Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

For Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, music is a living flame—one demanding relentless tending, fresh kindling, and the collective breath of community to sustain it. On their eighth studio album, Feed The Fire (No Coincidence Records), the Baltimore quartet—“Scrambled Greg” Ormont [vocals, guitar], Jeremy Schon [guitar, vocals], Ben Carrey [bass, vocals], and Alex “Gator” Petropulos [drums, vocals]—push their psychedelic funk odyssey into its most expansive incarnation yet. Across sixteen years, eight albums, and countless sweat-soaked performances, Pigeons have mastered transformation, deepening their connection with their devoted fanbase and channeling life’s seismic shifts into fuel for their unquenchable fire. “The ‘fire’ represents our passion,” explains Ormont. “Making music feels like something we were born to do… Feed The Fire is the perfect metaphor for our unwavering commitment to keep evolving.” Significant milestones, from headlining major stages to their fan-centric Domefest, underscore their remarkable journey.

Feed The Fire shatters boundaries through adventurous collaboration. The band invited Nashville virtuoso Wes Bailey (Moon Taxi) to co-write the title track’s spiraling guitar hooks—a first for the group. “As soon as I played him the demo, he came up with the soaring lead melody on the spot. It ended up being our first true collaborative writing experience,” recalls Schon. In another debut, Ben Carrey steps into the lead vocal spotlight on his heartfelt groove anthem “Hit The Ground Runnin’.” Horn collaborators Here Come The Mummies and West End Blend amplify tracks like “Fantasy” and “Calm Before The Storm,” while guest producer Chalk Dinosaur enhances the psychedelic layers on “Twitch” and “Underworld.”

The band’s relentless evolution is evident in standout tracks like the buoyantly infectious “Right Track,” which distills their live energy into a concise message of resilience and self-trust. According to Schon, “Every album we make is a reflection of where we are personally and musically. For Feed The Fire, we really leaned into exploring textures, pushing our boundaries, and letting the songs guide us.” From the patient disco-funk simmer of “Fantasy” to the driving rebel cry of “Undivided,” the album showcases the band’s sharpened musicianship and rhythmic intuition.

Ultimately, Feed The Fire is more than an album title—it’s a rallying cry emblematic of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s enduring philosophy. Refreshingly dynamic, resonant, and irresistibly danceable, it marks a milestone release poised to captivate listeners across genres. Ormont sums it up perfectly: “We’ve been given the gift of this fire, this passion. So it’s our responsibility to nurture it, embrace it, and spread it wild. Because when the band and fans reach new heights together, that’s the real spark.”

Uncle Kunkel’s One Gram Band is a Baltimore based music group playing an original catalog of high energy funk-rock music that pulls influence from all over the jam lineage. In the music you will hear thick funk, jazzy interludes, epic peaks, eclectic lyrics, and stomping four- on-the-floor dance jams. The mission of this group is to bring audiences under one roof and create a space where people feel like they can let loose and get down. Through genuine improvisation, the audience gets to be part of the music as the band spontaneously strives to bring attention to the moment; taking everyone in the room with them, wherever they choose to go. Everyone raises the energy together as one. With their dedicated local fanbase the “Nieces & Nephews” each show is a coming together of community, family, and like-minded individuals looking to get down. With a great year of live shows under their belt, and a fairly large catalog of original music, the group is currently working on recording their first official studio projects for release on streaming platforms in the Spring of 2024.