EPK – Pistacia – Edgy (2022)

The EP as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

The upcoming EP is about different symptoms/aspects of mental illness. This single is about self-harm, then we have one about dissociating and social anxiety.

Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY) explained by Vic Gregg – Vocals:

1. It was the Cat is about self-harm and the person or thing that leads you to it most. Whether it is an abuser or an event sometimes things can weigh too heavy on us and we cope in unhealthy ways. Back in the day, when kids has marks on their arms and were asked about it, they would blame their cat. “The cat did it” or “it was the cat.” The cat is that thing or that person that makes life so unbearable you want to take it out on yourself. For me, the cat is a person who I am supposed to love. They took advantage of me all my life and I finally got out and am doing much better. This song has a sick breakdown and the most 2007 chorus since MySpace reigned the internet. It’s catchy and will have you dancing regardless of the dark imagery.

2. I wrote N. Hale about dissociation. Whenever I get over-stressed or put in an uncomfortable situation, I dissociate. It’s never on purpose as a matter of fact I try hard not to. However, it’s still hard to fight. So when that happens I have non-thoughts and my head is just static and I can hear my pulse and that is it. In the track, we have samples of both which perfectly portrays what goes on in my mind when that happens. Ron and I wrote the main riffs for this song together and Ben spiced it up to make it what it is now.

3. Fake a Smile is about social anxiety. I have a hard time making friends and putting myself out there to the world. TikTok has helped me a bit get comfortable speaking, but I still get so insecure whenever I try to talk to someone new. My fear is that I’ll say something dumb and or uninteresting. So I wrote Fake a Smile. The music was all Theo. He wrote this song a few years ago and he pulled it up one day and I fell in love with it. I started to workshop a melody for the chorus and wrote up some lyrics and the song was born. Very nostalgic sound similar to It Was the Cat and brings you back to studded belts and neon monster tees.

BAND STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS:

1.  I write about my own life a lot and my daily struggles living with mental illness. I go into depth about each aspect of my diagnosis and there will most likely be a song for each symptom. Living like this is nearly impossible but I want people to know they are not alone. I want to know I am not alone.

2.  The band got together in an interesting way. We all went to the same school and were in an ensemble together. The way our school works is you can take a class that is basically a cover band for a grade. We were in a Pierce the Veil ensemble together and since that class I wanted to keep playing with them all. So I asked them to join me in Pistacia.

3. We played a major music festival with little music out as a band. We played Inkcarceration in 2021 which was especially huge because that festival was Mudvayne’s first show in 10 years. The crowd was insane and to be honest, we crushed that performance. Since then we have been building a fanbase on TikTok.