Intro:
Just when you thought the music scene is dead and nothing new is coming, appears a band like Ghetto Pony. The music of the young Canadian trio is highly innovative and hard to categorise. Think of a mixture of Indie, Beats and Electronic seen through the lens of Avant-garde. Like Kraftwerk meets Devo in 2010. Singer Peter Jarecki talks in the interview about creating music, connections between their contradictional music and the contradictional album title and their influences.

E.C.: How did you come with the name Ghetto Pony, and what does it actually mean?

Peter Jarecki(23): We were sitting around David's (Hoult, 22) room back in Guelph, shooting around joke names for our band. J.J. (21) said «Ghetto booty» to which I replied «Ghetto Pony». It got a good laugh so we decided that we'll use it until we come up with a real name. But we never did. Justin (Baily, a former G.P.), upon hearing it, told me that he pictured a pony with shaggy hair and a joint in his mouth, so I drew it out and realized it in Photoshop. But as we moved into a run-down apartment in Montreal, right beside all the addicts, hookers, and pizza joints, the name took on a new meaning. We're still the nice boys from Guelph, we just live in a stable. We're Ghetto Ponies, not ghetto-thugs. We smoke weed, not crack. Our situation is ghetto, but it's fucking cute.

E.C.: What made you call your debut «Post Apocalyptic Bubblegum Music»?

Peter Jarecki: When I first heard the phrase, long before G.P.'s first steps, I really liked what I imagined it would sound like. Whether I was conscious of that while forming the band, I don't know, but I named the album «Post Apocalyptic Bubblegum Music» to underline all the contradictions within our music. It's poppy but heartfelt. It's silly but sincere. It's melodic and it's noisy. Also I felt like I was justifying some of my weaker lyrics. Now that the title includes «Bubblegum», all of the sudden it's okay to sing shit like «Oh why oh why girl».

E.C.: The title is a kind of a contradiction. I guess after the apocalypse there won't be a lot left. Are both title and band name also a bit used to describe your indescribable music? Or am I completely wrong?

Peter Jarecki: You're completely right. When people hear the name Ghetto Pony, they're usually amused, but have no clue as to what we sound like. When they ask us to describe ourselves I usually say, «Post Apocalyptic Bubblegum Music» instead of going into a long explanation about how we mix genres and what not.

E.C.: What are your influences? To what music do you listen to?

Peter Jarecki: The G.P.'s listen to everything, from Aphex Twin to Wesley Willis. We don't keep our musical tastes on a leash like some people who only listen to punk-rock but secretly love that new Madonna track. I used to do that back in middle-school where I'd only listen to alternative music, meanwhile all those hip-hop songs were tugging at my heart and I'd deny it. Also video game music has had a big influence on us. We used to have some serious Sonic the Hedgehog 2 tournaments at the G.P. Stable, and the track from the Mistic Cave level is absolutely killer!

E.C.: What is the process when you write songs?

Peter Jarecki: When composing songs we try many approaches to keep them from sounding the same. Most of the time, like a real band, David and I jam out some riffs while J.J. comes up with a beat on the spot. Other tracks are completely assembled on the computer from our jam samples, before we learn how to do it live. We also switch around instruments so it's not always David playing the bass, or me always playing the keys. Whatever we'll think of, we'll try just to keep ourselves entertained.

E.C.: What is the musical background of the 3 of you?

Peter Jarecki: The G.P.'s are all self-taught, especially J.J. since there's no schools to teach you how to make sick beats. Mine and David's first instrument is the guitar, but for this band I took up the keys and he plugged in a bass. We still think we're banging on guitars though.

E.C.: How did Ghetto Pony start?

Peter Jarecki: Ghetto Pony started in high school. We were known as the tech-hall kids because instead of occupying the lockers which were assigned to us, we took up residence in a dingy, secluded hall where all the tech classes were. There were plenty of empty lockers and none of those butt-sniffing achievers ever bothered us there. We had our own little freak gang. The contest was to see who doesn't fit in the most. I wore glamour make-up and a bowa, J.J. was the depressed raver, and David had a fascination with cowbells.

I wanted to be in a band since I was fifteen and would try to get whoever I knew to play with me. I'd compose my songs on a four-track, and occasionally jam with David or Justin. Than we got this idea that for the percussion part of the band J.J. could beat-match hardcore rave records to our riffs. After graduation in 2001, we set a date for our first show at the end of the summer just so we'd start practicing on a regular basis. We played for twenty of our friends in David's parents living-room and that was G.P.'s first gig.

E.C.: Is there a music scene in Guelph, Ontario? If yes, can you tell me more about it?

Peter Jarecki: Guelph is a University town of 100,000 people. It has more of a music community than a scene. There is always a lot of indie shows that generate good crowds and almost everybody plays the guitar. Artists that are quirky or weird do well there because it's a quirky and weird place. Guelph has it's own energy that outsiders often don't pick up on. It's not a city a band would move to in hopes of getting known. It's just an awesome little city with a strong sense of community.

E.C.: How will the «world domination» (written in the Ghetto Pony press kit) of Ghetto Pony look like?

Peter Jarecki: That's just some stupid shit I wrote in our press kit to let the bookers know we mean business. I just want our music to become available to the kids everywhere because G.P. is for the children!

E.C.: How do people react to your show (3 people on stage with a laptop, stand-up bass, and keyboard)?

Peter Jarecki: When we're setting up for a show and some bystanders see us pulling out laptops, a stand-up bass, and keyboards, they often are intrigued enough to stick around and hear what we sound like. People take to it well. It's a stimulating change. After you've seen a million rock bands play songs that are almost the same, it loses its punch. We, the G.P.'s believe that anything can be rocked. Give me a few rubber-bands, some tooth picks, a fresh potato and I'll be rocking 'till the sun shows up.

E.C.: What was the biggest crowd you had so far?

Peter Jarecki: The best crowd we've played to so far was our homecoming gig in Guelph last summer, during our Canada-wide tour. The room was packed full of high kids who knew all the words to our songs and they kept screaming every chance they got. It made us feel like the rock stars we think we are.

E.C.: Major labels seem to have interest in you. How come?

Peter Jarecki: A few major label A&R people have contacted us. Why? Perhaps they see the marketing potential in G.P. As innocent as we might seem, we've trained Ghetto Pony to be a money-maker. So far we've only lost money on that stoned horse.

E.C.: Which labels have shown interest?

Peter Jarecki: I don't want to say as not to jinx our chances. I really doubt anything would happen on a major level just yet. We'd be better off signing to an independent label first and building up form there but who knows.

E.C.: What are you next steps?

Peter Jarecki: Our next steps include a small tour of Ontario in late February, a smaller tour of New York in April, finishing the second G.P. album, and a big tour in September.

E.C.: Before I forget, the music of Ghetto Pony must be heard loud!!!