In the video for their new song, “Sweet Sweet Love,” Gretchen and the Pickpockets lead singer Gretchen Klempa splatters paint and chucks glitter all over a white canvas — and her band mates. Klempa said shooting the video was one of the most fun things she and the band have done, which is saying something. The Durham-based band likes to make a big musical mess and see what sticks.
“There are endless musical possibilities out there, so staying static really isn’t an option for us,” guitarist Richie Smith said.
The music video was a precursor to their new EP, “Anachronic.” It’s their third studio release, and the band is celebrating with a show at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Saturday, March 28.
Since the band came together four years ago at the University of New Hampshire, they’ve been finalists in a global competition, garnered Spotlight Award nominations, and steadily built an audience through high-energy shows around the Seacoast. They’re a rock and soul band with a little jazz, blues, and classic swing in their hearts and a willingness to try new things and keep challenging each other. True to their name (it comes from Pickpocket Road in Exeter, where Gretchen and her brother, bassist Mike Klempa, grew up), they take a little bit here and there from different genres and influences and create something new.
“That’s really the fun of it all,” Smith said. “Sometimes when we’re writing, somebody might say, ‘Didn’t we already do that?’ or, ‘This sounds too much like another thing,’ and we move on and find something different.”
“It sounds so different than anything we have ever done, so it looks like people will have to take a listen to see what the feel of it is.”
— singer Gretchen Klempa
“Anachronic” was recorded at 1130 ft. Studios in Rollinsford, with producer Chris Chase. According to Gretchen, most of the tracks on the new collection are “feel-good songs” and feature a horn section. It reveals an exciting new face for the band, she said. “It sounds so different than anything we have ever done, so it looks like people will have to take a listen to see what the feel of it is.”
Some interesting techniques were used in the studio in order to give the vocals a real organic sound.
“One thing I love about one of the tracks, ‘Old Souls,’ is that my voice is actually recorded through an elevator shaft at (the studio),” said Gretchen.
As for the new video that complements “Anachronic,” “It’s like ‘The Matrix’ but goofier,” Smith said. Shot at Portsmouth Public Media’s studios, the video ends with the band members getting into a playful slow-motion paint fight, flinging glitter and paint and balloons at each other. UNH student Kris Roller directed the video.
“We were very lucky to have the people at PPMTV, who let us get the place super messy with paint and glitter and feathers” said Mike. “We are just having fun the whole song.”
Pickpockets singer Gretchen Klempa at the microphone
Though the video’s finale was messy, producing it was easy, according to the band. “It all came together within a couple hours. We kind of figured out shots and lighting right there that day,” Smith said.
Saturday’s show won’t just be a celebration of the new EP. The show also happens to fall on Gretchen’s birthday. “Since she wasn’t here for her 21st birthday, we have to make this one count,” Mike said. “The Press Room is one of our favorite places to play, period.”
As the weather gets nicer, the band may hit the road. Last summer, Gretchen and the Pickpockets toured all the way out to Milwaukee, stopped in Chicago twice, and played throughout western and upstate New York.
“We booked it all ourselves and had a blast jumping into our van, named Hot Sheila, and cruising for hours on end,” Mike said. “We hope to do the same this summer, except maybe go south toward Asheville, N.C., or Nashville, Tenn., or somewhere along those lines. Wherever they will take us.”
Gretchen and the Pickpockets will play The Press Room, 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, on Saturday, March 28 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $7.