conversation kinda suits the music in discussion. So here is a chat I had with Nate Grace about road trips, new bands, a sea of blankness and the songs that haunt our minds…

Nate grace: Yo dude

Hey man, you good to chat?

Nate Grace: Yeah

What did you have for lunch?

Nate Grace: I had breakfast at this place by my house,
Bouldin creek. You ever been to Austin?

Nah, I wish. One of the ones I need to check off my American city list

Nate Grace: Eh, I dunno if you need a list. NYC, LA…

Been to NYC. what about Portland, San Fran, Reno??

Nate Grace: haha. Yeah, those too and St Paul, that place is awesome

Where's that?

Nate Grace: Minnesota. St Paul/Minneapolis

I'll put that one on there too

Nate Grace: twin cities. Yeah. Totally chill. Good record stores.

Yeah, I'm looking forward doing all the record stores over when I come to the US next year. My friends and I are planning the great American road trip.

Nate Grace: Shit yeah

Cadillac + tape deck = fun

Nate Grace: Hahaha. Cadillac for real?

Haha that’s the dream.

Nate Grace: Damn. That's the way to go in style

We'll probably end up with a FORD MONDEO!

Nate Grace: Hahaha or a Dodge Stealth

THAT would be badass

Nate Grace: HA, until you broke down in nowheresville

With only a squirrel for company

Nate Grace: Shit. A squirrel and about 300 hicks. Do English dudes use that word? "hick"?

The full dream is that we're all getting vintage ray bans, tie dye shirts, biker jackets, cadillac and prestine vans. Its gonna be heavy.

Nate Grace: hahaha

Not really man, we don't use hick but I've seen enough films to know the meaning

Nate Grace: Oh ok, what do you say then?

We tend to call them pikeys or inbreds or Norfolk folk

Nate Grace: HAHAHA - why Norfolk folk?

Because people in Norfolk are fucking backward!

Nate Grace: hmmm, I dunno where that is. I have been to London.

It’s in south east England

Nate Grace: but nowhere else in England. Oh ok

Not so far from London. When did you come to London?

Nate Grace: A few years back. Me and some friends did the euro trip like the american one you want to do. Cruised. Drank. Smashed cash.

It's the only way to do it man.

Nate Grace: yeah

You can't cheap out on a road trip!

Nate Grace: For real. It's hard to anyways.

Right dude, so getting into this - How did Pure Ecstasy form?

Nate Grace: Well, I had songs, and got my friends Jace and Austin to play a show with me, and it worked well. So, then we were a band nothing too exciting.

Oh right, so the song writing is mostly down to you then?

Nate Grace: Yeah, it started as a solo thing. We did a west coast tour in July under my name…well, my name + like 20 diff names.

Why did you use 20 different names?

Nate Grace: Just cuz, we were trying to find a name, but i was booking the tour at the same time. So, I just would try out different names. We were booked under like Nate Grace and Puke Scene, Nate Grace and Zolo Blood, Nate Grace and Whatever The Fuck.

I like the last one best

Nate Grace: Hahaha

This actually ties in quite nicely to my next question. I hate asking bands "How did you come up with your name?", so I thought I would ask you if your name was something that you came up with after you'd made your music, as it is something that I would say completely describes your sound - "Pure ecstasy"

Nate Grace: Yeah. Totally after. Jace and Austin came up with it, actually, while they were on tour with their band. They called me up all late one night and were like "dude we got it."

The epiphany of ecstasy?

Nate Grace: Hahaha. Hey quick question, how does this work exactly? Are you gonna take excerpts from this?

I guess so, I always just see how well the chat goes - I'm not what you would call a "professional"

Nate Grace: professional sucks.

Too true

Nate Grace: Just put in the good shit…whatever that ends up being.

So, what would you say are the main influences behind Pure Ecstasy?

Nate Grace: Ha! I knew this one was coming.

Haha, sorry its a fucking cliché, but I like that question sometimes

Nate Grace: Hmmm it's hard for me to say really because we listen to such a wide range of shit. I'd say Darklands by Jesus and Mary Chain, and Fela Kuti, and Townes Van Zandt, and new bands too…my friends bands, Silver Pines, Survive…

I haven't listened to them yet I will have to check them out after we are done

Nate Grace: Yeah, they're rad. Zoned out.

As all good music should be

Nate Grace: Hahaha. Man, see now I feel like I left out like 100 bands

Go on then name 5 more

Nate Grace: Haha…Black Flag…Alton ellis…Jimmy Cliff…Toots…Clash and all new bands

All of them?!

Nate Grace: Haha! Alot of em

Hmmmm, I think there's a lot of tripe though!

Nate Grace: Tripe. I like that. Yeah. A lot of tripe, but i'm not gonna hate. I like the way things are now. I think shit is in a good place, generally.

I do tend to agree - I think that we're in a fairly good place music wise. I think that people are realising the power of pop again - not just shit chart pop - but the ability to write a good pop song and still maintain a certain standard of music.



Nate Grace: Hmmm, I guess it depends on what you consider pop

Do you consider yourself to be pop?

Nate Grace: Yes. My friends seem to think no, but I think yes. I guess i'd say that we are pop but through a filter of all the shit we're into like pop but like ...

?

Nate Grace: Haha like a popsicle that fell in the dirt…and then some fine girl picks it up…but she's got a herpe's blister

Hahahahaha, that's incredible.

Nate Grace: But she chomps that shit anyways

I think that is going to be the headline of the article

Nate Grace: HAHA. Ok, I'll see if I can give you a couple more.

So you've got a tape out on Leftist Nautical Antiques - how did that happen?

Nate Grace: i think that alex read a review of our seven daze tape on cassette gods and then he emailed me about doin a tape we had just recorded FUTURE NOSTALGIA and I was planning out putting it out on 7in. Alex said he'd do the tape version. So that was that.

Cool, but you've decided to put Easy out on Light Lodge right?

Nate Grace: Yeah, Light Lodge is a new label. A friend of ours has just started up. Real good dudes. They're going to be putting out our crew of friends mostly…right now anyways.

Amazing, Light Lodge is sort if the perfect label to put your sound out on as well!

Nate Grace: Ha! Yeah I think so too. Their records are gonna look clean too

What with like sharp graphics you mean?

Nate Grace: Yeah. Artwork. Packaging. All that.

I'm just listening to Easy, what is that song about?

Nate Grace: ha! What do you think it's about?

Hmmm I wouldn't like to say

Nate Grace: me either.

Haha best answer…How many gigs have you played with this definite name in place now?

Nate Grace: Shit. Not many, maybe 6? 8?

How does the live thing work now, because you mentioned that you play with your two friends, but then on your myspace it says "+Friends" - is it quite a transitional line up at the moment?

Nate Grace: well i say + friends because I want to tour, but Jace and Austin are in a band already, and our schedules conflict sometimes. Like on that west coast tour my friend Christa played bass, but the recording line up will always be me, Jace and Austin.

What are your favourite sort of shows to play?

Nate Grace: House shows. I don't like venues really. If I could I would never play a venue.

Why?

Nate Grace: Because it's hard to get good vibes going. I feel like I'm fighting against like a sea blankness…not a sea, but it's just hard to get things going for real. I'm into music being played like a picture is being painted…like everyone is involved. I can't really get into it unless i feel like people are receptive to it

Yeah, that makes sense.

Nate Grace: i don't think I'm saying really what I'm trying to get at but, basically, house venues are chiller. I like chillness.

I think your music perfectly reflects that. So anyway what records are you getting into at the moment? Or are you about the older stuff currently?

Nate Grace: I like Julian Lynch's record. I want to get the new best coast 7in. I REALLY like this band DROPOUT! That no one has heard of…Oh, I like IRON AGE's new record.

I haven't either...Best Coast are one of the best bands of this year though!

Nate Grace: Yeah dude. She's got her shit on lock.

Right shit question time - What song goes round in your head more than any other/what tune do you find yourself humming throughout your life? You tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine…

Nate Grace: haha! Probably smokey robinson "Way Over There"

See that's a cool one. Mine is, and no I'm not into broadway musicals, Frank Sinatra "New York, New York", but not even the song just the fucking tune over and over and over.

Nate Grace: yeah!

It's my cross to bare dude

Nate Grace: I could get that one stuck

Right man, lastly, what are your plans for the coming year/next few months?

Nate Grace: Shit…write a trillion songs…QUIT MY JOB…tour the earth

Right on