On Tuesday, November 19th, don’t miss PAPA at Barboza. (8 p.m, $12, 21+)
Bruce Springsteen once told the audience he wanted them to leave the arena with “your back hurting, your voice sore, and your sexual organs stimulated.”
That’s how I felt after my first PAPA concert.
Darren Weiss’s energy and ardor is so untrammeled that it pushes you against the wall and leaves you weak in the knees. When you read comments by those who have attended a PAPA show, they tend to agree on one thing. As Weiss himself puts it, “none of us are interested in playing it safe.”
For founding members Weiss and Danny Presant, PAPA was created out of necessity. “We both had this thing that we felt we had to get out of our system. We weren’t sure what exactly. But then we got together and realized ‘it’ existed. So we were like, ‘let’s figure out how to play this because now it’s here and it can’t be ignored anymore.’”
After touring and recording with Girls, Weiss decided to commit to PAPA full-time. In 2011, their debut EP A Good Woman Is Hard to Find was released and couldn’t be ignored, either. With an unapologetic approach to romance and sex, along with a few naked somersaults, PAPA was born. You didn’t have to like it, you didn’t even have to understand it, but you definitely paid attention.
Darren and his brother, Evan, both came from LA underground punk backgrounds. “We never went to shows looking for overly gifted musicians or someone who was really good at their craft. That was never talked about it and wasn’t something we cared about. What we talked about was the energy, the power of their expression.”
You’ll find influences of jazz, folk and hip hop in their music, but the core of PAPA is still very much punk. “It’s very important for the audience to be a part of the unfolding of the concert in the same way we are.” Even after touring pretty much nonstop since 2012, Weiss makes a point to bring that same infectious, classically punk high-energy performance night after night.
“It’s really easy to fall into autopilot mode. But I can say with absolute clarity that when I do fall into autopilot I instantly feel it. Even if no one in the audience or even in the band can tell…it feels cheap to me. Being on the road all the time and the sacrifices that are involved with this lifestyle are not worth it to me if it’s not going to be an attempt at something really authentic.”
Unlike their contemporaries, PAPA performs bare bones. And for Weiss, that’s literally. He plays the drums barefoot on stage. There’s also no backing track, no auto tune, no fancy equipment. “To me, that’s faking it. I feel that you can’t go higher if you’re connected to all this technology. If you’ve got all these things, you can’t transcend them.”
On their debut LP Tender Madness, the album begins with the instrumental, self-titled track “PAPA.” As Weiss describes, “it cleanses your palate. We like to get you a little clean before we take a trip together.”
That trip at times is a little dirty, but it’s also a very personal one. Weiss’s songwriting is completely free of blanket phrases or terms. It’s overtly honest and reckless without apology. “Safe and nice and comfortable are things that I not only don’t strive for but are also things I want to stay the hell away from as long as I can in my life.”
Last time PAPA was in Seattle, Weiss told the audience to “text your boyfriend and let him know PAPA is in town.” He also sings about blowjobs and cotton candy. One thing that PAPA isn’t is bashful. Is it fair to say that Weiss has a lot of confidence in this band?
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily about confidence, I just don’t really care what anyone thinks… And I know that’s a super egotistical thing to say, but that’s how I feel. I have no worries about the reception of the album or what people think of our band because we already know what we are.”
“I feel like we’re just waiting for people to catch up.”
Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more stories like this.
