Pop Pistol

Rank #3 San Antonio, TX Indie / Electronic Music / Psychedelic

50% of sales go to the charity Love Hope Strength.

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About

Members: ALEX SCHEEL, GEORGE GARZA, JORGE GONZALEZ

Sounds Like: Warpaint, The Mars Volta, SORNE, Radiohead, Lonely Horse

Label: Mitote Records, Texas is Funny Records

Manager: Ernesto Olivo

Bio: Where some see darkness, music mystics bring light. Somewhere within the indigenous blood that still flows through the Xicano trio Pop Pistol is a shamanistic connection to all realms of nature, space, time, animals, the divine, and magic. A combination of cosmic intuition and intentions to shape... See Full Bio

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Status

: Snowbyrd getting the night started. Rockyrolltimez

Press

“From the haunting opening sample — the word “nightmare” mumbled in singer-guitarist Alex Scheel’s trademark soul yelp — to the meditative and swimming stillness of the closing song (new track “Nothing is Moving”), Friday’s performance showcased a band at the height of their mystical and technical power... Pop Pistol’s songs are as much for placidly contemplating the middle distance as they are for losing yourself in the rapture of spiritually driven movement. ”

— James Courtney, San Antonio Current blog, Sound & Fury

"Through years of steady work, steady recording and steady experimentation, Pop Pistol has crafted a catchy brand of rock 'n' roll that mixes and matches atmospheric soundscapes with a serious backbeat; vivid, often trippy, lyrics and electronic accents...“Animal Prisms” finds Pop Pistol working at a high level. With drums and bass pouring a steady foundation, guitar and electronics weave in and out and all around, adding a psychedelic feel while the band lets its imagination run wild on songs such as “Animal Ghosts,” “Coyote,” “Apache Prisms” and “No New Years Know.”"

— Jim Beal, San Antonio Express News

"Simply put, Animal Prisms is the best Pop Pistol album to date... It has the band's usual atmospheric electro indie pop textures, Alex's trippy vocals, and rock-solid rhythms by bassist George Garza and drummer Jorge González, all taken to a much more sophisticated level. It is also the first 100 percent Pop Pistol recording."

— Enrique Lopetegui, San Antonio Current

“No one would ever confuse the music scene in San Antonio with that of major music communities like Los Angeles and New York. But really, San Antonio is better for that fact. The music environment in those major cities is often cutthroat, to the benefit of no one but the most popular bands. Thanks in large part to up and coming indie rock groups like Pop Pistol, the San Antonio music community has taken an entirely different approach.”

— guest blogger, The Muse in Music

“Pop Pistol’s sound is eclectic, drawing inspiration from a range of musical influences. “We often get compared to bands but that’s dependent on the listeners’ tastes and what they’ve been exposed to,” Scheel says. “Radiohead comes up often, as well as Muse. People tell us we have the feel of The Doors or the atmosphere of U2 or an 80s dance vibe, or we remind them of Mars Volta or that my voice reminds them of Placebo. If I hear a Tom Waits song and then a Beach House song and then see a video of Flying Lotus, every one of those things is going to creep into our music.””

— Diana Phillips, Ignite SA Magazine

"Readers chose Pop Pistol (Garza, Alex Scheel on guitar/vocals, and Jorge Gonzalez on drums) as this year's Best Indie Rock Band."

— Enrique Lopetegui, San Antonio Current

“Atmospheric rockers Pop Pistol have a work ethic that would frighten a tractor. ”

— Jim Beal , San Antonio Express News

“After speaking with Alex Scheel, singer and guitarist for Pop Pistol, about the visual aspect of his band and on San Antonio's creative community, one can only hope the seriousness in Pop Pistol's creative approach is contagious.”

— staff, Caller.com

“The trio evolved from being a bunch of enthusiastic, but raw, high school rockers to a group crafting a sound that's alt-rock meets atmosphere. The band rocks with an electronic edge. ”

— Jim Beal, San Antonio Express News

“Although it's mainly rock, Pop Pistol is a band with different faces and influences, giving it an eclectic sound... Even if Pop Pistol can't be defined concretely, what works for the band members is that they are continuously evolving and learning about the world.”

— Dulce Arroyo, NEIU Independent

"The overall feeling of the EP is soothing and aquatic...Disappearing Edges has an almost dark wave quality to it that draws you in before you notice you’re gone."

— Nikki Allison, Aural Interaction

“Disappearing Edges is a portable rock opera. Recalling recent work by Jeff Beck, Pop Pistol utilize grandiose classic rock conventions but coat them in a 21st-century gloss.”

— Adam Coronado, SA Current

“Pop Pistol may be the most nationally qualified band in Saytown right now. Their music is expertly derivative of rock old and new, but it’s also defiantly moody, unclassifiable, and still uncannily accessible.”

— Adam Coronado, SA Current

“Many of Pop Pistols’ tracks begin as calming waves of echoic sounds that slowly transition into heavier, guitar-driven madness accompanied by precise drum work.”

— Samuel Towns, University News

“Pop Pistol's electro-pop/rock is atmospheric and often spacey, but the band never loses sight of melody and backbeat. ”

— Jim Beal, San Antonio Express-News

“Power pop/electronica trio Pop Pistol is one of San Antonio’s most active and respected bands. ”

— Enrique Lopetegui, SA Current

“George Garza: We are a trio. We play rock and roll, with a contemporary sound. It is very atmospheric music and has a lot of dance grooves. We have been making music and playing in this band since 2006. We are about to put out our third record, another EP. ”

— Tracy Crain, Arkansas Free Press

“Barefoot and with a truly multi-dimensional sound, Pop Pistol has an ethereal rhythm section, emotionally raw vocals (often layered to exude haunting harmonies) and an overall delivery full of synths, samples and noisy guitar-driven rock that continues to captivate audiences.”

— SATX Music

“...this is the first time Pop Pistol and Azul will perform together. The Pistol trio — which will be releasing their new EP with a party at Jack’s Bar on April 1...”

— Enrique Lopetegui, San Antonio Current

“This week, I had the opportunity to catch up with Pop Pistol bassist George Garza about the band’s recent Midwestern/East Coast tour, which included notable stops in Chicago, Kansas City, Brooklyn, and more.”

— Nicole Chavez, Up All Night Blog - San Antonio Current

"...another San Antonio trio played Brooklyn this past week: Pop Pistol, who made their NYC debut at Trash Bar on Tuesday September 28. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Alex Scheel, bassist George Garza, and drummer Jorge Gonzalez. All three contribute either synths or samples to the studio recordings, a sound that’s replicated live by a backing track. Say what you will about using pre-recorded playback; it works for Pop Pistol "

— Blog, Original Hipster

"The modern computer-calculated rhythms Gonzalez pounds out on a real live drum kit give Scheel’s guitar theatrics an ass-shaking appeal that counteracts the tendency toward glass-eyed space-jam swaying. In this light, the sense of classic-rock grandeur Scheel invokes with extended solos, extensive effects pedal-mashing, and agile feedback-surfing maintains a futuristic glow, and bassist George Garza finds the right groove to meld man and machine."

— Jeremy Martin, San Antonio Current

“By Christina Rodriguez, Host of ‘The Garage ‘ SAN ANTONIO – This week in the garage we have one of San Antonio’s most popular indie bands. Pop Pistol comes to us refreshed after their tour of the Midwest.”

— Christina Rodriguez, WOAI.com

"...bassist George and drummer Jorge locked into grooves that were hypnotic and interlocking. Wide and deep. Meanwhile guitarist/vocalist Alex rode the wave of rhythm with effects-laden but clean guitar tones, and sang behind the beat, vocals soaked but not saturated with reverb."

— Alfonso Mata, SARocks Blog

"Recorded over the course of just a few weeks at Farm studios, Shadow is far more representative of the band's current musical situation, and of its live show."

— Javier Padilla, Backbeat Magazine

"all of it — Scheel’s overdubbed guitars and multi-tracked vocal harmonizing, Garza’s intricate bass lines, two guys playing keyboards and three guys twiddling knobs — serves the songs. There’s not a sample out of place or a superfluous effect to be found. Those two years sound well spent. — Jeremy Martin"

— Jeremy Martin, San Antonio Current

"...the sound setup is impressively clean, opting for clarity and depth instead of tinnitus, key for appreciating Pop Pistol’s textured sound, and even allows those live-show rarities — intelligible vocals — to slip through pop free."

— Jeremy Martin, San Antonio Current

"…Pop Pistol who brings a very interesting blend of indie rock steeped in electronic roots. Progressive broken beat drums couple with an ethereal rhythm section of synths and samples and haunting vocal delivery for a complex, multi-dimensional sound."

— unknown, Study Breaks Magizine

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Songs

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Who Needs Fore…

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No New Years K…

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Strings

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Videos

Pop Pistol - No New Years Know (Official Music Video)

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Shows

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Sat
Jun 22

Josabi's
Helotes, TX, US | 8:00pm
Josabi's
Helotes, TX, US
Sat Jun 22 8:00pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
Fri
Jun 28

Hi Tones
San Antonio, TX, US | 9:30pm
Hi Tones
San Antonio, TX, US
Fri Jun 28 9:30pm
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Finally we get to make this event and talk about what we've been wanting to for so long! We are finally releasing our first official record under Mitote Records!! We are honored to be releasing it at one of our favorite venues, a bar close that stole our hearts!! Hi-tones!! Helping us release our ep. are our close friends Viet-Ruse an our label mates Pop Pistol!!! We hope that you've been looking forward to this as long as we have and know that you will finally have your chance to physically get your hands on one of our records and pop it into your cd players/mp3 players and get some merch from us as well!! We hope you can join us in celebrating this milestone!!

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Comments

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the johnnie squizzerc...
cool set guys!
Ghosts of Dixie
Great sounding music :) it really made my day! Wishing you the best in your wildest endeavors, cuz where would this world be without dreamers like us!?! We also 'like'/fo...
Smith III
Nice work! I came by to show you some love and support, you can return the favor by stopping by out page. Put A Stamp On it!
LEDASWAN
Heya Homies... Fan us back biatches :-) Love you guys! A Rec would be awesome too. peace. See you real soon. -Erica.
Frownz
Hey, Great page! ..would be good if you could check out mine and the music video for my new single 'Up and Coming':http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNNCDaSYsYI ...Peace...
Sweet Evolution
Heard you met our bassist! He had us check out you guys out and it all sounds great! Nice to see local talent here in SA, please let us know what you think of us!