Poncho Pilot let’s us in on what makes them unique. They’re laid back, admitting that they’ve got no specific game plan for getting to the Emergenza finals. But don’t let that trick you into thinking they’re no competition. These guys all have serious musical backgrounds. They know their instruments. And they know how to rock. Come check out their Californian Pop-Punk sound in Brisbane on the 13th of May.

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR FORMATION AND YOUR JOURNEY AS A BAND SO FAR?
The two guitarists, Dan and Ben, and myself (the drummer) got together to muck around with a few covers in my Carindale garage. We all had musical backgrounds ranging from clarinet, classical guitar, choir, drums and electric organ. We also used to make noise at Ben and Dan's houses but after several complaints from our frustrated neighbours, we decided to make regular rehearsals a thing in "sound-proofed" studio rooms in Coorparoo.

After trying to get the band idea off the ground by writing originals, recording a three-track Demo with a mate of mine in Coffs Harbour (shortly before actually deciding on calling ourselves "Poncho Pilot" in the car trip home), we played with a few bass players before conveniently settling with Carpet at the end of 2012 - who was one of my good school mates from Coffs Harbour, NSW. Carpet had a vast musical background - particularly with bass. I knew it would work because I used to play with him in a Punk/Hardcore band when we were at school. Since then, we've played several local shows around the Brisbane area.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES ARE AND HOW DO THEY MAKE THEIR WAY INTO PONCHO PILOT'S SOUND?
When we (Ben, Dan and myself) were playing covers in the garages and lounge rooms of our houses, we were covering a lot of Blink 182, The Subways, Good Charlotte, and other Pop-Punky shit. But they're not our only influences. We like to think we share the sounds of Starland Vocal Band, Tay Zonday, Slayer, Avril Lavigne and Guy Sebastian.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO SIGN UP FOR EMERGENZA?
Before looking into it too much, we were emailed via our Triple J Unearthed page, which made us feel special.

WHAT MAKES YOU ‘ACTUALLY PRETTY DECENT’ AS A BAND? AND WHAT IS IT THAT MIGHT SET YOU APART FROM OTHER BANDS IN THE FESTIVAL?
"Actually pretty decent" was how we were described by a university radio station announcer when one of our songs was played during a soccer show. We have a unique sound that can't really be pinned to any one specific genre.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST ABOUT THE FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE? AND WHAT’S YOUR GAME PLAN FOR GETTING TO THE FINALS?
Playing at X & Y - we haven't played there before. Also the fact that we're playing at 10pm on a Monday night - this will be the first and last time this will happen. No game plan for the finals, we're just doing what we do.

WHAT IS PONCHO PILOT'S TRAJECTORY? WHERE CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE YOU A FEW YEARS FROM NOW?
Playing in downtown Rome once every two months.