About three questions into an interview with Pretendo, it’s easy to realize that though they may take their music seriously, they’re certainly not taking their interviews too seriously.

The guys from Pretendo, Devin E. Levins (vocals, guitar), John Castro (bass, vocals) and Stephen Calhoon (drums) recently joked their way through an interview with ACED.

When asked exactly how he got into music, Castro told an interesting story. “When my father said to me, ‘You are a failure at everything except singing Jackson Five songs and bass guitar! You have two choices: Go to military camp and fight with the Lebanese Army, or get out of the house and play music for the peasants.’ Obviously, I chose the latter.”

While building up his musical skills to avoid boot camp, Levins got involved in musical forays with Castro. “When I was 12, I would go to John's house and he and his little brother would bust some Jefferson Starship and F8 jams on the bass and drums. They kind of sounded like they needed a guitar player.”

Castro and Levins have been playing music “for the peasants” ever since. In fact, all three members of Pretendo have played in several other bands over the years, including Morricone Youth, Enon, and Creedle.

After supposedly bribing Calhoon to join the band with low-carb energy bars, Pretendo was officially formed. Together, these three KISS fanatics released their newest album, simply entitled ][. What can interested listeners expect from the new album with such an enigmatic title?

“Killer cover art from subversive genius Ron English, spot-on engineering and production from legendary sonic wizard Martin Bisi, and a bunch of songs that don't sound like our first record, and will never be able to be reproduced live,” said drummer Stephen Calhoon.

Meanwhile, Castro describes it as “a few hits and a few not-so hits.”

Whether a song is a hit or not, there’s a lot of influences behind it. The band cites “permaculture,” dumpsters, the streets of New York City, the voices in their heads, and girls, among the motivating factors for their tunes.

With the album’s release, the band has left their little slice of the NYC East Village to do some touring. They’ve certainly come across some interesting places in their travels, like Dubuque, Iowa.

“Yeah, they have pizza with Fritos and salsa on it there,” said Levins, “and all-age shows at Irish pubs on the Mississippi.”

While quirky towns are quite a sight for a tour-tired band, Pretendo talked about a slightly more complicated tour stop in “Jackson, Michigan - The birthplace of the Republican Party. Yikes! They are fierce and perverted,” Castro reminisced.

“And you can't get a room anywhere because everyone is really into the hot air into balloon convention,” Levins added.

While the band has gathered up some good stories to tell from their experiences on the road, they still miss all of the sights and sounds of NYC, such as “the graffiti and trash smells and spitters and pushy people on subways.”

“Oh and East Village Radio Saturday nights from Midnight to 2 a.m.,” said Levins, referring to Morricone Youth Radio show he hosts once a week. Calhoon said that he misses his wife and cat the most, while Castro’s heart is set on the Blue Ribbon Brasserie.

That being said, the band is also ready to travel the world and experience new destinations and tour with musicians they enjoy such as The Trucks, The Shaggs, Mike Patton or David Bowie. Where would they want to go?

“Japan because I'm half Japanese and have never been able to afford a trip there,” said Calhoon. The comment earned him a quick little mockery from Levins, who said he’d like to go to “Antarctica because I'm half Antarctican.”

Nowadays, the guys can look back on the years where they were just “paying rent and staying alive with Ramen,” and laugh them off.

“It's gratifying to know that all that time our bass player spent on the casting couches is finally paying off,” Calhoon joked.

But when Castro’s not on casting couches or playing music for the masses, he’s got another activity to keep him busy.

“EA Sports MVP 2005. The best baseball game ever created. I will continue my quest to make the NY Mets the all-time greatest dynasty team,” he said. “I will achieve this by artificially modifying the arm of Pedro Martinez to his fine Cy Young form of 1999/2000, and with the addition of John Santana, I can't lose!”

Good luck with that Castro!

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."