From left, keyboardist Ian Hultquist, Al Adhamy, drummer Nate Donmoyer, singer Michael Angelakos and bassist Jeff Apruzzese
A Passion for music unaffected by fame
Pit members swear they are not going to let success turn them into groupie-loving rock stars
Forever from Boston
Middle Eastern born Ayad Al Adhamy lived in England as a child and, for the past six years, he’s called America home. Like his bandmates, he moved to Boston for college. This summer, he left to live in New York.
“I’ve ditched Boston,” he jokes. “We all moved, only Michael still lives in Boston,” he says of frontman Michael Angelakos.
Still, Passion Pit hasn’t forsaken the city where the five-some first met and made music.
“People ask, ‘Where are you from?’ Well, the band was born in Boston, so we’ll be forever from Boston, even if we all live elsewhere.”
It’s been quite a year for Passion Pit. The quintet stormed out of Boston this past spring with its synth rock debut, “Manners,” and has been touring the world ever since. The band played every major festival from Reading to Bonnaroo and the pace shows no sign of letting up as they hit several radio holiday shows this month. Passion Pit must be blown away.
“I would have been blown away if I hadn’t been doing it every single day,” says synth and samples man, Ayad Al Adhamy. “It’s like any job where you get a raise or get promoted, you’re happy about it, but you’re not like, ‘woah!’”
You’re not? So far, so jaded?
“When people lay it out for us and say, ‘Look at what you’ve done,’ then we think, ‘Wow that’s pretty… OK, I’m nervous now.’ If you don’t think about it, then you just do it.”
Passion Pit simply likes to keep their feet on the ground.
“We’re lucky in that we’re pretty normal. There’s two ways to go when people make music. You either do it because you love it or you do it to get girls and be assholes. We love music. We don’t want to have that other side - ‘yeah, we want to be rock stars!’”
So, no knocking back bottles of Jack Daniels on the tour bus?
“Maybe we do that, but we do it like anyone would be doing it at home.”
With several dozen groupies on board?
“No, no… We don’t do that at all.”
101.9 WRPX presents
Matt Pinfield's Holiday Extravaganza
Featuring Passion Pit, Phoenix,
Manchester Orchestra and Jack's Mannequin
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Hammerstein Ballroom
311 West 34th St., New York
$40, 212-777-1224
www.ticketmaster.com
WFNX Miracle on Tremont Street
With Spoon, Phoenix, and Passion Pit
Friday, 7:30
Orpheum Theatre
One Hamilton Place, Boston
MBTA: Red or Green Line to Park Street
All ages, 617-679-0810
www.livenation.com
