Wild Pink’s John Ross on Strawberry Eraser and more ahead of Saturday’s recordBar show

Wild Pink. // Photo by Mitchell Wojcik

New York’s Wild Pink just dropped a brand-new EP, Strawberry Eraser,  and we spoke with the band’s John Ross about that, how it relates to 2022’s ILYSM, and touring ahead of their show with Sun June at recordBar on Saturday, March 23.

The Pitch: I wanted to start off by asking about your current health situation. I know about your cancer battle from various interviews that I’ve looked at and I haven’t seen anything super recent about it. I know that you guys have been very active as a band with this tour that you’re on right now and just releasing a new project on Thursday.

John Ross: Thanks for asking, I’m doing good. My health is good. I have had clean scans for two or three years now.

I had some questions prepared but had to add on a few more because it wasn’t until last night when I saw you guys just released a new EP yesterday, so let’s talk about that. I understand that you recorded two of these tracks at home. How exactly did that work and how did you record the other song?

I did “Air Drumming Fix You” and “Unconscious Pilot” just at home. I have a home studio setup. I worked remotely with Adam Schatz, who played sax and some synthesizer. I sent it to Mike Brenner, who did some pedal steel remotely. But yeah, it was all pretty much recorded and mixed at home.

For “Cielo Wheed”, we had a recording session with Justin Pizzoferrato in western Massachusetts over the summer and that was part of it.

I saw in an interview that you’re very keen on not repeating yourself, so what’s the approach you’ve taken here with this new crop of songs to progress from ILYSM? Is changing your sound something you’re interested in?

Yeah, I think so. I think that with these home recordings it’s fun to just write and record at the same time. I feel like it makes for a more unique production. Just some more diverse instrumentation that I don’t get to do while I’m in a studio with a band.

Is this just a one-off EP or can we expect an upcoming LP from the group? I noticed you guys have been playing some unreleased songs on this tour that aren’t on this new EP.

Yeah, those are new. We’ll be releasing some new music at some point. These are just stand-alone tracks for the EP.

What are some of your major influences for the band and how have these progressed over time as you’ve changed your sound? I was definitely getting some Destroyer vibes on “Air Drumming Fix You”, mainly because of the sax. How does the progression of your sound work and what is your approach with that work when creating new music every time?

That’s a good question. We’ve always been kind of inspired by Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen stuff. But more and more I’m enjoying the home-recorded approach. I don’t really have a good answer. Every record is different, for sure. But it’s all kind of in the vein of folk rock, I guess. I feel like it touches on some other genres, like shoegaze and dream pop. I have just been in that mindset for a while now. That’s not to say it won’t change up on a future record.

How did this tour come about with Sun June? Was the idea to co-headline with somebody? I know last year you guys opened for The New Pornographers.

I really liked their last record. I was talking to their manager over the summer and it kind of happened that way. It was their manager’s idea. We are about a week or so in and have another two or three weeks to go.

I saw a couple years back you guys did a house show in Kansas City. Is that something you like to do atmosphere-wise, play house shows?

Yeah, I think it was a day off and we were passing through. But yeah, we’ll play a house show on a day off, certainly. It happens much much less now. We used to do all DIY touring and basement shows nine years ago. It’s once in a blue moon now but we’re always down. We don’t really like days off on the road.

I would say it’s fair to say that your last record put you on a bit of a trajectory with the whole way the album came out during your diagnosis. The largely positive critical reception around the album, the famous guest artists on the record. Is that something you think about as an artist? How do you approach everything two years after?

I feel like I’m always correcting quirks from the last record. Kind of like this ping-ponging back-and-forth. These new recordings are less collaborative. I have no idea how the record will be received, but these new songs are more fun to play live than the last ones. They are geared more towards the four-piece outfit that we have. I kind of wrote it with the band in mind, whereas the last record just had no boundaries in that regard.

Is a large portion of your set these unreleased songs?

We’re playing all the way across the discography, but there is like a third of the set that is all new stuff.

Why did you title the last record ILYSM?

It was partially tongue-in-cheek, I feel like it got taken pretty literally. It was at a pretty crazy time in my life when I was dealing with some insane health issues, so it is partly rooted in reality. There is a sentimental aspect to it, but it is also a little bit of wink and not supposed to be taken quite as literally.

The record is named after the song, which is about being in love with a ghost. It’s a mystery. I was about halfway through the record when it happened.

Are these guest artists on the album, like Julien Baker and J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), just people you knew or were you just reaching out to people that you thought would fit well with the record. I know Peter Silberman (The Antlers) was a perfect fit for that type of sound.

Peter is my buddy. We already had a rapport going. But J Mascis and some of those others I just thought would be amazing. Luckily they agreed. I’ve known Julien just through email for a couple years and I thought she would be perfect for the song. So I just hit her up and she agreed.

What is the inspiration for the title of this new project, Strawberry Eraser?

I don’t really know. I don’t really have a direct answer for that. I thought it sounded cool.

“Air Drumming Fix You” is based on this book called Enon by Paul Harding, where this guy loses his daughter. That’s kind of what the song is about, and Strawberry Eraser just felt somehow relevant to that song. It kind of sounds abstract, but to me it makes sense.

How would you describe the second two songs that just released to people that haven’t listened to them?

“Unconscious Pilot” is very similar musically and lyrically to “Air Drumming Fix You”. They feel very connected to me. They’re kind of both about mortality. And then “Cielo Wheed” is just an instrumental song, but it seemed to fit with these two.

When did you know you wanted to do a short three-track EP that was a stand-alone release? A majority of bands don’t think that way.

I’m just always writing songs. I just had them ready to go, I hadn’t released anything since 2022 or 2023. So it just felt like I wanted to put something out. I think that the way they were recorded, they don’t really fit on the same record as the next LP. And I just really enjoy putting out short little releases. It’s just fun.

What is the best thing you’ve listened to lately, new or old?

I think I have a few things actually:

The podcast Ghost Stories For The End Of The World (it’s this guy talking about the CIA basically)

See Me Ridin’ – Martin Rev

Ambient 1: Music for Airports – Brian Eno

Some Nick Lowe, some Nick Drake. I’m just on Spotify.

Wild Pink plays the RecordBar on Saturday, March 23, with Sun June. Details on that show here.