Pan Arcadia’s tagline exclaims that they’ve been “Making tracks in a Brooklyn shack since ‘21,” but recently the indie rock band has been breaking into new creative spaces across New York City. Bringing untamed energy rock music wherever they venture, Pan Acardia seeks to surprise audiences with a myriad of genres they can infuse into their transformative sound. Lead singer Eamon Rush acknowledges with a great sense of gratitude the encounters that have grown into inseparably integral moments for the band, meeting many of their current members on the tails of tragedy and triumph. Their latest EP LIFE: as if i know it dropped in February featuring the vigorously upbeat track “Hysteria.” The song’s music video was shown at the 2024 edition of Fine Cuts at The New School, winning the coveted audience award among 6 other short films. “Hysteria” was additionally shown at The 2024 New Screen Fest which took place at DCTV in Chinatown, Manhattan, illustrating the unique place of music videos when featured at film-centric events.
Photo Credit: Tommy Krause
Q. Pan Arcadia is a young band, formed in 2021. What are some of the key moments in the band’s trajectory that have allowed you to continue this project?
A. It’s hard to give an exact formation date of the band. When our old drummer quit we hired Brian online. After the show, we said we couldn’t keep paying him but he could join as a member. He told us he’d get back to us on the offer. The next day COVID hit NYC and the city shut down. He started working at a studio in Connecticut and we were unsure about his commitment to our band. I guess he did some soul-searching because when he came back in 2021 he became a backbone of the project and heightened our level of professionalism. So yeah, I guess that was the key moment.
Q. Traditional rock instrumentals flood the senses of your listeners but some songs incorporate members of the brass family among others. How do you decide which songs to go full rock on and which to experiment with other arrangements?
A. We met Jimmy in Washington Square Park. It was the day Biden got elected. He was hanging from a light post, playing his horn. We happened to be looking for a trumpet for the riff on Airplane Song. We invited him over and after jamming on our set, we appreciated his musical intuition and sense of harmony. The trumpet is a very present instrument so we have to pick and choose when to utilize it.
Q. The music video for your song “Hysteria” recently premiered at the 2024 New Screen Fest. Talk about what music videos bring to film festivals.
A. We also went to Fine Cuts a while ago. We were very impressed by all the films. It was a funny switch-up to have our music video next to some pretty serious shorts. It ended up winning the audience award they were giving out so I guess people enjoyed it.
Q. The “Hysteria” music video is astounding in its production and execution. Talk about working with director Juan Diego Silva Zúñiga and creating this effervescent video.
A. Juan is going places and we feel lucky that we have become close friends. What he pulled together for that video humbled the entire band. It says a lot that he was able to assemble that production on a budget of favors and pizza pies. The dude grinds hard.
Q. The Lexington Line said, “Pan Arcadia wants to make music that reflects the time in which it was made.” Though your sound is infused with modernity, many tracks course through time borrowing from disparate time periods and genres. What is the process of sustaining such an eclectic sound?
A. We listen to a lot of different music. There was one period of time when we learned a set of 20 Ramones songs. Same for New York Dolls. Right now we’re doing that for The Band so that’s obviously a change up from the previous two. We also do Beatles harmony practice and stuff like that.